Brendan Gallagher

This is where you will find all of The Rugby Paper’s Brendan Gallagher news, views, opinion and other content.

S Africa is crying out for its own league

21 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IF I remember my A level geography correctly, Africa is moving […]

Great to see Swiss move up the ladder

21 April 2024 0 comments

There will be a new name mixing it with the bigger teams in the Rugby Europe Championship next season after Switzerland clinched their first promotion […]

André, high priest of French running rugby

14 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Andre Boniface, who died earlier this week aged 89, and his younger […]

Here’s hoping we see another drop of magic

7 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S Northampton against Munster in Europe today and for me that can […]

25 years of hurt and counting for Scotland

7 April 2024 0 comments

Scotland fans should look away now but this week – April 10 to be precise – will be the 25th anniversary of their last Championship […]

Time we demanded more from players

1 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THE other weekend – although it could probably be any weekend – […]

Ten Italian tyros who will hit the headlines

24 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS IT’S BECOME almost a mantra or article of faith recently that reinforcements, in the form of a squadron of hungry young guns, are […]

Lucky? No, that was pure skill

17 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THE sainted Antoine Dupont might be on a sabbatical but France enjoyed […]

Did that just happen? Five other jaw dropping moments

17 March 2024 0 comments

FRANS STEYN DROPPED GOAL (2010) The huge Bok centre was playing for Racing at Clermont. His side were trailing 14-12 when Clermont cleared their lines […]

Sticking with Furbank shows England’s attacking intention

10 March 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER I’M tempted to call it bums on seats rugby…. except 82,000 fans at Twickenham and millions back home or down the pub couldn’t […]

For me, this was their finest Six Nations win

10 March 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER Could have beaten England. Should have beaten France, finally did the business against Scotland. Italy took the major scalp that this particular group […]

Sorry Cockers, but it’s Portugal for me

10 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I wish the doughty warriors of Georgia no ill will – on […]

We are going to miss you guys a lot

10 March 2024 0 comments

All career-ending injuries are to be mourned but the last couple of weeks or so have been hard to digest for Italy fans and indeed […]

How one player really can make a team tick

3 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER WHY have France fallen off a cliff ?Can it really all be […]

It doesn’t feel right to see Italy at the bottom

3 March 2024 0 comments

Various non rugby specialists have contacted me this week asking why Italy are currently bottom of the Six Nations table. Patiently I have described the […]

Low degree of danger? This man is just lethal…

25 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER There was a curious moment in the last minute at Murrayfield last night when a message suddenly flashed up on our screens “Duhan […]

As usual, Gibson-Park enjoys life in top gear

25 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER It’s more than a little sobering to think that Ireland’s win over Wales on Saturday was probably their “iffy” performance of their 2024 […]

When the B grade was full of A stars

25 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER AS England A crank back into action today against Portugal A after […]

Don’t let refs help the time wasters

25 February 2024 0 comments

THE sheer perversity of referees helping time wasting goal kickers looking to run the clock down by helpfully counting down the seconds has warranted mention […]

Lisbon? Let’s go…

25 February 2024 0 comments

There are no Six Nations fixtures next weekend but the all singing, all dancing Os Lobos are playing Spain in their REC semi-final in Lisbon. […]

Dutch and Germans proving their worth

18 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Round Three of the Rugby Europe championship concludes in Amsterdam this afternoon […]

Benvenuto! Great to see Lynagh eventually opting for Italy

18 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS EVEN though I recently predicted in The Rugby Paper podcast that Louis Lynagh would be a starting wing for England at the […]

No time to go soft on neck roll

18 February 2024 0 comments

Why isn’t the neck roll an automatic yellow card anymore? In fact, why isn’t the neck roll refereed much anymore full stop? I sat up […]

Are England in transition? Not really, and they should be kicking on purposefully

11 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER Two very average teams produced a pretty sub par Test match in front of an intermittently mute Twickenham crowd with the volume only […]

