Sitting In The Cheap Seats

With player announcements in full flow, CHL fixtures next month and the Elite League season hot on its heels what better time to get back to chatting with players on what they are up to and their thoughts on the season ahead. Fresh off announcing his return to the  Belfast Giants we caught up with Josh Roach . “We're starting to get close to that pre-pre-season time, so I’m enjoying a little bit more relaxing before we get back into it… it won't be long.” Roach tells us, before sharing how he has spent his summer. “I was home for a quick visit right at the end of the season and then we went on a little holiday, but other than that I've just been on the island. It's kind of nice to have some downtime in Belfast and explore around here a bit more.” “You don't really get the opportunity many times to stay for summer in the place you play, so you get comfortable. This is year five for me, so it is really is like a second home and honestly, it feels more weird t...

With Adam Keefe's testimonial and their HospICE Hockey fundraising game in the rear-view mirror, it's time for Belfast Giants to set their sights on the season ahead and their first announcement, late last week, was a belter as they confirmed Keefe would return for another season as head coach. In addition to Keefe's return the first player signing of the new season has been announced, with the return of fan-favourite forward Scott Conway. The team's top scorer last season, is beloved by Giants fans and the sort of character this league needs more of. His ability to wind up the opposition means opposing fans love to hate him and he does a brilliant job of finding motivation for his teammates and weak spots in the opposing team's armour. Conway may have been the first returnee to be announced, but the news is coming thick and fast now, with Scott's linemates David Goodwin and JJ Piccinich back for more and Ben Lake committing to his sixth season at the SSE Arena....

With a little over two weeks to go until the puck drops for head coach Keefe's testimonial game, the Belfast Giants have confirmed the full roster who will be icing to celebrate his time with the Giants and his impact on Belfast. With a who's who of former and current Giants, some well known names for NHL fans and even some of Adam's family, involved it promises to be a fun event as Keefe rotates between the teams to ice with so many influential figures from across his career.  Read on for the full press release. ----- The Stena Line Belfast Giants are pleased to confirm the full roster of players and coaches for Adam Keefe ’s testimonial, which is set to take place at The SSE Arena, Belfast on Sunday 8 June 2025.   The highly anticipated one-night-only celebrate will commemorate the legacy of Adam Keefe – a true Giant in every sense – with a star-studded lineup of players taking to the ice in his honour. Featuring members of the Belfast Giants 2024/25 Challenge Cup and Eli...

photo courtesy of William Cherry, Press Eye It’s EIHL playoff final weekend! After eight months of toil, four teams will face off for the chance to lift the last silverware of the season. First up Belfast Giants take on Cardiff Devils so I caught up with David Goodwin to see how the team are feeling after a battle against Dundee Stars and how ready they are for the games ahead. It was, I suggest, an intense weekend for the team. “Yeah, I mean it was. It always is. The quarterfinals… you never know what you're going to get.” Goodwin replies. “On one hand, you have us, the Giants, who are coming off a league title win, so we're on a high. But then you got Dundee, who don't want to go away quietly. They were fighting and scratching and clawing for every inch and it lead to two feisty games. “I give Dundee a lot of credit. They threw everything they had at us. But ultimately, I think our consistent play, maybe some of our higher skill was able to shine through and get the...

  Last weekend the Belfast Giants etched their names, once again, in the EIHL history books with a record-setting seventh league title. A dramatic win for the men in teal, away in Nottingham in the final minutes of the season, was a fitting end to a spectacular season and though there are still play off games to contend with, the club have made sure to celebrate their success. We caught up with Jeff Baum to see just how much fun was had and to hear about how he keeps focused for the games still to come. “It’s a very unique situation to win a trophy and still have - hopefully - four more games to keep playing. It’s a great honour to have finished out the league season the way we wanted to and to be able to celebrate that together…. That sigh of relief that we’ve been able to accomplish a goal we set ourselves at the beginning of the season. That’s two goals checked off, from the three we set ourselves at the beginning of every season. Now it’s time to reset our mindset, get back ...

It’s the hottest day on record, the south coast swelters as we all look for a way to cool off… and on stage at Chichester Festival Theatre it is hotter still as their big summer musical is launched. So as I write this I’m thankful for two things – the air-conditioning that was added in Chichester’s 2014 relaunch and the sheer joy of Gershwin’s timeless tunes!

With a perfect record of 16 wins from 16 games leading to their fourth promotion in as many seasons London Irish Emeralds – the women’s first 15 for London Irish Amateur RFC – have found their way into Championship 1, the top tier of the RFU women’s leagues and home to some of the most celebrated teams in the game. So how do they look back on last season and what does the future look like for them?

It’s Inter-Services time again, one of my favourite periods in the rugby calendar and as I can’t get along to any of the games in person this year I decided I was long overdue in giving them some publicity. I caught up with some members of the Royal Navy women’s team ahead of them taking on the RAF in Ealing this weekend. It’s clear from the off that there’s a lot of excitement about the game. “I’m really excited” scrum half Olivia Critchley-Peddle exclaims. “It’s been three years since we’ve played this fixture, so nobody knows what to expect!” The score line three years ago favoured the RAF but there’s a distinct change to this year’s tournament as winger Abi Ashby explains “For the first time in a few years it’s almost a level playing field. The Army and RAF have lost their international players to the Six Nations so for the first time the Navy will be able to step up and show what we can do against a similar opposition.” LH Rose Dixon will lead the @RNRugby Senior Women against ...

