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The referee initially allowing a Leicester try despite a clear knock-on in the build-up. Harlequins wing Cameron Anderson, concussed on the floor, being shown a red card. England team-mates Alex Dombrandt and Ollie Chessum squaring up.

There were plenty of flashpoints at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday.

Yet the dedicated away fans section stubbornly refused to ignite into more than mild frustration.

On the fringes, where Richard Buck, sporting a Harlequins’ striped blazer, and Phil Ellis, a slightly bewildered Leicester season ticket holder of 16 years, sat side by side, the only thing lobbed between the two were pleasantries and cheery small talk.

“I’ve been a bit ambused by this today,” Ellis smiled. “You usually get the odd smattering of away fans but this is a bit more concentrated than normal.”

‘Away ends arrive in rugby’ shouted the headlines – including our’s – last month when Premiership Rugby last announced two trial matches with specified areas for visiting supporters.

It is a story with couple of caveats though.

Firstly, they aren’t really away ends. At least certainly not the aggro-and-pyro, strict segregation scenario the phrase brings to mind in this country.

Fans are not kept apart. And neither are they forced to sit with their own tribe. The option to mix in with the hosts is still there and taken by many.

And, secondly, away ends haven’t just arrived in rugby. Travelling fan groups have been block-booking sections of opposition stands off their own backs for decades.

Quinssa – Harlequins’ supporters association – are one of the most proactive.

They have concentrated more than a thousand fans together on European jaunts, where ticket offices are more accommodating and the idea of any travelling fans is novel.

Their members, given a dedicated area because of Covid restrictions of the time, helped inspire their team’s semi-final comeback against Bristol at Ashton Gate in 2021.

“It is a great initiative,” said Leicester chief executive Andrea Pinchen, playing host.

“We want to be innovative, we want to try new things and it adds to the atmosphere with fans of both sides getting louder and louder,”

Her Quins counterpart Laurie Dalrymple, who was previously managing director of Premier League football side Wolves, agrees.

“It isn’t the catch-all that is going to fix all the challenges we have had in our sport over the past few years, but not necessarily about that,” he said.

There was certainly a diversity of opinions in the stands.

Neither Buck or Ellis thought it was necessary.

“We all should mix,” said Ellis. “I have been all over the country with Leicester and I don’t want to particularly sit with Leicester fans, I just go and look for the best seat!”

Elsewhere, there was support.

“If you are with people you know, who support the same team, you are going to be more confident,” said Megan Schroeder.

“You are going to chant more, you are going to sing more, there is more hype and enjoyment.

“Whereas if you are just surrounded by opposition fans, it makes you think you might just sit and be quiet.

“I am all for it,” added Brandon Wells.

“It builds the atmosphere, and you are more inclined to travel if you are sat with people you know and you can sing the same songs.

“I am worried our game is going to die. We need to grow the game and this is a step in the right direction.”

Nick and Joel Baker, attending with their Leicester-supporting partners and sat among the Tigers fans, summed up the split.

“I am a bit more old school,” said Nick. “I like mixing in together and having a laugh and a bit of fun. There is never any nastiness at rugby, it’s not like football where you need the segregation. I am not a great fan of it, to be honest.”

“I think it is good to have the option,” said Joel. “If you support a club and now live in a different part of the country, it is nice to sit in with your fellow fans.

As Leicester’s lead stretched out in the second half, the volume dipped on the London voices though.

The lowing sound of ‘C’mon you Quins’ and more youthful chanting of star fly-half Marcus Smith’s name become less frequent and more quiet.

Only 500-odd strong, Harlequins fans were unlikely to break through often, even if the match had been more even.

By contrast, Gloucester’s fans, congregated in the more sparsely-attended Stonex Stadium for last weekend’s first trial match, made their presence felt and voices heard with some pithy chants about the deficiencies of London life and Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke.

Whatever Burke made of it, other players have been supportive of the idea.

Harlequins flanker Will Evans, who has spoken about the benefits of away support for visiting teams and the league as a whole, notably offered up applause to the Quins section.

Leicester’s players also relish focused pockets of support when on the road, according to Pinchen.

