By GARY FITZGERALD Ben Cohen insists England have the physical talent and power to be true World Cup contenders but he fears they will fall […]
Latest Posts
‘Tofty’ on mission to improve the pathway for England
By PAUL REES Mark Mapletoft had no hesitation when he was last month offered the chance to take the England Under 20s to the Junior […]
Bar takings are key for clubs to make money
RUGBY clubs’ biggest source of income is bar sales, which are dependent on matches being played. So why over the years at level four and […]
Directors are to blame
email: [email protected] I AM fed up with old former players from the three Gallagher Premiership clubs that have been disbanded blaming the RFU, the government […]
Time to offer fair treatment to grassroots
LAST week’s Rugby Paper lists next season’s National League fixtures. Among the titbits served up by the RFU’s Competitions Committee for the opening weekend in […]
I identified the problem in 2018
LOSSES of £21.1m, dependency on benefactors, excessively high wages for players in the Premiership and a Championship unloved – these are some of the problems […]
Hassell-Collins out of England training squad
WING Ollie Hassell-Collins was dropped from England’s World Cup training squad last week when players from the Premiership’s losing semi-finalists, Northampton and Leicester, became available. […]
Borthwick to take team to Japan next year
ENGLAND will travel to Japan next year for a historic first Test match between the two sides in the country. Steve Borthwick’s team will face […]
Dream Team with Alan Tait
The former British & Irish Lions, Scotland, Newcastle & Edinburgh centre/wing, chooses the best XV he had played with or against… 1. Tom Smith – […]
Steward’s aerial skills can power England on
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK FREDDIE Steward has had a big impact for England at full-back since he made his debut against the […]
Power to the girls on day of history
By CAMERON STEPHENS Gloucester-Hartpury……………………34 Tries: Jones 5, Lund 32, Beckett 40, Penalty 42, Neumann 74 Conversions: Sing 40+1, 75 Penalties: Sing 57 Exeter Chiefs………………………………..19 Tries: Tuttosi, 28, […]
Moore: We’ll bring in tougher penalties
There will be tougher penalties for sides who break rules on fielding foreign players in next season’s Premier XVs. Clubs currently face soft penalties, such […]
England’s Bath bias difficult to justify
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK IF England international selection is meant to be a meritocracy it is hard to understand how Bath […]
Time for Blackett to seize his chance
JEFF Blackett gave a valedictory interview this week which beggared belief. The retiring RFU Council grandee, who was President for two years (2020-22), a senior […]
Borthwick impressed with intensity of Prem final
By GARY FITZGERALD Steve Borthwick’s hopes that England can enjoy a successful World Cup campaign were boosted by the “Test match” performances of some of […]
Wales agony as they are beaten by a single point
By SAM JACKSON Wales………………26pts Tries: Lewis 22, Edwards 26, Morse 38, Scarfe 79 Conversions: Edwards 26, 38, 79 New Zealand….27pts Tries: Tangitau 7, Springer 46, […]
France prove too strong for Japan
By TOM RILEY France ………….75 Japan ………….. 12 France ran in 11 tries to steamroll a determined Japan outfit. Les Bleuets, who lifted the trophy […]
Fijians push Aussies all way
By TOM RILEY Australia …….. 46 Fiji………………….37 The Junior Wallabies laboured to an opening victory over Fiji but made life difficult for themselves and will […]
Battling England go close as Ireland have to hang on
By CAMERON STEPHENS England………………………… 34pts Tries: Opoku-Fordjour 23, Penalty 49, Cusick 52, 70 Conversions: Slevin 24, 53, 71 Penalties: Slevin 4, 67 Ireland…………………………. 34pts Tries: […]
Valiant Georgia fall just short
By PAUL COUCH South Africa ..33 Georgia…………23 The Junior Boks held off a valiant Georgian side in a brutally physical encounter to open their Championship […]
Baronio leads the way to see off Italy
By TOM RILEY Argentina ….. 43 Italy …………….. 15 Los Pumitas fly-half Juan Baronio produced a man of the match performance as his team scored […]
Harlequins swoop to sign trio from London Irish
By PAUL REES Harlequins have pounced for three players who found themselves out of work after the collapse of neighbours London Irish, including England centre […]
Willis: I’d never have left Wasps
ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER England back row Jack Willis admits that he would never have left Wasps if they hadn’t become one of […]
Witty looks set to sign for Rouen
ON THE BLINDSIDE Former Newcastle Falcons and Exeter Chiefs lock Will Witty is set for another move this summer with a drop-down from the Top […]
