Columnists

Diversity’s problem? Lack of Asian stars

17 October 2021 0 comments

JEFF PROBYNA FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Why is rugby so keen to raise issues and set out to change things when the need […]

War-bonnets are just a salute to courage

17 October 2021 2 comments

NICK CAINREAD HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE problem that the ExChiefs4Change pressure group has is that it is annexing the cause of indigenous peoples […]

Big question is who does Eddie play outside Smith

17 October 2021 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTTOUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK WHEN Marcus Smith first broke through as an apprentice I saw him as having the ability to become a […]

Call up for Young is common sense now

17 October 2021 0 comments

SHANE WILLIAMSWALES AND LIONS LEGEND Heading home: Wasps flanker Thomas Young deserves his call up to Wales squadPICTURE: Getty ImagesWhichever way you look at it, […]

Early bird Baxter got some giant pickings

17 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSONTHE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW One day more than two years ago, Rob Baxter got up at four in the morning to drive […]

Vermeulen in not quite such a hurry to join Ulster after all

17 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSON DUANE Vermeulen was only saying the other week about how he ‘couldn’t wait to become part of the Ulster family’ once the Springboks […]

Hastings’ historic act won this battle of Murrayfield

17 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSON GEORGE Hastings from Dursley is a name which will still ring a faint bell in the memories of long-standing Gloucester supporters and yet […]

A lot rests on Kolbe’s shoulders – and knee

17 October 2021 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTONFRENCH COLUMN Toulon have welcomed a few global superstars down the years – but it’s difficult to imagine any of them have generated the […]

Rugby Matters: Pro game in this country owes Nigel Wray a huge debt

10 October 2021 1 comment

I’ve always maintained that the long lens of rugby history will view Nigel Wray as a giant amongst pygmies and see no reason to revise […]

Dash for cash must not damage rugby’s ethos | Nick Cain

10 October 2021 0 comments

THE £32m takeover of Saracens by a polyglot international consortium comes with a health warning as the club’s erstwhile banker and foremost fan, Nigel Wray, […]

Don’t let new cup trash great Euro comp

10 October 2021 0 comments

NICK CAIN THE capacity of this game to devalue its own gold standard tournaments is illustrated by the idea that the new World Club Cup, […]

Alun Wyn stays shtum on private matters

10 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSONTHE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Say Nothing is an awardwinning book on ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, its title a nod to the […]

Ford’s not as sharp as Smith but he’s still class

10 October 2021 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTTOUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK GEORGE Ford is a player I’ve always admired, and I would call him a consummate rugby player. He has […]

Anayi finds TV figures after all

10 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THREE years ago PRO12 rugby chose to disconnect a multitude of viewers by wiping their matches off live BBC screens in Northern Ireland, […]

Scott’s renaissance is worthy of a Test recall

10 October 2021 1 comment

SHANE WILLIAMSWALES AND LIONS LEGEND WALES are set to confirm their squad for a humdinger of an autumn series this week and Scott Williams deserves […]

Readers complete Rugby XV name game

10 October 2021 0 comments

THANKS to all those prompted by the Max Wiltshire story last week, the assembly of a Place Name XV can now be revealed, complete with […]

Japan cash could force marquee men u-turn

10 October 2021 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTONFRENCH COLUMN Fears over the future contracts of France’s internationals have raised the spectre of a marquee player system in the Top 14 and […]

Exodus of players is real threat for game

10 October 2021 0 comments

JEFF PROBYNA FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME A few weeks ago this paper had an interview with Peter Winterbottom, probably the best openside flanker […]

Time must be called on endless game breaks | Nick Cain

3 October 2021 0 comments

PERPETUAL stoppages have become the scourge of international rugby. The biggest culprits in this regard are South Africa. The world champions are using cynical stop-start […]

Sorry seems to be the easiest word

3 October 2021 0 comments

PETER JACKSONTHE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW RYNO Pieterse’s horizontal hit on Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu demanded a long sentence.The Top 14 disciplinary panel decided […]