Blindside - Page 2 of 19 - News, interviews, analysis and opinion

Tag: Blindside

Trio who tempt us to search for genius

7 July 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED What do we mean when we talk of genius? It is a question as old as Noah, an early candidate for […]

Argentina stun hosts with devastating driving maul

7 July 2024 0 comments

By JAMES ORPIN South Africa… 12 Argentina…….. 31 ARGENTINA bounced back from their opening round defeat against England to dominate tournament hosts South Africa. The […]

Aaron on a mission as he hits 50 mark

30 June 2024 0 comments

By SIMON THOMAS AARON Wainwright is set to win his 50th Wales cap against Australia in Sydney next weekend – a landmark which looked a […]

Baby Blacks hold off Welsh battlers

30 June 2024 0 comments

U20S WORLD CUP POOL A By WILLIAM GUPWELL Wales……………… 34pts Tries: Anderson 11, Hennessey 41, 55, Emanuel 73, Page 78 Conversions: Wilde 55, Ford 73, […]

Fiji have no answers as Baby Boks take charge

30 June 2024 0 comments

By JAMES ORPIN South Africa ….57pts Tries: Julius 9, 36, Damon 13, Leotlela 32, Bakkes 43, Mahashe 65, Finca 69, Moos 73 Conversions: Koen 10, […]

Bracken’s hat-trick inspires England

30 June 2024 0 comments

U20S WORLD CUP POOL C By WILLIAM GUPWELL England ……………40pts Tries: Bracken 34, 65, 68 Redshaw 38, Sela 44, Pollock 50, Conversions: Kerr 35, 39, […]

Sensational Warriors hold on to defy Bulls

23 June 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Bulls ……………………………… 16pts Glasgow Warriors ………. 21pts Tries: Van Staden 24 Conversions: Goosen 25 Penalties: Goosen 1, 14, 51 Tries: Cummings 40, […]

Sing is on song for a double triumph

23 June 2024 0 comments

■By MARK STEVENS Gloucester-Hartpury…. 36pts Bristol Bears ………………. 24pts Tries: Hunt 25, Hendy 54, Sing 58, Venner 62, Jones 68 Conversions: Sing 26, 55, 59, […]

Munster can’t live with slick Warriors

16 June 2024 0 comments

By JOHN FALLON Munster ………………………..10pts Tries: Frisch 56 Conversions: Crowley 57 Penalties: Crowley 13 Glasgow………………………..17pts Tries: Steyn 24, Cancelliere 51 Conversions: G Horne 25, 52 […]

Mistake to select Tom and not Ted

16 June 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ted Hill must be wondering what else he has to do to get back into an England […]

Seven-try Yorkshire put Surrey to the sword

16 June 2024 0 comments

Women’s Division 1 Surrey ……………… 7pts Tries: Grove 76 Conversions: Hill 77 Yorkshire……….37pts Tries: Green 9, Gould 33, Brown 40, Akwiwu 54, Patrick 60, 80; […]

Northampton’s brilliant trio are leaving the club in the best hands

9 June 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER You don’t always get what you deserve in sport, not least when it comes to the send-off you dream of, but Courtney Lawes, […]

Borthwick needs a clear direction

9 June 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The fog around England’s take-off as an attacking force in the latter stages of the Six Nations […]

Mercer deserves his chance

2 June 2024 0 comments

What more does Zach Mercer have to do to get a chance with England? Sadly, I wasn’t surprised to see his name omitted from last […]

England starting to look like Lions

2 June 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK A year out from the 2025 Lions tour of Australia it’s still hard to imagine that the Irish […]

Smith has final say for Saints

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Northampton Saints….. 22pts Tries: Odendaal 19 Conversions: Smith 20 Penalties: Smith 28, 31, 40, 62, 70 Saracens ………………………20pts Tries: Lewington 54, Cinti […]

Lawes still has Lions in his sights

26 May 2024 0 comments

Courtney Lawes was typically modest when he was presented with the Rugby Union Writers Club’s prestigious Pat Marshall Award as the outstanding Rugby Personality of […]

Five-star Oxfordshire power into last four

26 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Division 2 round-up OXFORDSHIRE scored five tries with their best performance of the campaign to grab a 34-27 bonus point win over […]

Camborne make impact but top two dominate final line-up

26 May 2024 1 comment

NATIONAL 2 WEST DREAM TEAM >> THE BEST XV FROM 2023-24 AS VOTED FOR BY OUR REPORTERS After Dings Crusaders’ National Two West title success, […]

Going, that bundle of barbed wire, a match for Edwards

26 May 2024 0 comments

SID Going, who died last Sunday aged 80, might have been a man of God but the diminutive scrum-half from Kawakawa was, pound for pound, […]

Big Ben strikes at right time for Sale

19 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Ben Curry is often referred to as the twin brother of Tom, the 50-cap England flanker who has missed the entire season […]

High-five as Cardiff seal first league win of 2024

19 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Sharks ………….. 14pts Tries: Appollis 24, Bosch 76 Conversions: Cronje 25, 77 Cardiff …………..34pts Tries: Lawrence 14, Donnell 20, Halaholo 28, Botham […]

Deadly Davies does Italian job for the Scarlets

19 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Zebre……………… 18pts Tries: Licata 3, Hasa 51 Conversions: Montemauri 4 Penalties: Montemauri 23, 27 Scarlets ………… 22pts Tries: Elias 15, Davies 20, […]

