Brendan Gallagher

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

Doddie and Benny lead list of heroes we have lost

31 December 2022 2 comments

Brendan Gallagher remembers those the game has lost over the last 12 months Phil Bennett (Felinfoel, Llanelli, Wales, Barbarians, British and Irish Lions): Died June […]

When the old European Cup was just the ticket

23 December 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER This column has been warning about the decline of the Heineken Cup, […]

Hamza improves on rugby’s record

23 December 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Rugby has a decent record in Strictly Come Dancing – think Austin Healey and Matt Dawson although perhaps not Ugo Monye – and […]

Christmas miracle in the Andes: 50 years on… a tale of survival

23 December 2022 0 comments

By BRENDAN GALLAGER For those of us of a certain age there were possibly two global stories that dominated our adolescence – and my God […]

How baseball kept Bish on right track

18 December 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Ken Poole, the head of economic development for Cardiff City Council, has […]

Mystery surrounds Robinson departure

18 December 2022 2 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER It was a week of departures for Romania, one unexpected but the other less so. First the shock resignation of former England coach […]

Israel banking on the Heat to build profile

11 December 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER One of the more unusual modern days rugby stories is currently […]

So who is the real villain here?

11 December 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – Brendan Gallagher Newcastle’s Carl Fearns has been at the sharp end of professional rugby for nearly 14 years and has never taken […]

England toiling in the foothills

11 December 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I will leave it to others to do the heavy lifting in dissecting the sacking of Eddie Jones but here’s a couple of […]

Remarkable band of Rogue Heroes

4 December 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER The BBC drama series Rogue Heroes concluded on Sunday and, despite one or […]

Only the pin-ups win top awards

4 December 2022 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS What have the following got in common? Brian O’Driscoll, Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx, Fourie Du Preez, Taulupe Faletau, Ma’a Nonu, George Smith, Michael […]

Doddie Weir, a giant among the big men

27 November 2022 0 comments

Brendan Gallagher remembers the hugely popular Scottish and Lions forward who passed away on Saturday It was the moment we all dreaded but knew was […]

Georgia’s triumph shouldn’t be wasted

27 November 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It was bittersweet bordering on intensely frustrating to listen to Georgia’s victorious […]

Give me a break! It’s time we had much more clarity on the advantage law

27 November 2022 2 comments

What’s happening with the advantage law? It’s even more all over the place than usual this season. Have we missed a memo or something? First, […]

15 minutes that had Twickenham rocking

20 November 2022 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER WHY LESS CAN MEAN MORE WHEN IT COMES TO INTERNATIONALS Hard man: Will Stuart powers over PICTURES: Getty Images IF FAMILIARITY can breed […]

Los Lobos keep cool and take their place in France

20 November 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Life with Los Lobos is never dull and, although their excruciating, nail […]

When the Munster haka stole the show

6 November 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I’ve never been a huge fan of the New Zealand haka, believing […]

Sharing delight of beating All Blacks

30 October 2022 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There is rightly much focus on the 50th anniversary tomorrow of Llanelli’s […]

Flexibility key if we want to keep playing

23 October 2022 3 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It’s funny how sport and life often come full circle. Many decades […]

Staying in the game is what matters most

16 October 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Like all of you out there, I have endless sympathy for the […]

Tournament brimming with standout moments

2 October 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT was after round two from memory that I mentioned it might […]

Time for Argentina to host World Cup

25 September 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Sometimes the obvious just stares you in the face. I have long […]

Welsh to the core, but a fine citizen of the world

18 September 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Life was a magical mystery tour for Eddie Butler, usually undertaken on […]

Great timing for the main events

11 September 2022 1 comment

By Brendan Gallagher It might just be a coincidence but most of Her Majesty’s landmark anniversaries were marked by momentous events in the rugby world […]

This is one crazy gang I wouldn’t want to miss

11 September 2022 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER So once more into the breach. Another Premiership season is up and […]

Time for stars to shine at World Cup Sevens

4 September 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points The Rugby World Cup Sevens is upon us again and hopefully the […]

