Hugh Godwin

5 days ago | inews.co.uk | Hugh Godwin

Exeter Chiefs’ slide into the doldrums since they won the Premiership and European Cup double less than five years ago has deepened this season. And the pressing question is: do Tony Rowe and Rob Baxter have what it takes to engineer a revival? The humdrum results had dramatic consequences for two of the long-serving director of rugby Baxter’s stalwart assistant coaches in recent weeks.

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Hugh Godwin

Andy Farrell will reveal his British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia in a ground-breaking public event at The O2 in London this Thursday afternoon. In the 16 months since Farrell was appointed head coach he may have pored over everything from confidential GPS data on players’ rugby and physiological performance to testament from other coaches around England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to his plans for how the Lions will play and what to expect from their Wallaby opponents.

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Hugh Godwin

AVIVA STADIUM — Such was the epic brilliance of Northampton Saints’ win over Leinster in Dublin on Saturday, you wonder if it might have changed Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad selection, with just four days to go before he finally names his squad to tour Australia in London this Thursday.

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Hugh Godwin

When Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson was asked this week about playing Leinster in Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin, and whether he would regard them as a team of 23 dangermen, he replied with raised eyebrows: “They’ve got more than that!”It is an amazing tale, the Irish province who have won four Champions Cups, a Challenge Cup and seven United Rugby Championships since 2007.

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Hugh Godwin

Welsh rugby is in a right old state. The men’s national team have lost a record 17 Tests in a row after finishing bottom of the Six Nations for the last two seasons. As a consequence, the number of Welsh players on this summer’s British & Irish Lions tour is expected to be meagre. Wales do not currently have a head coach, although Steve Tandy is expected to be appointed for next season, with caretaker Matt Sherratt taking the summer tour to Japan.