Columnists

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

Nick Cain wonders why the Lions have not turned to the obvious choice as they tackle front row crisis

12 June 2013 0 comments

The departure lounges of airports as distant from each other as Durban and Buenos Aires have been busy over the last few hours transporting new […]

James Haskell: Wow, this game is so easy from Press box

7 June 2013 0 comments

I had last minute surgery on my knee a couple of days ago and was under the knife for over three hours. The surgeon, who […]

Peter Jackson: Will next Warburton stand up now please!

5 June 2013 1 comment

Every Lions captain has to begin somewhere as an international player but only one began in the middle of nowhere. Four years ago last weekend, […]

Nick Cain: Chattering refs led to Hartley’s disgrace

4 June 2013 3 comments

There is no escaping the fact that Dylan Hartley‘s sending-off at Twickenham in the Premiership final last weekend cost Northampton the chance of being crowned […]

Jeff Probyn: Lions must have full control and never do a Hartley

4 June 2013 3 comments

As the Lions prepare for the real start to this summer’s much awaited tour, the question is, (money aside) why bother with a run out […]

Jeff Probyn: Five golden steps which would restore the scrum

24 May 2013 0 comments

The IRB have announced their latest incarnation of the scrum engagement sequence that incorporates pre-binding and the need to put the ball in straight. I […]

Peter Jackson: Leigh’s the guardian ‘angel’ for home club

24 May 2013 1 comment

Gorseinon RFC have done more than their bit for the international game over the last half century – from Onllwyn Brace to Norman Gale, Lewis […]

Nick Cain: First blood to Lions as toxic Quade gets ‘axed’

23 May 2013 0 comments

The slabs of red meat are one up already! The sledging war initiated by our Aussie mates ahead of the arrival of the 2013 Lions […]

Nick Cain talks to Leicester’s Tom croft about his double challenge of Premiership final and Lions tour

23 May 2013 0 comments

Tom Croft has an attribute that few international forwards possess, including those back rowers alongside him in the 2013 Lions squad: The pace to scare […]

James Haskell: Being big and strong does not make you good

22 May 2013 1 comment

Is rugby becoming too dangerous? Are players getting too big? Could rugby be heading the same way as the NFL, with all the inherent injury […]

Jeremy Guscott: Tigers can edge this battle of the giants

22 May 2013 0 comments

Northampton’s results against the top teams in the Premiership have generally not been the best and they won’t be favourites for this Twickenham final, especially […]

Jeff Probyn: Late kick-offs can harm the legacy of RWC 2015

17 May 2013 1 comment

With news about the Lions selection dominating the sports pages, someone at RWC 2015 must have thought no-one would notice. The announcement that 22 of […]

Peter Jackson: Forgotten Byrne can join select Welsh club

17 May 2013 1 comment

A new name ought to be added to Europe’s painfully small Welsh roll of honour next weekend, a player long declared surplus to international requirements. […]

Jeremy Guscott: Forget the chess game let’s go for check mate

16 May 2013 0 comments

The squad Stuart Lancaster has selected to tour Argentina next month is spot on, and I like the inclusion of 11 non-capped players. I only […]

Nick Cain says the tour party to Argentina represents a sea-change for England

16 May 2013 0 comments

The grass-roots setting of Barnes RFC is an unlikely location for game-changing decisions at the apex of the English elite game. However, when Stuart Lancaster […]

Nick Cain: Put star players outside salary cap

15 May 2013 0 comments

What has happened to the once proud record of English clubs in Europe? When Saracens slipped out of the Heineken Cup a fortnight ago after […]

James Haskell: I can’t wait to see new back row in action

15 May 2013 0 comments

Being injured sucks! Not just because you miss out on all the tours. No it sucks because you end-up working harder than you did during […]

Peter Jackson: Wales have been down and laid out Down Under

11 May 2013 1 comment

The Welsh usually run into trouble in Australia, big trouble. As a sport, trying to tie the Wallaby down in his natural habitat has caused […]

Jeff Probyn: Sorry, but I just can’t see any Englishman starting first Test

10 May 2013 1 comment

With the horse trading over at last we can now focus on a squad that we all hope will bring home the series victory that […]

Nick Cain: Football could yet kick RWC 2015 into touch

9 May 2013 2 comments

There were cautionary notes amid the fanfare for England‘s 2015 World Cup when the schedule and venues were announced at Twickenham on Thursday. Foremost among […]

Jeremy Guscott: No more squabbles, let’s all just get behind our squad

9 May 2013 2 comments

I like the look of Warren Gatland‘s 2013 Lions squad, which has physicality as well as speed and skill. Like all Lions squads there are […]

Nick Cain: These slabs of meat will be mighty mouthfuls

8 May 2013 0 comments

Slabs of red meat? More like slabs of gristle. The sort of tough, unpalatable stuff that the Aussies, who like the red meat on their […]

James Haskell: Power of music puts me in mood for a battle

8 May 2013 0 comments

Once on tour, the pressure and nervous excitement will start to creep up on the Lions players, building to a crescendo before kick-off. With this […]

Jeff Probyn: Blame Sarries fan base not ERC for no-show, Edward

4 May 2013 0 comments

As the majority of the Aviva Premiership took a well- earned break this weekend, the expectation was that the only major game being played in […]

