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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Top 14 cash could tear apart the All Blacks
The suggestion that Aaron Smith, the New Zealand scrum-half, has been sounded out by Toulouse about joining the French club after...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Gory story of Welsh failure in South Africa
South Africa. The graveyard of Welsh rugby. Nowhere in the world, over the last 50 years, have Wales been put away...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Victor Matfield’s return can help Wales come good
Wales made their first stand in the Southern Hemisphere 50 years ago in the place they used to call the last...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to England full-back Mike Brown about his remarkable transformation
Mike Brown is England’s torch-bearer, but one with a difference. He is the man at the back, rather than the front,...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Tour from Hell did English rugby the power of good
Isn’t it strange how a perception of history over time can appear to alter what actually happened? Like all the fuss...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott’s verdict: Referee Nigel Owens let All Blacks off hook with his card calls
Chris Robshaw and his troops will be mightily disappointed at this defeat which speaks volumes as nobody gave them a chance...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Bravo London Welsh, now give them level playing field
London Welsh‘s against-the-odds victory in the Championship final, beating runaway league leaders Bristol by a healthy 48-28 aggregate margin over two...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Regional academies would reduce number of lost players
So that’s the end of European Rugby Cup Ltd’s involvement in Europe – and what an end, as both teams ensured...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Willie John’s Lions are dwarfed by Toulon titans
When the Lions secured their only series win against New Zealand in 1971, they did so with a pack averaging 15...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: We’ve had hell and miracles, so what next for England?
England rugby tours of New Zealand – with some just fleeting visits in these furious fast forward times – are always...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Surely Steffon Armitage warrants exceptional treatment
Steffon Armitage’s omission from the England squad for the tour of New Zealand raises an interesting question. If, before the 2019...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Kyle Eastmond must seize this chance to show his skill
Kyle Eastmond can skin players in his sleep with his speed, footwork and swerve, and one of the things I’d most...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks ahead to England’s opening test in New Zealand on Saturday
,Freddie Burns is a big fan of the endurance magician David Blaine. Blaine has found fame and fortune as a modern...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Why Bruce Craig’s vision for global season will fail to see the light
Last week’s interview encapsulating Bath chairman Bruce Craig’s vision of the future of global rugby showed some interesting, if slightly naive...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Yes, it all goes South when we head South
Every June the home countries fly south of the Equator in a battered state of semi-resignation to what awaits them. Almost...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: You’ve been in overdrive, BT, but keep the brake on Austin Healey
It’s that time of the year when self-opinionated columnists dispense gongs, and the occasional brickbat, to those who deserve them and...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher charts the career of Jonny Wilkinson, the player who has transcended the game
Talk about synchronicity. When confirmation of Jonny Wilkinson’s much-touted retirement was filtering through this week I was actually rummaging around my...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: A moment of brilliance from George North could swing it
There is a certain kind of justice that the top two teams from the nine month league campaign have made it...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Less use of the TMO? Then stop these ref witch-hunts
Hard to believe that it is just a week since Leicester’s Richard Cockerill called for referees to be less reliant on...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Warren Gatland’s Law takes a mauling from WRU!
Warren Gatland made a strange announcement last Tuesday over the resurrection of the Welsh trial match, buried long ago with other...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Rob Baxter about the Heineken Cup final
Rob Baxter is in the unique position for an English coach of having done the surgery on the victims-in-common of Heineken...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: So, it’s farewell Heineken, you were already just champion!
Rather in the way journalism is often considered the first draft of history, the Heineken Cup was effectively European Rugby’s first...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Chris Pennell would find a place on loan in any Premiership squad
It’s not often that a back stands out in a side that hasn’t performed, but Chris Pennell has done so for...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Good to see Danny Cipriani back – now it’s all up to him
Danny Cipriani has been thrown a lifeline by Stuart Lancaster, but it remains to be seen whether it is long enough...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain picks his Premiership Dream Team
Selecting a Team of the Season is always a subjective business, and although statistics tell part of the story, they can...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: A couple of England-Wales tickets, sir? That’ll be £630
The last England–Wales match at Twickenham grossed around £5m in ticket money. The next one will top £20m. For the World...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Worcester and Dean Ryan still have a mountain to climb
The failure of Worcester to survive in this year’s Premiership season was probably the most anticipated relegation since the leagues began....
