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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: We must find out soon if George Ford is the real deal
Stuart Lancaster is a careful planner, so when I asked him this week about his bench policy in the opening two...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Stubborn Stuart Lancaster must admit mistakes
Stuart Lancaster is doing a Sinatra. By sticking with the same 23 man line-up against the Scots that lost to France...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: ‘Slammin Sam’ Burgess could be hit for England
Sam Burgess might just be the answer to England‘s 2015 prayers. The idea of an outstanding 18 stone, 6ft 5ins athlete...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Sam Warburton could be the first casualty of Welsh war
Sam Warburton‘s central contract with the WRU is threatening to become an unholy mess. When the news broke last weekend that...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain previews the clash between Scotland and England
Legend has it that the 9th Roman Legion disappeared without trace after marching north of Hadrian’s Wall into the Scottish hinterland....
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: England need Saxons to be battle-hardened
The Saxons should be a huge influence in building an England team, so that the head coach never runs out of...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: French cash pile could bury international game
Ben Mowen’s decision to quit Australian rugby at the end of this year to take up a contract with a Top...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks at the challenge awaiting England in their opening six nations match in Paris
Le Crunch 2014 is going to leave either England or France broken*. The opening Test of the Six Nations in Paris...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: It’s not all tickety-boo as debenture holders revolt
Imagine paying £7,000 for a debenture seat which is meant to guarantee you the right to buy a face-value ticket for...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain takes a look at Stuart Lancaster’s Six Nations squads and likes what he sees
If England can show the sort of staying power that Stuart Lancaster demonstrated at Twickenham last Thursday then it will hold...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain urges England to look at some new faces in the World Cup build up
The seemingly routine announcement of amendments to the England elite squad on Thursday at Twickenham is the exact opposite. It is...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: This Anglo-Welsh decoy shouldn’t be discounted
Is the golden handshake across the Severn, binding the four Welsh regions to the English clubs, the solution it is being...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Danny Cipriani is a risk, but he could unlock golden door
Who holds the keys to No.10 for England? There is no shortage of contenders to pilot them through the 2015 World...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain picks his highs and lows from 2013
Team of the Year – The 2013 Lions. Whereas the All Blacks are virtually a club side which plays and trains...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: France’s ‘Little Napoleon’ is trying to rule in Europe
When it comes to exercising absolute power within a rugby fiefdom there is no one who comes close to Pierre Camou....
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Enough! We don’t want more League coaches
The news that Steve McNamara is staying at his post in Rugby League – part time with England and assistant coach...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Nick Easter about his rebirth as a lock
Nick Easter’s nickname suggests he is a man who has plenty of credit in the bank. The soubriquet that the Harlequins...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: No, Kenny your call to ring-fence is so wrong
Exeter finished bottom of National 3 and were relegated to National 4 along with Clifton in 1995, the year that the...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: IRB must take the blame for debacle over George North
In what appears to be a clear case of mistaken identity, Premiership Rugby have decided that Northampton are the bad guys...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoMartyn Thomas – “Mark McCafferty should go – he led us into wilderness”
Ever since the Anglo-French club pact was formed Martyn Thomas has predicted that the Top 14 clubs would fold like a...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: World Cup schedule is IRB-made shambles
The England 2015 Rugby World Cup fanfare gets underway for real at Twickenham on Wednesday when the IRB announce their ticketing...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain uncovers the ticking time bomb of Red Rose tour to New Zealand
The buzz-phrase after the autumn series is that ‘England are building’. However, exactly what structure Stuart Lancaster and his side build...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Nick Mallett about the growing threat of South Africa
Nick Mallett knows a thing or two about being in charge of “the most dominant team in the history of the...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Get scrum right Alain – or be kicked into touch
When Alain Rolland was introduced at the Millennium Stadium last weekend as the referee for the Wales v South Africa match...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Stuart Lancaster ducks his big chance to be bold
Little more than a week ago Stuart Lancaster called the next 12 months a “defining year” for his team. The England...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to World-cup winning coach Wayne Smith about the All Blacks, Australia and England
Wayne Smith is hardwired with the All Black genome from the soles of his feet to the last hair on his...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Leave the subs on the bench for better results
There is a ‘tinkerman’ alive and kicking inside every coach, so here’s a plea to Stuart Lancaster, Andy Farrell and Graham...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain assesses the challenge a warring Argentina will set for England this week
Patricio Albacete is Argentina’s most experienced forward, and is widely regarded as one of the best locks in the game, yet...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain previews Twickenham’s opening match of the autumn internationals
When it comes to being two-faced, Stuart Lancaster‘s England win the prize hands down. The question is which face will we...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Matt Kvesic must play if he’s going to be special K
Matt Kvesic’s early departure from the England squad to play Australia highlights the thorny problem of how far a head coach...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Warren Gatland about the Lions triumph and autumn challenge
Warren Gatland‘s credentials as the best coach in Northern Hemisphere rugby, and arguably the best in the world, have been writ...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Certitudes for England? I can count only two!
