Columnists

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

It was good to see Scotland support for T2

4 August 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Captured: Gus Warr in action against Canada PICTURE: Alamy SCOTLAND, for reasons […]

Good to see women winning more awards

4 August 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME IT WAS disappointing that Team GB women’s sevens side were unable to get any medals that […]

Build the future on front row brilliance

28 July 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE England U20 scrum is the best in the world, and in winning the 2024 U20 World […]

Day when the Real McCoys stood up

28 July 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED THE governing bodies of the union game are not renowned for their speed off the mark – the average tectonic plate […]

Richardis goes the distance with pearler of a kick

28 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Delight: Spain U20 celebrate victory over Fiji PICTURE: World Rugby HISTORY will […]

Wales in danger of a Lions wipe out

28 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON – THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW EVER since the ‘British Isles Rugby Union Team’ became the Lions 100 years ago this summer, they […]

Reshuffle helping to bring on youth

28 July 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME NOW we are at the end of the season there is the chance to look back […]

Best team in the world, I screamed

21 July 2024 0 comments

OLAMIDE SODEKE ENGLAND U20 SECOND ROW Friday night was the highlight of my short-lived rugby career so far and was the perfect way to start […]

England going in the right direction

21 July 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK If we measure England from the time Steve Borthwick took over as head coach to where we are […]

England need to beat the big boys

21 July 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK It is intriguing to see England being touted already as serious 2027 World Cup contenders on the […]

A drop of magic is just what we need

21 July 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED STRANGE as it may sound to generations of rugby lovers raised on a fizzy-drink, dopamine-heavy diet of high-scoring matches, there was […]

No stopping the American battlers

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S exactly 100 years ago since France and the USA met in […]

Don’t let our sport move to summer

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS NOT for the first time I offer a heartfelt warning against those who continue to argue for a switch to summer rugby in […]

Spanish youngsters show how to tackle low

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I DON’T know if you caught any of Spain’s game against Italy at the Junior World Cup last Sunday but it was an […]

Flamboyant Harlequins add steel to their spine

21 July 2024 0 comments

HARLEQUINS are following the path trodden by Northampton a year ago, one that took the Saints to Twickenham and the title as a team known […]

All Black who was bristling with pride

21 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW On the front foot: Norm Hewitt leads the Haka before a match against Llanelli at Stradey Park […]

It takes a long time to learn ‘the dark arts’

21 July 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME SO IT was a second defeat in New Zealand for an England team that promised so […]

Vannes facing a tough early test

21 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promoted ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against 23-time French champions Toulouse […]

A thunderous match that had no losers

14 July 2024 0 comments

PAUL REES The first thing that needs to be said is that this was an absorbing Test match between two teams which on their current […]

High-risk blitz puts England in charge

14 July 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK There’s nothing not to like about England’s blitz defence. It’s bold, gutsy, and good to see because it […]

Wales show defiance but the wait goes on

14 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON All week long the Red Dragon legions had planned their regimental mobilisation with just enough military precision to let them catch the action […]

Overseas stars are blocking new talent

14 July 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is a double standard in English rugby that stands out as a carbuncle-like sign of the […]

European elite keen to exclude outsiders

14 July 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Whichever way you care to define the i-word, it was an interesting few hours for Canadian sport. On July 6 in […]

Slipper deserves place at top table

14 July 2024 0 comments

Wallaby props? How we used to snigger at them over here in England as Jason Leonard, Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan chucked their weight around […]

Entertaining the crowds is not the only thing

14 July 2024 0 comments

Paul Rees says that, while attracting a new audience is important, the game must not ignore its core support Scott Robertson made his name with […]

Peter Jackson: Warrior Peter O’Mahony learns a brutal lesson

14 July 2024 0 comments

A Grand Slam winner last year, Peter O’Mahony backed it up by captaining Ireland to a second successive Six Nations title.

