Latest News
Bath owner, Bruce Craig, backs franchise system
Bath owner Bruce Craig argues that scrapping relegation and relaunching the Premiership as a collection of centrally licensed franchises would bring investment and stability to the...
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Miscellaneous
/ 3 days agoNick Cain: Invest in the Championship – as well as women’s game
The money cut from the funding to Championship clubs in the last five years is believed to be very close to...
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Columnists
/ 3 days agoNick Cain: Bruce Craig’s protectionism is not what we want
The decision by Bath owner Bruce Craig to break cover by jumping on the franchise bandwagon this week is no revelation,...
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Columnists
/ 1 week agoNick Cain: Blueprint for the future lacks rational thinking with franchise idea
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week We are coming to the franchise crunch. Finally, after five years...
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Latest News
/ 1 week agoLeinster are good … but they would not beat France
By Nick Cain The hype was in full flood after Leinster’s two-match 142-0 European Cup haul against Harlequins and Glasgow, when...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Premiership clubs need to set higher standards
The most concerning aspect of the Harlequins no-show against Leinster at Croke Park last weekend, which finished in a 62-0 European...
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Latest News
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Time to dismantle the ivory towers
TV adverts are a mixed bag, but at their best they paint a picture that nails an irksome aspect of modern...
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English Championship
/ 3 weeks agoWorcester Warriors return – RFU Board should tell us what it thinks
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The first act of the new Tier 2 Board, which has...
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Latest News
/ 1 month agoRFU must prioritise return of promotion to Premiership
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week In defeat, defiance. For supporters of the incumbent RFU administration who...
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Latest News
/ 1 month agoThis Premiership cartel is strangling our game
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Welcome to gridlock. Everything that is wrong with the English club...
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Letters
/ 2 months agoThe 7-1 bench split must be given the boot
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The reality of the 7:1 bench split is unmasked. The development...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoTommy Freeman deserves a run in the centres
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The England midfield has been a mishmash of failed partnerships, wishful...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoPressure is building on the RFU Board to stand down
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The Whole Game Union has added its weight to the call...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoBen Youngs lifts the lid on Steve Borthwick – but too late
By Nick Cain Ben Youngs lifted the lid last week on Steve Borthwick being a “risk-averse” coach, and stated that the...
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Miscellaneous
/ 2 months agoSupport for change at RFU keeps on building
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week As the SGM vote calling for regime change at the RFU...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoCut bench in half to make a game of it
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The bench is damaging rugby union, and this Six Nations should...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoSix Nations – England need to be more consistent
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Driving force: Tom Willis has the power to make headway up...
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Latest News
/ 3 months agoFreddie Steward, take a tip from the best…
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Freddie Steward was not England’s worst performer against Ireland. However, the...
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Miscellaneous
/ 3 months agoStop giving No.9s so much protection
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Welcome to the 2025 Six Nations, and, unfortunately, a new abomination...
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Latest News
/ 3 months agoTime to be brave and start with Henry Pollock at flanker for England
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Are England fit for purpose going into the Six Nations? Steve...
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Latest News
/ 3 months agoDo the right thing, Bill Beaumont, and tell Bill Sweeney to be on his way
By Nick Cain Bill Beaumont has a duty to advise Bill Sweeney that his tenure as RFU chief executive is...
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International Rugby
/ 3 months agoGood news on Maro Itoje, but England’s problems persist
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Having been a long-time advocate of Maro Itoje as England captain,...
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Club Rugby
/ 4 months agoOllie Lawrence’s play-acting was shameful to watch
Ollie Lawrence’s sham injury in the closing minutes of a knife-edge finish between Northampton and Bath at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoHybrid 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...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoSteve Diamond adjusts the cap to fit
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The season of good cheer got a kick-start last week with...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoNo surprise as France show how it’s done
By Nick Cain Vannes versus Bordeaux is one of my highlights of the 2024-25 season so far, because if you want...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoBill Beaumont needs to show clear thinking
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Bill Beaumont is stepping into a saloon in which the tables...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoBeaumont needs to show clear thinking
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK BILL Beaumont is stepping into a saloon in which the tables and chairs...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoBeaumont needs to show clear thinking
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK BILL Beaumont is stepping into a saloon in which the tables and chairs...
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Champions Cup
/ 5 months agoRing fence has made English rugby go soft
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The most positive aspect to come out of the opening round...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 5 months agoMy British & Irish Lions team are ready for take-off
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week... There is a view that picking a Lions Test team almost...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoPressure builds on RFU chief to resign
By Nick Cain Tom Ilube’s tenure as RFU Board Chairman, and his financial credentials, will come under increased scrutiny with the...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoIt’s time for a root and branch clearout at RFU
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week In what sort of world does the wage packet of one...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 5 months agoSteve Borthwick can’t afford another run of failure
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week When it comes to “jam tomorrow” England teams have produced more...
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Nick Cain
/ 5 months agoMega-league plan will have to overcome huge hurdles
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week If 200 of the world’s highest-paid players are about to join...
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English Championship
/ 5 months agoSimon Gillham must get justice for the Championship
Simon Gillham’s arrival as chair of the Championship/Tier 2 Board should be good news for English club rugby. Gillham, below, who...
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International Rugby
/ 5 months agoBuilding blocks for England’s future
England A’s fixture against their Australian counterparts at The Stoop at 2pm today is an essential building block for any head...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 6 months agoSteve Borthwick’s bench policy needs work
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The bench miscalculations cooking England’s goose in the final quarter of...
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International Rugby
/ 6 months agoAussies are hurt by own protectionism
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Whether the Wallabies emerge with a Grand Slam or a slump...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 6 months agoSteve Borthwick needs strength in depth
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The 17 RFU central contracts announced by Steve Borthwick on Friday...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 6 months agoTime for England to walk the walk
By Nick Cain Right here, right now, English rugby union craves forward momentum. It needs something to knock the negatives surrounding...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoWill Collier shows what England are missing
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Will Collier’s command performance for Castres against Toulouse in the Top...
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International Rugby
/ 7 months agoSteve Borthwick should call up these young props
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week It was surprising that neither of England’s U20 world champion props,...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoMinimum standards criteria must apply to all
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Do title-chasing Bath – and other top tier clubs – meet...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoOnce again, the RFU is failing second tier
By Nick Cain READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK A new English season starts this weekend with strife and frustration in...
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Latest News
/ 8 months agoIt’s time for Itoje to stand up and prove his worth
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Tough task: Maro Itoje will have to be at his best to lead...
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Latest News
/ 8 months agoEngland must find answers …and fast
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Left in the lurch: England boss Steve Borthwick and, inset, Felix Jones, left,...
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Columnists
/ 8 months agoIt’s time to call for three-man scrum
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Uncontested scrums are a blight on the fifteens game, and my solution to...
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Latest News
/ 9 months agoAn age-old problem for Farrell and Lions
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ‘Dad’s Army’: Bundee Aki will be 35 when the Lions arrive in Australia....
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Latest News
/ 9 months agoPoor terrestrial coverage is doing the game no favours
NICK CAIN THE NFL has infiltrated free-to-air broadcast channels in the UK, such as the BBC and ITV, using weekly content...
Latest News
Jacques Vermeulen: I must prove myself again
British and Irish Lions
Dewi Lake still dreaming of becoming a British and Irish Lion
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