The Premiership returns with every team in the top seven heading into this weekend still having a chance of clinching a home semi-final, find reports from all five matches in the league in The Rugby Paper this Sunday.
Perhaps the pick of the fixtures sees second-placed Saracens heading to in-form, fourth-placed Bristol Bears. Mark McCall insists the build up to Saturday’s clash with was just like any other week, despite star No.8 Billy Vunipola’s arrest in Mallorca.
Third-placed Bath make the long trip to basement boys Newcastle Falcons on Friday night, and the hosts’ consultant director Steve Diamond remains an advocate for promotion and relegation despite his side being winless and at the foot of the table.
George Skivington discusses his Gloucester side’s mixed campaign with a poor Premiership campaign offset with a Challenge Cup final and Premiership Cup triumph.
And rounding off exclusive interviews from the English top flight, Northampton Saints new signing George Makepeace-Cubbit discusses his move from National League One Rams.
From the Championship, in addition to reports from all five games, Dafydd-Rhys Tineti opens up on his move to Coventry, where he’ll hope to follow in the footsteps of his former Cardiff Met teammate Will Rigg who joined Exeter Chiefs in January.
We’ll also have all eight games from the United Rugby Championship – with ex-Leinster prop Mike Ross discussing his career in the game in My Life in Rugby – and all four games from the Premiership Women’s Rugby.
From our columnists, Paul Rees focuses in on the value of the modern day scrum-half and how the four leading sides in Europe rely on their talismanic nines, and Brendan Gallagher looks back at the historic British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 1974 in Rugby Matters.
On the week that Ben Jaycock canvasses reporters to pick our National League Two North XV of the season, Fylde coach Alex Loney picks his own Dream Team from the best players he has played with or against, while Bath’s Eric Nixon is our Young Gun.
And finally we’ll be looking ahead to Division One of the Bill Beaumont County Championship, with reports from Divisions Two and Three.
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