Ruling the roost
Sam James isn't chicken about talking up Sale's chances of challenging at the top
Jamie Lyall
09 Apr 2021, 3:27
Contributors
Jamie Lyall
@jlyall93
After abandoning a career in veterinary medicine, Jamie turned to sports journalism six years ago, aiming to harness his passions for sport, writing, and complementary pre-match buffets. While his career has not grown as prolifically as his body fat percentage, he was fortunate enough to learn his trade with Planet Rugby and BBC Scotland before entering the freelance world. He has since been offered several brilliant opportunities to launch his commentary career, and when not writing for RugbyPass, can often be found bellowing names into a microphone for the BBC, BT Sport and others.
Never give up hope
A scintillating Six Nations, a try-fest in the Premiership and a familiar Pro14 ending, it's all in our weekend wrap
Jamie Lyall
29 Mar 2021, 7:49
'I thought it was a p***-take... five clubs were looking for a lock, one was Toulon. I just told him: get me there'
Andy Cramond fetched up on the Cote d’Azur a bundle of nerves, convinced that the most storied club in Europe had made some terr…
Jamie Lyall
25 Mar 2021, 13:18
On a wing and a prayer
Scotland can still party like it's 1999 in France despite missing Sean Maitland
Jamie Lyall
24 Mar 2021, 12:33
Why Ben Vellacott is heading north at the third time of asking
For Ben Vellacott, the 2023 World Cup is Everest. But if the electric little scrum-half is to make it out of the foothills, his su…
Jamie Lyall
23 Mar 2021, 14:00
Groundhog Day
More heartbreak and yet more frustration. Will Scotland ever become Six Nations contenders?
Jamie Lyall
20 Mar 2021, 4:06
Cockerill on 4-man shortlist for Clermont top job
Edinburgh’s Richard Cockerill is on a four-strong shortlist of candidates to become the next Clermont head coach.
Jamie Lyall
18 Mar 2021, 12:23
'When I told him that Gregor Townsend had called me, my dad was a bit quiet and taken aback'
Little Josh Bayliss clamped himself to his father’s legs and wept, arms straining in the forlorn hope that through sheer will al…
Jamie Lyall
14 Mar 2021, 6:42
Who is Sione Tuipulotu and is he Scotland's next centre?
The Scottish roots of Jaqueline Anne Thomson have given powerful back Sione Tuipulotu a pathway from Japan to Glasgow and maybe Te…
Jamie Lyall
09 Mar 2021, 13:20
The arms race
How do you keep top players in Scotland? And how do you replace the ones who leave? Recruitment supremo Jan McGinity lifts the lid…
Jamie Lyall
05 Mar 2021, 7:57
Out in the cold
Can even a rugby nation as rich as England afford to keep ignoring the untapped brilliance on its shores?
Jamie Lyall
04 Mar 2021, 6:17
'The PRO14 benefited from the Cheetahs... it was a very shocking thing to have to accept'
A recent Currie Cup and Super Rugby Unlocked winner with the Bulls, Sintu Manjezi is still unhappy over how Cheetahs were treated …
Jamie Lyall
02 Mar 2021, 12:15
Scotland centre Huw Jones to join Bayonne
Scotland centre Huw Jones will leave Glasgow for Top 14 side Bayonne at the end of the season. The 27-year-old's Warriors contract…
Jamie Lyall
26 Feb 2021, 2:54
Thrill seekers
Welsh enigma, Sinners become Saints, Ireland's redemption man, Munster's old dog for the hard road
Jamie Lyall
22 Feb 2021, 9:03
'I can't sulk or be upset. Gregor and I have been in contact and he's told me what I need to do'
In a year of chicanes, Rory Hutchinson began the new season injured, spent much of the middle chunk negotiating a Covid-19 outbrea…
Jamie Lyall
21 Feb 2021, 5:54
'Us jackalers have to firstly accept that we're going to be on the end of massive collisions, probably higher than anything else in the game'
“I feel like I’m 35,” laughs 24-year-old Will Evans, as he enters the Zoom meeting with a spectacular shiner around his left…
Jamie Lyall
18 Feb 2021, 14:13
'How can I put this? Every time that I tried something different, he had a counter'
Boan Venter .spent Valentine’s Day alone in self-isolation half the world away from his fiancée. Holed up in the plush Edinburg…
Jamie Lyall
18 Feb 2021, 7:36
'Montpellier have all the money in the world, they can get close to success, but it was guys collecting paycheques'
In an Auckland hotel bed, Nic White stirred and reached for his mobile phone. The screen illuminated, displaying a slew of missed …
Jamie Lyall
14 Feb 2021, 2:09
Tables Turned
George Turner began the season as Scotland's third-choice hooker. He started 2021 by conquering Twickenham. This is his story.
Jamie Lyall
12 Feb 2021, 4:37
Scotland's madcap, glorious truth? This was no heist
At the end of it all, rain lashing at his brow and pride erupting in his heart, Stuart Hogg sank to his haunches and stared into t…
Jamie Lyall
07 Feb 2021, 4:10
