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

Harrington column: Mourad Boudjellal ready to pack his bags at Toulon

1 December 2019 0 comments

Is one of rugby’s most eccentric owners set to leave the Top 14?

Three years of refining Italy, Conor O’Shea got the selection wrong for Azzurri

30 November 2019 0 comments

A look at Conor O’Shea’s time in charge of Italy which yielded a 23 per cent win rate in Tests

Gallagher column: Saracens embodied the old pioneering spirit

28 November 2019 0 comments

The Premiership has become safe and conservative, writes Brendan Gallagher

My Life in Rugby: Former Ireland prop Paul Wallace

28 November 2019 0 comments

One of the Lions’ victorious tourists to win in South Africa in 1997

Gloucester in move for unsettled England star Kyle Sinckler

27 November 2019 0 comments

Sinckler is out of contract next season and extension talks with Harlequins have stalled, Neil Fissler reports

Room 101: Worcester Warriors tighthead prop Nick Schonert

27 November 2019 0 comments

The Durban-born forward offers his three pet peeves awaiting entry to Room 101

100 years of Loughborough: Yes, history truly is made inside these walls

27 November 2019 0 comments

Brendan Gallagher charts the remarkable 100 year history of Loughborough University and the institution’s contribution to British sport

Jackson column: Pathfinder Bedford lay ground for Siya Kolisi

27 November 2019 0 comments

The Springboks captain during the Apartheid era who was the first to recognise change was needed in South Africa

Cain column: End this secrecy over Saracens

26 November 2019 0 comments

Nick Cain examines the questions that remain as Saracens accept salary cap punishment

Williams column: Support new lads, don’t give them flak

25 November 2019 0 comments

Shane Williams urges Wales fans to get behind overseas-born new call-ups Johnny McNicholl and Willis Halaholo

TEAMS: Elliot Daly handed first start for Saracens in Champions Cup

22 November 2019 0 comments

Elliot Daly returns after World Cup rest period to start at full-back for Saracens

My Life in Rugby: Former Saracens and Namibia flanker Jacques Burger

22 November 2019 0 comments

Jon Newcombe talks to the ferocious back row forward on how his career began in desperate circumstances at Griquas

Harrington column: Heyneke Meyer leaves, now Stade Francais look to Quesada

21 November 2019 0 comments

Stade Francais are comfortably the basement boys of the Top 14, with Meyer gone they are now chasing Gonzalo Quesada

Young Gun: Harlequins hooker Jack Musk

21 November 2019 0 comments

Neale Harvey talks to the converted back rower who was playing at Esher last season

Jackson column: Welsh regions pay dearly for loss of their stars

21 November 2019 0 comments

Wayne Pivac isn’t the only one reeling from injuries to key members of Wales’ World Cup squad, writes Peter Jackson

Exeter Chiefs lead pack chasing Wales flanker Ross Moriarty

21 November 2019 0 comments

Rob Baxter wanted to bring the Wales flanker to Exeter once he knew he would be leaving Gloucester in 2017

Toulouse can take the crown off Saracens

Guscott column: French clubs can cash in on Saracens’ current turmoil

20 November 2019 0 comments

Jeremy Guscott says it’s advantage French clubs in Europe, but that Northampton Saints could spring a surprise this season

Dream Team: Worcester Warriors centre Ryan Mills

20 November 2019 0 comments

One of the Premiership’s most underrated players picks a dream XV, in of itself, filled with underrated players

Williams column: Get Callum Sheedy capped while you can, Wales

19 November 2019 0 comments

Shane Williams calls on Wayne Pivac to get England and Ireland eligible Callum Sheedy committed to Wales

McIlraith column: Will the All Blacks break the paradigm of promoting assistants to top job?

15 November 2019 0 comments

Jamie Joseph is among the favourites to succeed Steve Hansen, with a decision to come next month by the NZRU

Williams column: Ospreys would be a move tailor-made for Liam Williams

14 November 2019 0 comments

Shane Williams believes it is paramount that the Wales full-back returns to a region, and Ospreys would be the best fit

Ellis Genge set to snub Bristol and stay a Leicester Tiger

13 November 2019 0 comments

The England loosehead prop will sign a three-year extension at Welford Road despite the advances of Bristol Bears

Jackson column: Johnny McNicholl will give North some competition

13 November 2019 0 comments

George North has now been in the Test arena for a decade – could his use on the wing for Wales come under threat from McNicholl?

Lions Tour 2021 has tasty look to it says former Springbok captain John Smit

13 November 2019 0 comments

John Smith and Francois Pienaar look ahead to the Lions tour of South Africa in 2021

Guscott column: Trim the bench and enforce the laws to improve the game

12 November 2019 0 comments

Jeremy Guscott argues defence has become easier with a lax approach from referees marshalling the scrum

Young Guns: Saracens second row Jonathan Kpoku

9 November 2019 0 comments

A player who helped take Ampthill into the Championship while on loan from Allianz Park last season

Harrington column: All change for France now Fabien Galthie in charge

8 November 2019 0 comments

James Harrington on how France head coach Fabien Galthie now has carte blanche to fix Les Bleus with Jacques Brunel out of the picture.

