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Tag: Chris Hewett

Series 3, Episode 29: Maxime Mermoz previews final round and shares bold views on France

14 March 2024 0 comments

It is time to look ahead to Six Nations super Saturday! The best Saturday of the year is upon us, and with three tantalising contests […]

Podcast reacts to stunning wins for England and Italy

11 March 2024 0 comments

What a weekend of rugby! The latest round of the 2024 Six Nations was without doubt its best so far, as Italy and England pulled […]

It’s a long walk but Wales on right road

10 March 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT We’ve all heard it: “You don’t beat Wales at rugby – you just score more points than them.” Like many sporting quips masquerading […]

Episode 100! Previewing England vs Ireland with Jonny Bell

6 March 2024 0 comments

This week, the Rugby Paper Podcast brings up 100 episodes! A huge thank you to all those who support and continue to follow the podcast […]

Borthwick should put faith in this trio

3 March 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED PETER Winterbottom knows a thing or three about our sport, so you would expect him to make some telling points over […]

Series 3, Episode 26: Weekend round-up and Tomas Appleton on Portugal’s future

26 February 2024 0 comments

Refereeing controversy was once again at the heart of the third round of the 2024 Six Nations, as Paolo Garbisi’s contentious missed kick denied Italy […]

Waugh’s battle is going to be tough

25 February 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED WHO has the toughest job in rugby? It certainly doesn’t belong to the loadsamoney establishment lawyers plotting a course across the […]

Series 3 Episode 25: Calcutta Cup preview with Bryan Redpath

21 February 2024 0 comments

Round 3 of the 2024 Six Nations is coming thick and fast and the headline fixture – as it often is – is Saturday’s Calcutta […]

The piano shifters are playing modern tune

18 February 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Much of the “tactical” kicking across the opening rounds of the Six Nations would have left Fred Flintstone wondering what happened […]

Prepare for scrum time ad breaks…

18 February 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT OF all the unlikely questions to be asked in this corner of the paper, try this one for size: could it be that […]

Series 3, Episode 24: Round Two controversy with Peter Winterbottom

13 February 2024 0 comments

The second round of the 2024 Six Nations was marred by refereeing controversy, most notably TMO Brian MacNeice and referee Nic Berry not awarding a […]

All Blacks in Dublin will be the acid test

11 February 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED EARLY February is not obviously the moment to select a highlight of the calendar year. Especially if that highlight is still […]

Series 3, Episode 23: Six Nations latest and remembering Barry John with Jonathan Davies

7 February 2024 0 comments

The opening round of the 2024 Six Nations threw the script out the window as Scotland almost let a 27-point lead slip against Wales, Ireland […]

Top dogs who build teams in own image

4 February 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED According to an article on the American website “Psychology Today”, there is scientific evidence to suggest that dogs not only look […]

Series 3, Episode 22: Six Nations 2024 preview with Jerry Guscott

31 January 2024 0 comments

International rugby is back for the first time since Rugby World Cup 2023, and it’s Six Nations season! It is the dawn of a new […]

Tier Two deserve a fair shake of the dice

28 January 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED YOU don’t have to be a marketing genius of Steve Jobs magnitude to dream up a better name for Rugby Europe’s […]

Let’s see more put on to the fast track

28 January 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT IT is just about possible to use the phrase “sweet bird of youth” when discussing the 24st teenager Posolo Tuilagi, thanks to the […]

What’s in The Rugby Paper: 28/01/24

26 January 2024 0 comments

The countdown is well and truly on for the Six Nations, and you can find an in-depth look at each team’s prospects with expert analysis […]

We need a more exclusive guest list

21 January 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED HERE’S a little brain-teaser, just to make sure you’ve been paying attention at the back of the class: since 2014, when […]

Series 3, Episode 21: Rees-Zammit quits rugby, Six Nations squads and Portugal’s 2024 with Francisco Isaac

18 January 2024 0 comments

In a fascinating week in European rugby, amidst Six Nations and Women’s British and Irish Lions announcements, Welsh rugby superstar Louis Rees-Zammit has announced that […]

This year, Scotland can take high road

14 January 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED HE was born in the Old Town of Edinburgh, died in the New Town and spent much of his life within […]

Proposed hybrid contracts causing major debate

14 January 2024 0 comments

By NICK POWELL On the most recent edition of The Rugby Paper Podcast, Jeff Probyn joined host Ollie Little and our regulars – Nick Cain, […]

Sorry Chris, but we’re heading up another cul-de-sac

7 January 2024 0 comments

I KNOW it has been the season of goodwill, but Chris Hewett’s comment that the RFU is pointing in the right direction with its plans […]

Class acts who have inspired a generation

7 January 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Jack Rowell, the man behind Bath’s “golden decade” at the back end of the amateur era, bore the mark of a […]

Probyn: It’s tough to take charge of a team at prop

7 January 2024 0 comments

The Rugby Paper Podcast On this week’s edition of The Rugby Paper Podcast, Jeff Probyn joined host Ollie Little and our regulars – Nick Cain, […]

