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The Six Nations logo is an AI experiment that’s gone wrong

8 December 2024 0 comments

Rugby Matters by Brendan Gallagher – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points I see the new Six Nations logo has got a […]

Good to see the Eagles soaring again

1 December 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points – By Brendan Gallagher That’s a wrap for the autumn Tests and it would […]

Time to recognise Etzebeth’s talents

24 November 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S THE World Rugby annual awards tonight, held of course in that […]

Chalking off White’s try was a mistake

17 November 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER No try: Ben White’s touchdown was ruled out PICTURE: Getty Images IT […]

Call time on this pantomime ploy

27 October 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THIS 60-second shot clock twaddle. If we must continue to plough down […]

Confused path to rules of combat

20 October 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Man in the middle: Former Wasps prop Will Green PICTURE: Getty Images […]

Drop group action and examine selected cases

29 September 2024 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points by Brendan Gallagher I was very struck the other day by our conversation […]

Time we stopped indulging the haka

8 September 2024 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THERE is so much disingenuous hypocritical twaddle surrounding the Hollywood production that […]

It was good to see Scotland support for T2

4 August 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Captured: Gus Warr in action against Canada PICTURE: Alamy SCOTLAND, for reasons […]

No stopping the American battlers

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S exactly 100 years ago since France and the USA met in […]

Don’t let our sport move to summer

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS NOT for the first time I offer a heartfelt warning against those who continue to argue for a switch to summer rugby in […]

Spanish youngsters show how to tackle low

21 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I DON’T know if you caught any of Spain’s game against Italy at the Junior World Cup last Sunday but it was an […]

Injury and illness can’t stop the fun

14 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S time to dip back into the 1974 Lions tour again and […]

There’s more than money to Toulouse

7 July 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There have, rightly, been acres of words written about Toulouse in recent […]

25 years on and it’s still a special place

30 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It was the 25th anniversary of the first-ever game at the Millennium […]

There is no warm welcome for Spain

16 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Gone but still winning. Sort of! London Irish may have met with […]

It’s close but Dupont edges out Edwards

9 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Your columnist fell in love with rugby watching Gareth Edwards in the […]

Portugal looking to old guard

9 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS SCRUM-HALF and former skipper Samuel Marques is not the only Portuguese veteran being tempted out of retirement this summer by the prospect of […]

Pink city deserves its place at the top

2 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Anybody watching the crowd scenes in front of the big screen […]

The time Tony did plenty of learning

26 May 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It might surprise some to learn that the only sports trophy […]

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 […]

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 […]

Delighted to see Titans stand tall

5 May 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There are some teams you grow particularly attached to over the decades […]

35 years on and Tim’s charity still full of hope

28 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER If you believe rugby is the ultimate team sport – which I still do – it is tempting to superimpose all […]

S Africa is crying out for its own league

21 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IF I remember my A level geography correctly, Africa is moving […]

André, high priest of French running rugby

14 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Andre Boniface, who died earlier this week aged 89, and his younger […]

Here’s hoping we see another drop of magic

7 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S Northampton against Munster in Europe today and for me that can […]

Time we demanded more from players

1 April 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THE other weekend – although it could probably be any weekend – […]

Ten Italian tyros who will hit the headlines

24 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS IT’S BECOME almost a mantra or article of faith recently that reinforcements, in the form of a squadron of hungry young guns, are […]

Lucky? No, that was pure skill

17 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER THE sainted Antoine Dupont might be on a sabbatical but France enjoyed […]

Sorry Cockers, but it’s Portugal for me

10 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I wish the doughty warriors of Georgia no ill will – on […]

How one player really can make a team tick

3 March 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER WHY have France fallen off a cliff ?Can it really all be […]

When the B grade was full of A stars

25 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER AS England A crank back into action today against Portugal A after […]

Dutch and Germans proving their worth

18 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Round Three of the Rugby Europe championship concludes in Amsterdam this afternoon […]

Benvenuto! Great to see Lynagh eventually opting for Italy

18 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS EVEN though I recently predicted in The Rugby Paper podcast that Louis Lynagh would be a starting wing for England at the […]

50 years ago, and it’s a different world

4 February 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S funny how some things 50 years ago feel so much […]

Farrell’s jumping from fire…into fire

28 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I don’t know about you but it’s occasionally been a bit of a torture watching Owen Farrell struggle with himself ever since England’s […]

No hiding place in those final trials

14 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER For some reason, the good old days have been getting a shoeing […]

When the selectors made the right calls

7 January 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S 2024 – a belated Happy New Year by the way – […]

When Merlene Ottey’s leotard grew nine sizes

31 December 2023 1 comment

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points NEW Year’s Eve and rugby always brings to mind England’s slightly eccentric […]

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 […]

Red Roses: Morwenna Talling

24 December 2023 0 comments

RED ROSES ENGLAND NO.8 Birthplace: Northallerton, Yorkshire Date of birth: 05/08/02 Community club: Malton & Norton RUFC Club: Sale Sharks Red Roses cebut: vs Italy […]

Toulouse’s victory over Quins is top of my list

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS THE greatest single performance in the Heineken Cup? That’s a tricky one, there have been so many, but when pressed I normally opt […]

Millar knew how to keep ref onside

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS Dr Syd Millar was many things – Ballymena stalwart, redoubtable Ireland Test prop, successful Ireland coach and innovative rugby administrator at the dawn […]

Following in fathers’ footsteps

17 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS The tradition of “sons of” playing for France U20 is well and truly established now and seems to know no boundaries. Indeed, England […]

A team stuffed full of captains

10 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I was having one final lingering look at that 2003 England reunion […]

A case of third time lucky for Neville

3 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Sport is full of sliding doors moments, and one of the […]

Time to enforce law on quick tapped penalties

3 December 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS I can’t remember the last time I saw a quick tapped penalty taken correctly yet refs and assistant refs are absolutely draconian in […]

A game in desperate need of some answers

26 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IF THERE is one thing I have learned over the last six […]

When relegation battle was the key

19 November 2023 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Twenty years on from England’s World Cup triumph – Wednesday is the […]

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