Nick Cain

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

Nick Cain picks his English lions as Eddie Jones reaches a watershed

30 March 2017 0 comments

Whichever way you look at it, the manner in which England‘s clean sweep and world record was slammed in Dublin was a watershed moment for […]

Nick Cain – the RFU should call off their plan for autumn showdown

24 March 2017 0 comments

The England team rescued and brought back to rude health by Eddie Jones is in danger of being sold down the river next season. That […]

Nick Cain: Europe’s finest being sold down the river

23 March 2017 0 comments

Welcome to Northern Hemisphere rugby’s endless road. An 11 month season which purports to be all things to all men, but actually gives the Southern […]

Nick Cain talks to Bob Dwyer about his old Aussie coaching pal Eddie Jones

10 March 2017 0 comments

Bob Dwyer and Eddie Jones are two of the most successful international coaches in Rugby Union history, having both won World Cup winners’ medals. Dwyer […]

Nick Cain: Yes, England were foggy, but so are World Rugby

8 March 2017 0 comments

Eddie Jones and his players can thank their lucky stars that their latest tactical tutorial came from Italy. There is a huge amount to admire […]

Nick Cain: O’Driscoll is on the case to find any Kiwi flaws

23 February 2017 0 comments

When it comes to the lengths New Zealand will go to turn over the Lions there are none with better first-hand knowledge than Brian O’Driscoll. […]

Nick Cain gets an insight into the mind of England’s new midfield ace Ben Te’o

22 February 2017 0 comments

Ben Te’o and the England ‘finishers’ have got a strut in their step after making the difference in the late wins over France and Wales […]

Nick Cain: Crooked feeds are making a mockery of our game

17 February 2017 0 comments

These days TV commentators are clearly under orders from broadcasters not to mention them, but our readers say that crooked scrum feeds remain one of […]

Nick Cain: Six Nations offers Boks a route to salvation

10 February 2017 0 comments

As the Six Nations gets underway there is an issue that should be uppermost in the minds of its council, and in particular its chief […]

Nick Cain: Sherylle Calder will keep focus on big prize

2 February 2017 0 comments

Sherylle Calder’s capacity to make a difference as a visual skills coach can be measured by the three-year contract she has signed with England until […]

Alchemist Eddie must again find the right formula

1 February 2017 0 comments

England go into the Six Nations in the grip of an injury drought that will test their well of playing talent to the limit. That […]

This is no way to treat the minnows of Europe

26 January 2017 0 comments

That Rugby Union has one set of rules for the rich and another for the poor was highlighted starkly this week. Timisoara Saracens are not […]

How Eddie Jones aims to tame the French monsters

25 January 2017 0 comments

When Dylan Hartley was knocked cold after colliding with the knee of Uini Atonio, France’s gargantuan Kiwi-Samoan tight-head, in Paris last year, he was left […]

Nick Cain talks to Des Seabrook, the coach of the North who beat the All Blacks in 1979

20 January 2017 0 comments

Des Seabrook was the architect of one of the greatest wins an English team has had over the All Blacks, when in 1979 the North […]

Captain? First Alun-Wyn must earn his place!

18 January 2017 0 comments

One of the oldest truisms in the game – and especially where Lions selection is concerned – is that the captain must be one of […]

Nick Cain: Johnno and Tigers are made for each other

11 January 2017 0 comments

When it comes to filling the managerial vacuum at Leicester left by the sacking of a larger-than-life character like Richard Cockerill, there is no question […]

Nick Cain’s wishes and expectations for rugby in 2017

5 January 2017 0 comments

Rugby Union in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland has a host of reasons to be cheerful in 2017. At the apex of any survey of […]

World Rugby made a mistake by picking Beauden Barrett as Player of the Year

22 December 2016 0 comments

Maro Itoje should have been World Rugby’s Player of the Year by a clear margin ahead of New Zealand fly-half Beauden Barrett. Instead, the Saracens […]

Nick Cain: Eddie Jones will stick with Dylan for as long as he needs to

21 December 2016 0 comments

Disciplinary wonders never cease! Two Welsh disciplinary officers – Simon Thomas and Rhian Williams, and another from Italy, Marco Cordelli – decided on Wednesday to […]

Nick Cain compares England’s world beaters of 2003 with Eddie Jones’ current crop

15 December 2016 0 comments

1. Trevor Woodman v Mako Vunipola Vunipola has improved as a scrummager to the extent that there is little between him and Woodman. Gloucester loose-head […]

Nick Cain: Clear this fog over North for the sake of others

14 December 2016 0 comments

Northampton‘s attempt to shroud the crucial issue of George North being knocked out against Leicester last weekend in a fog of claims over TV footage […]

Nick Cain: Bonus points will make Six Nations even better

9 December 2016 0 comments

Just before the start of the 2016 Six Nations Championship this column advocated the tournament trialling a bonus point system, and the announcement that it […]

Nick Cain selects his 2017 Lions squad based on the autumn Tests

8 December 2016 0 comments

This 2017 Lions squad is picked from Home Unions players who took part in the autumn series, and is based entirely on form shown during […]

Are the All Blacks dirty? You’d better believe it!

