Premiership

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

Revealed: Major gulf in funding of top clubs

26 March 2013 0 comments

Premier Rugby Ltd is facing serious questions over the huge differences between the funding provided to its ‘founder’ clubs compared to promoted clubs. The Rugby […]

Trigger-finger refs stamp out cynicism

22 March 2013 0 comments

Greater vigilance by referees at the breakdown and less tolerance of cynical play has led to a sharp rise in yellow cards during this season’s […]

Wasps must use Tommy Bell to ring in changes for future, says Kenny Logan

21 March 2013 0 comments

Wasps’ challenge for a top four spot has defied expectations but club legend Kenny Logan insists the focus has to be to find a long-term […]

Matt Stevens is back to his best now he’s 20 stones!

20 March 2013 0 comments

Matt Stevens says piling on the pounds and a change of positions has contributed to him enjoying one of his best seasons. But the 30-year-old […]

Dan Braid has the appetite to satisfy Sale hunger

16 March 2013 0 comments

Sale flanker Dan Braid was so confident that 2013 would turn out to be a good year he saw it in twice. Since arriving in […]

Little and large are big-time with Bath

13 March 2013 0 comments

Matt Banahan has hailed his ‘little and large’ midfield partnership with Kyle Eastmond, likening their relationship to the 1988 comedy classic Twins, which starred the […]

London Welsh left bottom with 5-point deduction and £15,000 fine

8 March 2013 1 comment

London Welsh have been deducted five league points and fined £15,000 after being found guilty to have fielded an ineligible player in the Aviva Premiership […]

Shane Geraghty’s enjoying tough love with London Irish

8 March 2013 0 comments

Playmaker Shane Geraghty puts London Irish‘s recent upturn in form down to a tough new approach. The Exiles may have taken a thumping from Northampton […]

Tyson Keats was eligible to play, London Welsh will tell RFU

5 March 2013 0 comments

London Welsh are preparing to launch a powerful defence against the charge that scrum-half Tyson Keats was ineligible to play in the Premiership. The Rugby […]

Saracens go top with bonus-point win over London Welsh

3 March 2013 1 comment

Saracens went top of the Premiership table for the first time in three years following their 35-11 bonus-point win over London Welsh at the Allianz […]

Live: Saracens v London Welsh

1 March 2013 0 comments

Live running commentary from our man Nick Verdier as Saracens take on London Welsh in the 17th round of the Aviva Premiership at The Allianz […]

Welcome to hard work, Anthony Allen tells his old pal Ryan Lamb

1 March 2013 0 comments

Leicester centre Anthony Allen believes that Ryan Lamb, a former fellow young pup at Gloucester, will flourish in the Tigers‘ dog-eat-dog environment. As exclusively revealed […]

“I Kahn fight for my place”, says Northampton Lee Dickson

28 February 2013 1 comment

Lee Dickson’s starting spot at Franklin’s Gardens will come under considerable threat when Europe’s most sought-after scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i joins Northampton in the summer. However […]

Huge boost for London Irish with vital win against London Wasps

24 February 2013 1 comment

London Irish have received a huge boost in their relegation battle with a vital 30-19 win against London Wasps at the Madjeski Stadium today. With […]

Live: London Irish v London Wasps

22 February 2013 1 comment

Live running commentary from our man Nick Verdier as London Irish take on London Wasps in the 16th round of the Aviva Premiership at Madejski […]

London Wasps confirm Top 4 status with win over Gloucester

17 February 2013 0 comments

London Wasps created a clear gap between them and the rest of the pack in the race for the semi-finals with an entertaining 33-29 win […]

Captain Dean Schofield wants a halt to Worcester exodus

8 February 2013 0 comments

Dean Schofield has spoken of the need for Worcester to keep their homegrown players at the club if they want to move onto the next […]

Alex King can help Northampton Saints be kings of England

7 February 2013 0 comments

Alex King is the man to end Northampton‘s reputation as the nearly men of English rugby, according to two men who have worked with the […]

Courtney Lawes’ power hit changed Gonzalo Tiesi’s life

6 February 2013 1 comment

Courtney Lawes made his usual powerful impact off the bench at Twickenham yesterday – bringing painful memories for Gonzalo Tiesi. Outside centre Tiesi, London Welsh’s […]

You should have stayed a Leicester boy, George

1 February 2013 0 comments

George Ford could be making the biggest mistake of his life by quitting Leicester this summer, according to former fly-half prodigy Ryan Davis. Ford, 19, […]

Halrequins kids will make it tough for Paul Doran Jones

31 January 2013 0 comments

Paul Doran-Jones might be on his way to Harlequins to replace James Johnston but he will have to get past two home-grown props. Johnston’s departure […]

You’ve got to join a bigger club, Lewis Moody tells Matt Kvesic

30 January 2013 1 comment

Matt Kvesic needs to leave Worcester to further his international claims, says former England skipper and World Cup winner Lewis Moody. And Kvesic, whose Warriors […]