Whether they will see more of it on next season’s travels will depend on how Premiership Rugby, who will rebrand the competition for the next campaign, and its clubs’ leaders, not all of whom have initially been keen, assess these two experiments.

Played 10, lost 10. That is the miserable performance of Wales’ two national teams at the 2025 Six Nations in 86 challenging days.

It has been a miserable and turbulent three months, from the 43-0 Friday night Paris mauling France’s men’s side of Wales in January to the 44-12 hammering by Italy’s women in late April.

If Welsh rugby’s new performance director Dave Reddin had needed a reminder of the enormous task he is tasked with, he would have simply had to observe what is happening in Parma on Sunday.

The first women’s team to lose all five of their Six Nations matches was Sean Lynn’s team.

Wales won the Six Nations title in 2024 and 2025, and the men have a record of doing so in recent years.

In the 20 matches that have been played in the four competitions over the past 16 months, only one victory has been won: Wales women’s sneaky victory over Italy at Principality Stadium in April 2024, a success that was greeted as if the hosts had won the World Cup.

In his opening press conference last week, Reddin used expressions like “low ebb” to describe Welsh rugby. He did not violate the law.

With at least 11 more games on the 2025 schedule, the former FA and Team GB performance expert now has the unenviable task of changing Wales’ ailing national sides.

Warren Gatland, who left after the Six Nations defeat to Italy in Rome in February, will be replaced by Reddin, who will be in charge of finding a permanent men’s head coach from Rome until September.

Matt Sherratt, the new coach for Cardiff, oversaw three more defeats.

If the new coach isn’t in place in time, Sherratt might be asked to take Wales to Japan in July.

The successful candidate will begin with the lowest possible starting position.

With 17 successive international defeats, the most by a tier-one nation in the history of professional football, this Wales team has become the unwanted history boys, matching Scotland’s losing streak between 1951 and 1955.

Their most recent test victory came in the World Cup in Nantes in October 2023 when they defeated Georgia.

The most recent setback was a record-breaking defeat by England in Cardiff in March, 68-14.

With 11 consecutive Six Nations losses to their name, Wales became the first to lose every game in two different competitions. As a result, they won the Wooden Spoon.

Wales are 12th in the world rankings, just one place ahead of Eddie Jones’ Japan team, who they face this summer.

2025 Six Nations

Friday, January 31; France 4-0 Wales; Paris

Italy 22-15, Wales, Rome, Saturday, February 8th.

Wales 18-27 Ireland, Cardiff, Saturday, February 22.

Scotland 35-29 Wales, Edinburgh, Saturday, March 8, 2018.

Saturday, 15 March, Wales 14-68 England, Cardiff

The last items are fixtures.

Saturday, July 5, 2018, Kitakyushu (TBC) vs. Japan and Wales

Japan v. Wales, Kobe (TBC) on Saturday, 12 July.

Wales vs. Argentina matchup on November 9 at Cardiff (15:10 GMT).

Saturday, 15 November, Wales v Japan, Cardiff (17: 40 GMT)

Wales vs. New Zealand match on Saturday, November 22 at Cardiff (10:10 GMT).

Wales entered the 2025 tournament optimistically given that the WRU had chosen Sean Lynn as their new women’s head coach despite the wooden spoon from the previous year.

In three seasons with Gloucester-Hartpury that won the league, this man only lost six games.

Even his “family” culture and his winning mindset were unable to save Wales from its deepest despair.

Lynn watched his team being outclassed and outmuscled in their final four matches despite a promising start with a respectable defeat against Scotland.

The scale of the scores against Ireland and Italy, two rival nations that Wales had previously defeated, was most alarming.

Lynn made it abundantly clear that things must change, including some of the players, who he claimed were insufficiently skilled to compete internationally.

For the summer’s two-test tour of Australia in July and, more importantly, the World Cup, he has a few weeks to change the starting lineup.

Wales will face Scotland, Canada, and Fiji in the group stage, with the goal of reaching the quarter-finals, during the two-day international competition that will take place in England in August and September.

Given how unemployed Wales have been for the past two months, that may not be enough time.

