Andrew Trimble talks to the media following Ulster's 22-19 victory over Edinburgh. Ulster will face Leinster in the final of the competition next month in an all-Irish battle at Twickenham. Leinster confirmed their place in the final after beating tough French opposition Clermont by 19 points to 15. Audio courtesy of Amlin and Talking Rugby.

Leinster scrum coach and former All Black Greg Feek talks to David Brady of Talking Rugby and Amlin ahead of facing Clermont Auvergne in Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon.

Ulster's Andrew Trimble talks to David Brady from Talking Rugby whose European partners are Amlin. Trimble looks ahead to Ulster v Edinburgh this weekend in the Heineken Cup semi-finals where the winner will face either Leinster or Clermont in the final.

By Andrew Reynolds

So the playoff group stages in the Championship have drawn to a close and ironically the top four of the regular season will play each other in the Semi –finals, Bristol v Cornish Pirates and Bedford v London Welsh.

At the bottom we say farewell, for a season at least, to Esher, with London Scottish managing to survive. Esher can perhaps look at the effect the World Cup had on them with a very poor start to the season, their recent results suggest they are somewhat unlucky.

By Graeme McNicol

Sorry for the delay with this latest blog… to say I’ve been busy is an understatement. So what have Lanark Rugby been up to?

Well we’ve taken a couple of steps closer to our chance of back-to-back titles, we beat Bishopton Rugby 69 – 12 on our home turf on the 17th March and then on the 31st March we beat Strathclyde Police 36 – 12 away from home.

Also well done to Bishopton’s Andy Jackson for getting the RBS Club Volunteer of the Month for March.

Saints have now gone a point ahead of the Chiefs in the battle for 4th place and the final Aviva Premiership play-off place. Exeter will have a tough match next week with Saracens but Northampton will look to beat Worcester in the final round. Russell Hargreaves caught up with Exeter captain Tommy Hayes after their narrow defeat to Northampton. Click 'play' to listen to the interview.

They have been impressing ever since they entered the Aviva Premiership. Promotion was the best thing to happen to Exeter Chiefs for years and now they are pushing for the Aviva Premiership title – something they do have a real chance of winning.

Some will argue that the likes of Saracens, Leicester and Harlequins will be too strong for Exeter but their first challenge is to cement a top four place. The Chiefs will take on fifth place Northampton this afternoon in a game that could decide whether they make the play-offs or not.

Following rumours that Gloucester Rugby could take legal action against Sale Sharks after the resignation of head coach Bryan Redpath, Steve Diamond spoke to the media about the situation. Click 'play' below to listen to what Diamond had to say.

As the Aviva Premiership draws nearer to a thrilling conclusion, we've predicted the results for this weekend's matches. Newcastle hosted Saracens last night and came away with one point, making the battle for Premiership survival even closer.

The Falcons will be hoping that Bath can do them a favour by beating Wasps this afternoon which will ensure Newcastle still have a chance of staying in the Premiership next season.

England Sevens star Chris Cracknell caught up with Nick Heath from the RFU.com podcast to preview the Marriott London Sevens. Cracknell describes the year as "up and down" so far and to hear the full interview click the 'play' button below.

Leicester's Tongan forward Steve Mafi has been named as the Aviva Premiership's Player of the Month for March. Simon Ward went to the training ground to talk to him ahead of this weekend's top of the table clash with Harlequins.

Gloucester Rugby have confirmed the signing of All Black scrum-half Jimmy Cowan. Along with the signings of Ben Morgan and Billy Twelvetrees, their squad will be significantly boosted next season.

Cowan has made over 50 appearances for the All Blacks and has also appeared many times for Super Rugby club the Highlanders.

Rumours of a move to Gloucester have been circulating for a while now but with the possible departure of Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson, Gloucester would be in need of a world class scrum-half.

By David van der Merwe - South Africa Writer

Butch James announced his retirement from International rugby on Monday 16 April 2012, at the age 33. He said it wasn't an easy decision to make but that the time has come to make it. He will continue playing for the Lions for now. Here is a look at James' life and career up to now.