Northampton Saints sign Kahn Fotuali’i

24 January 2013 1 comment

Northampton Saints have secured the services of one of Europe’s hottest property as they announced the arrival of Samoan scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i from the Ospreys. […]

Dave Walder loves mad whirl of rugby, Japanese-style

23 January 2013 1 comment

Dave Walder has found playing in Japan ‘mystifying and infuriating’ – but he does not want his Oriental adventure to end. His second season with […]

Saracens in chase for Europe’s top target

22 January 2013 0 comments

Saracens, fresh from signing Billy Vunipola and James Johnston this week, are among a possee of clubs chasing Ospreys scrum half Kahn Fotuali’i. The Samoan […]

Exile Ed Williamson brushes up for life after rugby

16 January 2013 1 comment

London Welsh‘s abrasive back row forward Ed Williamson is developing a name for himself off the pitch – as an artist. His delicate and precise […]

Saracens snap up Billy Vunipola and James Johnston

14 January 2013 1 comment

As revealed by Neil Fissler in The Rugby Paper back in December, Billy Vunipola will team up with his brother Mako next season after the […]

No end to Dan Caprice’s magical mystery tour

11 January 2013 1 comment

Dan Caprice is not one for letting the grass grow under his feet. Over the past three years he has travelled the Sevens circuit with […]

Let us help get the refs up to speed, say top clubs

10 January 2013 2 comments

Premiership Rugby want to play a more active role in the recruitment and training of referees in future. At present the RFU are responsible for […]

David Ellis – “I can turn Danny Cipriani back into an England star”

9 January 2013 2 comments

Defence coach Dave Ellis says he can help Danny Cipriani get back into the England side. Gifted Sale Sharks playmaker Cipriani has not represented his […]

London Wasps outplay and dominate Bath to go fourth

6 January 2013 0 comments

London Wasps made their way into the Top 4 with a dominant 29-15 win over Bath at Adams Park today. What a turnaround from a […]

Saints and London Irish claim big wins at Exeter and Gloucester

5 January 2013 0 comments

Northampton confirmed their new-found form with a comprehensive 30-19 win over Exeter at Sandy Park today. A try from Ken Pisi along with eight points […]

Leicester go top of Premiership with win against Worcester

4 January 2013 1 comment

Leicester went top of the Premiership table following their narrow 19-14 victory over Worcester at Sixways tonight. David Lemi with a try and Andy Goode […]

“Christian Wade must add to his X-factor” – Joe Rokocoko

4 January 2013 0 comments

Joe Rokocoko admits he sees plenty of his younger self in Christian Wade, but the former All Black insists the Wasps wing must not make […]

Sale Sharks still alive with bonus-point defeat at London Wasps

23 December 2012 0 comments

Sale secured a last gasp losing bonus-point against London Wasps to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive this afternoon. While Wasps had the game […]

London Wasps flyer Tom Varndell firing on all cylinders

21 December 2012 0 comments

When it comes to spare time, tweeting and playing video games rank pretty high on most rugby players’ list of hobbies. But yesterday, Tom Varndell […]

Premiership round 11: preview and predictions

21 December 2012 0 comments

Bath v Saracens Bath Rugby have made six changes to the starting line-up that beat Calvisano in the Amlin Challenge Cup last weekend as they […]

How a phone revamped Harlequins’ coaching

12 December 2012 0 comments

Never afraid to explore new ways of training, Harlequins have been making giant strides in recent weeks using…a 5.5”-screen mobile phone. For just over a […]

Brian Mujati is brewing up a storm at Saints

7 December 2012 2 comments

These are hectic days for Northampton’s former South Africa prop Brian Mujati. Aside from agreeing a move to Paris moneybags Racing Metro, he played against […]

“Relegation threat keeps it interesting” – London Irish Ian Humphreys

6 December 2012 1 comment

London Irish may be struggling in the Premiership but fly-half Ian Humphreys is not joining the clamour for relegation to be scrapped. Nor, insists the […]

Wasp Tom Varndell hunting down Steve Hanley’s record

5 December 2012 2 comments

With nine tries in nine Premiership games played so far this season, Tom Varndell is in the form of his life and the Wasp winger […]

Fearless Freddie Burns gets his chance – Mike Tindall

30 November 2012 1 comment

Gloucester player-coach Mike Tindall believes 22-year-old Freddie Burns will have no problem stepping into international rugby should he feature against the All Blacks tomorrow. The […]

“We’re getting more and more confident” – Tom Varndell

30 November 2012 0 comments

London Wasps are travelling to Sandy Park tomorrow to face Exeter looking to carry on their good run of form against one of the toughest nut to […]

Premiership round 10: previews and predictions

30 November 2012 0 comments

Harlequins v Worcester Harlequins have made three changes to the starting XV that played Bath last weekend for the reception of Worcester tonight. Seb Stegmann […]

Openside gambit from Luke Wallace: “I’ll oust Chris Robshaw”

28 November 2012 1 comment

Ultra-competitive Harlequins flanker Luke Wallace believes he could provide the long-term answer to England’s search for a genuine openside. And he has put Quins team-mate […]