Six Nations 2025

Scotland 24-21 Wales, Saturday, 22 March, Edinburgh

Saturday, 29 March, Wales 12-67 England, Cardiff

Saturday, 12 April, France 42-12 Wales, Brive

Sunday, 20 April, Wales 14-40 Ireland, Newport

Sunday, 27 April, Italy 44-12 Wales, Parma

The last items are fixtures.

Australia v. Wales, SE Queensland (TBC) on Saturday, July 26.

Australia v. Wales, Sydney (TBC) on Friday, August 1 (TBC).

Wales v. Scotland, Salford on August 23 (14:45 BST).

Saturday, 30 August, Wales v Canada, Salford (12: 00 BST)

As preparations were being finalised in the UK capital for the London Olympics, 430 miles north, Celtic were celebrating their first league title in four years.

The year was 2012 in Ayrshire on a sunny, but cold day. Neil Lennon’s side had just thumped Kilmarnock 6-0 at Rugby Park.

Rangers, a city rival, were battling to stay afloat as the Parkhead side celebrated after going into administration two months prior.

In turbulent waters, the tide was turning in Scottish football, but few could have predicted it would lead to a period of single-club dominance unprecedented in the Scottish game.

Some contend that Celtics were already in position a long time ago. The evidence is strong, especially off the field, but on the pitch, the run that led them to 13 league titles in 14 seasons as well as eight Scottish Cups and eight League Cups, started that afternoon in Ayrshire.

The evidence of Celtic’s ruth against their rivals would be obvious and simple to find. After all, it has been a full 40 years since Aberdeen became the last club outside the Glasgow giants to take Scottish football’s biggest prize.

There are very basic ingredients to success in football. Find the ideal manager to lead the right team, and achievements should come in handy. Of course, a good business model underpins all of that – more on that later.

On the pitch and in the dugout, consistency is important. In the 13 seasons that have come and gone since that win at Rugby Park, Celtic have been managed by just four men.

Management stability in the Celtic success story cannot go unnoticed or ignored despite the fact that Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers have served two different terms.

In Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou, the club has also employed managers whose success in Glasgow has led to Premier League callings.

Only Ronny Deila out of the four had a win rate of less than 70%. Perhaps not surprising at a club like Celtic, but remember, during the current period of domination, Celtic have won the domestic treble on five occasions. Yes, you can win, but you must also succeed consistently and convincingly.

As seasoned football pundit and former Scotland winger Pat Nevin suggested: “They’ve chosen good managers.

Celtic’s recent dominance on the pitch has been mirrored by their financial results from the boardroom. One doesn’t just follow the other, as one does in football, but it helps.

They have avoided racking up huge debts to secure their silverware. It was achieved through prudent financial management and a business strategy that focused on player participation in European competition and player trading. Both have contributed hugely to Celtic’s success.

On paper, player trading success appears straightforward: profit more from selling than buying while maintaining the same level of success. It’s an equation with so many variables, that few clubs crack the code.

Around 2004 Celtic changed their approach to player trading. Their basic principle was to prioritise the signing of young players under the age of 24. Since the 2011-2012 season, Celtic have invested about £213 million in players and made about £260 million in players, according to the football statistics website Transfermarkt.

In only four of those seasons has the club spent more on players than it made selling. The sale of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal for £23 million, Matt O’Riley to Brighton & Hove Albion for around £25 million, Jota to Al-Ittihad for around £25 million, and to Arsenal for around £25 million is one of the success stories.

Selling big players and re-investing sensibly until the next one comes along has been the key. Compare the performance of Glasgow to Manchester City, who made a profit in player trading in just one of those seasons and suffered a loss overall on player sales of more than £1 billion.

And they’ve made the most money in the Champions League. In the 14 seasons in question, Celtic have qualified for the competition’s group stage or league phase seven times.

Celtic made more than £30 million from participation alone this year, excluding ticket sales and lodging. Compare that to the £4.5m the club picked up for winning the league and you can understand why they see Champions League qualification as crucial to long-term growth.

Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa’s deputy general secretary, pulls the balls from pots on Champions League draw day. He knows how crucial participation is for clubs like Celtic these days – but not just for the bottom line.