2 December 2016 0 comments

The trouble with New Zealand‘s protests that they are being victimised following the rolling footage of head shots in last weekend’s second Ireland versus New […]

Nick Cain looks at the motivational forces behind England’s clash with Australia

1 December 2016 0 comments

A few weeks ago Michael Cheika was incensed at being portrayed as a clown on the front page of a New Zealand newspaper. However, for […]

Nick Cain: Lions must find room to blood British coaches

25 November 2016 0 comments

When the Lions assistant coaches are announced on December 7 they will represent a few shoots of growth in a desert in which no Home […]

Nick Cain: Beware, new-style Pumas have yet to bare their claws

24 November 2016 0 comments

Argentine rugby is a strange beast. It is one with a habit of never quite being what we expect, and it’s a characteristic symbolised by […]

Nick Cain deplores the continued poaching of Fijian players by world giants

17 November 2016 0 comments

Any visitor to Fiji will instantly become familiar with the word “Bula!”. The friendly local greeting, whose literal meaning is “life”, as in wishing any […]

Nick Cain: Stay put George, it’s your best move of all

17 November 2016 0 comments

George Ford had a weird training week as part of the England team preparing to take on South Africa. First, a rumour emerged that the […]

Nick Cain: Dan Carter & Co need to be protected from medics

26 October 2016 0 comments

Rugby Union should be on red alert following the cortisone injections given to Dan Carter, Joe Rokococo and Juan Imhoff to get them through last […]

Nick Cain: Springboks must look North to stop the rot

19 October 2016 0 comments

When Adriaan Strauss stepped onto the broadcasting plinth at King’s Park in Durban after South Africa had suffered a humiliating record 57-15 home loss to […]

Sarries must be humble and earn victory – Billy Vunipola

14 October 2016 0 comments

This season Saracens start the defence of their title as champions of Europe, and, as the first holders to win every game, it begins at […]

Nick Cain: Building Eddie’s white wall has a cost

13 October 2016 0 comments

Training injuries happen, and as long as Rugby Union remains a contact sport they always will. The fact that England, after a virtually injury-free Six […]

Nick Cain: Premiership gets richer; others can go swing!

6 October 2016 0 comments

Salary caps are causing strife again, with dire warnings emanating from the Premiership elite as well as from clubs in National One and below. This […]

Absent stars? No problem says Eddie Jones, there’s more!

5 October 2016 0 comments

There was a moment at Twickenham on Friday when Eddie Jones demonstrated why he is being paid a king’s ransom by the RFU. As the […]

Nick Cain: Referees must stop favouring All Blacks

28 September 2016 0 comments

All international teams bend the rules in order to accentuate their strengths and hide their weaknesses, it’s just that New Zealand – as in most […]

Nick Cain: Fears grow for Manu Tuilagi, the Tiger in a trap

22 September 2016 0 comments

Manu Tuilagi has probably gone into freefall further and faster than with any high profile international currently playing the game. Furthermore, with the recurrence of […]

Nick Cain column: Time for old Lions heroes to fade way

14 September 2016 0 comments

The 1971 and 1974 Lions were the greatest touring teams that have departed these shores, but the monopoly they appear to have on key positions […]

Nick Cain: Yes, I believe England can rain on New Zealand’s parade

8 September 2016 0 comments

The All Black procession is in full marching order again, with the usual array of tub-thumpers and cheerleaders proclaiming them as the undisputed masters of […]

Nick Cain column: Matt Burke’s law on summer season is good sense

31 August 2016 0 comments

Matt Burke was not only a great Wallaby full-back, he is a measured and respected commentator on the game. That’s why when Burke recently cut […]

All Blacks will have to dig deep to keep that No.1 tag

18 August 2016 0 comments

By the time England are next scheduled to play New Zealand in the autumn of 2017 it will have been three years since the teams […]

Nick Cain: Fiji were fab but 7s is a glorious sideshow

17 August 2016 0 comments

Congratulations to Fiji for winning their first medal of any sort at the Olympics, and making it gold by dominating the Rio Sevens in scintillating […]

Nick Cain column: Feed the Championship before it dies of neglect

11 August 2016 0 comments

There are very few players in the England squad who have not benefitted from the time they have spent with a Championship club, whether it’s […]

Tom Youngs in? Richard Cockerill must have Eddie Jones’ ear

10 August 2016 0 comments

Tom Youngs was a surprise addition to the Provisional England Elite Player Squad of 45 announced last Monday. That’s because when Stuart Lancaster was England […]

Nick Cain column: Stop these TV chiefs from censuring matches

3 August 2016 0 comments

Partisan television coverage in which host broadcasters lose the capacity to be objective is a growing problem for Rugby Union. The ‘dirty-tricks’ antics of Fox […]

Nick Cain column: England’s U20 stars would thrive at Rio Olympics

28 July 2016 0 comments

Here’s hoping that the GB Sevens side for the Rio Olympics which was announced last week come back from Brazil with a medal. If they […]

Nick Cain talks to Nigel Wray and Simon Halliday about the Club v Country crisis

27 July 2016 0 comments

When the new club-country accord between the RFU and the Premiership is announced on Monday, unless there is a cast-iron clause limiting the increase in […]

Cain column: Burgess effect still rumbling through Bath

15 July 2016 0 comments

By Nick Cain THE saying, “be careful what you wish for” is tailor-made for the wreckage left at the Rec after Bath‘s £500,000 p.a. dalliance […]

Nick Cain column: European scales look finely balanced at last

7 July 2016 0 comments

Where’s the ‘pool of death’? That’s the first thought that struck me when looking at the European Cup draw announced this week in that great […]

Nick Cain marks the England touring party

7 July 2016 0 comments

Test players Dylan Hartley (c) Top-quality leadership. Attended impressively to the core skills of hooking, and the longer he stayed out of trouble, the greater […]

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