Jeremy Guscott: Barkley proved his worth in that pivotal role of No.10

Olly Barkley’s move to Racing Metro is a bolt from the blue for Bath supporters, and the real issue is that...

Nick Cain: Not pausing for a second, the scrum is still a mess

The scrum is under sustained attack in the modern game with barely a match at elite level where the referee does...

Peter Jackson: Jones heads lost legion of forgotten Welsh stars

There is a whole team of them to be found out there – the Welsh internationals whose meteoric streak in some...

Jeff Probyn: Let Premiership go it alone and free up RFU cash for all

I can’t help thinking that there is something strange in the way that the Premiership chose to announce their potential new...

Nick Cain talks to Exeter blindside Tom Johnson about his remarkable rise from grass roots to Test level

Tom Johnson is not so much a late bloomer as a one-man Indian summer. The Exeter Chiefs blindside flanker was a...

Jeremy Guscott: At last, some skills are returning to club rugby

Is it a coincidence that Premiership teams appear to be playing a more expansive game this season, or that the same...

Nick Cain: Sort out this mess or risk destroying the 2012 vibe

Mark McCafferty has come under withering fire after negotiating a unilateral £152m television rights deal for English club rugby with BT...

Peter Jackson: Welshman Brian disarmed the last great TV conflict

Brian Baister was sitting behind his desk at home on Wednesday morning when a news item leapt out of the page...

Jeff Probyn: Extending power of TMOs allows refs to pass the buck

I watched Sale christen their new home at the Salford City stadium with an unfortunate loss against Saracens last Saturday. A...

Nick Cain assesses some early problems for the 2013 lions

Will a Lions tour party ever leave these shores without having a ball-and-chain clapped to their ankle? This week’s coach-naming Press...

Jeremy Guscott: Gatland musn’t go looking for problems

I was surprised when Warren Gatland came out with the view that  overseas-based players, especially those in France, could rule themselves...

Nick Cain: Half-baked TMO trial needs re-focussing

It is the duty of a modern professional sport to use technology to arrive at fair rulings and eliminate errors by...

Peter Jackson: Grav’s fight with a Jag brought the roof down

Ray Gravell would have been 61 this week and the world, especially the part which revolved around Mynydd-y-Garreg, would have been...

Jeff Probyn: Heroic defeat shows there’s still a buzz in Dai’s Wasps

A blistering start to the season with lots of points scored in some outstanding games – but it has to be...

NICK CAIN finds London Welsh skipper Jonathan Mills is a Realist with an optimistic streak

Jonathan Mills is full of pioneer spirit despite the giant survival task facing him and his newly promoted band of London...

Jeremy Guscott: Quick-learners Argentina exposed bish-bash Boks

Argentina have more than proved their worth in the revamped Tri-Nations, now the Rugby Championship, by drawing with South Africa when...

Nick Cain: Lancaster must pick his diamonds now

Stuart Lancaster appears to have taken it as a given that he will be England head coach until his contract ends...

Peter Jackson: “It seemed so unfair to have my dream taken away,” says Lloyd Burns

He blazed across the skies of the rugby globe like a meteor, a trans-global journey of fairytale dimension from Cardiff to...

Jeff Probyn: Cips may shine but it’s the Sale scrum that matters

At last the season has begun, with much anticipation and excitement. For the players on international duty this summer, it must...

Jeremy Guscott: Watch out if Cowan makes Gloucester’s back line tick

I have a sense of huge anticipation for the upcoming Aviva Premiership mostly based on the rugby I’ve watched over the...

Peter Jackson: A spat that ended with an all-Welsh Pro12 punchline

Phil Davies and Simon Easterby go back a long way, to a Third Division scrap in West Yorkshire during the pioneering...

Jeff Probyn: TMOs should be allowed to single out the thugs

The Premiership has announced that it intends to increase the powers of the TMO’s at live televised games by allowing them...

Nick Cain: Packer-style circus is real threat to rugby

There has been a recurrent message doing the rounds since the 2011 World Cup which the existing rugby establishment, based on...

Nick Cain talks to bath boss Gary Gold about reviving a once-champion club

Gary Gold is cagey when he considers the question of the quality he has found at Bath in terms of squad,...

Peter Jackson: Forgotten Dwayne finds new ally in Cips

At a suburban training centre where Manchester City’s multi-millionaires cruise around in their limousines, two international misfits are preparing to take...

Jeff Probyn: Ritchie review could finally grasp that contract nettle

The end of a spectacular Olympics where our athletes won 65 medals including 29 gold (and we’ve still got the Paralympics...

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

Matt Banahan came onto the scene in a big way four seasons ago for a number of reasons – the first...

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

Neil Back identifies strongly with the team GB athletes who have lifted the country with their performances at the London Olympics...

Nick Cain: All Blacks on top with or without Williams

If the Six Nations are playing catch up with the Southern Hemisphere powers, then the new Rugby Championship will be about...

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

Of all the foregone conclusions at the London Olympics, one stands out above Usian Bolt, Michael Phelps, Bradley Wiggins and the...

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

I must admit to some surprise at the reaction to Graham Henry’s claim in his autobiography, that he wondered if Wayne...

Peter Jackson: The Welsh cavalry ride to rescue of Wasps

When Stephen Jones turned down an offer to join Leicester in 2004, Wasps had just superseded the Tigers as champions of...

Jeff Probyn: Rugby should be backing the war against drugs

Isn’t it funny how those at the top of sport believe that only what affects them is of any importance or...

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

Martin Gleeson’s planned conversion from Rugby League comes eight years after England earmarked him for their defence of the World Cup...

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

Argentina have received an early reminder that New Zealand, South Africa and Australia see them as the poor relations of the...

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

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

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

Agrand total of ten props, enough to put a small theatrical group out of business, will be missing when Wales finish...

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

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

When it comes to understanding the importance of nurturing and building a brand, Sir Ian McGeechan’s track-record with the Lions takes...

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

Harlquins deserve a round of applause. I like the way they play the game. Being prepared to play an attacking game...

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

Isn’t it strange with all the fuss re London Welsh not having a stadium that reached the minimum criteria and whether...

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

They called Rocky Marciano the ‘greatest slugger in boxing history,’ a fitting description for a world heavyweight champion unbeatable over his...

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

Disney are about to release Brave, an Asterix-clone feelgood fairytale about the ancient Scots. Perhaps Mark Dodson, the Scottish Rugby Union‘s chief...

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

Jimmy Cowan’s arrival at Gloucester could be part of the breakthrough that the club has been waiting for. Cowan is a...

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

Gavin Henson made a smart decision the other day, one which suggested that the penny might have dropped at long last....

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

The announcements of the elite player squad for the first half of this season should be a time of excitement and...

Nick Cain: Fixture list gives Lions a mauling for starters

The Lions are the biggest brand in rugby alongside the All Blacks. The Lions generate huge interest, lining the coffers of...

Jeremy Guscott: Gary Gold can help make Bath great again

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

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

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

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

So natural justice has prevailed and the winners of the Championship have finally been allowed to take their place in the...