Rugby Matters

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

Millar knew how to keep ref onside

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Dr Syd Millar was many things – Ballymena stalwart, redoubtable Ireland Test prop, successful Ireland coach and innovative rugby administrator at the dawn […]

Following in fathers’ footsteps

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS The tradition of “sons of” playing for France U20 is well and truly established now and seems to know no boundaries. Indeed, England […]

I can’t see how a single action can cover it all

10 December 2023 0 comments

Lawyers and the legal system move in mysterious ways but as a layman it’s difficult to understand how the law firm Rylands Garth hopes to […]

Time to enforce law on quick tapped penalties

3 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I can’t remember the last time I saw a quick tapped penalty taken correctly yet refs and assistant refs are absolutely draconian in […]

A game in desperate need of some answers

26 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IF THERE is one thing I have learned over the last six […]

When relegation battle was the key

19 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Twenty years on from England’s World Cup triumph – Wednesday is the […]

Young guns who fired the triumph of 2003

19 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS While we rightly ruminate on the 20th anniversary of England’s World Cup triumph we should also doff a 30th anniversary cap to a […]

Marta try was my favourite moment

5 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points SO that’s a wrap and after this final debrief I suggest we […]

Lions of Europe would be a fine team to watch

5 November 2023 0 comments

A long time ago I concluded that the self-interest of the Six Nations runs so deep, and they are so frightened of rugby advancing elsewhere […]

England’s finest right to the end

29 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Now here’s a little in-house admission. A couple of months ago, when […]

Lagisquet’s effort cannot be ignored

29 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS World Rugby could desperately do with an injection of PR savvy not to mention a certain generosity of spirit. Take their awards ceremony […]

Why the final step is often one too many

22 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER If I had a fiver for every time I’ve heard the expression […]

Pleased Dickson made the right call

22 October 2023 0 comments

Did you, like me, cheer inwardly when Karl Dickson could be heard on comms explaining that not all hits to the head are foul play […]

A French-inspired XV to take on the world

15 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points The ProD2 Twitter account – sorry X account – conveyed congratulations earlier […]

Why do Aussies let so many escape?

15 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS The problems facing Australian Rugby are many and numerous but a largely unmentioned issue would appear to be letting outstanding Australia-qualified and Aussie […]

Keep Portugal in game

8 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Portugal might have become the surprise package of RWC2023 for some, but […]

Austin’s bite would add to the show

8 October 2023 0 comments

I miss Austin Healey. There, I said it. I miss his eagle eye spotting stuff I have missed; I miss him questioning a team’s tactics […]

Warrior spirit at heart of the game

1 October 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points I’VE been surprised that some have been surprised at Antoine Dupont’s determination […]

Shame of the RFU blazers

1 October 2023 0 comments

It’s funny what tugs at your emotions and I was caught unaware last week by the traditional pre-season picture of the Premiership club skippers or […]

Time for Italy to play like big boys

24 September 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER AS keen observers of sport, we are all amateur psychologists and, with that in mind, it’s been fascinating watching Italy grapple […]

Another fine mess! Pinto ban so unfair

24 September 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER WORLD Rugby and their disciplinary officials have come up with some crass […]

Wallabies benefit from Fiji brilliance

17 September 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER NATIONALITY is a pretty fluid concept in the South Pacific with families […]

Stick with 20 teams but bring in Trophy

10 September 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S very rare, in fact unique, for me to disagree with anything […]

Diagram shows how difficult it is to tackle head-on

10 September 2023 0 comments

THE RFU are of course totally correct in their desire to improve and “make safe” tackling techniques at grassroots and junior rugby but it does […]

Mixed reviews on opening nights…

3 September 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER NOT long now … but first comes the ubiquitous opening ceremony that […]

Tricky to get the message

3 September 2023 0 comments

So apparently we will be watching something called the Investec Champions Cup this season – all mention of Europe now seems to have been binned […]

Big beasts need to set the right mood

27 August 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points SO where did the last four years go? The final warm-up matches […]

Brothers linking arms for Chile

27 August 2023 0 comments

Chile is a minute rugby community compared with many giants of the game and is inevitably centred on geographical pockets of enthusiasm for the game…and […]

The cruellest time to suffer an injury

20 August 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER The agony of these eve of World Cup injuries! I thought I […]

Samoa look ready to spring surprise

13 August 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER This column has had its say – whinge – about certain individuals […]

Italy need to protect their stars

13 August 2023 0 comments

We are barely halfway through the dreaded World Cup warm-up season and Italy in particular are feeling the pain from these, frankly, bloody awkward fixtures. […]

At last! Spain show us what they can do

6 August 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S BEEN a bittersweet roller coaster five or six years for Spanish […]

The time that Dixon bolted out of the blue

6 August 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Bolters seem to be less common in top rugby these days but as teams finalise their World Cup squads the experience of the […]

A phoney war that has little to tell us

30 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER AND suddenly the World Cup warmups, or the summer internationals as the […]

Hasta la vista! It’s a Spanish decider

30 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS THE World U20 Trophy final today in Nairobi is an all Spanish speaking affair between Uruguay and Spain with the winners taking their […]

Arendse can light up the World Cup

23 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER NO sooner had it started than the abbreviated Rugby Championship is nearly […]

Modern-day Lions seem to be tone deaf

23 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER So the Lions itinerary is out for their 2025 Australia tour and, although there is much to commend it, yet again […]

Hogg was one of the best in the business

16 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points So farewell then Stuart Hogg. Try scorer extraordinaire and creator par excellence; […]

Young stars need more room to grow

9 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER A fascinating Junior World Cup has reached the business end of affairs […]

Great to see Dupont going for Paris gold

2 July 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Rather overlooked during a hectic end of season in France which […]

Pride clear to see at London Irish

2 July 2023 0 comments

Well that didn’t take long. No sooner had we mentioned in this column and elsewhere that London Irish were looking to pre-sell 750 collectors’ editions […]

We need more diversity at the top

2 July 2023 0 comments

At the time of writing World Rugby boasts 132 members and affiliate nations and at the forthcoming World Cup nine of the 20 participating teams […]

Eligibility rules are cause for concern

25 June 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER These newish eligibility regulations are still open to opportunists and if not […]

Hoping a phoenix can rise from the ashes…

25 June 2023 0 comments

The London Irish story has taken a horrible, cruel, turn recently but remains an extraordinary tale worth telling and in the club’s 125th anniversary year […]

Who will be next on the production line?

18 June 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER The Junior World Cup makes a welcome return after a four-year hiatus next week down in South Africa and I for […]

Toulouse play to win…everything!

18 June 2023 0 comments

Toulouse aren’t short of a bob or two and can, if they so wish, buy virtually any player on the planet. But their Academy, with […]

We must find a way to stop vicious spiral

11 June 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Heaven knows The Rugby Paper has been warning of a Domesday scenario […]

When I needed a helping hand…

11 June 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER You could fill a noisy bar with the journalists past and present queuing to buy David Emery a thank you drink. […]

Stunning Munster are the best of the bunch

4 June 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points What with an epic Champions Cup final and a very high-quality conclusion to the […]

Bastareaud deserves his cheering send-off, too

4 June 2023 0 comments

Sergio Parisse’s long farewell has taken centre stage recently but let’s hear it also for Mathieu Bastareaud who also took his farewell at the Stade […]

Rugby Matters

Recent Posts

Search