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Latest News
/ 4 years agoEddie’s gift-wrapped route to the semis
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE 2023 World Cup has the uplift of France, the hosts, having a...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoDevil is in the detail of buyback option
NICK CAIN AFTER a couple months of putting down a smokescreen the RFU has finally given an answer to what happens...
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Latest News
/ 4 years ago‘Beleaguered Bill’ tries to defend the indefensible
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHO runs the RFU, Bill Sweeney or Eddie Jones? There have been rumours...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoSweeney offers hope to clubs in second tier
NICK CAIN THERE could be good news for the Championship clubs, and the English club game as a whole, with indications...
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Nick Cain
/ 4 years agoEddie has had ample time to build a ‘new England’ and failed to do it
NICK CAIN SAYS ENGLAND’S DEFEAT IN FRANCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EDDIE JONES’ LAST MATCH IN CHARGE ENGLAND’S defeat in Paris last...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoTime for refs to follow directives or face axe
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THERE is nothing that undermines a professional sport more than being unclear about...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoThere will be more on Rogers’ naughty list
NICK CAIN ANOTHER week, another Premiership ‘rotten borough’ story. This time it is about Leicester, a club which behind the scenes...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoTemporary stands at Bath reek of double standards
NICK CAIN AT the same time as two clubs, Ealing and Doncaster, have failed the RFU/Premiership ground criteria rules to be...
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Features
/ 4 years agoGalthie looks and acts the part as Brains behind French renaissance
NICK CAIN CHARTS THE KEY CHANGES FABIEN GALTHIE HAS MADE SINCE TAKING CHARGE OF FRANCE FABIEN Galthie’s transformation of France’s fortunes...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoSwitching Steward to centre isn’t the answer
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK COME in No.12, your time is now! That is the call that Eddie...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoA right mess entirely of the RFU’s making
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE minority who support ring-fencing can wail and gnash their teeth as much...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoHas Jones provided value for money?
NICK CAIN BY the end of his seventh year as England coach, Eddie Jones will have been paid £5.25 million in...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoStorm warning! Get Collier on front line
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WILL Collier has served his time in the shadows, but, as England face...
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Latest News
/ 4 years ago‘Hybrid’ Championship idea must not be given green light
NICK CAIN IT is good to see that the concept of an English Cup competition, pitching Championship clubs against Premiership ‘A’...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoLegitimate questions deserve real answers
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK BILL Beaumont might well be wondering who controls the global game. Is it...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoKick for points, Ben – this isn’t a Prem game!
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK TOM Curry should have no shortage of helpers, or advice, as England’s embryo...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoLedesma is beaten by the bubbles
NICK CAIN THE attraction of coaching at World Cups appears to have lost some of its gloss – or at least...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoLet’s hear it for those little guys
NICK CAIN IT is great to see small wingers with dancing feet and blistering pace, like Scotland’s Darcy Graham (5ft 9ins)...
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Features
/ 4 years agoSuddenly the wonders of Rome hold perils for Eddie
NICK CAIN ASSESSES THE ANSWERS ENGLAND MUST PROVIDE AGAINST ITALY TODAY IF England stick with the excuse-ridden mindset post- Murrayfield that...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoGolden boy Jean-Pierre inspired a generation
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THERE are too many Englishmen happy to genuflect at the altar of “French...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoBrain injury rules must be more stringent
NICK CAIN RUGBY Union’s governing bodies must urgently take action to make concussion protocols far more stringent. World Rugby and...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoGatland’s available if Eddie fails again
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE main impediment to changing international coaches in the two years leading into...
