Columnists

This is where you will find all of The Rugby Paper’s Columnists news, views, opinion and other content.

Jeremy Guscott: Time to shrug off the straitjacket, England

16 March 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken & unmissable every week… If you put the England backs behind the French pack would they be as good as […]

The 7-1 bench split must be given the boot

16 March 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The reality of the 7:1 bench split is unmasked. The development ushered in first by […]

Oscar Jegou shows the All Blacks how it’s done

16 March 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed All the talk down New Zealand way is of “Succession”. No, they haven’t made a unilateral declaration of insubordination […]

Lions’ support team keeps on growing

16 March 2025 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW THE 1974 Lions took off from Heathrow with a management team of two. No specialist coaches, no […]

Time to talk about the 1995 you-know-what

16 March 2025 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S ODD how some Grand Slams get lost in the mists of […]

England’s defence too good for Italy

16 March 2025 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Out on his own: Marcus Smith breaks clear to score England’s fourth try against Italy PICTURES: […]

Jeremy Guscott – England must put foot on the gas

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken & Unmissable every week… Some of the reasons for the changes Steve Borthwick has made against Italy are understandable, although […]

Six Nations: Wales edge closer to unwanted record

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson At Murrayfield 70 years ago, Wales played the role of polite guests to perfection, enabling their supposedly hopeless hosts to end the […]

Tommy Freeman deserves a run in the centres

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The England midfield has been a mishmash of failed partnerships, wishful thinking, haphazard revolving-door selection, […]

Pressure is building on the RFU Board to stand down

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The Whole Game Union has added its weight to the call by Francis Baron for […]

Ben Youngs lifts the lid on Steve Borthwick – but too late

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain Ben Youngs lifted the lid last week on Steve Borthwick being a “risk-averse” coach, and stated that the kick-first strategy adopted by […]

Howzat! Azzurri are left stumped

9 March 2025 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Box office: England’s Elliot Daly scores against Italy in last year’s Six Nations match PICTURE: Alamy AS the BBC’s top brass […]

Lytchett Minster 2s? Now they were decent…

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed Anyone seeking to capture the essence of rugby’s transformation over recent decades need not wrestle with the demise of […]

Eligibility journey of Benhard Janse van Rensburg

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson – The man truly in the know At Eden Park on June 20, 2014, the cream of England’s teenaged crop edged past […]

Questions over Garry Ringrose’s ‘lenient’ ban refuse to go away

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson – The man truly in the know The Rugby Paper’s investigation into the Six Nations giving Romain Ntamack and Garry Ringrose different […]

Georgia’s flyer Akaki Tabutsadze on his way to the top

9 March 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, By Brendan Gallagher It’s the Rugby Europe Championship final next week between Georgia […]

England need a true, open pathway

9 March 2025 0 comments

By Jeff Probyn – A front row view of the game So, Bill Beaumont is calling for a game in unison where all clubs are […]

Jeremy Guscott: Go for it, England, and don’t play safe

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken & unmissable every week… Sport can be about small margins, and it is amazing how quickly the public mood can […]

Support for change at RFU keeps on building

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week As the SGM vote calling for regime change at the RFU approaches, it is critical […]

A win’s a win for England? Up to a point, my lord…

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed If England intend to make a habit of winning games on their backsides, they should make a block booking […]

Romain Ntamack vs Garry Ringrose – The same offence but two outcomes, why?

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson – The man truly in the know Romain Ntamack and Garry Ringrose broke the same law in separate cases of such striking […]

Player welfare ignored again with Romain Ntamack’s red card

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson Referee Paul Williams’ report to the tribunal of Romain Ntamack’s hit on Ben Thomas 10 minutes from the end of the France-Wales […]

When the crowd just kept on growing

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson The largest crowd ever seen at a rugby match converged on Murrayfield this weekend 50 years ago, a multitude so vast that […]

When Ireland’s warriors sent French packing

2 March 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher With eight wins against France since 2014, it’s sometimes difficult […]

Now Philippines added to list of honour for the Varsity

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher Back in the day, the Varsity Match on the second Tuesday in December was virtually an England trial game and often went […]