Fans need to buckle up for a bumpy ride

28 August 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It feels like the Gallagher Premiership is tottering a little right now […]

A rugby soap opera that has us hooked

21 August 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER For a tournament that is meant to be struggling, past its sell […]

Why Wade should have been a superstar

21 August 2022 1 comment

Christian Wade was great value on The Rugby Paper podcast earlier this week, the scorer of three of four of the best tries I’ve ever […]

Omanyala enjoys golden finale after leaving Sevens

14 August 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Triumph: Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Commonwealth […]

Tonita connects with his new ‘Taswegian’ friends

14 August 2022 0 comments

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful Iconic Rugby Pictures: PART 123 Ovidiu […]

Exile Zach is next French revelation

3 July 2022 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER – Rugby Matters A weekly look at the game’s other talking points English Rugby, or rather the RFU and Premiership Rugby, have a peculiar […]

Crowley set to enjoy Italy’s ‘Blue summer’

26 June 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points After that brilliant last-minute win over Wales in Cardiff and a fine […]

Burns has final word in tale of two celebrations

19 June 2022 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER THERE was almost too much to absorb in one gulp at Twickenham on Sunday but ultimately it was about Freddie Burns and a […]

Comeback king Sergio aims to bow out in style

8 May 2022 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER RUGBY MATTERS YOU can’t keep a good man down. Sergio Parisse has not been on our radar for a while and a possible […]

How the French are putting RFU to shame

10 April 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I hopped onto the splendid dual language Top 14 website the other […]

New, sleek French are the masters of motion

13 February 2022 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER VERDICT Rugby is more prone to hype than most sports with a large element of the big fight weigh in for most big […]

The Rugby Paper’s Six Nations preview: Green giants can cast long shadow over rivals

30 January 2022 1 comment

Amid the clinking cutlery and a few chinking glasses, The Rugby Paper’s brain’s trust gathered at Jeremy Guscott’s favourite Bath watering hole, Walcot House, to […]

Watching over his teammates, a giant tribute to Kawa

16 January 2022 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER AMPO Ordizia –a small Basque club riding high in fourth place in […]

Barnstorming ‘Bill’ put even the Liddells in the shade

16 January 2022 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER I am indebted to Andrew Beattie, the archivist at Eltham College, for more ‘gen’ on AL ‘Bill’ Gracie who got a […]

The genius of Liddell is recognised at last

9 January 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THIS column has long argued there should be more acknowledgement of Eric […]

A mop-top Gower rises from the past

2 January 2022 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Star turn: King’s 1974-75 with David Gower fourth left back row Nick […]

Sanderson’s right – this sleeping dog should be left

2 January 2022 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER ALEX Sanderson is a straight shooter so it was striking to hear his plea to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ with regards […]

The young Jonah was majestic…and terrifying

2 January 2022 1 comment

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful Iconic Rugby Pictures: PART 91 Jonah […]

Poets, writers war heroes, all the King’s men

2 January 2022 1 comment

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools KING’S Canterbury, save for brief periods in their sporting history, can’t claim to have always […]

Ten reasons why ‘oldies’ remain the gold standard

19 December 2021 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER WILL Greenwood has been there, done it and got the T- shirt […]

Kidney turned PBC into a powerhouse

19 December 2021 0 comments

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby‘s great schools LAST week it was Christian Brothers College Cork, this week it is Presentation Brothers College […]

Crying out for candid cameras to shed light

12 December 2021 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER IF nothing else, this week has shown the extraordinary effect of secret tapes and recordings or unsuspected footage when they […]

Walker’s jersey baits the big cats

5 December 2021 2 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Brendan Gallagher THERE’S another world out there. I was recently scrolling through the online brochure for this week’s sports memorabilia auction at Mulloch’s […]

Jubilant Chiefs go straight to beer tent

5 December 2021 1 comment

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Exeter …………….18pts Tries: O’Flaherty 38, Cowan-Dickie 56 Conversions: J Simmonds 57 Penalties: J Simmonds 25, 64 Saracens ……….15pts Penalties: Lozowski 4, […]

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