Andrew David James was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on 8 January 1979. His Grandmother gave him the nickname Butch as a baby and he has been called that ever since. Butch attended Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal. He started his club career at College Rovers in 1998 and went on to make his professional debut for the Sharks in 1999.

Newcastle Director of Rugby Gary Gold spoke to the media after his side's crucial victory over Gloucester in the battle for Premiership survival.

Gold remained upbeat despite Newcastle sitting at the foot of the Premiership table. To listen to a three minute audio clip, press the 'play' button below.

Following Gloucester's losses against Newcastle Falcons and London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership, head coach Bryan Redpath admitted his men aren't performing well enough.

Heyneke Meyer

By David van der Merwe

Heyneke Meyer today announced the first of three Springbok training squads in preparation for the Inbound Tours later this year.

The squad consists of Cheetahs and Lions players as they have a bye next weekend and the camp will be held from 16-19 April. Two more camps are scheduled with players from the Sharks and Bulls attending between 23-26 April and the Stormers players between 1-3 May.

Saracens head coach Andy Farrell has turned down the chance to permanently become a part of Stuart Lancaster's coaching team with England.

Saracens and the RFU had been in negotiations after Stuart Lancaster confirmed he wanted Farrell to become a part of his coaching team following his stint in the interim coaching team for the Six Nations.

However, Farrell has declined England's offer and has opted to stay with Aviva Premiership champions Saracens where his son Owen Farrell plays domestic rugby.

Hilton HHonors™ is giving you the opportunity to win a variety of rugby prizes and experiences worth sharing!

Register and stay at any hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands and complete your stay between 1 January 2012 and 16 April 2012 (inclusive) to be in with a chance to experience one of the following:

• 1 hospitality box (10 places) at the 2012 Aviva Premiership Final - including 1 nights’ accommodation* (5 rooms), plus 50,000 Hilton HHonors™ points for the winner
• 3 x 4 best category tickets to the 2012 Aviva Premiership Final
• 5 x 4 best category tickets to an Aviva Premiership Match next season* (choice from rounds 1 to 4)

Leinster head coach Joe Schmidt spoke to the media following his side's victory over Cardiff Blues at the weekend to send them into the Heineken Cup semi-finals with a game against Top 14 side Clermont.


Credit: Amlin/Amlin Opta Index

Stuart Cameron from Talking Rugby spoke to Edinburgh's heroic fly-half Greig Laidlaw following their memorable victory over Toulouse at Murrayfield.

The win makes Laidlaw's side the first Scottish team to ever make it into the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

By Andrew Reynolds

As sportsmen all you want is to win and if you win the league, then get promoted. Well, if you’re a player in the Championship, you can put your body on the line as much as you like but it’s out of your hands.

The RFU has a list as long as 3 arms of certain criteria that have to be met to gain promotion into the top flight, oh and it all has to be in place in the depths of winter before you win the play off finals in mid-May. What is going on?

Brad Barritt and Mark McCall talk to Nick Heath ahead of the Heineken Cup quarter-final weekend and Saracens' crucial clash with Clermont at Vicarage Road on Sunday.

Amlin ambassador Lawrence Dallaglio spoke to Nick Heath from Rugby Media recently ahead of the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup.

By Andrew Reynolds

Let’s be honest we as supporters like nothing better than telling the match officials the error of their ways or what they have missed, but as soon as the game is over shouldn't we be focusing on the rugby?

Sadly at the moment in the Championship 24, 48 hours or longer after the game is over the numerous message boards associated with each club are full of comments about the standard or the match officials.

The RFU have repeatedly said it has identified the importance of the Championship to develop the next generation of international players, many clubs have forged links for the loan of players, Leicester with Nottingham, Cornish Pirates with Exeter and Saracens with Bedford. Look at the England team which faced Ireland, 18 months ago Owen Farrell was playing for Bedford, Dan Cole, Mouritz Botha also learnt their trade on the Goldington Road Pitch. Most of the England A players have played in the Championship.