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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThis was a cracker but still too many blowouts
The Premiership run-in produced a highly competitive cracker of a match at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday, with Northampton securing a 41-30...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoSanzaar miss chance to inject new blood
The 2024 Six Nations has been lauded in the southern hemisphere for its sensational quality and entertainment – which has not...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRelegation saga still a shadow over game
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is so much that makes so little sense in the English club...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoItaly wins ignite the Six Nations
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The game-changing force of last weekend’s Six Nations tales of the unexpected cannot...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoI doubt Le Garrec would be snared easily under any laws
NICK CAIN Nolann Le Garrec’s spectacular 40-metre reverse pass to Thomas Ramos just after the half-hour in France’s 45-24 win over...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland A need to face ‘real’ Portugal
NICK CAIN Portugal face multiple champions Georgia in the Rugby Europe final at the Stade Jean Bouin in Paris today, and...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWe need to make most of this team
NICK CAIN The England U20s won their first Six Nations title since 2021 with a tremendous second-half effort in which they...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoIt’s time for the real France to stand up
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK FOR crying out loud, when will the real France stand up and be...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBattling U20s still have a lot to learn
England U20s entertaining 32-32 draw with Ireland in Bath on Friday night was pure curate’s egg. The good part was that...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEn garde, England
World rugby’s absurd international residency qualification of just three years should put the RFU on its guard that England will not...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBorthwick must stop delaying and rebuild
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHEN Steve Borthwick took over from Eddie Jones as England head coach he...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoFurbank would be central to my team
An English upset against Ireland on Saturday is about as likely as Donald Trump losing his fake tangerine tan. However, witnessing...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoYet again, Ealing prove they have what it takes
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ealing Trailfinders’ narrow defeat by Leicester in the Premiership Cup semi-final last weekend...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoMerit on the pitch should be decisive
There has been a long-standing tradition in rugby union that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and when Ealing Trailfinders hosted...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoIt’s time to take a risk, England need to get the fans on their feet
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK As we approach the Six Nations midpoint, England are more like a Thames...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoA new spirit of unity is in the air
NICK CAIN For the moment it is jaw-jaw rather than war-war in the Championship’s dispute with the RFU over their right...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWhy the RFU needs to justify its CVC payments
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE recent observation by CVC that rugby union is too fragmented on the...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEnough! No more ref chat
When is the incessant yapping between players and referees going to end? These appeals and “consultations” are becoming a blight at...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoOnce again, the fans are being taken for granted
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE European Cup’s ‘round of 16’ takes some beating when it comes to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRFU double standards alive and well
Surprise, surprise, double standards are alive and well at the RFU. The latest example is the decision is to give a...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoDiamond’s dual role can’t be right
The Twickenham suits are also not averse to turning a blind eye when a conflict-of-interests is involved. Perhaps the RFU’s performance...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoI didn’t see that coming! France as flat as a crepe…
NICK CAIN Ireland's trouncing of France in Marseille – a record Irish win on French soil – trashed most pundits prediction...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoChamp clubs look set for battle
NICK CAIN The Championship clubs appear to be in no mood for turning, typified by their stand-off with an RFU bureaucracy...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThe talent is there – now let’s be bold
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK STEVE Borthwick talked of England “turning a corner” when he announced his preliminary...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoNot many will chase after Louis
Louis Rees-Zammit’s decision to chance his arm in American Football could be viewed as a blow to rugby union with the...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWrong choice for England A
WHEN it comes to competition for places the appointment of Gloucester’s George Skivington and Dom Waldouck as England ‘A’ coaches for...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoSaints looking good but easy win leaves much to be desired
NICK CAIN Northampton are playing attacking rugby which combines skill, speed, flair, and precision, and their hammering of Bayonne on Friday...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoRFU’s sorry failure to respond to flood
While the game in the East Midlands drowns, the RFU lifeboat is in the dry dock with the crew nowhere to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime for Borthwick to put faith in Itoje
nick cain READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK STEVE Borthwick struck a positive note this week when he made it clear...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoMass rotation could end up a crowd killer
The Premiership wants to be taken seriously, but then makes the cardinal error of not taking itself seriously by trashing its...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoRFU has utterly failed to bring the game together
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK HERE’S wishing The Rugby Paper’s loyal readers, and fans of the game everywhere,...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoHere’s my England squad for Six Nations
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There will have been times when the honeymoon period predicted for Steve Borthwick’s...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoSweeney’s words causing deep anger
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is something radically wrong when the chief executive of the RFU –...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoHunt is on for next generation of props
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Five years ago there was a scrum feature in The Rugby Paper which...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoSo-called ‘partners’ deserve justice
NICK CAIN One of the most incomprehensible aspects of this season is that the PGP (Professional Game Partnership) is missing one...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThe Viking will put steel back into Bath
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE Viking – a.k.a. RG Snyman – is expected to arrive in Bath...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoSorry to see European Champions Cup lose its shine
The quality of rugby union’s competitions is crucial to its future as a professional sport. However, what we are witnessing is...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years ago£750,000 payoff for Jones just staggering
We have now discovered that Eddie Jones was almost certainly paid the equivalent of a full year’s £750,000 salary in a...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoItoje is the best man to captain England
NICK CAIN - READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Maro Itoje should be England’s next captain following Owen Farrell’s decision to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoDon’t confuse hatred on social media with responsible debate
NO-ONE in their right mind wanted to see Owen Farrell exit the international stage after announcing this week that he wants...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years ago20 years on and little to give us any real hope
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THIS week saw the 20th anniversary celebrations of the 2003 England squad winning...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoOur starting XV for 2027
NICK CAIN An England team for the 2027 World Cup is a long shot which would leave most snipers well wide...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoWelfare of rugby in England is at stake
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The Championship clubs are standing up to be counted by sticking an iron...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThe Tank who is adding weight to Bath’s attack
Thomas du Toit may not have featured in as many headlines as Finn Russell, but the South African prop has been...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWe can’t afford a weak Six Nations
There was a ray of sunshine for the Lions this week when their preparations for the 2025 tour of Australia were...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoGame in England is heading for a storm
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE return of England A – the national second team known as the...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoFor once, ‘Hugh Bacardi’ was speechless…
NICK CAIN HUGH McHardy is one of those irrepressible, generous characters who give such vibrancy to the social and playing fabric...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBarnes showed why he’s the best
Wayne Barnes retired at the top of his game on Thursday after taking charge of a record 111 internationals, the last...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoPerfect Pollard was the key difference
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE aftermath of South Africa’s record fourth win in the World Cup final...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland will struggle to replace Marler and Cole
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Here is a prediction. England will not win another World Cup, or Six...
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