Six players who were tipped to start World Cup 2023 and what went wrong

Picking out positives from the 2022/23 Premiership campaign is a bit like fumbling down a particularly mucky drain for lost keys. To lose three clubs, albeit in differing circumstances, was an indelible and shameful blight on the sport that hurled hundreds of people into uncertainty and unemployment. Jersey's fall then underlined how fraught rugby…

Northampton Saints today announce the signings of props Elliot Millar Mills and Beltus Nonleh ahead of the 2023/24 season. Millar Mills, 30, arrives at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens after spells with United Rugby Championship side Edinburgh Rugby and Gallagher Premiership rivals Bath Rugby last season, having started the campaign with Wasps…

Exeter Chiefs have won two Premiership titles and a European triumph under Rob Baxter Exeter Chiefs have announced that director of rugby Rob Baxter has signed a contract extension with the Gallagher Premiership club. Baxter's new deal with Exeter Chiefs effectively rules him out of the England job after Eddie Jones was sacked on Tuesday. Along…

Rob Baxter has snapped up three more Wasps players for Exeter just weeks after picking up hooker Dan Frost from the collapsed Gallagher Premiership club. It was October 17 when 167 players and staff were made redundant after the Coventry-based club fell into administration and that free-agent talent has proven attractive to other clubs. Multiple…

The Rugby Paper: "The 23-year-old Exeter fly-half has learned his trade next to Gareth Steenson, and has proved over the last two seasons that he has an all-court game. The same can be said for his two marginally younger rivals, Jacob Umaga (Wasps) and Marcus Smith (Harlequins), but playing for the Chiefs means that Simmonds has more big match…

Eddie Jones has given a partial nod to Premiership form in a squad for the Autumn Nations Series that appears to show there is still time for experimentation, with less than a year to go to the Rugby World Cup. It feels as if time is short to be trying too many new combinations but head coach Jones is on record as saying there is room for maybe one…

Financially-troubled Wasps have followed Worcester in being suspended from the Gallagher Premiership and face an imminent threat of administration. Here, the PA news agency answers some of the key questions regarding the club's plight. Why are Wasps in trouble? Like Worcester, Wasps are saddled with debt, which run to tens of millions of pounds.…

With the rugby transfer market flooded with Worcester Warriors players, and potentially soon Wasps players, the rugby transfer market has never been busier with clubs also locking down their key stars and targets ahead of the 2023/24 season. Here are all the latest transfer rumours, contract renewals and confirmed moves from around the Gallagher…

Wasps have been suspended indefinitely from the Gallagher Premiership and will become the second club this month, after Worcester Warriors, to be punished with relegation for going into administration, leaving English rugby in the grip of an unprecedented crisis. Wasps, the debt-ridden former European champions, pulled out of Saturday's game…

English rugby's flagship domestic competition is in meltdown with Wasps following Worcester by being suspended from the Gallagher Premiership. The four-time Premiership champions also face a "likely" move into administration and had already withdrawn from Saturday's scheduled league fixture against Exeter at Sandy Park. In a statement, the…

English rugby's flagship domestic competition is in meltdown with Wasps facing a "likely" move into administration just six days after Worcester were suspended from the Gallagher Premiership. asps, four-time Premiership champions, have withdrawn from Saturday's league game against Exeter and accept that administration will probably follow "in the…

Bet Type Bookmaker Claim Bonus! Odds1,60 Bet Type1 -10.5 Bookmaker Bet Now! Exeter Chiefs and Wasps will lock horns in the English Premiership Rugby at the Sandy Park. Last Saturday, Exeter Chiefs defeated Bristol in an away game and returned to their winning ways. The final score was 14-50. After five games, the home team has accumulated nineteen…

The bookies have been left undecided on this one. They have not made either side the favourite. I am backing the Chiefs to cover the -1 handicap given their superb record at Ashton Gate. Bristol vs Exeter Predictions Head to Head Bristol Form Bristol Injuries & Team News Exeter Form Exeter Injuries & Team News Bristol vs Exeter Live Stream…

The financial crisis facing English rugby has been laid bare after a Mail on Sunday investigation found that Premiership clubs have racked up debts of more than £500million. With Worcester Warriors' future in grave doubt just five days out from the new league season, it can also be revealed that London Irish, Newcastle and Wasps have also all…

Champions of England Leicester Tigers have been made THIRD favourites to claim back-to-back Gallagher Premiership titles. Steve Borthwick's side topped the table all season before overcoming Northampton Saints and Saracens in the semi-final and final to lift the trophy for the first time. However, bookmakers are not making them favourites to retain…

It might be the rugby'off season' but with more than 100 Premiership players out of contract and directors of rugby still looking to fill holes in their squads there are plenty of deals being done around the league ahead of the 2022/23 season. Here are all the latest transfer rumours, contract renewals and confirmed moves. Former England…

Exeter Chiefs celebrate against Glasgow Warriors Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's European Champions Cup games. BT Sport 2, 1pm Sunday Sale -20 1pt 10-11 bet365, Paddy Power Ospreys have been holding their own in the United Rugby Championship this season but they have endured a much tougher time of things in Europe. Defeats in…

It has been a strangely subdued start to the season for the four Irish provinces. While Ireland enjoyed a November to remember, beating the All Blacks as part of a three-Test cleansweep, all was quiet on the domestic front. But now provincial duty takes precedence once again, and this weekend sees the return of Europe and the Champions…

Exeter Chiefs are looking to make it three wins on the bounce when they head to Wasps Rugby on Saturday in Round Five of the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership. Wasps' three games so far in Gallagher Premiership Rugby have all been won by the home side on the day. Wasps have lost just one of their last five matches played at Coventry Building Society…

The new Gallagher Premiership Rugby season kicks off on Friday with an enthralling encounter that sees Saracens begin life back in the top-flight against Bristol Bears following their promotion at the end of last term. Bristol Bears against Saracens gets underway at 7:45pm at Ashton Gate before an action-packed weekend of Premiership…

After a week of controversy and emotion, the 2019/20 Premiership semi-finals were finally confirmed on Wednesday, as fifth placed Sale's inability to fulfil their fixture with Worcester Warriors ensured fourth placed Bath's progress into the knockout stages to face Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. With Wasps hosting Bristol Bears, a theme of form…

With Northampton and Harlequins registering away losses at Exeter and Wasps respectively, the latter securing a losing bonus point, both teams finished on 56 points in the Gallagher Premiership Rugby table. However, due to Northampton registering one more win during the campaign, the Saints will therefore join Gloucester in achieving an away semi…

England men U20s head coach Steve Bates has named his 28-player squad for the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina (4-22 June). The group includes nine players who have appeared in the tournament before - including several from Gallagher Premiership Rugby - with props Joe Heyes, Marcus Street, lock Joel Kpoku, backrow forwards Josh…

Eddie Jones joked his England side "might as well not turn up" to the Six Nations after injuries and suspensions left the reigning champions without 13 players ahead of their tournament opener against Italy. Jones named a 35-man squad featuring eight uncapped players on Thursday for the Rome match on February 4. Injuries and suspensions have robbed…

Henry Slade insists Exeter will not be overawed by the occasion or the opposition as they gear up for a maiden Aviva Premiership final against champions Saracens on Saturday. The Devon club earned their place at Twickenham courtesy of a 34-23 victory over Wasps in a pulsating encounter at Sandy Park on Saturday evening. Rob Baxter's side have never…