Columnists
Jeremy Guscott: For me, Max Ojomoh’s absence from Steve Borthwick’s England squad is strange
The selection of Bristol Bears’ South African-born centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg for England’s first Nations Championship training squad is a controversial call by Steve Borthwick.
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoNick Cain: England are unbalanced – both on and off the field
Steve Borthwick’s England squads get stranger by the minute, whether you are looking at player selection, or that of his coaching...
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Chris Hewett
/ 6 days agoChris Hewett: When fresh ambition takes on old rivalries
World Rugby moves at a pace best described as geological – in a footrace with continental drift, the non-governing governing body...
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Features
/ 6 days agoPaul Rees: Max Ojomoh’s mystery absence is in need of an answer
Paul Rees wonders why Bath centre Max Ojomoh is not in the England squad as Steve Borthwick opts for Benhard Janse...
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoPeter Jackson: Flood of tries may put Noah on alert
The muggings committed in recent rounds on a multiple basis ridicule the competition’s avowed aim of being ‘the most competitive’ league...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 days agoBrendan Gallagher: The day Scott Hastings proved he was a great team player
All the tributes to Scott Hasting have included mention of his bubbling personality and constant positivity at all times and I...
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Features
/ 2 weeks agoPaul Rees: Protectionism of the Prem is costing England and Steve Borthwick
Paul Rees looks at the selection issue hindering England coach Steve Borthwick.
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoJeremy Guscott: ‘Home’ advantage can give holders Bordeaux Begles the edge over Leinster
The right teams will be contesting the European Cup final, because holders Bordeaux Begles and challengers Leinster are the best in...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Saints expose case for defence of van Rensburg
The integrity of the Prem as a league capable of producing international quality players took a battering when Northampton humiliated Bristol...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 weeks agoChris Hewett: Changing Premiership game still needs derby passion
If there is a god in rugby’s heaven, Leicester and Northampton will be still be squaring up to each other this...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoPeter Jackson: If only the RFU had backed walk-off referee George Crawford
George Crawford remains the only referee to make the ultimate protest over on-field violence between old Anglo-Welsh foes.
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoTop 14 roundup: Louis at double as Bordeaux hit back
With two rounds of the Top 14 still to play, the play-off situation is becoming increasingly clear
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoJeremy Guscott: Secrecy surrounding England review makes no sense
The RFU review into the 2026 Six Nations was never likely to make great reading after England lost four Championship matches...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoAlison Kervin: The game is flourishing – don’t make it different
If you have been to any women’s rugby matches recently, you will have witnessed scenes that were unimaginable a decade ago:...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoNick Cain: Detailed? Robust? No… It’s a farcical non-review
The RFU’s review into England’s 2026 Six Nations nosedive was a whitewash that told the English rugby public, and the media,...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Leigh Halfpenny bravery wins royal approval
Peter Jackson pays tribute to Leigh Halfpenny’s courage, humility and unforgettable career, from his iconic Twickenham tackle to Lions glory and...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Leo Cullen should know that the press aren’t cheerleaders
AS head coach of Leinster, Leo Cullen runs a squad crammed with more capped players than any other club, province or...
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Features
/ 3 weeks agoPaul Rees: ‘Europe’ is a formidable mountain to conquer
Paul Rees looks at the challenges teams face on the road in the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup plus more...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: French director calls the shots
Dastardly French TV directors have been quietly controlling big games in France for a couple of decades now so in one...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoJeremy Guscott: Dynamic duos facing battle for supremacy
The battle for supremacy between the 9-10 partnerships for Bath and Bordeaux-Begles will be the hinge on which the outcome of...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Pair of Wasps on a collision course
When Wasps went bust with debts of £95m and all 167 employees lost their jobs, a redundant pair of England internationals...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: Lions really must head to Argentina
Better late than never. After decades of lobbying by some – not least this column – the Lions are reportedly looking...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoNick Cain: Aussies musn’t waste the Lions windfall
The Lions have bailed-out Australian rugby again, with the hugely profitable 2025 tour by the British & Irish outfit last summer...
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Nick Cain
/ 4 weeks agoDu Toit can make difference for Bath
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK TODAY will be a reckoning for a Bath pack touted as the most...
