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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThe twin pillars of England’s rebuild
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ollie Chessum and Marcus Smith play with such enthusiasm when they pull on...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime to discover if spine is strong
NICK CAIN One of the oldest methods of assessing the strength of a team is to look at the 2-8-9-10-15 positions...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoMagic money tree can’t last for ever
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK BILL Sweeney does not much care for accountability. It is why his first...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoPellegrini shows the depth of talent
Pat Pellegrini’s beautifully taken chip-and-chase try for Tonga against South Africa in last weekend’s World Cup clash in Marseille was a...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoSchism which is set to tear game apart
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is a schism waiting to happen in the English game, and it...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoFor once, Erasmus makes the wrong call
Rassie Erasmus is not known for missing many tricks when it comes to tactical thinking, whether in selection or playing mind-games....
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoGreat to see Ardao shine on world stage
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK One of the great joys of World Cups is the platform that gives...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRFU hierarchy must address core financial issues
NICK CAIN The reaction to the landmark RFU Council letter in which 30 members have challenged the current leadership of RFU...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoPrem Cup shows the sham of no relegation
NICK CAIN The early rounds of the new Premiership Cup has shown the RFU-endorsed ring-fencing of English rugby’s top league to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWe must not ignore Cipriani’s treatment
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Danny Cipriani’s recent biography has shined a light on the player cliques within...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBunker boys need to be fair
NICK CAIN Tom Curry’s red card after a bunker review was to be expected under the current laws aimed at preventing...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoFrance’s love of the game is clear to see
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK - AT THE WORLD CUP THE French love nothing more than a good...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoSweeney must be held to account
BILL Sweeney has ducked so far below the parapet when it comes to answering questions about the RFU’s administration of the...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBorthwick seems set on rewarding failure
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK AS England limped into Le Touquet after being beaten by Fiji, the preparations...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoMy England team to challenge Argentina
The wishful thinking that if England beat Argentina it will be a cakewalk from Pool D into the knock-out stages took...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland heading to the Badlands
STEVE Borthwick has taken a fork in the road which has led England into the Badlands of international rugby. With two...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBoks have the clout to retain the crown
South Africa’s record 35-7 blitz of New Zealand at Twickenham on Friday night showed that the reigning world champions have the...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoDon’t let RFU make an ass of the laws
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE Owen Farrell disciplinary fiasco has multiple layers, but the one that looks...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoJones still making the wrong headlines
NICK CAIN Eddie Jones is good at grabbing headlines, but increasingly they are not the sort that does rugby union any...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEdwards showed the way
NICK CAIN Shaun Edwards had two of the greatest low tacklers the English game has produced when he was coaching at...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCan Big Billy the tank still break the barriers?
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHEN Steve Borthwick picked his 33man England squad for the 2023 World Cup...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRuling out France-based players is yet another self-inflicted wound
NICK CAIN The RFU is in a mess over international player eligibility, because its rules dictate that rising England stars Jack...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoToo much Politburo, too little democracy
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THERE are aspects of the way the RFU is being run that would...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoArgentina threaten England’s progress
NICK CAIN There has been far too much talk about England’s “free pass” into the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup,...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoNo room for deals – time to get serious
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK MAKE no mistake, the 2023 World Cup starts for England this weekend. Even...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoWe should not wait so long for RFU review
NICK CAIN IT is inconceivable that in any other era in English rugby a vote of no-confidence in the governance of...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoA man-mountain who needs to be stopped
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Posolo Tuilagi is a force of nature who stands between England U20 and...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland missing that killer instinct
Steve Borthwick has been liberal with the superlatives when describing the performances of some of the players in his England World...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBattle lines drawn over game’s future
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK HALLELUJAH! The English Championship clubs have finally got their act together to form...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoVeterans not the answer at No.9
NICK CAIN The selection call by Steve Borthwick to pick two veteran scrumhalves, Ben Youngs and Danny Care, in his 41-man...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland’s Bath bias difficult to justify
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK IF England international selection is meant to be a meritocracy it is hard...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime for Blackett to seize his chance
JEFF Blackett gave a valedictory interview this week which beggared belief. The retiring RFU Council grandee, who was President for two...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoFrom European Cup honour to Eurotrash
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The European Cup is sinking thanks to the tinkering of EPCR and its...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCrowley’s quick exit was not deserved
NICK CAIN The most discordant note struck in the international game this week was Kieran Crowley’s axing by Italy. Crowley’s contribution...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoArrival of novice advisers is cause for grave concern
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There could not have been a bigger catalyst for change at Twickenham than...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoYour chance to join the (£55,000) culture club
NICK CAIN The RFU’s failure to put in a robust, stringent regulatory framework has led to three Premiership clubs going bust...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime to call up X-factor reserves
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Where can Steve Borthwick find the X-factor players to take England back to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoToo many young players rejected too soon
Georgia's U20 victory over England is an example of one country making the most of their resources, while the other is...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoStrewth, mate! Fast Eddie’s cash jackpot
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Eddie Jones returned to Twickenham this week as an RFU-made millionaire coach. Jones,...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoDavid Emery honoured at rugby awards
David Emery is the reason that The Rugby Paper exists, and since its inception in September 2008 I have had the...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRFU failed to enforce regulatory standards
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Nothing holds a mirror up to all that is wrong with the elite...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoParisse and Ollivon sparkle
NICK CAIN Toulon's 43-19 European Challenge Cup victory over Glasgow was notable not just for the style in which the French...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland need to get it right at scrum time
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Steve Borthwick’s decisionion to raid Leicester for his latest scrum coach – and...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoSecond tier clubs are ready to play tough
The Championship clubs have taken a long time to become a coherent collective voice for change – with promotion and relegation...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEligibility laws that need to be changed
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE recent international eligibility law that allows Henry Thomas to be selected by...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoHow a pair of English-born props could foil Red Rose
Tomas Francis, the 71-cap Wales tighthead who has been first choice for Warren Gatland in both his incarnations as Wales coach,...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCVC’s influence may not be in the best interests of clubs
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Twickenham is the jewel in English rugby’s crown, and there are grave concerns...
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Latest News
/ 2 years ago‘Incredible’ Lawes, a One-Club-Man
NICK CAIN COURTNEY Lawes confirmed himself as that rarest of breeds in the professional game, a One-Club Man, and one of...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoStuck with rotten fruits of ring-fenced Prem
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ANOTHER of the RFU’s anonymous review panels reported this week that England were...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoMarch of the Saints does us no good at all
NICK CAIN The boast that the Premiership is the most competitive league in the world has been trashed. This was demonstrated...
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