UK RUGBY

From Sebastian Chabal to Francois Louw, we have selected the best overseas signings in the history of each Premiership Rugby club since 1995.

Northampton Saints won their first Premiership title in 2014 by defeating Saracens after extra time at Twickenham. Alex Waller smashed over for a late try to win the game but here is what the starting XV are doing nowadays.

Top drawer goalkickers are crucial and can be the difference between winning and losing matches. Here are the top 12 points scorers in Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup history.

Alastair McKee has played rugby for over 15 years but a series of concussions have forced him to stop playing. In this essay, he talks about the heartache associated with the decision and what the great game has given to him.

The Flanker remembers World Cup-winning All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu’s spell at London Welsh, which saw the famous old club relegated from the Premiership without winning a single game.

Thanks to their second half display, the British and Irish Lions got the test series in their tour of South Africa off to the perfect start as they beat the Springboks 22-17. But what must they do going into the next game to secure an historic series win?

The hype of the NFL draft captures the attention of America’s sporting media every year - so could a similar concept be used to give rugby some more pazazz?

The 2021 British and Irish Lions tour against South Africa is here. With the squad announced this week, here are five selection issues head coach Warren Gatland must mull over as he names his team to play the Springboks.

Twelve clubs, including the traditional “Top 6” in England plus Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus have stated their intention to be “founder members” of a European Super League. Rugby and the Premiership must not go the same way.

We still don’t have a winner of the 2021 Six Nations. France produced the most brilliant of finishes to break Welsh hearts in Paris while Scotland demolished Italy in Edinburgh to leave the Azzurri without a win in the tournament in six years. Electric Ireland put England to the sword in Dublin to leave them a dreadful fifth in the table. Here are our key talking points from the action.

Wales’ Six Nations Grand Slam dream was ended in dramatic fashion as an overtime try from Brice Dulin secured a breathtaking 32-30 win for France. Read The Flanker’s player ratings after a fantastic 80 minutes in Paris.

The Flanker rates the players on both sides after Ireland’s 32-18 victory over England in Dublin to close out both their 2021 Six Nations campaigns.

The Flanker rates the players from Scotland’s comprehensive win over Italy by a score of 52-10 on the last weekend of the 2021 Six Nations.

Round 4 of the 2021 Six Nations was one for the ages in these COVID-19 affected times. Wales kicked off the festival of rugby by trouncing Italy, England and France then played out an epic at Twickenham before Ireland squeezed past Scotland at Murrayfield. Read our talking points from the weekend below.

Have all you Six Nations rugby fans got your breath back? England in Cardiff is always a niggly affair but the 2021 edition was off the charts as the Red Rose went down to a resurgent Wales in controversial circumstances. Ireland dispatched Italy in Rome while we mourned the postponement of Scotland against France in Paris due to COVID-19 positive results. Read our talking points from the weekend below.

Good goalkickers in rugby are worth their weight in gold and can be the difference between winning and losing matches. Here are the top 13 points scorers in Premiership Rugby history.