Stuart Lancaster has made a smart move in asking Rob Baxter to join the England set-up as forwards coach for the tour to Argentina this […]
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Premiership round 20: teams
Exeter v London Irish Exeter: Arscott; Nowell, Dollman, Shoemark, Jess; Steenson, Thomas; Sturgess, Yeandle, Tui; Mumm, Welch; White, Scaysbrook, Baxter (Capt.). Replacements: Whitehead, Rimmer, Mitchell, […]
RaboDirect Pro12 round 20: teams
Cardiff Blues v Zebre Cardiff Blues: Halfpenny; Williams, Evans (Capt.), Roberts, Robinson; Patchell, Jones; Filise, Breeze, Andrews; Reed, Paulo; Paterson, Copeland, Warburton. Replacements: Dacey, T. […]
Folau in, Beale and Cooper out for Wallabies
Israel Folau has been included the Wallabies‘ logistics camp ahead of the British & Irish Lions tour this summer. The Waratahs full-back, who has only […]
Just get rid of the hit-squad to solve this scrum farce
Scrum guru Phil Keith-Roach claims the chaos and controversy surrounding the set-piece would be gone within a month if the IRB removed one sentence from […]
England launch new Canterbury kit for London Sevens
Canterbury and the RFU have unveiled the new England Sevens home and alternate shirts at Twickenham Stadium with the two shirts expected to spark debate […]
Quins to investigate their “supporters”
Harlequins are to investigate how Munster supporters managed to have “a presence in the stadium that exceeded the number of tickets officially allocated to them” […]
Jamie Roberts to kick-off tribute to Dr jack Matthews
Jamie Roberts will get a chance to ease his pre-British & Irish Lions squad selection nerves when he kicks-off a special tribute match to one […]
My Life in Rugby: Rob Henderson – former Ireland and Lions centre
My highest and lowest moments in rugby both started with a phonecall from Donal Lenihan. In 1999 he gave me the call to say I […]
14-week ban for Jerome Fillol
Jerome Fillol has been handed a 14-week ban for spitting at Bath scrum-half Peter Stringer in last Saturday’s Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final. Stringer complained to Nigel […]
Jeremy Guscott: Ref scrums as laws say and all will be fine again
The scrum statistics from the Six Nations makes grim reading and tell us a great deal about the state of the game in the Northern […]
Peter Jackson: Drumrolls, but the big act has yet to appear
The Welsh Rugby Union considered their announcement important enough to carry a ‘strict embargo’ until one minute past midnight on the first Wednesday of December. […]
Jeff Probyn: Surely it’s best for Wales that North’s in England not France
Why is it that when clubs or regions have a disagreement with their Unions they always appear to threaten a new cross- border competition? Whether […]
Another Championship player joins London Irish
London Irish have signed hooker Mike Mayhew on a three-year contract from Newcastle Falcons. Mayhew joined the Sunbury-based side as injury cover earlier in the […]
When Halani ‘Aulika stopped being a waisted talent
London Irish prop sensation Halani Aulika would have been lost to the game had it not been for a chance meeting on an Auckland petrol […]
Dream Team: Gordon Ross – London Welsh and former Edinburgh and Scotland fly-half
1. Tom Smith – He wasn’t the biggest in the world but he was hugely talented. He was a terrific ball-player and could more than […]
Michael Claassens leaves Bath
As expected and reported by Neil Fissler in The Rugby Paper weeks ago, Michael Claassens has today confirmed that he will be leaving Bath at the […]
Jeff Probyn: RFU must step in and end this financial ring-fencing
As the disappointments of the Six Nations fades into memory, club rugby comes back into focus as we approach the business end of the season […]
London Irish sign Rotherham duo
London Irish added depth to their back-line option with the signings of Eamonn Sheridan and Fergus Mulchrone from Championship side Rotherham on two-year deals, it […]
James Haskell: Wasps fall in classic episode of Euro thrills
The Premiership is fantastically competitive week-in- week-out. It’s hard, it’s physical and many of the weekly match-ups could easily be described as being big games. […]
London Wasps saved as £500k tax bill is paid
New Wasps owner Derek Richardson had to settle an outstanding tax bill of £500,000 before completing the long-awaited takeover of the London club on Friday.
Peter Stringer commits to Bath
Irish scrum-half Peter Stringer has signed a contract extension and will remain with Bath next season. The 35-year-old, who has been capped by Ireland 98 […]
George North joins Northampton
The Scarlets announced today they have agreed to release the 20-year-old winger on his request so he could sign a three-year deal with the East Midlands side.
James Haskell: Let’s play in summer and watch skills grow
You wake-up. It’s Saturday morning. Your bedroom’s freezing, but at least it is only 10.00am, so you can ease back for a lie-in under the […]
Nigel Wray backs move for Welsh to join Aviva Premiership
England’s Premiership clubs plan to strike a deal with the four Welsh regions which could change the landscape of European competition.