Peter Jackson: Black time for Blues underlines Euro row

3 May 2013 2 comments

Cardiff Blues have played 30 matches in all competitions this season and lost 20 of them – two defeats in every three. No wonder, therefore, […]

Nick Cain: Give Danny loving care the same as Quade

2 May 2013 1 comment

Danny Cipriani must be cursing his luck that he wasn’t born an Aussie. Cipriani is a less divisive and outspoken character than Quade Cooper, the […]

Jeff Probyn: Make cuts now, Exiles, or you may face ruin later

1 May 2013 2 comments

Like the scene from Titanic after the ship hit the iceberg, the relegation of London Welsh has seen many of those associated with the club jump overboard […]

James Haskell: It’s Wade or Care as my man of the season

1 May 2013 0 comments

Coming to the business-end of the season means finals, tours and awards. The shortlist of names for this year’s Premiership Player of the Year has […]

Peter Jackson: All Blacks rest cure will cost WRU £4m

30 April 2013 0 comments

The All Blacks have torn a gaping hole in Wales’ autumn schedule, one damaging enough to run into seven figures. Instead of squeezing every last […]

Nick Cain: Be brave and blood more kids against Pumas

29 April 2013 1 comment

Should England go to Argentina with purely a development side, or should they go with enough experience and firepower to ensure that they win the […]

Jeremy Guscott: Quins must answer questions on squad depth and mentality

26 April 2013 0 comments

Qualification for the Aviva Premiership play-offs is pretty much all over bar the shouting. Sarries and Tigers will finish one and two with Quins and […]

Nick Cain meets Paul Gustard, the man responsible for Saracens’ famous defence

25 April 2013 1 comment

Paul Gustard may not be in quite the same league as Crocodile Dundee when it comes to animal magic, but the Saracens defence coach certainly […]

James Haskell: Lions must be wary of these Aussie dangermen

24 April 2013 0 comments

So what sort of side will the Lions face Down Under? Having played Super Rugby against many of their guys when with New Zealand‘s Otago […]

Peter Jackson: You’re lucky George, they said Lewis sold his soul

19 April 2013 0 comments

Lewis Jones remembers what it was like when he left Llanelli, how all hell broke loose over his transfer to Leeds Rugby League club. “They […]

Jeremy Guscott looks at the contenders for the Lions captaincy and selects his man

18 April 2013 0 comments

For the first in a long time whoever Warren Gatland selects as his Lions captain will not be a majority pick by most supporters. In […]

Jeff Probyn: Where do English clubs go if they quit Heineken Cup?

17 April 2013 2 comments

This week saw the traditional end to the rugby season at club level with the vast majority of England’s clubs playing the last league games […]

James Haskell: Magic of the Lions transcends everything

17 April 2013 0 comments

As the end of this season approaches, the elephant is in the room. The topic being touched upon with baited breath in all the sports […]

Jeremy Guscott: Come on Leicester, prove that Toulon are just mercenaries

16 April 2013 4 comments

Two fantastic European fixtures will be taking place today, Toulon v Tigers and Harlequins v Munster. In both cases it’s old multi-winners against newbie wannabe […]

Peter Jackson: Give me just a little more time, begs Olly

15 April 2013 1 comment

Olly Kohn has no intention of ending up as cannon-fodder for any bright sparks on Brain of Britain or University Challenge even if he can […]

Nick Cain: Baxter can improve England’s set-piece

12 April 2013 1 comment

Stuart Lancaster has made a smart move in asking Rob Baxter to join the England set-up as forwards coach for the tour to Argentina this […]

Jeremy Guscott: Ref scrums as laws say and all will be fine again

11 April 2013 0 comments

The scrum statistics from the Six Nations makes grim reading and tell us a great deal about the state of the game in the Northern […]

Peter Jackson: Drumrolls, but the big act has yet to appear

11 April 2013 0 comments

The Welsh Rugby Union considered their announcement important enough to carry a ‘strict embargo’ until one minute past midnight on the first Wednesday of December. […]

Jeff Probyn: Surely it’s best for Wales that North’s in England not France

11 April 2013 1 comment

Why is it that when clubs or regions have a disagreement with their Unions they always appear to threaten a new cross- border competition? Whether […]

Jeff Probyn: RFU must step in and end this financial ring-fencing

10 April 2013 1 comment

As the disappointments of the Six Nations fades into memory, club rugby comes back into focus as we approach the business end of the season […]

James Haskell: Wasps fall in classic episode of Euro thrills

10 April 2013 1 comment

The Premiership is fantastically competitive week-in- week-out. It’s hard, it’s physical and many of the weekly match-ups could easily be described as being big games. […]

James Haskell: Let’s play in summer and watch skills grow

9 April 2013 4 comments

You wake-up. It’s Saturday morning. Your bedroom’s freezing, but at least it is only 10.00am, so you can ease back for a lie-in under the […]

James Haskell: The pain of defeat will drive England on

8 April 2013 0 comments

I was asked in the build up to the game with Wales: “Have the players who had been involved with the loss against Ireland two […]

Nick Cain picks his 2013 Lions tour party with some surprising ins and outs

7 April 2013 1 comment

No Brian O’Driscoll. No Chris Robshaw. Neither men make my 2013 Lions tour party for the straightforward reason that others are better equipped to help […]