English Championship

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

French lessons help Peter Lydon get set for London Scottish test

15 August 2014 0 comments

London Scottish fly-half Peter Lydon believes a year spent rubbing shoulders with the galacticos of Stade Francais will help him take the Championship by storm. […]

Ryan Lamb aims to sizzle for Dean Ryan this time

7 August 2014 0 comments

Fly-half admits his ambitious style of play may have stunted what should have been a more fulfilling career in terms of international honours.

Loyal Dwayne Peel blown away by quality in Bristol’s squad

3 August 2014 1 comment

Scrum-half had no hesitation in turning down a loan move to a top-flight club.

Carnegie will be in title mix vows Chris Jones

25 July 2014 0 comments

Regardless of budgets, if you finish in the top 4 anything’s possible, says Chris Jones

London Scottish dual-register Quins quintet

23 July 2014 1 comment

London Scottish have announced an agreement with Harlequins to dual-register five of their players. Lock Sam Twomey extends his stay in Richmond having already made […]

Friday to balance jobs between exiles and Eagles

18 July 2014 0 comments

London Scottish Director of rugby Mike Friday has agreed to become Head coach of the USA 7s squad. The former England 7s coach will combine […]

Dwayne Peel stays loyal to Bristol’s ambition

11 July 2014 0 comments

Former Wales scrum-half set to start next season with Bristol despite failing to win promotion.

Mike Friday: Top tier link-up is a must for Championship

4 July 2014 0 comments

Takeover by Premiership Rugby would transport the second tier on to a different level.

Doncaster Knights packing down with a Transatlantic accent

26 June 2014 2 comments

Doncaster Knights boss Clive Griffiths is close to finalising his forward pack for next season’s Championship campaign with a second Canadian lock thought to be […]

EXCLUSIVE: National League One Dream Team

20 June 2014 0 comments

Rosslyn Park pushed Doncaster Knights all the way to the final day in National One…and now they have equalled their efforts in our Team of […]

London Welsh confirm four more signings

12 June 2014 0 comments

London Welsh today continued their shopping spree confirming the signings of James Sandford, Cameron Goodhue, Paul Rowley and Jesse Liston. The Exiles, who won promotion […]

Barkley joins London Welsh

9 June 2014 1 comment

London Welsh have celebrated their return to the Premiership by announcing the arrival of Olly Barkley. The fly-half, 32, arrives from the Scarlets where he […]

Worcester Warriors stuck by me so I’ll stay on, says Chris Pennell

21 May 2014 0 comments

The Premiership player of the year nominee has been a model of consistency in an otherwise disastrous Warriors campaign, the only man to have played every minute of all 22 regular season games.

Doncaster Knights’ workhorse may need to lighten his load

9 May 2014 1 comment

Having become the first coach to bounce his side back into the Championship following relegation, Clive Griffiths is now busy with the challenge of making Doncaster a true force in English rugby’s second tier.

Lightning Tyson Lewis fires Doncaster Knights to promotion

1 May 2014 0 comments

Carlin Isles may be the world’s quickest rugby winger – but he is not as fast as Tyson Lewis when it comes to scoring tries.

Bristol’s big guns ‘will fire them to promotion’

17 April 2014 0 comments

Bristol’s experience on and off the field will carry them across the Championship promotion line to the Aviva Premiership, according to Cornish Pirates boss Ian Davies.

Mark Bright became exile after his hopes were dimmed by Thomas Waldrom

11 April 2014 0 comments

London Scottish No.8 Mark Bright has few regrets, but he can still recall how Thomas Waldrom once cost him the chance of a contract with the Super Rugby giants, Crusaders.

London Welsh commits to Oxfordshire

6 April 2014 0 comments

London Welsh confirmed its long-term commitment to play in Oxfordshire, as revealed in The Rugby Paper back in November, with the agreement of a new […]

Sir Ian McGeechan urges SRU To nurture talent with London Scottish

4 April 2014 0 comments

Sir Ian McGeechan has called on Scotland Rugby to utilise London Scottish in order to create greater depth in its national talent pool.

Not a question of if Bristol are promoted, it’s when, says Sean Holley

28 March 2014 0 comments

Head coach Sean Holley says he feels “no pressure” to get Bristol promoted to the Premiership this campaign.

Room 101: Alex Rae – Jersey forward

20 March 2014 0 comments

1. Travelling by plane Unfortunately flying cannot be avoided when you play for an island team like Jersey. I’ve lost count of the number of […]

Stuttering Bedford to look at full-time option

20 March 2014 1 comment

Long-serving Bedford director of rugby Mike Rayer concedes he may have to review the club’s part-time status after enduring his worst campaign to date.

Titan Juan Pablo Socino signs for Newcastle

19 March 2014 1 comment

Newcastle Falcons have signed Argentine centre Juan Pablo Socino on a two-year contract. The 25-year-old, who currently plays for the Rotherham Titans, is the leading […]

Jonny Bentley on board to steer Leeds through playoffs

13 March 2014 0 comments

As the sixth former Pirate to jump on board the good ship Leeds Carnegie, loan signing Jonny Bentley is already feeling the wind in his sails at Headingley.

20 Questions: Jacob Rowan – Leeds flanker

12 March 2014 2 comments

Enjoying the campaign? Really happy we’re doing well. We’ve been showing good form that’s got us into the top four and long may that continue. […]

RFU face legal action over league restructure

12 March 2014 0 comments

The Rugby Football Union faces court action by lower league clubs unless controversial plans to restructure the National Leagues are dropped.

