Columnists

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

Peter Jackson: Forgotten Dwayne finds new ally in Cips

28 August 2012 0 comments

At a suburban training centre where Manchester City’s multi-millionaires cruise around in their limousines, two international misfits are preparing to take the English Premiership by […]

Jeff Probyn: Ritchie review could finally grasp that contract nettle

27 August 2012 1 comment

The end of a spectacular Olympics where our athletes won 65 medals including 29 gold (and we’ve still got the Paralympics to go), has focused […]

Jeremy Guscott: New slimline Banahan can be lethal but has to stay fit

23 August 2012 2 comments

Matt Banahan came onto the scene in a big way four seasons ago for a number of reasons – the first of which is that […]

Nick Cain talks to Neil Back about Lions, Tigers and Woodward

22 August 2012 1 comment

Neil Back identifies strongly with the team GB athletes who have lifted the country with their performances at the London Olympics over the last few […]

Nick Cain: All Blacks on top with or without Williams

22 August 2012 0 comments

If the Six Nations are playing catch up with the Southern Hemisphere powers, then the new Rugby Championship will be about South Africa, Australia and […]

Peter Jackson: It’s a riot in Paris as Olympic rugby champs are crowned

21 August 2012 1 comment

Of all the foregone conclusions at the London Olympics, one stands out above Usian Bolt, Michael Phelps, Bradley Wiggins and the rest for sheer longevity. […]

Jeff Probyn: Every World Cup referee is ‘inept’ in his own way

20 August 2012 1 comment

I must admit to some surprise at the reaction to Graham Henry’s claim in his autobiography, that he wondered if Wayne Barnes and his assistants […]

Peter Jackson: The Welsh cavalry ride to rescue of Wasps

14 August 2012 1 comment

When Stephen Jones turned down an offer to join Leicester in 2004, Wasps had just superseded the Tigers as champions of England and Europe. Eight […]

Jeff Probyn: Rugby should be backing the war against drugs

14 August 2012 0 comments

Isn’t it funny how those at the top of sport believe that only what affects them is of any importance or consequence to what happens […]

Peter Jackson charts the league stars who moved to union to become dual internationals

8 August 2012 2 comments

Martin Gleeson’s planned conversion from Rugby League comes eight years after England earmarked him for their defence of the World Cup in 2007. Within months […]

Nick Cain: Pumas out to prove their first-class credentials

8 August 2012 1 comment

Argentina have received an early reminder that New Zealand, South Africa and Australia see them as the poor relations of the inaugural southern hemisphere Rugby […]

Jeremy Guscott: Sniffer Ashton should get back on scent with Sarries

7 August 2012 0 comments

Whether Chris Ashton likes it or not we all know he has gone to Saracens because he’s got a better contract. If he had not […]

Peter Jackson: Welsh try to cash in but end up with loose change

7 August 2012 0 comments

Agrand total of ten props, enough to put a small theatrical group out of business, will be missing when Wales finish their autumn series. The […]

Jeff Probyn: Like Jonny, these kids need time before going for Gold

7 August 2012 0 comments

Nick Cain: Lion king of Leeds will ride to the rescue

7 August 2012 1 comment

When it comes to understanding the importance of nurturing and building a brand, Sir Ian McGeechan’s track-record with the Lions takes some beating, and that’s […]

Jeremy Guscott: Quins have the players to create their own dynasty

17 July 2012 0 comments

Harlquins deserve a round of applause. I like the way they play the game. Being prepared to play an attacking game – like the Chiefs […]

Jeff Probyn: Plastic may not be all that fantastic for Saracens

17 July 2012 0 comments

Isn’t it strange with all the fuss re London Welsh not having a stadium that reached the minimum criteria and whether they needed primacy of […]

Peter Jackson: Even Rocky couldn’t put a dent in Dr Marvel

17 July 2012 0 comments

They called Rocky Marciano the ‘greatest slugger in boxing history,’ a fitting description for a world heavyweight champion unbeatable over his entire pro career. The […]

Nick Cain: Robbo’s lumbered with Scotland’s Brave boasts

17 July 2012 0 comments

Disney are about to release Brave, an Asterix-clone feelgood fairytale about the ancient Scots. Perhaps Mark Dodson, the Scottish Rugby Union‘s chief executive, got a sneak […]

Jeremy Guscott: Cowan’s arrival can help put Burns in England shirt

13 July 2012 1 comment

Jimmy Cowan’s arrival at Gloucester could be part of the breakthrough that the club has been waiting for. Cowan is a 50-cap All Black, and […]

Peter Jackson: Silent Henson has last chance to be big noise

13 July 2012 0 comments

Gavin Henson made a smart decision the other day, one which suggested that the penny might have dropped at long last. Posing for photographers in […]

Jeff Probyn: In rugby, country should always come before club

13 July 2012 0 comments

The announcements of the elite player squad for the first half of this season should be a time of excitement and expectation of what lies […]

Nick Cain: Fixture list gives Lions a mauling for starters

10 July 2012 0 comments

The Lions are the biggest brand in rugby alongside the All Blacks. The Lions generate huge interest, lining the coffers of the host country, and […]

