2025 has begun and a year of rugby excitement awaits. With it being a World Cup year for the Women’s game and a Lions tour […]
Latest Posts
Fin Smith’s last-minute penalty lifts Northampton Saints over Bath in Premiership final rematch
By Charlie Elliott Northampton Saints edged out Bath in a nine-try thriller at Franklin Gardens, with a last-gasp Fin Smith penalty sealing a bonus point […]
Premiership Team of the Week: Fin Smith and Tom Willis impress again to strengthen England cases
By Charlie Elliott This weekend of Premiership action provided the perfect mix of technical flair and big men bulldozing through that make the game of […]
Stick with Marcus Smith, he’s the best in England
By Paul Rees Steve Borthwick has put three outside halves on hybrid contracts and he has less than a month to decide which one to […]
Leicester Tigers chasing dream double
By Gary Fitzgerald Nicky Smith insists Leicester Tigers will not be content unless they complete a “dream double” as Michael Cheika’s men target domestic and […]
Steve Borthwick and England facing historic USA test
EXCLUSIVE By Jon Newcombe England’s summer tour will include a historic Test against the USA, as well as the already announced two-match series against Argentina. […]
Computer games annoy Alex Sanderson
By Mark Stevens Angry Alex Sanderson has vowed to channel the perceived lack of respect for his Sale Sharks side into a driving force for […]
Rob Baxter: Fixture schedule hurting us
By Mark Stevens If tackling the elite of English and European rugby was not enough for Exeter Chiefs to contend with, director of rugby Rob […]
Tom Parton off to Japan
Saracens full-back Tom Parton has left the club to join Japanese side Panasonic Wild Knights. The 26-year-old, who also plays wing, joined Sarries from London […]
Will Muir’s aiming to hit the target with Bath
By Mark Stevens Darts-loving winger Will Muir hopes Bath can hit the bullseye in 2025 having gone so close to Premiership glory last season. Back […]
I can’t see me returning to coaching, says Geordan Murphy
By Jon Newcombe Former Leicester boss Geordan Murphy has revealed he is still scarred by the manner of his departure from the Tigers and is […]
George Hendy in position to drive Northampton Saints on
By Paul Rees George Hendy’s career has a theme running through it – keep pushing and see where you end up. The 22-year-old fullback who […]
Jack Walker’s eager to build on last year’s success with Harlequins
By Paul Rees Jack Walker has warm memories of last season when he was part of England’s World Cup squad, his daughter was born […]
Pat Lam: Fitz Harding is good enough for England
By Paul Rees Pat Lam’s New Year wish is for his Bristol captain Fitz Harding to gain international recognition after a number of eye-catching performances […]
Time for a root change to way we run our sport
I note that much has been written about the future of the RFU CEO Board which hopefully will be resolved in the not-too-distant future. However […]
We need return to the County game
In Rugby Paper December 29, Paul Rees refers to Exeter’s Rob Baxter, whose club were bottom of the Premiership after eight successive defeats. Exeter are […]
Too easy to blame governing body
Congratulations to Paul Rees for his piece last week offering a reasoned and balanced assessment of the risks associated with a peremptory sacking of the […]
Great to see a big match on ITV
Big game: Tommy Reffell on the attack for Leicester against Harlequins PICTURE: Getty images WELL said Peter Warren, TRP letters 29/12/2024. If you enjoy a […]
Time for Northampton Saints to push Bath up front
By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken and unmissable every week Northampton are the Premiership’s reigning champions, and when you are in that position you want to […]
Ben Youngs steps up to make sure for Leicester Tigers
By Rob Wildman Leicester …………………….. 28pts Tries: Cracknell 14, Henderson 33, Hassell-Collins 68, Youngs 77 Exeter …………………………… 15pts Conversions: Pollard 14, 33, 68, 77 Tries: […]
Rob Baxter baffled by Will Rigg yellow
Exeter boss Rob Baxter claimed he was “baffled” by referee Christophe Ridley sin-binning substitute wing Will Rigg in the 65th minute for obstructing Leicester full-back […]
Tom Willis on a rampage to ignite Saracens
By Brendan Gallagher Saracens …………………….. 35pts Tries: Willis 7, 39; Cinti 47, Burke 16, 77 Conversions: Lozowksi 8, 17 Penalties: Daly 33; Lozowksi 70 Bristol […]
Pat Lam: I’m pleased with the bonus
Bristol’s director of rugby Pat Lam was pleased by the way his side refused to give up. He said: “The boys did well to get […]
Tomos Williams in control to finish off Sale Sharks
By Paul Rees Gloucester ………………….. 36pts Tries: Carreras 5, Llewellyn 20, 60; Hathaway 25, Williams 76 Conversions: Carreras 21, 26, 61, 77 Penalty: Carreras 13 […]
George Skivington: That was a test of resilience and we passed
George Skivington praised his players for not letting getting on the wrong side of the referee deflect them as they recorded as third successive Premiership […]