Leaders hand Hyatt first start at fly-half

19 May 2024 0 comments

PREVIEW… Gloucester Hartpury v Trailfinders Today. Kick-off 2pm By BEN JAYCOCK REIGNING champions and league pacesetters Gloucester-Hartpury make nine changes ahead of hosting Trailfinders at […]

Lawes is level with England’s greatest

19 May 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Members of the Rugby Writers club have recently been voting for the Pat Marshall award which we scribes use to honour the outstanding […]

It’s Harry Houdini as Cheshire steal it late

19 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Division 2 round-up IN the penultimate round of County Championship group fixtures, 12 sides battled it out in Division Two. Harry Hughes […]

It’s been a crazy six months, says new Welsh star

12 May 2024 0 comments

By SIMON THOMAS Alex Mann is the first to admit his “crazy” journey over the past six months hasn’t really sunk in yet. Before this […]

Russell masterclass has Bath in top gear

12 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Newcastle……………………. 17pts Tries: Blamire 30, 40+2, Stuart 63 Conversions: Connon 64 Bath ……………………………… 28pts Tries: du Toit 4, Spencer 13, Cokanasiga 27, […]

Rugby’s holy trinity prove the difference

12 May 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED SINCE time immemorial, rugby has been cloaked in its own cliches: Prince Obolensky was always “dashing”; Colin Meads lived his life […]

50 years ago, the Lions start to sweat

12 May 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER At the start of the year, this column promised to dip into […]

Titans time their run to perfection and finish with the lion’s share

12 May 2024 0 comments

Following Rotherham’s late run to secure the National Two North title, Ben Jaycock canvassed the views of our reporters to select The Rugby Paper’s Team […]

Scottish made us fight all the way, says Cov coach Rae

5 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL SMITH Coventry ………..27pts Tries: Anstey 16, Wand 35, Chudley 44, Ma’asi 73 Conversions: Mitchell 44, 73 Penalty: Mitchell 27 London Scots ..14pts Tries: […]

Chinnor and Rams dominate in toughest league in the country

5 May 2024 0 comments

The best XV from 2023/24 as voted for by our correspondents Following Chinnor’s run to secure the National One title, Ben Jaycock canvassed the views […]

Perenara tops try list as ’Canes march on

5 May 2024 0 comments

Super Rugby Pacific round-up By BEN JAYCOCK TJ Perenara became the all-time top Super Rugby try scorer as his table topping Hurricanes demolished the Waratahs. […]

Balding casts admiring look at Chinnor as a benchmark

28 April 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Birmingham Moseley director of rugby Adam Balding has tipped his hat to National One winners Chinnor after his side were victims of […]

James leads Uni in stylish show

28 April 2024 0 comments

■By LUKE JARMYN Exeter Uni…………….38 Chester………………… 19 ENGLAND under-20 inter national Kane James put in a try-scoring man-of-the match show as Exeter finished the season […]

Drovers make a bit of history

28 April 2024 0 comments

Premiership round-up By CARL FIELD LLANDOVERY made history by finishing top of the Welsh Premiership table for the first time after running in nine tries […]

Rampant England on target for slam

21 April 2024 0 comments

From BEN JAYCOCK at Twickenham England………………..88pts Tries: Dow 6, 36, 63; Hunt 9, Jones 12, 57; Aldcroft 18, Kildunne 27, 67, 74; Breach 43, 71; […]

Scottish on a roll with three wins in a row

21 April 2024 0 comments

By MO SHER @therugbypape L Scottish …….. 45pts Tries: Ingall 4, Musk 11, 15, 69; Huis 29, Nutton 63, Wilkinson 74 Conversions: Sheppard 5, 30; […]

Scoring in Hell Fire Corner was great

21 April 2024 0 comments

My Life in Rugby with Greg Goodfellow – The former Cornwall, Chinnor, Redruth, Cornish Pirates, Coventry, Mounts Bay & Hawick scrum-half talks about his life […]

Offiah Jnr ready to make mark at Bath

14 April 2024 0 comments

ON THE BLINDSIDE By ROSS HEPPENSTALL Tyler Offiah is setting himself up for life on and off the field as the England U18s winger prepares […]

Green seizes day for dazzling Quins

14 April 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Bordeaux-Begles ………..41pts Tries: Lucu 19, Buros 24, Depoortere 42, Bielle-Biarrey 59, Tambwe 64, 75 Conversions: Lucu 25, 43, 60, 65 Penalties: Lucu […]

Sparkling Leinster get it right this time

14 April 2024 0 comments

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Leinster……………………….. 40pts Tries: Lowe 16, 60; Gibson-Park 37, Baird 42, Sheehan 56 Conversions: Byrne 18, 38, 43 Penalties: Byrne 7, 27, 31 […]

Murphy promises new focus after Ulster are demolished by Clermont

14 April 2024 0 comments

By JOHN FALLON Clermont………..53pts Tries: Yato 18, 68, Sowakula 36, 60, Newsome 44, Simmons 64, Jurand 80 Conversions: Belleau 19, 37, 45, 61, 65, Bezy […]

Ukraine go close against Sweden

14 April 2024 0 comments

STEVE HILL Ukraine pushed Sweden all the way but fell just short against the Rugby Europe Trophy table toppers in Trelleborg, the southernmost port of […]

Care set to stay at Quins

7 April 2024 0 comments

ON THE BLINDSIDE Veteran scrum-half Danny Care is set to snub lucrative offers from France and sign a contract extension at Harlequins. Care has received […]

Dowson brings in Ludlam & Graham

7 April 2024 0 comments

IT will be the first time Saints have hosted a home knock-out clash in Northampton in the competition since 2000 with previous matches being hosted […]