Jeremy Guscott: Gary Gold can help make Bath great again

3 July 2012 1 comment

We hear so often about teams that ‘have potential’, but that don’t perform or develop. That is where Bath appear to have been stuck for […]

Nick Cain: Hidden bite of the Lions is a worry for Warren Gatland

3 July 2012 1 comment

Warren Gatland‘s pre-ordained appointment as the 2013 Lions coach leaves me with one big reservation. It is that he is currently also the coach of […]

Jeff Probyn: Dual registration could be casualty of London Welsh triumph

3 July 2012 2 comments

So natural justice has prevailed and the winners of the Championship have finally been allowed to take their place in the Premiership. After a long […]

Peter Jackson: Rhys Williams faces new battle on road to recovery

3 July 2012 0 comments

Rhys Thomas will be 30 at the end of the month. There was a time earlier in the year when surgeons performing emergency heart surgery […]

Jeremy Gucsott: A fit Manu Tuilagi can become England’s Ma’a Nonu

26 June 2012 0 comments

If the RFU and Premiership Rugby do not do something about the league, English rugby could follow in the same steps as English football, in […]

Peter Jackson: Lions’ roar takes on a different sound now

26 June 2012 0 comments

A Lions Test team selected at the end of the World Cup last October would have been a straightforward exercise – Wales and The Rest. […]

Nick Cain: Don’t believe the spin, we still have long way to go

26 June 2012 1 comment

If the mission statement of Clive Woodward’s 2003 world champion outfit was, “To Be The Best”, then the one that comes most readily to mind […]

Jeff Probyn: Let’s suspend relegation during World Cup years

26 June 2012 0 comments

At last, with the summer tours over, we can reflect on what has been a rollercoaster season for all. This World Cup year threw the […]

Jeremy Guscott: Progression of sorts – but where are leaders?

19 June 2012 1 comment

In the end it was all a bit like kissing your sister; comforting but not particularly satisfying. England had the chances to win yesterday against […]

Jeff Probyn: Losing England captain Chirs Robshaw will have done England some good!

19 June 2012 0 comments

This may sound odd, but the loss of captain Chris Robshaw for the final Test may have been something of a blessing for the immediate […]

Nick Cain: Bully-boy forwards win it for the Springboks

19 June 2012 0 comments

The England U20s should be green with envy following South Africa‘s 22-16 World Junior Championship final victory over New Zealand in Cape Town on Friday […]

Peter Jackson: Wales Morgan Stoddart deserves to avoid scrapheap

19 June 2012 1 comment

After 20 Tests spanning 46 weeks, the curtain came down in Sydney yesterday on the busiest and longest Welsh international season. Back home, the player […]

Jeremy Guscott: The spirit of braveheart England will not be broken

14 June 2012 0 comments

At no point in this Test did England look like winning. And at no stage did their spirit look like waning. Stuart Lancaster wants progression […]

Nick Cain: This should have been child’s play for England

14 June 2012 0 comments

Containment is a very dangerous game in an 80-minute sport, and the England U20s paid the price of a policy as ill-conceived as it was […]

Jeff Probyn: Yes, winning is important, but the 2015 World Cup is the real target

14 June 2012 0 comments

Following last week’s defeat the headlines in almost every paper was about the reality check that England had faced when playing against the team ranked […]

Peter Jackson: Let’s all start screeching for Wales tonight

10 June 2012 0 comments

On their day off at the Junior World Cup in Cape Town, the Welsh giant-killers could be found at the top of Table Mountain enjoying […]

Peter Jackson: Dead-eye Dan Biggar can be the man for Wales again

10 June 2012 0 comments

He finished the season in thoroughbred style sith seven straight wins, running an attack responsible for averaging almost four tries a match. During the course […]

Jeremy Guscott: Owen Farrell must play flatter and Ben Morgan needs help

3 June 2012 0 comments

Stuart Lancaster has a dilemma going into Saturday’s second Test in Johannesburg – does he take a step back in development and play Charlie Hodgson […]

Jeff Probyn: Why do we always have this hype about brutality?

3 June 2012 1 comment

As the England players are recovering from the first of their three Tests they might well be wondering what all the fuss was about in […]

Nick Cain: Country is divided on inflexible Heyneke Meyer

3 June 2012 1 comment

Heyneke Meyer knows that ultimately his reign as Springbok coach will be defined not on whether he produces a South Africa team with thrills, frills, […]

Jeremy Guscott: Come on Stuart Lancaster, make us more like Harlequins than Sarries

27 May 2012 2 comments

Listening to Stuart Lancaster talk about his England rugby team, the words are pretty familiar. There’s nothing unusual, nothing that makes you start to think […]

Nick Cain: A sizeable problem is wrecking our game

27 May 2012 1 comment

Bigger is better. That is the false mantra that coaches and talent scouts appear to be chanting with the brainless devotion common to one of […]

Peter Jackson: Bad refs and punch-ups scar Wales tours of Australia

27 May 2012 0 comments

The last time Wales sent their Grand Slam champions to Australia, the Wallabies subjected them to all manner of mayhem. What happened during that damaging […]

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