Harlequins leave it late to power past Newcastle Falcons
By Luke Jarmyn Newcastle …………………….14pts Tries: Radwan 32, Redshaw 65 Conversions: Connon 33, 66 Harlequins ………………….. 38pts Tries: Chisholm 9, Smith 36, Walker 70, Beard […]
Steve Diamond: We must go back to basics
Steve Diamond pledged that his Newcastle side will “have to go back to basics” after watching them capitulate and concede three tries in the final […]
Ollie Lawrence: We want to do double over Saints
By Jon Newcombe Match Preview Northampton v Bath – Kick-off 3pm, Franklin’s Gardens For Ollie Lawrence, last year’s Premiership final defeat to Northampton is firmly […]
Northampton Saints ring the changes
Saints rounded off 2024 with a resounding 61-0 victory over Newcastle Falcons last weekend and director of rugby Phil Dowson has made five changes as […]
Hybrid Hash will tie Steve Borthwick in knots
By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The description ‘Hybrid Central Contracts’ does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually means a bit of […]
Pressure growing for SGM changes
The heat around an SGM is building, with the motion for the removal of Bill Sweeney as chief executive, and changes to governance, accountability, financial […]
Luke Cowan-Dickie: I’m back and buzzing
By Mark Stevens Luke Cowan-Dickie’s journey back to the pinnacle of rugby is nothing short of extraordinary. The tenacious hooker, known for his uncompromising physicality […]
Lotte Sharp: It’s been toughest season ever at Saracens
By Ben Jaycock Lotte Sharp says Saracens are enduring the most difficult campaign since she joined the club 10 years ago but stresses they have […]
Dream Team – Sam Cross
SAM CROSS, THE FORMER GB SEVENS AND NEWPORT, OSPREYS, NEWCASTLE AND TARBES FLANKER, WHO IS NOW AT MERTHYR RFC, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS […]
A star-studded XV that would lead by example
By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed Like “business ethics” and “military intelligence”, the phrase “rugby leadership” is not an oxymoron. Almost, but not quite. Even […]
Scarlets in the mood as Dragons set adrift
By Simon Thomas Scarlets …………32pts Tries: Murray 8, 16, Macleod 30, Mee 43 Conversions: Costelow 9, 17, 31 Penalties: Costelow 11, 70 Dragons …………. 15pts […]
Dan Edwards gives Warren Gatland a little to think about
By Roger Panting Cardiff ………………. 13pts Tries: Botham 6, Hughes 54 Penalty: Thomas 70 Ospreys …………….. 13pts Try: Edwards 50 Conversions: Edward 50 Penalties: Edwards […]
Glorious Gerald Davies, a man of true class
By Peter Jackson – The man truly in the know Every now and then, Gerald Davies would take a stroll through the rare old times […]
Springboks and Ireland to still lead the way in 2025
Paul Rees looks forward to 2025 and sees South Africa and Ireland keeping their places at the top of the tree A new year carries […]
Josh Hathaway can follow Louis Rees-Zammit -George Skivington
By Jon Newcombe George Skivington has backed Josh Hathaway to continue to go from strength to strength as the young winger attempts to follow in […]
Six uncapped Welsh youngsters ready to break out
As the new year gets underway, Simon Thomas looks at six uncapped youngsters who could have big Welsh futures Dan Edwards (Ospreys) No one has […]
When the Pontypool front row became a hit
IT’S pretty much 50 years ago to the day that the Pontypool front row became a thing, well sort of. Before January 4, 1975 Charlie […]
A Tier Two XV to have you out of your seat
Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points By Brendan Gallagher You won’t ever see my 2024 Tier 2 All Stars […]
Bumper crowd to greet Ilona Maher – Bristol vs Gloucester-Hartpury Preview
By Ben Jaycock Match Preview Bristol v Gloucester Today. 12.45pm A record-breaking crowd awaits USA superstar Ilona Maher as the American social media sensation looks […]
Powell powers over to take Quins home
■By LUKE JARMYN Trailfinders ………39pts Tries: Evans 11, Beukeboom 19, Zackary 39, 69; Penalty 46, Crake 58, Laflin 66 Conversion: Leatherman 40 Harlequins ………..46pts Tries: […]
Hat-trick star Jones takes centre stage
■By GEORGE WELLBELOVE Leicester ……….38pts Tries: M Jones 5, 18, 21; Henrich 10, 58; Fray 40 Conversions: M Jones 5, 19; Gallagher 40, 58 Sale […]
Sarries set for sprint finish
■By BEN JAYCOCK Preview L’borough v Saracens Today. 5pm A CRUCIAL victory over Bristol Bears before the Christmas break has kept Saracens in the play-off […]
Clow keeps Rams in touch at the top
■By BEN JAYCOCK RAMS’ inward approach is paying dividends with the club involved in another title race thanks in part to free scoring flyer Zachary […]
Clifton are in the Nat Two West promotion mix, says Jay Evans
By Ben Jaycock Clifton took a while to get going this season but after winning eight in a row, 19-year-old back rower Jay Evans feels […]
Adam Brown: We all love the Friday night lights
By Ben Jaycock Leeds Tykes hooker Adam Brown has urged National League clubs to put on more Friday night fixtures following the success of his […]
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