Nick Cain

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

Poison is all coming from Eddie not the Press

5 December 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK OLLIE Lawrence must be wondering what he did to get in Eddie Jones’ bad books. The Worcester […]

For Total Rugby, you first build a bedrock

28 November 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN TOTAL Rugby is the holy grail of the game. The seamless link and flow between forwards and backs that creates irresistible waves of […]

Eddie must fix his scrum or England will suffer

28 November 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN SAYS ANY HOPE THE RED ROSE HAVE OF SIX NATIONS SUCCESS STARTS IN THE FRONT ROW LIKE the rest of those who watch […]

Maro has crucial skill of leading by example

28 November 2021 1 comment

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK MARO Itoje did not need the help of acting classes when he captained the England U20s to […]

Ditch this miserable Cup for a real one

21 November 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ENGLISH football has the FA Cup, a gem of a tournament that connects the various levels of […]

Waterboys need mopping up now

21 November 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN WHATEVER happens over the Rassie Erasmus appeal, World Rugby cannot dawdle any longer on the waterboy on-field coaching issue Erasmus also brought into […]

Rassie must pay the price for video rant

14 November 2021 2 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE information vacuum surrounding the disciplinary hearing involving Rassie Erasmus has been filled for the past month […]

Eddie’s entitled to his Emma opinion

14 November 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN THERE is no problem with accusing Eddie Jones of double standards when he gives advice to young tennis star Emma Raducanu about the […]

Black Ferns will be bent on revenge

14 November 2021 1 comment

NICK CAIN CONGRATULATIONS to the England women’s team for their resounding 43-12 and 56-15 double over New Zealand’s world champion Black Ferns this autumn, and […]

New eligibility rules will turn rugby into a circus

7 November 2021 2 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK MALAKAI Fekitoa could have played for Tonga against England yesterday, just four years after winning the last […]

Steadman story is inspiration to us all

7 November 2021 1 comment

NICK CAIN FLOYD Steadman’s story is one of the most uplifting and moving you will find in any sport, as those who recently attended the […]

World Rugby must act to battle the lure of the yen

31 October 2021 3 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE devaluation of the international game was emphasised this week after it was confirmed that four key […]

Eddie’s delay could prove deadly for England

24 October 2021 1 comment

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK EDDIE Jones has become the rugby equivalent of a shape-shifter, being hailed in many quarters as a […]

War-bonnets are just a salute to courage

17 October 2021 2 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE problem that the ExChiefs4Change pressure group has is that it is annexing the cause of indigenous […]

Dash for cash must not damage rugby’s ethos | Nick Cain

10 October 2021 0 comments

THE £32m takeover of Saracens by a polyglot international consortium comes with a health warning as the club’s erstwhile banker and foremost fan, Nigel Wray, […]

Don’t let new cup trash great Euro comp

10 October 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN THE capacity of this game to devalue its own gold standard tournaments is illustrated by the idea that the new World Club Cup, […]

Time must be called on endless game breaks | Nick Cain

3 October 2021 0 comments

PERPETUAL stoppages have become the scourge of international rugby. The biggest culprits in this regard are South Africa. The world champions are using cynical stop-start […]

I fear Eddie will revert to old guard in autumn | Nick Cain

26 September 2021 0 comments

BETTER late than never. Eddie Jones has finally rattled the cage in selection, at last making changes that should have happened soon after the 2019 […]

Rugby needs TV profile to flourish

26 September 2021 1 comment

NICK CAIN CLUB rugby in England is facing a massive visibility problem. It is now completely off the terrestrial TV radar, and with the Premiership […]

Questions the RFU’s new boss ignored

19 September 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK TOM Ilube’s first Press conference as RFU board chairman was carefully scripted, and the reference to his […]

Snowflakes beware – Cockers is here!

5 September 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE fanfare for Richard Cockerill’s arrival in the England camp as forwards coach had been spiked by […]

This smearing of Gatland as conservative is claptrap | Nick Cain

15 August 2021 0 comments

Nick Cain fails to understand how people can question Warren Gatland as a coach given his record at the Test level

Times when the Lions were fouled by the officials

8 August 2021 0 comments

Nick Cain on why the neutrality of referees is imperative to Lions tours, as history can attest

It’s high time globetrotter Eddie honed home stars | Nick Cain

8 August 2021 0 comments

After surviving a review into a poor Six Nations campaign, Nick Cain is stumped by Eddie Jones’ continued day-tripping to other countries

Union game is on a hiding in Australia | Nick Cain

8 August 2021 0 comments

AUSTRALIAN rugby will always be measured against that of their closest neighbours – which unluckily for them happens to be New Zealand. Their fortune did […]

Everything was stacked against Lions from the start | Nick Cain

8 August 2021 0 comments

No, rugby is not coming to an end. This Lions tour posed significant challenges to both teams, it was just the Lions who handled it with better grace

