Chris Hewett
Chris Hewett: France’s battalion of centres is unmatched
Chris Hewett believes France’s extraordinary depth at centre gives Fabien Galthie a decisive edge ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup – and leaves England trailing...
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoNick Cain: Tommy Freeman deserves a decent run at 13 for England
Nick Cain argues England must stick with Tommy Freeman at outside centre, insisting Steve Borthwick’s stop-start handling of the Northampton Saints...
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Features
/ 6 days agoPaul Rees: England put on a show to take the heat off Steve Borthwick – for now
England produced a ruthless 11-try display to ease the pressure on Steve Borthwick, but Paul Rees warns the head coach’s problems...
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoJeremy Guscott: England chief Steve Borthwick must start with Henry Pollock against Argentina
Jeremy Guscott calls for Steve Borthwick to unleash Henry Pollock from the start against Argentina, warning England must rediscover their energy...
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Features
/ 6 days agoPaul Rees: Nations Championship has to deliver for rugby to grow
Paul Rees says the new Nations Championship is rugby’s biggest opportunity to grow the game globally – but only if it...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 days agoBrendan Gallagher: John Bevan’s story comes to vivid life on stage
Brendan Gallagher applauds the new stage production celebrating the life of dual-code great John Bevan and says rugby has no shortage...
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoPeter Jackson: When Wales scrum-half Glyn Turner made the most of his Argentine trip
Peter Jackson looks back at Wales’ pioneering 1968 tour of Argentina, when scrum-half Glyn Turner seized his chance on the Test...
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Columnists
/ 6 days agoBubble of unreality threatens England
SOMETIMES being in a backs-to-the-wall bubble can work for a team under pressure, but at other times ‘group-think’ can become an...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 weeks agoChris Hewett: Captain, my captain (but maybe not yours)
Chris Hewett explores what makes a great captain, arguing there is no single blueprint for leadership as he compares Ben Stokes...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 weeks agoPaul Rees: England’s headless chickens end up getting roasted
It was England’s first match since the review at the end of the Six Nations that pledged change without specifying what...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoJeremy Guscott: Test matches are the lifeblood of the game
Jeremy Guscott argues international rugby must remain the sport’s priority, defending the expanded Test schedule and the financial reality behind it.
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Excluding the Willis brothers is costing England
Nick Cain explores how England are harming themselves by excluding Jack and Tom Willis, urging the RFU to scrap its overseas...
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Miscellaneous
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Nations Championship gets off to a humdinger of a start
The Nations Championship naysayers – and there is an army of them – should take a look at the competition’s inaugural...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher watches six Nations Championship Tests in one day – here’s what happened
Brendan Gallagher settled down to watch six Nations Championship Test matches in a row. How did he find it? And did...
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Features
/ 2 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Louis Bielle-Biarrey leading a race to hit a century
Peter Jackson sees the French flyer reach 92 tries in his career so far as he takes a break ahead of...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 weeks agoChris Hewett: Champions Cup revamp sounds good to me
The most predictable story of the week concerned yet another revamp of the much-maligned, used-and-abused Champions Cup, which was once the...
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Features
/ 2 weeks agoPaul Rees: Top 14 shows us how it’s done
Paul Rees looks back on Toulouse’s victory over Montpellier in the Top 14 final – and what it can teach the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: The time when Eddie Jones was on fire
Brendan Gallagher looks back on England’s historic 2016 series win in Australia, Eddie Jones’ finest hour and the decisions that shaped...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Rhys Carre proves the WRU’s 25-cap rule is failing Wales
Peter Jackson examines Wales’ controversial 25-cap rule, Rhys Carre’s rise and whether the policy is helping or harming the national team’s...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: Henry Pollock showing us all he’s the real deal
Henry Pollock has silenced the doubters – and he's only just getting started. Brendan Gallagher explains why England have a special...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Anton Segner – The German loving life as an All Black
Anton Segner’s All Blacks call-up highlights rugby’s global reach as Peter Jackson explores the Nations Championship’s multinational squads.
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Chris Hewett
/ 3 weeks agoChris Hewett: When ‘record highs’ can be low on quality
Chris Hewett questions whether rugby’s growing number of one-sided finals and record scorelines signal a sport in danger of tipping the...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 3 weeks agoPaul Rees: Nations Championship – North take on South in the battle for supremacy
Paul Rees previews World Rugby’s new 12-team tournament, the Nations Championship, which kicks off next weekend.
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoJeremy Guscott: England should give Maro Itoje a break – and no argument
Jeremy Guscott argues England should end the uncertainty and give Maro Itoje a summer rest after a demanding year for club...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoNick Cain: England still making the same mistakes
Nick Cain says England’s drab defeat to France exposed the same flaws that derailed their Six Nations campaign, leaving Steve Borthwick...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoPeter Jackson: It was a fitting end to James Lowe’s Ireland odyssey
Peter Jackson reflects on James Lowe’s emotional Leinster farewell, the contract dispute that ended his Ireland career and the challenge of...