Saints legend and former England captain Dylan Hartley retires

7 November 2019 0 comments

Hartley has been sidelined for all of 2019 by a serious knee injury

Probyn column: Stuart Lancaster predicted success at 2019 Rugby World Cup

7 November 2019 0 comments

Jeff Probyn charts the difference between England four years ago under Stuart Lancaster and where they are now with Eddie Jones

World Cup in review: Beauty and the Beast in equal parts

6 November 2019 0 comments

The Rugby World held its breath ten years ago when the blazers took a punt and asked Japan to stage RWC2019, the first T2 nation […]

Guscott column: Eddie Jones has to stay for four more years or go

5 November 2019 0 comments

Jeremy Guscott feels England were magnificent in Japan but warns Eddie Jones’ future must become clear beyond 2021

Jackson column: So just why did you lose then, Warren?

5 November 2019 0 comments

After celebrating Gatland’s tenure, Peter Jackson cuts through indulgence to ask what went wrong for Wales in Japan

My Life in Rugby: Former Bath, Toulon and Sharks scrum-half Michael Claassens

1 November 2019 0 comments

A player who loved running out at The Rec before stints with Toulon and the Sharks

TEAMS: England unchanged for World Cup final showdown with Springboks

31 October 2019 0 comments

The side which turned the All Blacks grey has been trusted with downing the Springboks

Room 101: Bath back rower Zach Mercer

31 October 2019 0 comments

Bath back rower Zach Mercer has made a lightning start to the season under Stuart Hooper. So it’s only natural to keep the no.8 in […]

Probyn column: England favourites but so were All Blacks

31 October 2019 0 comments

Jeff Probyn tells from his own experience how teams look to exploit opponent’s weaknesses, especially in the knockout stages

Cain column: Nothing funny about Jaco Peyper’s nudge, nudge

30 October 2019 0 comments

Nick Cain on Jaco Peyper and the photo with Welsh fans which has seen him miss out on further involvement at the World Cup.

Jackson column: At £10,000 a seat you want to see the match!

30 October 2019 0 comments

Peter Jackson dives deep into the extravagant ticket prices on offer for the World Cup final – and shares his own fan’s experience in Japan

We’ve lost our touch and now Japan are playing the kind of rugby we should be, says David Campese

29 October 2019 0 comments

For Wallabies wing Campese wants to see Australia revert to the style which defined their rugby at its peak during the 80s and 90s

Guscott column: George Ford can’t do much wrong at the moment

29 October 2019 0 comments

Jeremy Guscott examines England’s incredible win over the All Blacks, and while he lauds the performance he believes it was wrong to start Jonny May

Williams column: Like Warren, I dare to dream despite injuries

27 October 2019 0 comments

Shane Williams is a believer in Wales’ depth ahead of their semi-final against the Springboks – and sees Tier 2 rugby on the rise

Northampton Saints are keen on move for Quins’ Alex Dombrandt

25 October 2019 0 comments

Chris Boyd is plotting a way for Saints to get back on the map as a European club by stepping up recruitment

Room 101: Sheffield Tigers player-coach Jamie Broadley

25 October 2019 0 comments

Sheffield Tigers centre Jamie Broadley offers three pet hates awaiting entry to Room 101

Dream Team: Rosslyn Park and ex-Exeter and Gloucester no.9 Dave Lewis

25 October 2019 0 comments

This is some team picked by the scrum-half who made the move to Rosslyn Park from Harlequins in the summer

Young Guns: Saracens tighthead prop Sam Wainwright

24 October 2019 0 comments

From the north Wales coast to Saracens, meet a youthful addition to the Premiership club’s front row

Probyn column: Momentous days for Japanese rugby but place in Six Nations is a non-starter

24 October 2019 0 comments

Reaching the quarter-finals at the World Cup shouldn’t immediately open the door for Japan

Jackson column: Rebirth of Hiroshima ignored by Rugby World Cup

24 October 2019 0 comments

Peter Jackson’s view on Hiroshima being an ample setting for a Rugby World Cup match 74 years on from the devastation of a nuclear strike

Cain column: Let’s hear it for World Cup’s little big men

23 October 2019 0 comments

Nick Cain fixes the spotlight on Japan’s diminutive flyers after helping the Brave Blossoms to achieve a team first

Williams column: Warburton red card still haunts me to this day

22 October 2019 0 comments

The semi-final loss at the 2011 Rugby World Cup was the worst moment in the career of Shane Williams and other members of the Wales squad

Guscott column: Ben Youngs holds key to chances of victory

22 October 2019 0 comments

Jeremy Guscott on what England need to do to beat the All Blacks

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