Lest we forget: The bravery of the fallen

14 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON It’s a long way from Maesteg to Mametz Wood, from a mining community in the Llynfi Valley to a place in Picardy forever […]

Injury and illness can’t stop the fun

14 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S time to dip back into the 1974 Lions tour again and […]

Don’t lose Six Nations bonus on a Sunday

14 July 2024 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher There have been more reports recently about the Six Nations wanting to do away with Sunday games and have more Super Saturdays […]

Expect the Chiefs Mk2 to be real contenders

14 July 2024 0 comments

PAUL REES LOOKS AT WHY EXETER’S DOR HAS PUT PLAYER RETENTION AHEAD OF RECRUITMENT AT SANDY PARK The most eye-catching result of the Premiership season […]

Why is captain replaced so early?

14 July 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME So the All Blacks keep their home record of wins at Dunedin by just one point […]

Time for players to behave properly

14 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There are no ‘good’ responses to Melvyn Jaminet’s violently racist outburst on social media, or the serious sexual assault allegations levelled […]

Towering talent who took Bath to the top

7 July 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK Jack Rowell’s contribution to Bath rugby was immeasurable from the beginning when he arrived at The Rec as […]

Wainwright stands out as Wales fail to impress

7 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON Political swings being all the rage, the sixth-best team in the Six Nations duly fell victim to one of their own making, a […]

RFU still has urgent questions to answer

7 July 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came three weeks ago when […]

Trio who tempt us to search for genius

7 July 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED What do we mean when we talk of genius? It is a question as old as Noah, an early candidate for […]

Big guns in danger of just looking after No.1

7 July 2024 0 comments

ANALYSIS PAUL REES WONDERS HOW THE SPORT CAN KEEP PAYING FOR ITSELF IN HARD TIMES….WHILE UNIONS BUILD FOR THE FUTURE When the professional era started […]

Jack’s philosophy? Win today, win tomorrow…

7 July 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Of all the enduring memories from Jack Rowell’s tumultuous time in charge of England, two stand out, […]

There’s more than money to Toulouse

7 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There have, rightly, been acres of words written about Toulouse in recent […]

Dangers of brain trauma not new

7 July 2024 0 comments

The perceived wisdom is that rugby was not overly aware of the dangers of concussion and brain trauma back in the day but I’m not […]

‘It’s about being the best player you can be’

7 July 2024 0 comments

Paul Rees finds out what drives new Tigers head coach Michael Cheika and what he plans to do at Welford Road Despite their chequered past […]

Borthwick happy to go back for future

7 July 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME So it looks like Steve Borthwick has learned a lesson and decided what many thought was […]

Scratch XV that downed Boks

7 July 2024 0 comments

Brendan Gallagher was at Sixways when a National League One team caused a big upset – here he looks back to the year 2000 and the […]

Jalibert is top of the ‘wanted’ list again

7 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Never mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on the Bouclier de Brennus […]

England looking good for first Test

30 June 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK It was imperative that England won their opening game against Japan before taking on New Zealand in a […]

Our aim is to make everyone proud

30 June 2024 0 comments

OLAMIDE SODEKE ENGLAND U2O SECOND ROW Having landed in South Africa last Sunday, we’ve already had a memorable time on and off the pitch. This […]

Time for England’s rock-steady crew

30 June 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK NOW comes the acid test of England’s attacking progress. When Steve Borthwick side face New Zealand in […]

Warriors deserved to take the glory

30 June 2024 0 comments

Glasgow Warriors’ 21-16 win over the Bulls in Pretoria to clinch the URC title has earned them deserved accolades after outscoring the home side by […]

Whistler’s authority must be protected

30 June 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED In the middle: Sara Cox took charge of the Women’s Premiership final between Gloucester-Hartpury and Bristol last weekend PICTURES: Getty Images […]

Cheika’s first job: to speak ‘Tiger’

30 June 2024 0 comments

As top-flight English clubs go, none are as English as Leicester, with their grizzled battalions of steadfast Midlands yeomanry – all those Johnsons and Garforths […]

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