Dick Best: Money is at root of it all

The top stories and transfer rumours from Thursday's newspapers... DAILY MIRROR Erling Haaland is increasingly confident he will be fit to lead Manchester City's line when they return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday. Manchester United will sell defender Raphael Varane to the highest bidder next summer in order to get him off…

bout 60 minutes into the Wallabies' disastrous loss against Wales in the pool stage of the World Cup in late September, a group of Australian super fans gave up supporting their team and turned on the coach. "Eddie Jones is a w--ker, Eddie Jones is a w--ker," rang out across the stands of Stade Olympique Lyonnais. By the time the referee blew the…

There are copious opinions flying around this morning but I am yet to hear yours, dear reader. What has to change in Australian rugby at this pivotal juncture? How do the great and powerfuls fix this mess? That's an obscene stat, really. As AAP's Ben McKay reports: You might expect New Zealand rugby supporters to be delighting in the Wallabies'…

Rugby Australia is currently in market for a head of high performance that will be charged with overseeing its "reset" of the professional game in what is a move towards centralization and the pursuit of better outcomes for both men's and women's rugby. Wednesday's "historic" announcement has been a long time coming in Australian rugby, with review…

Manchester United said Thursday [AEST] they are working "through the final stages" of an internal investigation before deciding whether Mason Greenwood will return to playing for the club. The 21-year-old forward has been suspended by the Premier League giants since January 30, 2022, over allegations relating to a young woman after images and…

The historic 2022-23 season won't be forgotten anytime soon in Happy Valley. Penn State reached March Madness for the first time since 2011, and later saw Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy become the first pair of Nittany Lion teammates selected during the same NBA Draft. Of course, this resounding success came with consequences. Former coach Micah…

New details have emerged on the contentious code of conduct breaches by the Kaikohe premier women's rugby team that led to its exclusion from the semifinal. Team coach Te Rangi Allen has also come outfiring against the Northland Rugby Union for its handling of the matter which he said has deprived a number of up-and-coming players in his team of an…

Sorry you had to get me twice in a row but I'm away next week so Yowie and I swapped. What a huge weekend of rugby it was last week. However, it's time to put that behind us and start looking forward to the games for this weekend and what they'll bring us. Who will we remember for good reasons and who will we remember for bad reasons? As reported…

Wales' regions are braced to lose many of their biggest stars due to drastic cost-cutting measures. Cardiff head coach Dai Young admitted the club cannot match the offers being made from elsewhere with Liam Williams, Josh Adams and Jarrod Evans targeted. Dragons are hoping Ross Moriarty stays despite a lucrative offer from France. Ospreys said a…

Warren Gatland's men are experiencing a challenging period with their futures uncertain amid a contract freeze and as a result they may take some serious action Welsh Rugby Union acting chief executive Nigel Walker Wales stars have been warned they could bring the sport of rugby into disrepute if they choose to strike for next week's Six Nations…

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has said he would not support his players if they choose to boycott the Six Nations match against England in Cardiff on February 25 Warren Gatland would not support his Wales players taking strike action Wales boss Warren Gatland says he would not back his players should they decide to strike instead of taking to the…

Warren Gatland won't save Welsh rugby without major root and branch surgery to the game at all levels. That's the verdict of former Sport Wales chief executive Huw Jones, who has urged newly-elected Welsh Rugby Union chairman Ieuan Evans to call an extraordinary general meeting to propose the establishment of a skills-based board to take Welsh…

ENGLAND boss Eddie Jones looks set to get the bullet on Tuesday. Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick is in line to take over - about a year earlier than expected - if the RFU can lure him away from Welford Road. The union have not confirmed Jones' exit, ahead of Tuesday's board meeting. But despite fighting his corner, the Aussie looks doomed. The…

New Welsh Rugby Union chair Ieuan Evans would not be moved on the future of chief executive Steve Phillips and performance director Nigel Walker as he laid out his vision for a more modern governance. The former Wales and Lions wing, who holds the position of Lions chair in addition to his role with the WRU, also stressed that this was a time of…

These are your rugby headlines on Friday, October 28. Dragons coach Simon Cross has labelled Will Rowlands "world-class" as his side prepares to face Zebre on Saturday shorn of their Wales players (5.15pm kick-off). Locks Rowlands and Ben Carter, prop Rhodri Jones, hooker Bradley Roberts and wing Rio Dyer are with Wales for the autumn series and…

LONDON - The captain of the world champion United States women's national soccer team said Tuesday that any owner or executive implicated in a damning report on abuse in women's soccer "should be gone" from the sport. That group of people, the captain, Becky Sauerbrunn, made clear, includes the owner and several top executives of her own club team,…

Here are your rugby morning headlines for Monday, July 18. World Cup-winning former England star Jason Robinson believes exciting Welsh talent Regan Grace has what it takes to be a success in rugby union. The 25-year-old Wales rugby league international will join Top 14 outfit Racing 92 next season and Wales will be keen onlookers to see how he…

The men's national team clinched a Six Nations title in empty stadiums and endured a bruising autumn when fans returned, while the women's game made significant progress on the pitch and in the boardroom. But for domestic rugby in Wales, problems continue to intensify after another austere 12 months. BBC Sport Wales looks back at an incident-packed…

Boris Johnson was due to be shown the latest data about the rate of Omicron infections after festive social gatherings. The Prime Minister is not expected to announce further restrictions to control the Omicron variant in England after being briefed on the impact Christmas had on Covid infections and hospital pressures. In what was described as an…

We take a trip back in time and look at what the reaction was to Wigan and Bath's historic'Clash of the Codes' fixtures in May 1996... The matches were able to take place as a result of rugby union being declared an'open' sport in the summer of 1995, ending a century of division between the two codes formed along the lines of union's previously…

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Israel Folau's fight to save his Wallabies career will come to a head at a code of conduct hearing on Saturday, a trial cast as a clash between religious freedom and an organisation's moral commitment to ensure an inclusive working environment. A three-member panel will weigh whether Folau, a fundamentalist Christian, breached…

Northampton chief Jim Mallinder was made favourite to take over as England's rugby union coach by Sky Bet on Wednesday. Mallinder, who led the Saints to the Aviva Premiership title in 2013/14 and has also taken them to the European Champions Cup final, was chalked up at 5/1 to replace Stuart Lancaster, who left the role "by mutual consent"…

The events of 2003 could rival this term, with a Six Nations clean sweep of defeats supplemented by the introduction of regional rugby. Like 20 years ago, mediocrity on the field has been compounded by chaos and controversy off it. The 2022-23 season will live long in the memory - but for all the wrong reasons. Over the last eight months, just when…

Earlier this month, The Athletic investigated whether England's European Championship success in 2022 had been a catalyst for meaningful change in grassroots women's football in the UK. In this article, we assess the state of the semi-professional game in the country and whether the Lionesses' achievements have helped drive change for players…

The past 12 months have been a sobering time for domestic professional rugby union in England. Just under a year ago, the English Premiership had 13 teams. Now, there are 10. London Irish, Wasps and Worcester have all gone into administration, and last month Championship title-holders Jersey Reds ceased trading. Why are so many clubs failing? Is…