Series 3, Episode 20: 2023 in review with Jeff Probyn

3 January 2024 0 comments

Happy New Year from the Rugby Paper Podcast! As 2024 dawns, host Ollie Little and Rugby Paper columnists Nick Cain, Chris Hewett and Brendan Gallagher […]

All Blacks destined to regain top spot

31 December 2023 1 comment

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED IT USED to be said in New Zealand that failure to win the World Cup endangered the government of the day. […]

Toulouse are the most entrancing side of them all

24 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Dupont or no Dupont, Ntamack or no Ntamack, this latest edition of the Champions Cup may well turn out to be […]

Gorging on a Christmas feast of non-stop rugby

24 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT Rugby has always been a game of Big Ideas: Carwyn James, the patron saint of Stradey Park, was a thinker of weight and […]

Time of goodwill to all (well, nearly all)

24 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER hands out his Christmas goodies… HO HO HO. I’m normally more of a scrooge than a Santa at Christmas but, to […]

Series 3, Episode 19: Champions Cup recap and Big Game preview with Joe Launchbury

20 December 2023 0 comments

The Rugby Paper Podcast’s final episode of 2023 looks back at two thrilling weekends of Champions Cup action as well as looking ahead to the […]

England don’t need a comfort blanket

17 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED According to the industrious Alex Sanderson, who will surely be in the running for a senior place in the England coaching […]

Dungeon of obscurity needs to be shut

17 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT Barely able to buy a round of drinks, let alone a win – the good men and true of Kingsholm are up against […]

Minnows can make splash of a whale

10 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED ACCORDING to Donald J Trump – you may have heard of him – “losers” are the lowest of the low, “suckers” […]

Falcons are trapped with nowhere to go

3 December 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED IT WAS a clear-cut case of “capitalism gone mad” as the loadsamoney class snapped up English club rugby in the spending […]

Our starting XV for 2027

26 November 2023 0 comments

NICK CAIN An England team for the 2027 World Cup is a long shot which would leave most snipers well wide of the target. However, […]

Dupont deserves to be on Olympic stage

26 November 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED There are exceptions to the general rule – the best three-minute pop songs, James Joyce’s stories in Dubliners, the wonderful actor […]

Series 3, Episode 17: Picking an England XV to win RWC 2027 and remembering 2003

22 November 2023 0 comments

The Rugby Paper Podcast is back with a bang! Post Rugby World Cup and on the anniversary of England‘s iconic Rugby World Cup win in […]

Launchbury can make Borthwick think again

19 November 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED SIMON Shaw mastered a wide range of rugby’s arts and sciences, but not even he could find a way of shedding […]

Series 3, Episode 16: Mark Evans on RWC format shake-up and World League introduction

7 November 2023 0 comments

In the Rugby Paper Podcast‘s final Rugby World Cup episode, it’s time to zoom out a bit and look ahead to the next four years. […]

Series 3, Episode 15: RWC 2023 review with Brendan Venter

30 October 2023 0 comments

The sun has set on Rugby World Cup 2023, and in a thrilling finale the Springboks held onto their crown, edging out New Zealand by […]

Next time, Dupont will take what is his

22 October 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED DID the spirit of rugby romance go to meet its maker in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup quarter-final weekend […]

Kolbe’s magic hidden from view

22 October 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT AMONG the many mysteries of this World Cup –Why isn’t Patrice Lagisquet coaching a competitive nation? Why doesn’t Ben O’Keeffe put a sock […]

Series 3, Episode 11: RWC Round 4 review with Sean Fitzpatrick

2 October 2023 0 comments

There is just one round of the Rugby World Cup pool stage remaining and it all hinges on week five! The headline from the last […]

It wasn’t so easy back in Rory’s day

1 October 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED RORY Underwood. Remember him? You should. To this day, the Leicester wing stands tall – rather taller than he was in […]

Series 3, Episode 10: RWC Round 3 review with Kobus Wiese

25 September 2023 0 comments

The third weekend of the 2023 Rugby World Cup was absolutely blockbuster, with South Africa v Ireland living up to the hype whilst Australia sunk […]

Series 3, Episode 7: Rugby World Cup Preview with Jeremy Guscott

6 September 2023 0 comments

Here. We. Go. The Rugby World Cup 2023 is upon us, and we can’t wait! It’s time to look ahead the tournament as a whole, […]

Series 3, Episode 6: Scotland’s World Cup prospects and England crisis deepens with Duncan Hodge

29 August 2023 0 comments

We are just over a week away! England‘s first ever loss to Fiji marked the low point of their World Cup preparations as Steve Borthwick […]

Ignore the league tough guys, it’s better to be soft and safe

20 August 2023 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT Contrary to popular belief, there are still differences between the two codes of rugby. Union still has its flankers and its lineouts, together […]