Stuart Lancaster’s head must be in a spin. This is because with only two weeks to go before England open their...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: The bogus water boys are pouring out advice
With Mike Catt giving England coaching directives while on the pitch during Six Nations matches last season, and Neil Jenkins doing...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Exeter’s captain Dean Mumm about the Heineken Cup and Australia’s autumn challenge
Dean Mumm does not hail from anywhere within 10,000 miles of Devon. Yet, the Exeter Chiefs captain, New Zealand born and...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks at the opening rounds of the final Heineken Cup
The 19th Heineken Cup has been billed as the last of its kind, the collector’s edition. And winning it will be...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Let George go, Saints, or risk his goodwill
George North is box office, and although he had to wait until last Friday night for his first try for Northampton...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Gloucester fly-half Freddie Burns about his challenge for club and country
Freddie Burns is the sort of fly-half that scares the living daylights out of English coaches almost as much as he...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: These weakened teams undermine competition
There are occasions when it is hard to fathom the workings, and the culture, of the English Premiership. Why, at a...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Bath’s Dave Attwood about his second coming for England
Dave Attwood has that combination of brains as well as brawn that is a treasured commodity in most sports, but in...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Heineken war could harm World Cup 2015
The battle lines have been drawn around the Heineken Cup – or the territory it once occupied – and there is...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Self-interested coaches should not scrutinise refs
While I have sympathy for Premiership Rugby’s bid to secure a more meritocratic Heineken Cup, the initiative by PRL, the administrative...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Saracens coach Phil Morrow about the amazing Billy Vunipola
Billy Vunipola is a tank, and at Twickenham two weeks ago London Irish found him virtually unstoppable. The pulverising charges of...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Worcester’s new director of rugby Dean Ryan about the challenges ahead
Dean Ryan is realistic about Worcester’s place in the Premiership pecking order. The Warriors are perched precariously on the lower rungs...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Let’s hope England use attack at key word
The pulse always quickens at the start of a new season, and with the Lions‘ first triumph for 16 years still...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: My Sevens squad for Rio has no Sevens stars
Imagine a Great Britain Sevens team for Rio 2016 picked, using a similar model to the Lions, from the best rugby...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Mike Ford about his vision for the revitalisation of Bath
Mike Ford is not promising miracles. Bath‘s new head coach has been around too long to fall into that trap, notably...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Joubert shows refs can’t rule the scrum
Brett Gosper came up with some marketing waffle this week which illustrates how the International Rugby Board have earned a reputation...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Sevens title could be fool’s gold in Brazil
The suggestion that Sonny Bill Williams and Benji Marshall, two of Rugby League’s biggest stars, could be chasing Sevens gold for...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain gives his expert assessment of England’s latest elite squads
Stuart Lancaster‘s EPS selection for the new season reveals that England have just a single option in one of the most...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks ahead to the 2015 World Cup showdown between England, Wales and Australia
We are six months closer to the 2015 World Cup Pool of Pain, and the Lions victory over Australia provides a...
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