Jeff Probyn

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

Jeff Probyn: Simple way to solve head cases and score more tries

9 April 2015 0 comments

As the concussion story grows and grows with more and more high profile players suffering the effects of serious blows to the head, it’s hard […]

Jeff Probyn: Italy needs time to reach its full potential

26 February 2015 2 comments

Jeff PCan you believe it? After Italy scored three really good tries against the England team and Wales scored just the one, there have been […]

Jeff Probyn: Why Olympic Sevens could prove catastrophic for 15s

20 February 2015 0 comments

With the first round of games about to start in the world’s pre-eminent annual rugby competition, this could be one of the biggest years in […]

Jeff Probyn: Why Olympic Sevens could prove catastrophic for 15s

20 February 2015 1 comment

With the first round of games about to start in the world’s pre-eminent annual rugby competition, this could be one of the biggest years in […]

Jeff Probyn: ‘Bridesmaid’ Sam Burgess must be judged next season

6 February 2015 0 comments

There is always a sense of excitement as we enter the New Year and await the announcement of the squad that will take our hopes […]

Jeff Probyn: Championship needs help but who supplies the cash?

30 January 2015 0 comments

I read with interest Dean Ryan’s take on the Championship in last week’s Rugby Paper and how he believes blame should be apportioned for the […]

Jeff Probyn: Concussion findings could bring back drift defences

23 January 2015 0 comments

As a former Wasp it’s hard to say… but here goes: Well done, Saracens, not for how you play or the ethos you espouse, but […]

Jeff Probyn: Give promoted teams more money to level playing field

16 January 2015 0 comments

Here we are at the start of another year and, as usual, the hopes and aspirations of all rugby players and supporters are for a […]

Jeff Probyn: Progress? Surely not if we are still relying on Manu Tuilagi

19 December 2014 1 comment

Hype, hope and more than a little desperation seems to be the recipe for English rugby as Stuart Lancaster plots the future course of his […]

Jeff Probyn: England need a coherent attack to test the top teams

27 November 2014 0 comments

Last Saturday’s game against the All Blacks drew the usual response from Stuart Lancaster and the media. Lancaster extolled the progress being made by the […]

Jeff Probyn: Player welfare is all about how coaches want to play

21 November 2014 0 comments

The Autumn Internationals may be up and running but for the clubs its business as usual with the LV cup holding the fort. While the […]

Jeff Probyn: Professional game must not take the Blockheads literally

14 November 2014 0 comments

To paraphrase Ian Dury, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll is all that rugby needs. Sex is the easy part as the women’s game […]

Jeff Probyn: Was it really about driving standards or lining pockets?

7 November 2014 1 comment

New name, new trophy, new management but same old European tournament as all but the rank outsiders in their group (such as Sale) won at […]

Jeff Probyn: Inconsistent referees are just confusing players

30 October 2014 1 comment

Spin a coin and choose what you like, that seems to be how the game of rugby is at the moment. Watching last week’s Premiership […]

Jeff Probyn: Richard Cockerill may ruffle feathers but it’s no reason to sack him

22 October 2014 1 comment

The trials and tribulations of being a rugby fan is a rollercoaster ride full of elation and deflation that must make even the most dedicated […]

Jeff Probyn: Get Martin Johnson on board to pass on lessons learned in 2011

16 October 2014 2 comments

So Martin Johnson is reliving the nightmare that was the 2011 RWC England campaign. Although it has been virtually three years, it is obvious that […]

Jeff Probyn: Injuries mount – the way fitness guru Rex warned

10 October 2014 1 comment

A cracking start to the season has seen some high scoring games and some unexpected results, including big losses for Leicester and Harlequins. Yet despite […]

Jeff Probyn: Sadly, loyalty seems to be a one-way street for IRB

2 October 2014 1 comment

What price loyalty in rugby? That’s a question that is not as easy to answer as you may think. Back in the amateur days it […]

Jeff Probyn: Referee the mark and straight feed and scrums will be fine

25 September 2014 1 comment

Here we are just two weeks into the season and already my old front row partner Brian Moore is banging on about the scrum. His […]

Jeff Probyn: Expect Saracens to cash in on the World Cup wobbles

18 September 2014 3 comments

It’s great when the season restarts and the politics takes second place and we can get on to actually playing and watching the game. For […]

Jeff Probyn: Delayed start to season will benefit clubs in long run

10 September 2014 0 comments

Here we go again, as soon as there is the slightest potential to extract some money from the RFU, the Premiership simply cannot resist. In […]

Jeff Probyn: Well done girls, but let’s keep it in perspective

3 September 2014 0 comments

I read somewhere this week that the Women’s World Cup was a tipping point for the sport. As much as I admire and celebrate the […]

Jeff Probyn: Delaying EPS selection is big step in right direction

29 August 2014 0 comments

It has taken time but at last there has been some common sense from the Premiership in their relationship with the England squad. The news […]

Jeff Probyn: Glory will always be given to the coach

22 August 2014 0 comments

Coaches or captains? Who should get the glory, who should take the blame and, who should be the visible face of the team? These are […]

Jeff Probyn: Go for it girls…just don’t ask my daughter to play!