That was a try – but the record will not reflect it

11 February 2024 0 comments

SIX NATIONS 2024 BRENDAN GALLAGHER THERE is a three-volume book to be written on false dawns, shattered dreams and broken hearts in Scottish rugby and […]

Superstar who paved the way for many more

11 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S hard to quantify genius let alone compare one genius with another – although that never stops us trying – but for what […]

It wasn’t quite Bazball but George’s men did enough to get the job done

4 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER WELL, it wasn’t quite the ‘Bazball’ rugby that Jamie George apparently aspires to – did we really expect things to change overnight? – […]

Why you don’t give up on your dreams

4 February 2024 0 comments

SIX NATIONS 2024 BRENDAN GALLAGHER It’s been said before but needs reiterating on a regular basis but there is no sporting tournament quite like the […]

Confident Crowley shows why he deserves the keys to No.10

4 February 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER SIX NATIONS 2024 Regular readers of The Rugby Paper will recall that I told you a very long time ago that Jack Crowley […]

50 years ago, and it’s a different world

4 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S funny how some things 50 years ago feel so much […]

Unlucky Bev had just the two caps

4 February 2024 0 comments

It was remiss of this column not to note the passing of former Bristol and England prop Bev Dovey last month aged 85. Dovey, below, […]

Farrell’s jumping from fire…into fire

28 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I don’t know about you but it’s occasionally been a bit of a torture watching Owen Farrell struggle with himself ever since England’s […]

The tackle: Different options are available

28 January 2024 0 comments

Dafydd Jenkins’ yellow card last week for Exeter against Bayonne has caused much debate with most people agreeing that is was almost physically impossible for […]

Scots should focus on developing own talent

21 January 2024 0 comments

The international merry-go-round continues. After the best part of a decade of striving for England honours Exeter Chiefs prop Alec Hepburn has suddenly decided he […]

Magnificent tome tells fantastic tales

21 January 2024 0 comments

Take a bow Neil Fissler and Adam Hathaway – much respected members of this parish – for completing a definitive Who’s Who of English rugby […]

No hiding place in those final trials

14 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER For some reason, the good old days have been getting a shoeing […]

When JPR enjoyed his day at court

14 January 2024 0 comments

The late JPR Williams has many claims to sporting fame and one of the more esoteric is that he played in the first ever Open […]

When the selectors made the right calls

7 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S 2024 – a belated Happy New Year by the way – […]

Sir Dicky’s New Year honour is hugely deserved

7 January 2024 0 comments

Everybody west of the Tamar, and indeed way beyond, was delighted that Dicky Evans was elevated to Sir Dicky in the New Year Honours list […]

The day Bancroft created history

7 January 2024 0 comments

TODAY sees the 130th anniversary of the first successful penalty kick in Test rugby with Billy Bancroft, below, landing a tricky 30m effort from wide […]

When Merlene Ottey’s leotard grew nine sizes

31 December 2023 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points NEW Year’s Eve and rugby always brings to mind England’s slightly eccentric […]

Proud men who graced the game

31 December 2023 1 comment

Brendan Gallagher recalls the achievements of those from across the globe that the world of rugby lost in 2023 Sydney Millar CBE (Ballymena, Ireland, Barbarians, […]

Time of goodwill to all (well, nearly all)

24 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER hands out his Christmas goodies… HO HO HO. I’m normally more of a scrooge than a Santa at Christmas but, to […]

Toulouse’s victory over Quins is top of my list

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS THE greatest single performance in the Heineken Cup? That’s a tricky one, there have been so many, but when pressed I normally opt […]

Millar knew how to keep ref onside

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Dr Syd Millar was many things – Ballymena stalwart, redoubtable Ireland Test prop, successful Ireland coach and innovative rugby administrator at the dawn […]

Following in fathers’ footsteps

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS The tradition of “sons of” playing for France U20 is well and truly established now and seems to know no boundaries. Indeed, England […]

A team stuffed full of captains

10 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I was having one final lingering look at that 2003 England reunion […]