Play-off deal ‘can fund Championship clubs’

7 March 2014 1 comment

Cornish Pirates chairman Dicky Evans believes trading away rights to automatic promotion and relegation between the Championship and Premiership would be the best way of generating revenue to keep second tier teams afloat.

Bristol sign Osprey Matthew Morgan

5 March 2014 0 comments

Bristol Rugby have beaten off competition from a host of Aviva Premiership clubs to secure the signing of Ospreys’ fly-half Matthew Morgan. The highly rated […]

Ross Rennie happy to put Bristol first for now

28 February 2014 1 comment

Ross Rennie insists a Scotland recall is the furthest thing from his mind as he continues to rebuild his career at Bristol.

Veteran Jon Clarke enjoying life with cavalier Leeds

6 February 2014 0 comments

Just one month into his Leeds Carnegie career former England Saxon centre Jon Clarke already feels like a Headingley veteran.

Brendan Gallagher: RFU Championship clubs face a vital strategy meeting

8 January 2014 0 comments

Later this month the chairmen and owners of the 12 RFU Championship clubs will lock themselves away in a Birmingham Hotel room with a pile […]

Championship clubs’ rage over Anglo-Welsh proposals

8 January 2014 2 comments

Championship chair- man Geoff Irvine believes it is highly unlikely the Rugby Football Union will sanction a 16-team Anglo-Welsh league, describing plans as “scandalous.”

‘Ryan Giggs’ tribute for record man David Jackson

27 December 2013 0 comments

David Jackson has been hailed as the “the Ryan Giggs of Nottingham Rugby” by club CEO Simon Beatham after the record-breaking wing’s playing career came to a premature halt last week.

Cornish Pirates stay on top by reading The Rugby Paper…

5 December 2013 0 comments

Cornish Pirates are again punching above their weight in the Championship and head coach Ian Davies has revealed how The Rugby Paper is playing a part in ensuring National League rugby’s westernmost club stays ahead of the game.

Make the Championship a closed shop says Kenny Logan

27 November 2013 2 comments

London Scottish director Kenny Logan has called for the Green King IPA Championship to be ring-fenced to allow professional second tier clubs time to develop their businesses.

London Welsh will say farewell to Old Deer Park home

6 November 2013 3 comments

London Welsh are preparing to end 128 years of rugby history in England’s capital city by shifting the club lock, stock and barrel to Oxford.

Richard Thorpe: Time with Leicester Tigers was no waste

25 October 2013 0 comments

London Welsh flanker Richard Thorpe is desperate to forget nine months of injury hell by firing the Exiles back into the Premiership.

Guru Braam van Straaten re-boots Alex Lozowksi’s career path

17 October 2013 0 comments

Rising Leeds star Alex Lozowski has credited a goal-kicking masterclass with club legend Braam van Straaten as one of the reasons for his fantastic start to the season.

Miles Mantella bounces back from pain of rejection

11 October 2013 0 comments

Being released by a Premiership club can be a devastating blow for a young player – but pace ace Miles Mantella is taking it all in his stride.

Phil Chesters is quick again after almost dying

5 October 2013 1 comment

Phil Chesters, Ealing’s indestructible try-machine, will not forget Saturday March 30, 2013, in a hurry – it was the day he almost died.

Superman finds he’s outmuscled by Tom Croft

3 October 2013 0 comments

Aaron Penberthy knew he was in for something special when he ended his time with the Cornish Pirates to join upwardly mobile Jersey.

Nick Scott backs Justin Burnell to put London Welsh back on top

6 September 2013 0 comments

Justin Burnell’s instant impact as London Welsh rugby director has impressed winger Nick Scott so much that he believes the Exiles can get back into the Premiership at the first attempt.

Josh Lewsey goes all-Cornish in Pirates’ masterplan

23 August 2013 3 comments

Galvanising support throughout the whole of Cornwall is key to the success of Cornish Pirates says CEO and performance director, Josh Lewsey. The former Wasps […]

RFU announce 2013-2014 Greene King IPA Championship fixtures

26 June 2013 1 comment

The Rugby Football Union today announced the fixtures for the upcoming 2013-2014 Championship season. The regular season has been extended from 22 to 23 rounds […]

Tier two finalists may have to play until mid-June next year

6 June 2013 1 comment

Next year’s Championship winners may not be decided until the second week of June if plans to switch the two-legged final to a weekend slot […]

Ben Alexander’s debt to Bedford Blues production line

23 May 2013 0 comments

Bedford may have been the finishing school for three front-rowers in the Lions squad, but the Blues also played a key role in developing a […]

RFU Championship Dream Team 2012-13

21 May 2013 0 comments

The four Championship semi-finalists dominate this year’s Dream XV with Nottingham and Newcastle, the top two sides from the regular season, boasting four representatives each. Nottingham’s […]

Greene King to be title sponsors of RFU Championship

14 May 2013 3 comments

Brewing giant Greene King are set to become the first title sponsor of the RFU Championship in a three-year deal believed to be worth £1.2m. […]

Newcastle beat Leeds to reach Championship final

12 May 2013 1 comment

Newcastle will play Bedford in the Championship final after a 34-30 aggregate win over Leeds Carnegie at Kingston Park today. Jimmy Gopperth kicked all the […]

Leeds figure it out with two sevens like Wales

7 May 2013 1 comment

Just as two opensides helped Wales to Six Nations glory against England, Leeds’ own magnificent sevens – Jacob Rowan and Chris Walker – have handed […]

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