Every club should participate in the Champions League and other Uefa competitions, he said.

” The European stage offers clubs, their coaches, their players, development opportunities, exposure, status and it boosts the excitement and enthusiasm of the fan base. “

Additionally, it gives you greater influence and sponsorship prospects in powerful areas. Celtic’s former chief executive and now club chairman, Peter Lawwell, has been a key figure on the European Club Association board for many years.

Participation is one thing, of course, but it’s not a secret that Celtic have historically struggled at the top. What the club has been clever to market is the atmosphere at Celtic Park on European nights.

Marchetti remarked that Celtic is a historic European club with a sizable and devoted fan base.

In truth, successful player trading and increased participation in the Champions League have fundamentally contributed to Celtic becoming financially untouchable in Scottish football in recent years.

The club has turned into a well-oiled machine, producing both profits for shareholders and trophies for their fans. In only two of the past 14 seasons have Celtic posted a loss – and one of those was during a global pandemic.

Compare that to Rangers, who last made post-tax profits in the 2012/13 season. The Parkhead club’s latest figures showed a turnover of £124.5m, more than £40m above their closest rivals and a whopping £108m more than third-placed Hibernian.

During Celtic’s decades of dominance in football, they have generated a combined profit of £112 million. In stark contrast, Rangers posted a combined loss of £132m.

Kieran McGuire, a price-of-football.com expert on football finance, believes that many people will be envious of their stats and business model.

” If you contrast it to clubs in England, in season 2023-24, 19 of the 20 clubs lost money, “Maguire said.

West Ham, who has a stadium that the local taxpayers subvention, is the only club to have made money.

“They have had relatively modest wage bills, certainly in comparison to south of the border, but the wages compared to the rest of Scottish football are normally in the region of 10 times the likes of St Mirren, Ross County and St Johnstone – and probably four times that of Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen”.

Despite this, Celtic fans have long demanded more money from the profits, which Maguire can understand to some extent.

That caution has led to stability. What impact can uncertainty have on global business in recent weeks and months? Business craves stability, not only in the marketplace but in the boardroom. Football is the same as football.

Since 1999, Celtic have been essentially controlled by just one man, Irish businessman Dermot Desmond. Ross County is the only current Scottish Premiership club that hasn’t changed ownership since Desmond took control of the east end of Glasgow.

The majority of the league’s other clubs have changed hands twice in the same period. Stability in the boardroom cannot be underestimated in the world of Scottish football, not just for the bottom line but for influence and muscle it can afford clubs on the boards of the various governing bodies.

Geoff Brown was chairman of St Johnstone from 1986-2011. He claimed that “football boardrooms have drastically changed.”

With Celtic disappearing over the horizon, what is left in the rear view mirror?

There is little evidence that their continued dominance has had a positive impact on the Scottish game in general, aside from providing a successful model for others to follow and European solidarity payments made to other clubs.

In fact, Maguire believes it may even be harmful to the Scottish football brand.

He claimed that this makes it even more challenging to sell the product globally.

“What fans like is uncertainty and jeopardy and Celtic have been so successful, that if you know the Scottish Premiership is going to be effectively sewn up by January or February, then why bother to turn on the television?

Who knows what Scottish football would have looked like if Rangers hadn’t collapsed in 2012, but the Celtic way of operating a business model that was built on stability and prudence suggests they had a strong case for supremacy in any case.

The one thing footballing history has taught us, though, is that dominance usually comes to an end at some point. Rangers must undoubtedly find their feet on and off the pitch in order for this to occur in Scotland.

With takeover talks ongoing at Ibrox, fans are optimistic that Celtic’s dominance could soon be properly challenged by fresh investment from the United States.

The new owners should be aware of the challenges they face in order to bring Rangers back to the top of Scottish football, but the club must be taken over. For the pendulum to swing properly, Rangers must start being successful in areas where their rivals have been untouchable.

The construction of solid foundations must replace quick fixes. With the proper funding, they must find managers who can deliver domestic success that leads to Champions League participation, use the cash from Europe wisely and develop an enviable player trading model, all underpinned by long-term boardroom stability.