13 August 2014 0 comments

With the Commonwealth Games Sevens over and South Africa surprisingly taking the spoils, it’s now time for women’s rugby to take centre stage. With 12 […]

Jeff Probyn: Glasgow Sevens should have included some stars

7 August 2014 0 comments

The Commonwealth Games have just started in Scotland and have already been downgraded to a second class contest by the IRB. Whether deliberately or not, […]

Jeff Probyn: Warburton would be perfect fit at Kassam

31 July 2014 0 comments

Despite the fact we are in the ‘Dead Zone’ and there is no rugby to watch, there is still much bubbling below the surface that […]

Jeff Probyn: Professional rugby seriously damages the Scottish team

18 July 2014 1 comment

As Vern Cotter comes to terms with the enormity of the task facing him and his management team in having to turn Scotland around from […]

Jeff Probyn: Precision under pressure is key to the All Blacks

10 July 2014 0 comments

Reflecting on the latest Test series made me realise that the one major difference between the big three Southern Hemisphere teams and ours is precision […]

Jeff Probyn: Coaches must acknowledge their part in Dunedin defeat

1 July 2014 0 comments

Well that’s it, the tour is over but if you are a pessimist it really ended last week when the second Test was lost. That […]

Jeff Probyn: Yes, Stuart Lancaster has makings of World Cup-winning squad

20 June 2014 1 comment

During last week rugby was a bit like the Clint Eastwood film, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. The Good was England’s performance during […]

Jeff Probyn: Tour from Hell did English rugby the power of good

12 June 2014 0 comments

Isn’t it strange how a perception of history over time can appear to alter what actually happened? Like all the fuss made about this summer’s […]

Jeff Probyn: Regional academies would reduce number of lost players

6 June 2014 2 comments

So that’s the end of European Rugby Cup Ltd’s involvement in Europe – and what an end, as both teams ensured that the final was […]

Jeff Probyn: Why Bruce Craig’s vision for global season will fail to see the light

30 May 2014 1 comment

Last week’s interview encapsulating Bath chairman Bruce Craig’s vision of the future of global rugby showed some interesting, if slightly naive ideas. By breaking the […]

Jeff Probyn: Less use of the TMO? Then stop these ref witch-hunts

23 May 2014 0 comments

Hard to believe that it is just a week since Leicester‘s Richard Cockerill called for referees to be less reliant on the TMO and already […]

Jeff Probyn: Worcester and Dean Ryan still have a mountain to climb

16 May 2014 2 comments

The failure of Worcester to survive in this year’s Premiership season was probably the most anticipated relegation since the leagues began. Despite the fact that […]

Jeff Probyn: IRB must raise qualification period to at least eight years

9 May 2014 0 comments

The two biggest spending clubs in France and England, Toulon and Saracens, have proved that money can buy success. Although it has taken them some […]

Jeff Probyn: England stance is vital for developing young talent

2 May 2014 1 comment

The increasing call on the RFU to change its stance and pick players who choose to ply their trade in another country is understandable, but […]

Jeff Probyn: Clubs’ greed over World Cup is simply shameful

25 April 2014 0 comments

There is something quite sinister about the unbridled celebrations and smug reflections by some of the Aviva Premiership clubs’ owners on the resolution of next […]

Jeff Probyn: Reduce top-flight payments and grow grassroots game

17 April 2014 1 comment

The debate by the RFU council this week about the restructuring of lower leagues has opened a can of worms that in some ways would […]

Jeff Probyn: Why life’s not so simple in this new European utopia

11 April 2014 1 comment

Delays, debates and rows, just another week of life in the sport we recognise as professional rugby. The delays in the announcement of the new […]

Jeff Probyn: Penalties are becoming too important in rugby

4 April 2014 1 comment

Some interesting ideas have come from Australia this week as they prepare to launch the new National Rugby Championship which they hope will save the […]