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Latest News
/ 8 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
/ 9 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
/ 9 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...
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Latest News
/ 9 months agoErasmus now the creator supreme
NICK CAIN RASSIE Erasmus is a breath of fresh air, a coach who combines innovative out-of-the-box thinking with a detailed understanding...
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Latest News
/ 9 months agoA sporting heritage that needs protection
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHAT’S in a name? A huge amount if you consider what Wembley means...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 10 months agoJoe Schmidt’s Wallabies will provide a tough test for Lions
Nick Cain gives his thoughts on the 2025 British Lions series against Australia, saying the Aussies will be hard to beat...
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Latest News
/ 10 months agoFrance show us how to do it – again
NICK CAIN THE 2024 Olympic Sevens was a massive showcase for Antoine Dupont’s extraordinary sporting talent, but also for rugby union,...
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Nick Cain
/ 10 months agoBuild the future on front row brilliance
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE England U20 scrum is the best in the world, and in winning...
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Nick Cain
/ 10 months agoEngland need to beat the big boys
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK It is intriguing to see England being touted already as serious 2027 World...
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International Rugby
/ 10 months agoOverseas stars are blocking new talent
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is a double standard in English rugby that stands out as a...
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Columnists
/ 11 months agoRFU still has urgent questions to answer
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came...
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Latest News
/ 11 months agoTime for England’s rock-steady crew
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK NOW comes the acid test of England’s attacking progress. When Steve Borthwick side...
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Latest News
/ 11 months agoWarriors deserved to take the glory
Glasgow Warriors’ 21-16 win over the Bulls in Pretoria to clinch the URC title has earned them deserved accolades after outscoring...
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Latest News
/ 11 months agoMistake to select Tom and not Ted
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ted Hill must be wondering what else he has to do to get...
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Latest News
/ 11 months agoAll Blacks will be ready to roll
NICK CAIN Rumours that New Zealand are in a state of flux heading into their two-Test summer series against England should...
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English Championship
/ 11 months agoReturn of relegation is reason to cheer
NICK CAIN The restoration of promotion and relegation, which this column has advocated non-stop since the RFU’s ring-fence moratorium in 2021,...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 months agoHotshot Hendy seizes the day
By NICK CAIN at Twickenham Northampton Saints..... 25pts Tries: Freeman 24, Sleightholme 28, Mitchell 73 Conversions: Smith 24, Furbank 75 Penalties:...
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Latest News
/ 12 months agoBorthwick needs a clear direction
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The fog around England’s take-off as an attacking force in the latter stages...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 months agoMcCaw’s vision for harmony
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK If the current power struggle in New Zealand rugby intensifies, with the NZRPA...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 12 months agoOnly one full house in ‘greatest season’ finale
NICK CAIN Here's something for the RFU mandarins and Premiership owners who are hell-bent on keeping England’s top league ring-fenced to...
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Champions Cup
/ 12 months agoSorry, but that’s not all right, Jacques
A great European Cup final last weekend had only one blemish, when the limp attempt to tighten the rules around water-carriers...
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Latest News
/ 12 months agoCollier fits the bill for NZ challenge
READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK England finished the Six Nations with a resurgence, but their next destination, New Zealand, is...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 12 months agoLawes still has Lions in his sights
Courtney Lawes was typically modest when he was presented with the Rugby Union Writers Club’s prestigious Pat Marshall Award as the...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 months agoDiamond Dupont is surrounded by stars
Match-winning moments, men, and money is what sets Toulouse apart. Foremost among those men is Antoine Dupont, whose brilliance earned him...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoDiamond’s rough support loses sparkle
By NICK CAIN What makes this season even more of a travesty is that Steve Diamond, Newcastle’s consultant rugby director, who...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoTop flight losing its soul, and integrity
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK GLOUCESTER’S 90-0 capitulation to Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend reflected all that...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoTime to put an end to marquee players
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ARE marquee players, or coaches, worth it, or are they just a Premiership...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoMistake to reduce value of the scrum
The danger World Rugby’s high-handed law-makers face with their insistence on trying to marginalise the scrum is that it could easily...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoCalling MPs will add to pressure
The decision of Championship clubs to contact their local MPs to ask for Government to mediate in its gridlocked negotiations with...
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English Championship
/ 1 year agoRFU’s still killing the dreams of investors
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The RFU’s indecision is final. It does not know what to do about...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoDon’t put Dickson in that position
If the Karl Dickson furore in the Harlequins v Northampton clash last weekend at Twickenham tells us anything, it is that...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoLeinster’s workload merits little sympathy
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK LEINSTER are worried about the pressure that could prevent them from winning a...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoCrunch time for red lines
The crunch is coming as negotiations between the Championship and the RFU/Premiership over promotion-relegation intensify, with the Premiership ring-fence moratorium finishing...
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Club Rugby
/ 1 year agoKick off with Cup
The Papa Johns Cup has staggered into its second season with almost as many walk-overs as matches played, despite an increase...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoEngland must take Quins pair to NZ
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WILL Collier and Fin Baxter have been showered with praise following Harlequins epic...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoBan teams who pick reserves for knock-out stages
The Bulls are not the first outfit to undermine the European Cup by picking an understrength team, with some French clubs...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoEnvious eyes fall on Leinster’s recruits
Leinster's ability to cherry-pick two of the 2023 World Cup final’s biggest stars, signing All Black centre Jordie Barrett to augment...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoDawson predicts the battle at 10 will benefit England
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The Fin Smith–Marcus Smith fly-half debate was given a good airing when Matt...
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English Championship
/ 1 year agoRFU needs a sense of proportion
The RFU has always maintained that promotion-relegation is sacrosanct, even though the RFU Council agreed in February 2021 to a so-called...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoAnother barmy idea from the men in suits
The Ministry of Silly Walks was a Monty Python sketch which lampooned bureaucratic inefficiency. Rugby Union requires something similar to shame...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoToo much tinkering is causing confusion
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Rugby Union is in the grip of the “the law of unintended consequences”,...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoSecond fine for Tigers is case for concern
The recent announcement of a second salary cap infringement by Leicester indicates that the Premiership’s policing of its own financial regulations...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoTime for club owners to come clean on plans
NICK CAIN - READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK SEETHING financial undercurrents are undermining the main pillars of the game in...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoThis was a cracker but still too many blowouts
The Premiership run-in produced a highly competitive cracker of a match at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday, with Northampton securing a 41-30...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoSanzaar miss chance to inject new blood
The 2024 Six Nations has been lauded in the southern hemisphere for its sensational quality and entertainment – which has not...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoRelegation saga still a shadow over game
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is so much that makes so little sense in the English club...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 year agoItaly wins ignite the Six Nations
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The game-changing force of last weekend’s Six Nations tales of the unexpected cannot...
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