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Latest News
/ 4 years ago£500,000 to swap helmets is woke joke
NICK CAIN THE Exeter Chiefs, North American Indianstyle, are dead, but hail to the Dumnonii Chiefs! Catchy it isn’t, but apparently...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 years agoThe Rugby Paper’s Six Nations preview: Green giants can cast long shadow over rivals
Amid the clinking cutlery and a few chinking glasses, The Rugby Paper’s brain’s trust gathered at Jeremy Guscott’s favourite Bath watering...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoA Murrayfield ambush waits for England
ENGLAND Nick Cain assesses England’s opening match and their wider issues THE Scots are an ambush outfit, and the last thing...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoThe ‘great selector’ is causing confusion again
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE ‘Fast Eddie’ nickname first coined in this column to describe Eddie Jones...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoNow RFU must find TV deal for ALL clubs
NICK CAIN THE new terrestrial broadcast deal struck between the Premiership and ITV is good news, but also long overdue. Disappearing...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoCourtney’s got the drop in captaincy shoot-out
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK COURTNEY Lawes would be my choice of captain for the 2022 Six Nations...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoFront row rankings put Quins pair first
NICK CAIN CAN Eddie Jones deliver on his vow to make England’s scrum great again? After the 2021 Six Nations and...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoGet Eddie’s successor to ride shotgun for him now
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK SUCCESSION plans for the England head coach role have been a lottery in...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoSorry, this sleeping dog needs to be wide awake
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK IT is tempting to support Alex Sanderson’s view that another salary cap scandal...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoEddie finds the C-word is big help for England
NICK CAIN THE biggest improvement in Eddie Jones‘ management of the England squad has been his recognition that competition for places,...
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Features
/ 4 years agoJumbo-sized Joe is ready for take-off to scrum stardom
NICK CAIN TALKS TO THE NEW TIGHTHEAD ON THE ENGLAND BLOCK, LEICESTER TIGERS’ JOE HEYES Making his mark: Joe Heyes on...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoMacron’s pique opens way for national cup
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE chances of a new variation of Covid coming through was as predictable...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoGriffiths offers Bath fans better future
NICK CAIN THE decision by Bath owner Bruce Craig to pick Ed Griffiths as his successor as chairman is the most...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoVan Graan needs full power to plug Bath
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK JOHANN van Graan is the latest coach expected to plug the gaping hole...
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Features
/ 4 years agoBear hugs were PR disaster for Genge
NICK CAIN TIMING is everything in sport, and the Bristol Bears video released this week trumpeting their signing of Ellis Genge...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoPennell: Eddie’s wrong on Lawrence
By NICK CAIN Oh yes! Dave Ewers roars his delight after Tom O’Flaherty, right, scores for Exeter Chiefs against bitter rivals...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoPoison is all coming from Eddie not the Press
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK OLLIE Lawrence must be wondering what he did to get in Eddie Jones’...
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Feature
/ 4 years agoFor Total Rugby, you first build a bedrock
NICK CAIN TOTAL Rugby is the holy grail of the game. The seamless link and flow between forwards and backs that...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 4 years agoEddie must fix his scrum or England will suffer
NICK CAIN SAYS ANY HOPE THE RED ROSE HAVE OF SIX NATIONS SUCCESS STARTS IN THE FRONT ROW LIKE the rest...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 4 years agoMaro has crucial skill of leading by example
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK MARO Itoje did not need the help of acting classes when he captained...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoDitch this miserable Cup for a real one
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ENGLISH football has the FA Cup, a gem of a tournament that connects...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoWaterboys need mopping up now
NICK CAIN WHATEVER happens over the Rassie Erasmus appeal, World Rugby cannot dawdle any longer on the waterboy on-field coaching issue...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoRassie must pay the price for video rant
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE information vacuum surrounding the disciplinary hearing involving Rassie Erasmus has been filled...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoEddie’s entitled to his Emma opinion
NICK CAIN THERE is no problem with accusing Eddie Jones of double standards when he gives advice to young tennis star...
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Columnists
/ 4 years agoBlack Ferns will be bent on revenge
NICK CAIN CONGRATULATIONS to the England women’s team for their resounding 43-12 and 56-15 double over New Zealand’s world champion Black...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoNew eligibility rules will turn rugby into a circus
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK MALAKAI Fekitoa could have played for Tonga against England yesterday, just four years...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoSteadman story is inspiration to us all
NICK CAIN FLOYD Steadman’s story is one of the most uplifting and moving you will find in any sport, as those...
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Latest News
/ 4 years agoWorld Rugby must act to battle the lure of the yen
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE devaluation of the international game was emphasised this week after it was...