Toulon have No.9 White in their sights
ON THE BLINDSIDE Top 14 giants Toulon are courting a move for Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who has been looking for a new club since […]
Sale lock still in hunt for new club
ON THE BLINDSIDE Sale Sharks lock Matt Postlethwaite is still looking for a new club, with his contract with the Premiership finalists running out later […]
Boyle turns down Exeter approach
ON THE BLINDSIDE Exeter have failed with their attempts to land young Leinster prop Jack Boyle who has decided that his immediate future is with […]
Law-tinkerers are a danger to the game
CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST THE odds on Owen Farrell travelling to the World Cup as England’s starting No.10 are even shorter than the lifespan of […]
A new trophy, same old tricks …
CHRIS HEWETT It is one thing for a populist Prime Minister to ride a wave of duplicity before crashing head-first into the rocks: if a […]
Fading myth of invincibility
As the World Cup approaches, Paul Rees reports on why the All Blacks need to hit the ground running For the first time in 28 […]
Players discuss stresses of life
The times they are indeed changing. It was not so long ago that if a player used the services of a sports psychologist, they were […]
Hill keeps climbing the peaks in France
Jon Newcombe talks to top coach Richard Hill after he secured yet another promotion in the French leagues Former Bath and England scrum-half Richard Hill […]
Why this merger just might be the way to go
SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Another week in Welsh rugby and another potential drama emerges. They always say the close season is the ‘silly […]
Williams heading for Japan
WALES and Lions wing Liam Williams has left Cardiff midway through his contract to join Kubota Spears in Japan. The 32-year-old had a year to […]
Irish weren’t given enough time – Ojo
■By NICK POWELL LONDON Irish’s record try scorer Topsy Ojo says it’s regrettable that the club weren’t given more time to try and find someone […]
Eligibility rules are cause for concern
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…
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 […]
Tupou on track to return for Wallabies
Wallabies star prop Taniela Tupou is on track to make his return from injury against the Springboks in their Rugby Championship opener at Loftus Versfeld […]
Nienaber keeps faith with World Cup stars
By PAUL REES SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s squad preparing for the Rugby Championship contains 19 players who were involved in the 2019 World Cup final […]
Foster mixes it up with experience and youth
New Zealand have named five debutants in a 36-man squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship. The squad is a mixture of experience and youth and […]
Familiar faces find some new identities
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Nine New Zealanders, four Australians, a goalkicking Irishman and an English prop are on track to make […]
Limited by a flawed structure
Back in those blessed years when the Heineken Cup often delivered matches of greater passion and technical skill than the Six Nations, the draw for […]
Sensational Jonah, the game’s first global star
Brendan Gallagher looks back at the players who shone on the biggest stage, this time he goes back to 1995 and Jonah Lomu’s incredible tournament […]
Mandela inspires rainbow nation
The 1995 World Cup is a multi stranded story we never tire of. Nelson Mandela, elected at South Africa’s first President only a year earlier, […]
My Life in Rugby with Nili Latu: ‘Playing for my country was never about money’
The former Tonga, Hurricanes, Chiefs, Newcastle, Green Rockets and Red Dolphins No.8 My playing career with Tonga (a record 54 caps) really came about as […]
Noot: Blackheath aiming for top six
By BEN JAYCOCK Alex Noot has stressed that his new Blackheath side are not there to merely make up the numbers next season in National […]
Moseley move for Brough
National 1 side Birmingham Moseley have signed Dan Brough from Cambridge, who won the league to secure promotion to the Championship. A young talented back […]
Death of former Kynoch captain
SUTTON Coldfield man and keen rugby player Daniel Higgs recently passed away, aged 49. Higgs, below, played for many years with Perry Barr-based Kynoch and […]
Craig leaving Gloucester for Scarlets
Scotland lock Alex Craig is joining Scarlets from Gloucester. Like their regional rivals, Scarlets are cutting costs and have lost lock options Lewis Rawlins, Tom […]
Two-year trial for tackle law in Wales
THE WRU is introducing a restriction on the height of the tackle allowed in the community game in Wales in a two-year trial with an […]