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoNick Cain: Selling the soul of the ‘greatest rivalry’
Nick Cain questions the decision to stage the final South Africa v New Zealand Test in Baltimore, USA, arguing tradition and...
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Features
/ 4 weeks agoPaul Rees: Why Bath have many questions to answer
Paul Rees says Bath’s defeat to Exeter Chiefs was the biggest setback Johann van Graan has suffered since taking charge.
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Features
/ 4 weeks agoPeter Jackson: Paul Gustard pulls Stade Francais out of the red zone
Peter Jackson names the guilty – and not-so-guilty – when it comes to red, orange and yellow cards dished out this...
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Chris Hewett
/ 4 weeks agoChris Hewett: Wayne Smith’s ‘new lab’ will be a revelation
Wayne Smith’s return to coaching is a welcome boost for rugby. Chris Hewett explains why the game still needs its great...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: Exeter Chiefs’ revival an example to us all
Brendan Gallagher examines Exeter Chiefs’ remarkable revival and asks why Test coaches so often insist successful rebuilds must take years.
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 1 month agoJeremy Guscott: Why I’m right behind this new Nations Championship
The Nations Championship, which will be contested by the world’s top tier international teams for the first time this year, is...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: ‘Project Shaun Edwards’ must be activated
In the last week, in the absence of any formal statement from the French Federation de Rugby (FFR), or France head...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Super Northampton Saints at their swashbuckling best
Justice was done at a packed Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night when Northampton, the best team in the league over the...
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Features
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: Once again, Bordeaux are leaders of the attendance pack
During a season when the Pied Pipers of Bordeaux raised their average crowd towards an all-time high of 35,000, Leinster found...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoChris Hewett: Is Rugby World Cup expansion over-ambitious?
It would be nice to think that at some point this side of eternity, rugby will have created sufficient depth at...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoChris Hewett: It could be a golden age for our best refs in World Rugby
Good news from the shop window: rugby is doing right by its referees by picking the right referees.
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: From death row to a born-again belief for the Ospreys
A sporting city which witnessed a team composed almost entirely of local cricketers beat Australia, not once but twice in the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 month agoGiorgi boy is setting a high bar for try scoring
GIORGI Melikidze did something in Paris a fortnight ago which barely caused as much as a ripple on this side of...
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 month agoFijian lock shows how to finish in style
THE botched contract deal which gave James Lowe a yen for joining Suntory Goliath instead of staying in Ireland on a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoMy 15 to follow had some hits – but selection’s a tough game
THE regular season is done and it’s time to quickly review my eclectic 15 to follow which I offered up back...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: Premiership Bonus point system just plain nonsense
I did take one last lingering look at the table this week to lodge it in my shell for recall if...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoPaul Williams: I, for one, am glad South African teams are in the URC
Paul Williams argues the presence of South African teams has improved the URC and that Welsh rugby’s problems run far deeper...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: RFU must move fast to sign up Shaun Edwards for England
Whether Shaun Edwards is in the process of disentangling himself from a French Federation contract which extends until 2028, or is...
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Features
/ 1 month agoPaul Rees: Will England grab the man of steel, Shaun Edwards?
Paul Rees considers whether Shaun Edwards may end up on Steve Borthwick’s staff if he parts company with France...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoJeremy Guscott: The rise of Bath is down to Roger Spurrell
The respect and affection for Roger Spurrell that has poured out since it was announced the inspirational former Bath captain and...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 month agoChris Hewett: Yes, Nick, Afolabi Fasogbon deserves his chance with England
Chris Hewett argues England are missing a World Cup opportunity by overlooking Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon, whose rise could provide Steve...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: Stewart McKinney recalls his great old pal Fergus Slattery
Peter Jackson shares Stewart McKinney’s poignant memories of Fergus Slattery and the devastating toll dementia took on the Ireland and Lions...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: Longer seasons don’t give us much in return
Brendan Gallagher argues that rugby’s domestic season has become longer despite featuring fewer meaningful matches than in the early years of...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoJeremy Guscott: It’s time for Fin Smith to run England from No.10
Here’s my England backline to face South Africa in Johannesburg on July 4, based on current form and availability.
Autumn Internationals
Jamie George: England may leave the pitch if targeted by racist abuse in Argentina
Autumn Internationals
Henry Pollock misses out as England name unchanged side for Argentina clash
Autumn Internationals
Can Ireland achieve the impossible against New Zealand at Eden Park?
Autumn Internationals
Guy Pepper: Argentina fans have football-crowd mentality but England can ‘shut them up’
Autumn Internationals
Jamie George: Owen Farrell’s helping England flyer Noah Caluori get it right
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