Ireland vs France – When two tribes prepare for war

2 March 2025 0 comments

Paul Rees says Saturday’s heavyweight clash between Ireland and France could be the match of the Six Nations The Six Nations threatened to come down […]

Six Nations: Time for England to focus on tries

2 March 2025 0 comments

By Jeff Probyn – A front row view of the game With another week off, there is now more time to reflect on the games […]

Jeremy Guscott – French stars need to get on the same page

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken & Unmissable every week… How will France respond in Rome after losing to England? I don’t believe that French supporters […]

Cut bench in half to make a game of it

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The bench is damaging rugby union, and this Six Nations should be a watershed moment […]

The time’s ripe for a summit of the egos

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed Summits are all the rage right now, “rage” being the operative word, and as the union game has finished […]

Scrums in danger of falling off the stage

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett We do not yet know whether the Sabercats or the Seawolves will emerge the stronger, or whether the Sharks will eat the […]

This Italian squad are good – but not quite their best side

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher Having reported on Italy since the early 1990s, I wouldn’t hesitate to nominate the current crop as the strongest all-round Azzurri […]

A Tour de France we’d all love to see for the British & Irish Lions

23 February 2025 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher That hardy perennial, the possibility of another Lions Test against France, has poked its head above the frosty surface again after reports […]

Start off with the ‘new’ and finish with the old

23 February 2025 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME FIND it hard to understand why there are now so many breaks in the Six Nations […]

Top 14: Racing 92’s delight at smash and grab

23 February 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington Racing really needed that. A first win in the Top 14 since they beat Pau on the road in […]

Jeremy Guscott – There’s more to come from this England pack in the Six Nations

16 February 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken and Unmissable every week… England’s win over France last weekend was a huge confidence booster ahead of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup […]

Six Nations – England need to be more consistent

16 February 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week Driving force: Tom Willis has the power to make headway up the middle PICTURE: Getty […]

Goggleboxers must not lose sight of reality

16 February 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed There was an overpowering whiff of something significant in the air as the 1984 John Player Cup final – […]

Six Nations: Warren Gatland broken by assembly line failure

16 February 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson – The man truly in the know February 11, 2025 will go down in Six Nations history as the day the Welsh […]

Six Nations sides singin’ in the rain – and I’m loving it

16 February 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher It was raining all over Europe last weekend, large parts […]

England are now potential champs

16 February 2025 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME On the up: Fin Baxter goes over for his try against France PICTURES: Getty Images AT […]

Six Nations: Heads must roll for Wales, if not today, then very soon…

9 February 2025 0 comments

By Peter Jackson Just when the Red Dragon Brotherhood thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, their team duly plunged through another fathom of uncharted […]

Jeremy Guscott: Huw Jones leads way for British & Irish Lions’ early starters

9 February 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken and unmissable every week The opening round of the 2025 Six Nations was the first opportunity for players from Ireland, […]

Freddie Steward, take a tip from the best…

9 February 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week Freddie Steward was not England’s worst performer against Ireland. However, the ease with which he […]

Let us permit No.8s freedom of expression

9 February 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed The great and good of World Rugby are clearly intent on turning scrum-halves into the union equivalent of goalkeepers, […]

Dad’s Army boosted by O’Mahony’s return

9 February 2025 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Old warrior: Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony PICTURE: Getty Images WHEN it comes to hanging tough through the strife […]

Scotland vs Ireland – The rivalry which is a little one-sided

9 February 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher The history books tell us that Ireland currently lead Scotland 71-66 […]

Six Nations: England need best players on in last 20

9 February 2025 0 comments

By Jeff Probyn – A front row view of the game An exciting time in rugby with the start of the Six Nations last week, […]

Patrice Collazo’s mission to rescue Racing 92

9 February 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington Lo! And, indeed, behold! Former Montpellier, Toulon, Brive and La Rochelle coach Patrice Collazo has parachuted in to save […]

Jeremy Guscott – France have a Grand Slam look about them

2 February 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken and unmissable every week The 2025 Six Nations will tell us whether France are fully over their disappointing quarter-final exit […]

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