Tag >> six nations

Rugby Star Sene Naoupu Takes Strength from Family

Spend any length of time with New Zealander Sene Naoupu, 35, and her love for friends and family will be palpable. But she doesn’t just value that ancestral bond,…

Scotland’s Sean Maitland Gets off to a Good Start

Sean Maitland, 28, rarely gives interviews and that is just the way he likes it. Since arriving in Scotland in 2012, the quietly-spoken Tokoroa-born wing has done his talking…

Rugby Boss Vern Cotter Says Scotland on the Up

It is three years since 54-year-old New Zealander Vern Cotter arrived from French side Clermont Auvergne to take the reigns at Murrayfield. He recalls when his side was the…

Gatland Made an OBE in Queen’s Birthday List

Wales rugby union coach Warren Gatland, who last year guided the British and Irish Lions to a 2-1 series victory in Australia and Wales to the Six Nations title,…

Conrad Smith Saves the Day in First Test

“Under-strength England pushed New Zealand all the way” in the first of three Tests in the 2014 Steinlager Series, with the All Blacks showing “why they are world champions…

Diligent Coach Instills Winning Culture in Ireland

For those who have played under New Zealander Joe Schmidt, it was no surprise that his first campaign in charge of Ireland’s national team ended on such a high….

Schmidt’s in the Hot Seat with Irish Appointment

With the words, “you have to start from scratch”, New Zealander Joe Schmidt attempts to dampen down expectations around his new job as he eases his way into the…

Motivated to New Heights

New Zealand-born Dylan Hartley has received a lot of stick in the Six Nations but, instead of snapping back, England’s hooker tells The Independent’s Chris Hewett how he’s been…

Getting Stuck In

Rotorua-raised Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley, 23, hopes to play for England in the Six Nations and, according to the Telegraph’s Paul Ackford, “Hartley is a find for England because he plays…