Jerome Fillol cited for spitting incident
Jerome Fillol has been cited for allegedly spitting at Peter Stringer during their Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final on Saturday. Stringer complained to referee Nigel Owens […]
Sam Jones signs up for more
Sam Jones has become the latest young English talent to commit his future to London Wasps, signing a new contract with the Club this week. […]
James Haskell: The pain of defeat will drive England on
I was asked in the build up to the game with Wales: “Have the players who had been involved with the loss against Ireland two […]
Room 101: Ian Nimmo – Dragons lock
1. Paid-for Condiments My particular beef (or should that be chicken?) is aimed at the popular restaurant chain Nando’s. The boys love going down to […]
Nick Cain picks his 2013 Lions tour party with some surprising ins and outs
No Brian O’Driscoll. No Chris Robshaw. Neither men make my 2013 Lions tour party for the straightforward reason that others are better equipped to help […]
Young Gun: Will Graulich – Gloucester lock
As the latest Gloucester lock to serve his apprenticeship at Hartpury, Will Graulich is certainly in good company – and the fledgling second row is […]
Jeremy Guscott: Lancaster must take risks to find a true cutting edge
It must be incredibly disappointing for this England side to get that close to a Grand Slam and lose in the manner they did at […]
20 Questions: George Skivington – London Irish lock
Describe London Irish‘s season to date? A big learning curve before Christmas when I underestimated how hard it would be to gel things together. But […]
Nick Cain: Change now or else!
There’s been a marked reluctance in English rugby ranks to accept that the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw is by far the biggest banana skin […]
Heineken Cup quarter-finals: teams
Clermont v Montpellier Clermont: Byrne; Sivivatu, Rougerie (Capt.), Fofana, Nalaga ; Radosavljevic, Parra; Domingo, Kayser, Zirakashvili; Cudmore, Hines; Vosloo, Bardy, Bonnaire. Replacements: Paulo, Bedaty, Kotze, Pierre, […]
Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals: teams
Wasps v Leinster London Wasps: Daly; Wade, Masi, Bell, Varndell; Robinson, Simpson; Taulafo,Thomas, Swainston; Palmer, Wentzel (Capt.); Launchbury, Sa. Jones, Johnson. Replacements: Lindsay, Payne, Taylor, […]
James Stephenson to join Warriors
Worcester Warriors have boosted their backline ahead of next season with the signing of exciting Bedford Blues winger James Stephenson. Stephenson, who joins on a […]
Gloucester swept aside by Biarritz
Gloucester’s European campaign came to an abrupt end last night with a 41-31 defeat to Biarritz in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals at Kingsholm. Mike […]
Andrew Sheridan is backed for Lions call-up by rival Dan Cole
Leicester prop Dan Cole prepared for his first competitive tussle with Andrew Sheridan next week by insisting the Lions cannot afford to ignore the form […]
My Life in Rugby: Dan Scarbrough – former England, Leeds, Saracens and Racing Metro full-back
I got my first cap in a World Cup warm-up game against Wales in 2003 knowing that I had one shot to be on the […]
Peter Jackson: Hold it all! England have won the title…
When the Six Nations discuss the ‘on-going’ issue of bonus points, they would be well advised to examine the distorted impact it would have had […]
Wasps snap up Bedford flyer
London Wasps have signed highly rated young winger Josh Bassett from Bedford Blues. Bassett topped the RFU Championship try-scoring charts last season with 14 and […]
Mike Tindall captains Gloucester against Biarritz
Mike Tindall returns to the Gloucester starting line up and will captain the Cherry and Whites as they welcome Biarritz to Kingsholm in tonight’s Amlin […]
Nick Cain assesses the potential outcomes of the Heineken Cup quarter-finals
Can England’s leading club sides come up trumps when it is all on the line, or will they follow in the footsteps of Stuart Lancaster’s […]
Sevens ace Cory Allen set to be Wales’ next big thing
It hardly seems fair for Wales to unearth another back with the size of Goliath and accuracy of David’s slingshot but that is just what […]
Dream Team: John Andress – Worcester and former Ulster, Harlequins and Exeter prop
1. Ceri Jones – He’s a good mate of mine and someone I’ve got to know well down the years. He’s a cracking player and […]
Jeff Probyn: Selection of Marler cost England the game
As the wheels fell off England‘s Chariot in Cardiff I couldn’t help thinking that it was probably for the best. The meteoric rise in the […]
Bath confirm Matt Garvey signing
As revealed by Neil Fissler in The Rugby Paper months ago, London Irish forward Matt Garvey will join Bath next season. Capable of covering both […]
George North is urged to get Test clearance
Wales have asked George North to ensure he protects his international future before completing his proposed £250,000 transfer to Northampton. WRU officials have advised the […]
Top English clubs would ‘welcome’ Welsh tie-up
A senior Welsh official last night claimed that some English clubs would welcome reviving Anglo-Welsh competition – and even the idea of Wales‘ four regional […]
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