Rassie Erasmus’ blunderbuss blasts all moving targets | Nick Cain

1 August 2021 1 comment

Rassie Erasmus’ video was a clear indication of the effects severe pressure can have on national hero status, writes Nick Cain

Forward pass should have wiped Le Roux try | Nick Cain

1 August 2021 0 comments

It’s time to sort something out for definitive indication of whether a pass is forward or not

Jonker’s call is bonkers and insult to the Lions | Nick Cain

25 July 2021 0 comments

The appointment of Marius Jonker as TMO for a series between the Springboks and Lions is farcical

John Mitchell departure gives RFU elbow room

25 July 2021 0 comments

Eddie Jones can remould his coaching staff how he would like in biggest overhaul of his tenure

The Lions can climb Everest again this time says their coaching legend

25 July 2021 0 comments

The legendary British & Irish Lions forwards coach discusses the 2021 tour and the odds of Gatland tasting success as he did in 2013

Let’s pour cold water over this Rassie Erasmus ruse | Nick Cain

18 July 2021 0 comments

A head coach as a waterboy? The incursion of non-playing staff on the pitch has been a problem brewing for years

Mighty Mouse can put a scare into giant Boks | Nick Cain

11 July 2021 0 comments

Hamish Watson can be the force that brings down the Springboks at the breakdown, writes Nick Cain

High ball doubt may cost Stuart Hogg Lions slot | Nick Cain

27 June 2021 1 comment

STUART Hogg’s high points this season in leading Scotland to away victories over France and England in the Six Nations, as well as his two […]

Car crash European Cup rules will wreck a great Cup | Nick Cain

20 June 2021 1 comment

THE European Cup is on a slippery slope. It is rapidly being downgraded from a competition which was about becoming champions of Europe – ‘the […]

Touchline fiasco should never have happened

13 June 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE touchline row between Steve Borthwick and Pat Lam in the clash between Leicester and Bristol at Welford […]

Wake-up call will be good for Kyle Sinckler says Eddie

13 June 2021 1 comment

KYLE Sinckler’s late call up for the Lions tour after the injury to Irish tighthead Andrew Porter has been give the thumbs-up by Eddie Jones. […]

Championship is sinking: RFU won’t rescue it! | Nick Cain

6 June 2021 1 comment

Nick Cain’s column focusseses on the apparent lack of resistence to ring-fencing the Premiership

Why can’t Japan find home-grown internationals? | Nick Cain

30 May 2021 0 comments

There are 19 foreign-born players named by head coach Jamie Joseph in his Japan squad to tour Europe this summer

So good to see Manu Tuilagi back in mint condition | Nick Cain

30 May 2021 0 comments

Tuilagi could still be vital for the Lions should Gatland need to call on a replacement, writes Nick Cain

The 36-man squad Eddie Jones must pick for England this summer | Nick Cain

30 May 2021 2 comments

Nick Cain explains why Eddie Jones must pick a team aged 25 or younger this summer, and how such a squad may look

This lurking wolf will gobble up our game | Nick Cain

23 May 2021 0 comments

THE fantasists who believe that Premiership Rugby is ‘on fire’ with great games of the highest quality are in urgent need of a reality check.There […]

Hobbits can slay the Bok orcs again | Nick Cain

23 May 2021 0 comments

WHEN it comes to setting your team up for a fall, there is no media quite like South Africa’s. The slagging off of the 2021 […]

Sinckler was not good enough when it really mattered | Nick Cain

16 May 2021 0 comments

Are England counting the cost of a poor Six Nations despite having 11 players selected by Lions head coach Warren Gatland?

RFU ignore fact the players voted for the name Saxons | Nick Cain

16 May 2021 0 comments

ONE of the dangers with diversity politics, as illustrated by the RFU decision this week to dispense with the name ‘Saxons’, is that it can […]

Francis Baron exclusive – Pt.3: The earthquake that hit football shows fans must be listened to in rugby

9 May 2021 2 comments

NICK CAIN concludes his far-reaching interview with Francis Baron, the man who was the most powerful figure in English rugby FRANCIS Baron concludes his analysis […]

Clubs must call SGM to hold RFU to account | Nick Cain

9 May 2021 1 comment

THE news that RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has had to go bowl in hand like some latterday Oliver to ask the bank for more […]

Here’s why Gatland didn’t pick big Billy Vunipola | Nick Cain

9 May 2021 0 comments

Power or pace? What the selection of Sam Simmonds and Jack Conan tell us about Billy Vunipola’s omission

Francis Baron exclusive – Pt.2: As RFU democracy erodes, members have right to ask: Just who is running the shop?

2 May 2021 0 comments

The former RFU chief executive explores the rule of democracy at the union and how much of a say member clubs have in its strategy

Sayonara to England’s hopes of improvement | Nick Cain

2 May 2021 2 comments

Nick Cain struggles to understand how the RFU can pay £750,000pa to Eddie Jones and not expect undivided attention from the coach who is consulting with Suntory Sungoliath

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