The Game Changer, Harlequins Women ’s annual showpiece event is probably the biggest league game in the Allianz Premier 15s . Certainly it comes with more hype and fanfare than any other standalone women’s game. This year will be no different as Quins face off against Saracens Women at the Stoop tomorrow.

Bristol Bears Women have been lighting up the Allianz Premier 15s this season with their swashbuckling attacking play and battling attitude. It’s propelled them up the table and if they continue on this trajectory will see them push into the top four come the playoffs too.

Rugby fans talk a lot about the sports vaunted values. Every time the All Blacks are pictured sweeping a dressing room or unloading their own bags social media erupts in a self-righteous frenzy of folk proclaiming the greatness of the sport we love. I think rugby’s great too, but not because a big team do some nice things when a camera is nearby. For me rugby is great because even in the face of insurmountable score lines teams dig in and give it their all. It’s special because people volunteer their time and impact their careers travelling for hours to training and losing whole weekends to go and play games that they know they are not expected to win. Despite all that, players band together, become closer and show all the values of teamwork, respect, and effort that we look for in our heroes. No team encapsulates that better than DMP Durham Sharks and that’s why I’m delighted to kick off a new series diving into every Premier 15s team with these inspiring women!

Battling against wind, cold and impressive opposition London Irish Emeralds continued their excellent start to the season on Sunday. Their win over Portsmouth Valkyries confirming a run of 7 victories from 7 fixtures to put them firmly atop their league.

In front of a noisy, excited crowd at Kingsholm the Remembrance Rugby fixture between UK Armed Forces and Rugby for Heroes promised to be an exciting game even before the first whistle had blown. The UKAF team was without some of their big names, though Josh McNally did travel up to present the team their jerseys, but the Rugby for Heroes squad was littered with familiar names from Premiership and international rugby. Julian Salvi and Jordan Crane in the back row are both familiar faces for rugby fans and Delon Armitage & Tom Varndell might both be retired but they give up their time for so many charity fixtures they still look match fit. Their captain Mike Tindall led from the front and it’s clear he still doesn’t know how to give anything other than his all. Read all about the game over at the UKAF website: https://www.ukafrfc.co.uk/match-report-ukaf-men-v-rugby-for-heroes/

Tomorrow morning will see Simon Middleton name his Red Roses team for the first of the autumn internationals. The team take on the Black Ferns in Exeter and like any match between England and New Zealand it promises to be a spicy affair. Ahead of finding out who Simon names I had a little go at naming a team of my own… I wonder how wrong I will be?

The Allianz Cup kicks off this week, a new cup competition to sit alongside the Premier 15s and give players who aren’t called up for international games some competitive rugby when the league would normally be paused. The format sees the league split into two groups, with the top two teams from each going on to play-offs and eventually a cup final in late April. Ahead of the first round we caught up with Harlequins Women scrum half Emma Swords to find out how preparations are going.

The autumn internationals are upon us and England head coach Simon Middleton has named his England squad ahead of fixtures against New Zealand, Canada and USA. Middleton has named eleven uncapped players in his squad which also includes a number of returning faces. Versatility is the keyword for Simon as players like Maud Muir , Flo Robinson and Holly Aitchison add not only their undoubted skill but also the ability to cover multiple positions. Alex Matthews and Helena Rowland return to the fold after their time with GB7s and are joined by Aitchison whose rangy runs and kicking game could well see her slot into the 12 shirt. Bombastic props Sarah Bern and Hannah Botterman are also back after time out injured and scrum half Leanne Riley is included despite having been injured herself for some time. Other notable inclusions include impressive Gloucester-Hartpury full back Emma Sing and a deserving call up for the ever-impressive Heather Cowell of Harlequins. Check out our video ...

Later this week Simon Middleton will announce the England Women squad for the autumn internationals. These games, against New Zealand, Canada and the USA are the perfect chance to test out options, cap young players and find out who is ready for the World Cup next year. Ahead of the announcement here are five questions bouncing around my head and some thoughts on the players who might answer them.

LONDON-BASED grassroots rugby platform  Fill Your Boots  has launched a brand-new social network, designed to help clubs across the UK find players, fixtures and resources – bringing together the grassroots rugby community like never before.

It’s been a long wait for the return of forces rugby, with inter services games suspended for the last two years due to Covid we’ve missed out on some great matchups, so it was somehow fitting for the return of military women’s rugby to come in the form of a UK Armed Forces match up against Equipe de France Militaire Féminine.

This weekend sees the return of the Allianz Premier 15s and for the first round every game is available to stream! Champions Harlequins will find out that heavy hangs the head that wears the crown. Saracens Women will be looking to get the trophy back in their own cabinet and plenty of other teams will want to push both clubs out of the final game for once! We have a look at all the teams, their round 1 team selections and point out a few players to keep an eye on over the season ahead.