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

Billy Twelvetrees has vision to perform Ma’a Nonu role for England

29 March 2013 0 comments

Brian Ashton believes that centre Billy Twelvetrees holds the key to the next stage of England‘s evolution as an attacking force. After scoring 38 points […]

The inside story on fearsome Maurie Fa’asavalu

28 March 2013 0 comments

When flanker Maurie Fa’asavalu signed for Harlequins in 2010, director of rugby Conor O’Shea knew what he was getting: a hard man, an enforcer, someone […]

Northampton Saints will pay £250k to sign big George North

27 March 2013 0 comments

Northampton Saints have offered the Scarlets £250,000 for George North and the deal could be completed within the next seven days. It would be the […]

London Welsh fail appeal

26 March 2013 1 comment

London Welsh have failed their appeal against the five-point deduction and £15,000 fine they received for fielding an eligible player. They were found guilty earlier […]

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 […]

Luke Cowan-Dickie hooked on new role

19 March 2013 0 comments

Even by England’s precocious standards loosehead prop Luke Cowan-Dickie stood out as an early developer – now the Chiefs teenager has taken the bold move […]

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 […]

Wales v England: teams

15 March 2013 0 comments

Owen Farrell will lead the attack in England‘s Grand Slam decider against Wales at the Millennium on Saturday. The Saracens playmaker recovered from the thigh […]

Michael Owen backs Tom Wood for Lions No.8 spot

14 March 2013 1 comment

This time last year Tom Wood feared he would never properly recover from his toe injury – 12 months on and he is leading the […]

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 […]

Rob Howley: England showdown is so huge

12 March 2013 0 comments

Rob Howley last night (Saturday) billed Wales‘ Six Nations clash with England as one of the biggest of their lives. Wales, who marched past Scotland […]

Under-par England beat Italy and still hope of Grand Slam

10 March 2013 0 comments

England are 80 minutes away from their first Grand Slam in a decade despite an under-par display which saw them struggle to beat Italy 18-11 […]

England v Italy: teams

8 March 2013 1 comment

Mako Vunipola will make his first Test start for England after being named in the team to face Italy at Twickenham on Sunday. The Saracens […]

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 […]

I’d answer England’s wing call says Manu Tuilagi

7 March 2013 0 comments

Manu Tuilagi is England‘s most dangerous midfield weapon but the 21-year-old juggernaut insists he will have no problem moving out to the wing if asked […]

O2 Inside Line: Episode 4

7 March 2013 0 comments

Catch the latest episode of O2 Inside line ahead of England‘s game against Italy. This week Dan Cole and Billy Twelvetrees discuss how important slow […]

I’d make Justin Tipuric my Lions No.7 says Jim Telfer

6 March 2013 1 comment

Justin Tipuric will form part of an Anglo-Welsh back row in the Lions’ Test team this summer, according to one of the world’s legendary coaches. […]

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 […]

Andy Robinson: “I could not face Scotland’s fans after failures”

27 February 2013 1 comment

Andy Robinson has revealed the deep-seated sense of frustration that led to him resigning as head coach of Scotland in November. Robinson starts as director […]

England tell Christian Wade to prove he’s ready

26 February 2013 0 comments

Christian Wade is still waiting for that elusive first England cap but the Wasps flyer revealed Stuart Lancaster has pinpointed exactly what he needs to […]

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 […]

“We expect to beat England,” France captain Thierry Dusautoir

22 February 2013 1 comment

France might be outsiders ahead of their clash with England at Twickenham tomorrow but captain Thierry Dusautoir is adamant they are expecting to win. France […]

England v France: teams

22 February 2013 0 comments

Manu Tuilagi has been recalled to the England starting line-up to face France at Twickenham on Saturday. The Leicester powerhouse missed the opening game against […]

Imanol Harinordoquy: “Billy Twelvetrees’ vision is bigger threat than Tuilagi’s power”

22 February 2013 2 comments

France No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy says Billy Twelvetrees is the man Les Bleus have to stop on Saturday, insisting the two-cap centre poses more of a […]

Geoff Parling can boss the Lions, says Aussie great Nathan Sharpe

21 February 2013 0 comments

Nathan Sharpe, one of the great Wallaby locks, believes Geoff Parling will be given the responsibility to ‘marshal the cattle’ as the Lions lineout caller […]

O2 Inside Line: Episode 3

20 February 2013 0 comments

Ahead of their clash with France, the England camp gives you a glimpse of life behind the scenes. Check out the latest episode of O2 […]

Stuart Hogg could grab the limelight for the Lions

20 February 2013 0 comments

When full-back Stuart Hogg made his Scotland debut as a 19-year-old last year he was following in the exact footsteps of his mentor, the former […]

Stuart Lancaster name unchanged England to face France

19 February 2013 0 comments

Stuart Lancaster has kept faith in the match-day squad that beat Ireland 12-6 in Dublin naming the same 23 players to face France on Saturday. […]

British and Irish Lions’ fans fury over Australian ticket hike

19 February 2013 3 comments

A massive levy on Test match tickets is causing fury among Lions fans wanting to travel to Australia this summer. Face price for Test tickets […]

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 […]

Leigh Halfpenny boots Lions’ fly-half debate into new territory

15 February 2013 0 comments

Former Lions fly-half Stephen Jones insists the form of Leigh Halfpenny means this summer’s No.10 battle is not as simple as a two-way shootout at […]

England on agenda if Sale survive says Danny Cirpiani

14 February 2013 1 comment

Danny Cipriani believes his rollercoaster season could yet culminate in a call-up for England‘s tour of Argentina – if he can engineer Sale‘s Premiership survival. […]

Billy Twelvetrees never fazed by mistakes, says Mike Rayer

13 February 2013 0 comments

If at first you don’t succeed try, try again – that is essentially Billy Twelvetrees’ mantra according to former coach Mike Rayer who oversaw some […]

Chris Ashton has flyer Rory Underwood’s record in his sights

12 February 2013 0 comments

Chris Ashton runs out in Dublin today outlining his ambition to be England‘s greatest ever try scorer. The former Rugby League ace would love to […]

Ireland v England: highlights

11 February 2013 1 comment

Watch the highlights of England’s 12-6 win over Ireland in Dublin yesterday.

England beat Ireland in Dublin and dream of Grand Slam

10 February 2013 1 comment

England‘s Grand Slam hopes are still alive after they secured a gutsy 12-6 win over Ireland in Dublin today. In difficult weather conditions, what was […]

Ireland v England: teams

8 February 2013 0 comments

James Haskell will start for England in Sunday’s RBS Six Nations match against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The London Wasps forward comes in […]

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 […]

French players take the blame for Italy defeat

7 February 2013 1 comment

Yoann Meastri didn’t try to hide behind fitness excuses following France‘s shock 23-18 defeat in Italy last Sunday in the opening round of the RBS […]

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 […]

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