Book Review: Playing the Enemy by John Carlin

In 1995 less than half a decade after it's first democratic election and the end of apartheid South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup. The nation's triumph at the tournament was viewed as an optimistic sign for the country and helped to heal the wounds on the nation's people. This magnificent book details the story …

RWC 2015: Heroes and Villains

The tournament is over, but it was a gripping one. So, looking back I've picked the best and worse of the tournament. Heroes- Japan The tournament's first major incident came in the Japanese's giant killing of South Africa. In a tough performance the underdogs snatched a late victory, and their joy was a feel good …

RWC 2015: And now the thrilling conclusion…

Often a final can be a disappointment, but thankfully after a cracking tournament, New Zealand and Australia delivered a satisfying final act for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The first half saw the All Blacks on the attack, forcing some magnificent defending from the Australians. It was frustrating the New Zealanders and the question was …

RWC 2015: Black and yellow, black and yellow

I was all ready for a fantastic match as two of rugby's heavyweights went head to head in the first semi final but South Africa vs New Zealand turned out to be a disappointment. It just seemed to be that neither could get the space to really get going. New Zealand struggled initially, and in …

RWC 2015: An Inch or a Mile, Winning is Winning

As I start typing this Ireland are teetering on the brink of elimination, trailing 33-20 to Argentina. This is quite a turn up, the Argentinians are a good team, but Ireland were favourites. It would be kind of nice for an upset, especially as the first two Quarter Finals stuck to the script. Wales were …

RWC 2015: Failing Upwards

Saturday was hyped as the biggest day in Welsh history, with the football team attempting to confirm their place in Euro 2016 and the rugby team facing Australia to decide who they'd face in the Quarter Finals. A win would line Scotland up next, after they'd recovered from a shaky start to beat Samoa. The …

RWC 2015: Early Exits

I've never understood sports fans who leave early, I mean, you've paid your money and gone to the ground and sometimes there's still a chance. The most famous example is Manchester United's late 2-1 victory in the 1999 Champions League Final. So watching English fans troop out of Twickenham with minutes to go was annoying. …

RWC 2015: Winning Ugly

After the joy of last weekend Wales came down with a bump thanks to a bruising encounter with the Fijians. I'm writing this on Thursday evening, so injury news hasn't arrived but it was worrying to see our reliable kicker Dan Biggar limping off, especially as his replacement is the distinctly less reliable Rhys Priestland. …

RWC 2015: Dai vs. Goliath

One of the annoying things about England being in a major sporting tournament is that due to shared broadcasters the Welsh have to endure a parade of flag waving adverts featuring their stars. This is enough to make you sick of them, and only gets worse if Wales are in the same tournament and basically …

RWC 2015: One other such victory would utterly undo us

Sorry for the delay but there's my blog about Wales' first match at the Rugby World Cup. Uruguay are definitely the smallest rugby nation in our group, and expected to be the whipping boys for the other teams. In what shapes up to be a tight table points count for everything and Wales needed a …