Rugby Supernova

Let's throw it back to Eden Park in 1994, to the second test between New Zealand and France. With the visitors having won the first game in Christchurch, they found themselves trailing behind while entering the final stages of the match. Cue that unmistakable French flair, as Philippe Saint-Andre launched a counter attack from his own 22, a series of brilliant passes and running lines between backs and forwards ensued.  Full back Jean-Luc Sadourny finished off one of the greatest length of the field scores; 'the try from the end of the world' claimed a memorable test series victory for the French and a rare loss at Eden Park for the All Blacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwTi-UeQ7s 'Rare' is indeed the key word as the All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park since, and despite the Lions best efforts on Saturday morning, their impressive 23 year record still stands. Though it looked like the unbeaten record would be ended almost as identically as it began, wit

So the stage was set: after months and months of debate and speculation about the squad selection, the first tour game was finally upon us. For the next six weeks, lazy Saturday morning lie-ins will be replaced with the scent of early morning coffee and the sounds of sizzling bacon. Akin to the excitement of young children on Christmas morning, Lions fans across Britain and Ireland rose early in anticipation.  The 2017 opening party was due to be a simple stroll in the park for the visitors against a bunch of fringe Super Rugby players; the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians had been thrown together just seven days before, it was forecast to be a gentle game to ease the Lions into the tour. In contrast to our expectations, the tone was set right from the first whistle, as opposing fly-half Bryn Gatland chipped a short low kick towards Iain Henderson who miss-timed his jump, and the ball landed straight into winger Sevu Reece's hands. Fortunately for the Lions, no points were conce

With places at the Premiership's showpiece final at stake, the Aviva semi-finals promised to be epic encounters and they certainly didn't fail to disappoint. Exeter v Saracens, Sandy Park Fresh from their Champions Cup final heroics in Edinburgh, Saracens arrived as back to back European champions and full of confidence. They faced an Exeter side who had secured eight successive bonus point victories and had only lost twice at Sandy Park all season. It wasn't a surprise therefore that the opening half was an extremely tight affair, with both sides not giving an inch. Saracens were struck with early injury blows to Michael Rhodes and prolific try scorer Chris Ashton. This didn't seem to affect the London side as they built an early 6-0 lead through two Owen Farrell penalties. In contrast to this, the Chiefs turned down kicks at goal and instead opted for the corner; not surprising, considering how difficult goal kicking is in the now infamous Sandy Park winds. Sara

It was Ireland versus Wales in the Pro 12 semi finals; tough assignments awaited both the Scarlets and the Ospreys, as they traveled across the Irish Sea to face Leinster and Munster. Leinster v Scarlets, RDS, Dublin The weekend's games kicked off in Dublin on Friday night, as the Scarlets were bidding to become the first side to win an away Pro 12 semi final. It was a tall order for the men from Llanelli, against a Leinster side bang in form and boasting many British & Irish Lions, and they wouldn't have been helped by injures to their key players Jake Ball and Ken Owens. Things started ominously for the Scarlets, as Leinster began to string dangerous phases of play together in the opening exchanges. Yet there's a reason Wayne Privac's men have made it to the knock out phases, and this was personified by winger Steff Evans - he was the heartbeat of everything the Scarlets did in the first half. It was fitting that he touched down for the first score, after cl

So that's a wrap, another Aviva Premiership campaign draws to a close for Bath Rugby. With the stands already being disassembled at The Rec, now is the time to reflect on the achievements and disappointments of the season. The final 'scores on the doors' shows a 5th place finish in the league and a challenge cup semi final. The relative success or failure of these results all depends on the context with which you decide to place them. The glaringly obvious positive is the massive improvement on last season's woeful 9th placed finish - a season that held much promise following the Premiership Final appearance at the end of the preceding campaign. As it turned out, the whole Sam Burgess saga caused unrest in the camp and in the end the team battled it out in a relegation scrap. So by recording a 5th place finish this time around and just missing out on the play offs, the players and staff can be very pleased considering Todd Blackadder didn't even have a full pre-

So we can finally finish discussing, speculating and debating about what our preferred Lions squads will be and start turning our attention to what this exciting squad can achieve. As tour manager John Spencer read out the names of the chosen players, there were no huge surprises. Over a week has now passed and the players have had the chance to let it sink in; it's very much been back to business, turning out for their clubs as they chase European and domestic honours. What they will now have to cope with is the Lions tag every time they are announced on a team sheet, a certain aura will now surround them every time they take the field and their form is now under even further scrutiny. This is all part and parcel of being a British & Irish Lion, acknowledging the great privilege of being selected, but also living up to the expectation and performing. Sam Warburton was announced as captain for a 2nd successive tour Both England and Ireland dominated the squad numbers - a