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Features
/ 4 weeks agoPaul Rees: Bath’s train heading for glory
Paul Rees looks forward to today’s Champions Cup semi-final between Johann van Graan’s men and Bordeaux-Begles
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: Beware! A great TV deal is no slam dunk
The imminent prospect of a closed franchise Premiership is the subject de jour, although I would say that we have effectively...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoChris Hewett: Super Rugby’s survival is far from guaranteed
Remember the days when Super Rugby was so hot, you could toast yourself on it?
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: It cost me £24m to win title – Brian Kennedy
Nobody knows the savage cost of trying to make rugby union pay in Greater Manchester better than Brian Kennedy.
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoJeremy Guscott: Bath head coach Johann van Graan must start with his strongest pack in Bordeaux
We are at the business end of the season and Bath have two big matches in a row with the top...
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Nick Cain
/ 1 month agoAll eyes on Diego Sarthou’s 10-a-side match as France vs England ‘Le Crunch’ gets creative
French rugby seems to be ahead of the curve at the moment, not least in putting innovation into practice rather than...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Seismic defeat at Twickenham shows RFU Board not fit for purpose
The RFU Board suffered a seismic SGM defeat at Twickenham on Friday night of such magnitude that it is hard to...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoMulti-taskers who are pushing out specialists on the World Rugby stage
Contrary to popular belief, hybrid players – those who can play in the pack, as well as the backs – are...
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 month agoTide may be turning in favour of Ospreys
FOR three long months of unrelenting anxiety while their owners negotiated to buy Cardiff, Ospreys fans have fought the good fight...
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Features
/ 1 month agoPaul Rees: Exeter Chiefs in search of an American with a dream
Paul Rees looks at the financial challenges facing the Prem.
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Features
/ 1 month agoPaul Rees: Attacking sides get away with too much at the breakdown
Paul Rees on how and when the TMO should get involved...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoJeremy Guscott: Courtney Lawes can be a force at the next World Cup
Courtney Lawes’ decision to return to the Premiership to join Sale Sharks next season was not one that most people saw...
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Features
/ 1 month agoPaul Rees: Wales go in search of a path back to the summit
Paul Rees sees signs of a better tomorrow for the men in red as debate continues about what happens next.
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Bill Sweeney’s presiding over a house divided
Getting administrative wires in a tangle seems to have been an RFU default position during Bill Sweeney’s six-year tenure as chief...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoChris Hewett: An epic drama? No, just drowning in tries
A quarter-final classic”, proclaimed the BBC. Hyperbole? Quite the opposite. As the avalanche of superlatives triggered by Bath’s victory over Northampton...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: Bordeaux stars will take some beating, warns ex Bath prop Duncan Bell
Now that they are heading back to Bordeaux for the first time since winning the Heineken Cup there in 1998, Bath...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: VIP treatment with Big Gav and Campo
The Hong Kong Sevens is 50 years old this weekend which is a sobering thought, probably the first time in recorded...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: When it comes to self-harm, rugby union’s in a league of its own
Anyone in doubt about the magical properties promotion-relegation can have in galvanising a sport need look no further than the sensational...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoWelsh clubs in the Prem? Rowe has a point
EXETER chairman Tony Rowe has called for talks aimed at inviting Welsh teams into a 14-club English Premiership. He is the...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Harlequins lacking the launchpad George Furbank needs
George Furbank is a gem of an attacking full-back with the skills and elusive running to spark a backline.
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Features
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: Duelling French aristocrats! Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles clash in the Champions Cup
Rugby in France has never been more popular. The television audience for the final Six Nations match against England peaked at...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoJeremy Guscott: French rivals are showing England the way ahead
No-one is really surprised by the magnitude of the heavy defeats suffered in the European Cup Round of 16 last weekend...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: I’d love to offer help to WRU, says Kingsley Jones
Twenty years have come and all but gone since a Welshman from Blaina prepared Manchester’s champions-elect for their coronation in one...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Sorry, Mako Vunipola, but you can’t play for Tonga
The rumbustious heart on his sleeve, no-nonsense Mako Vunipola has always been a favourite player of mine since I first saw...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: At the top level, Northampton Saints’ young guns have a bit to learn
When the European Cup reaches the last eight thankfully it has shed the hangers-on who finish in the lower end of...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: RFU should get Sir Clive Woodward back on board
When it comes to an understanding of what high-performance means, and the ability to implement it and create a world-beating team,...
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