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain discovers what England can expect in New Zealand
Jimmy Cowan has such an intimate knowledge of the workings of All Blacks that it’s surprising Steve Hansen hasn’t had him...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Malakai Fekitoa case shows IRB are letting down world game
New Zealand protests that they do not poach from the Pacific Islands should always be taken with a block of salt,...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Super George North can help Northampton Saints reach another Premiership final
The bridesmaid tag is an easy one to hang on Northampton, and it’s there because although they have attracted some big-name...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Why I’ve learned to love the Premiership play-offs
How quickly time moves on and blazing rows of yesteryear recede. For many it was the blackest of days midway through...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: IRB must raise qualification period to at least eight years
The two biggest spending clubs in France and England, Toulon and Saracens, have proved that money can buy success. Although it...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: On the march with Trelawny’s Army, rugby’s great outsiders
So the European legislators, God bless, have finally caught up with the rugby world and officially recognised Cornwall as being very...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to three great English Lions to gather their views about the England back-row
Back-row expertise does not come with better credentials than that offered by Roger Uttley, Mike Teague and Peter Winterbottom. The trio...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Murder on the dancefloor as Harlequins try to get a grip
The Murderball challenge is on. Mike Brown, already proud ambassador for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, wants to celebrate Harlequins‘ coming on...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: I’ll be back, says David Moffett as ceasefire is called
The hierarchy of the Welsh Rugby Union could have been excused for heaving a collective sigh of relief last Wednesday evening....
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: These new-look Saracens can lift the Heineken Cup
Saracens have made a massive swing in their playing style, and it has been reflected in their fortunes following their crushing...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: I tell you straight, this refs’ dereliction harms game
The middle line has been crossed. Infringements at the lineout and scrum are now so endemic that it leaves you wondering...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: England stance is vital for developing young talent
The increasing call on the RFU to change its stance and pick players who choose to ply their trade in another...
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Sevens World Series
/ 12 years agoTom Mitchell: Keep the pathway clear for students to reach very top
We are a few days away from the penultimate tournament of the 2013/14 HSBC World Sevens Series in Glasgow and therefore...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: So, have the roaring 40s blown Brad Thorn off course?
Brad Thorn was saying only the other day how he planned to be playing ‘top level footy’ at 40, a long-distance...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Fizzing George Ford ready for next step with club and country
George Ford has come of age. Finally. It has been a long time coming because Ford has been lumbered with the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher and the Championship play-offs
The Championship play-offs have attracted more than their fair share of criticism over the last four years which I find astounding...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Why Steffon Armitage must be on the plane to New Zealand
The chat this week has been about Steffon Armitage and English players based outside the Premiership being unable to play for...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Gareth Anscombe approach proves Warren Gatland’s faith is dwindling
The news that 22-year-old New Zealand fly-half Gareth Anscombe is being lined up to play for Wales by Warren Gatland comes...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Clubs’ greed over World Cup is simply shameful
There is something quite sinister about the unbridled celebrations and smug reflections by some of the Aviva Premiership clubs’ owners on...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Big Man’s dynasty is thriving at Tigers
When Frank Whitcombe signed for Broughton Rangers at Belle Vue in Manchester, they gave him £100 and a keeper’s job at...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Brad Barritt about Saracens and England
Brad Barritt is not going to see the England No.12 jersey handed over to Billy Twelvetrees, Luther Burrell, Kyle Eastmond, or...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: The day that Munster found vintage form in Bordeaux
Munster‘s love affair with the Heineken Cup has become the stuff of legend but in nearly two decades I recall no...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Manu Tuilagi and Niki Goneva give Leicester Tigers real title potential
You have to admire Saracens. They have lost only two games this season, and one more victory will see them home...
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