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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to England and Tigers hooker Tom Youngs about Toulouse and Six Nations
Tom Youngs talks as he plays. Direct, to the point, honest, and over the past year his hard-working, uncomplicated attitude has...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Tiger tanks needed to halt the Toulouse titans
For a club the size of Leicester Tigers going another season without the Heineken Cup up for grabs has to be...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Wasps good enough for Dally, so why not Billy?
Billy Vunipola‘s decision to leave Wasps and join forces with his brother, Mako, at Saracens is surprising given that he is...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Vunipola’s defied dad to play for England
Wales are converting another South African to their Six Nations‘ cause and Scotland are back in the business of importing kilted...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Being paid to play for your country feels wrong
A question that is often asked is what price international rugby? Well, now we know. If the players play as many...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Twelvetrees could be England’s missing link
Selecting Billy Twelvetrees for his EPS squad is a smart move by Stuart Lancaster because he’s selecting on form plus Twelvetrees...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: When WRU called Cliff a ‘cheat and liar’ over 4d!
When Cliff Morgan made his debut for Wales in 1951, he caught the bus from his home in the Rhondda and...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Time to bin the sin bin and keep the game fair
In a week that should have been all about the new Elite Player Squad the spotlight continues to burn on the...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain looks at the current status of the Heineken Cup
If there was ever a time for the English clubs to emphasise that they are the real deal and not the...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Soul of London Irish has been ripped out
In sport you get so many highs and lows, and the great thing is its unpredictability. Given the great year of...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Suddenly the England scrum is Gr-eight again
There were not many No.8 options for England at the start of last season, and it had become another problem position....
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Dragons big dilemma – when to cash in on Toby
They say Toby Faletau is not for sale, that those across the border and across the Channel eager to buy him...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: I didn’t need a letter to know my dad backed me
I think it is fair to say that 2012 was Stuart Lancaster‘s year more than anyone else in rugby, despite no...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Saracens flanker Will Fraser about his ‘inspirational’ brother
Will Fraser goes through a ritual before every match he plays for Saracens. The rugged openside flanker has his wrists and...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Lancaster needs a wing man to drive home his bombers
I’ll argue all day long that the key ability in a winger is that when you give them a try-scoring opportunity,...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: The Gong Show and the Goon Show 2012
It’s the season of awards, from the BBC’s Sports Personality show to the New Year Honours. Gongs are being handed out...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Magnificent Ospreys put life back into Wales
After the Grand Slam, the Grand Slump as befitting a nation where extreme mood swings tend to be the norm. After...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: There’s hope, despair and the road to redemption
Now the end of the year approaches, we can reflect on the first half of the season and look forward to...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Dean Richards about his remarkable return to rugby
Dean Richards has no peers in the English club game when it comes to building champion teams, and he is at...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Lions place is Sexton’s to lose in Six Nations
Jonathan Sexton is in pole position to be the Lions first pick for the Test No.10 shirt now that his main...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Toulon are a triumph for French TV as well
The most startling statistic to come out of Round 4 of the Heineken Cup was not so much Toulon‘s nine try,...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Let’s hear it for these Ospreys heroes!
Toulouse had been to Wales many times before last week, losing the odd game by the odd point here and there....
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: No guarantee that artificial pitches will boost scrum
Some time ago I wrote about my doubts concerning Saracens‘ ambitions to play on an artificial pitch and whether it would...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Farrell can bring fresh ideas for the Lions
The Lions are about the integration of the coaches as much as the players, and Warren Gatland has made good choices...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Heineken Cup needs refreshing for the fans
Another Heathrow hotel meeting, and another Heineken cup impasse. That was the outcome from the battle of the suits this week...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Wales may rue Gatland snub for Edwards
Shaun Edwards spent the week keeping a profile low enough as to be positively subterranean over Warren Gatland‘s decision to make...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Heineken Cup row could damage the Six Nations
The Heineken Cup, despite all the trials and tribulations is rumbling along in its usual fashion, with all but one group...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain says the best coaches never believe they cannot improve a winning team
England will not be de-railed this season by skidding on the media and blog froth that has surrounded his squad since...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott casts an expert eye over where England go from last week’s tumultuous victory
Despite the importance of the Heineken Cup mid-pool round, it’s still hard to forget England and New Zealand because last weekend’s...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Group of Death can deal mortal blow to 2015
Forget all the flannel following the nightmare RWC 2015 draw that England and Wales have to beat everyone of note to...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Halfpenny finds his currency on the rise
The battering taken by Wales during a troubled month threatens to have long-term consequences even for those who managed to stay...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Lions tour could damage Lancaster’s World Cup bid
Last week’s surprise win against the current world champions was thoroughly deserved as the players delivered on all counts and it...
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British and Irish Lions Tour
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Warren Gatland about the 2013 tourists to Australia
When Warren Gatland held court at Cardiff Castle this week to do an early 2013 Lions stock-take with the autumn series...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Robshaw got it wrong but so did Lancaster
The debate over Chris Robshaw‘s late penalty call against South Africa has raged all week, and nothing has been added to...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Shameful, this waste of Hook’s huge talent
James Hook will have returned to France last weekend wondering about his future with Wales after a month in the margins....
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Lancaster’s balancing act is crucial for World Cup hopes
Balance is something that every successful team must have and from before my glory days to England’s World Cup winning team...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain assesses how to halt the all-round might of the all-conquering All Blacks
If this autumn series has taught us anything as England attempt to turn the tide against New Zealand, it is that...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Grayson stricken by Midlands fly-halfitis
Paul Grayson’s exit from Northampton after being at Franklin’s Gardens as an assistant coach and player for 19 years suggests that...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: T-shirt test revealed Gavin was an outsider
Gavin Henson has been branded a non-team player by the Wales coach who gave him his international baptism eleven years ago....
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Lack of collective thinking cost us World Cup victory
I am rather surprised by some people’s reactions to the reasons why England‘s young team failed to make the right choices...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Chris Ashton about try scoring, Munster and the Lions
Chris Ashton divides opinion like no other current international in Britain, or Ireland. There are those who see the England wing...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain looks at the challenge facing England at Twickenham next weekend
If Stuart Lancaster thinks he’s got injury problems with Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft on the sidelines then he...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: England lack cool heads at key stage
This is a game England should have won – it was the next logical step in their progression under Stuart Lancaster...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Thomson’s escape shows bias towards All Blacks
The fawning towards all things All Black by the game’s officials goes on unabated with the latest example being the one-week...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: The force is no longer with Welsh club rugby
There used to be a time when Wales–England matches required a heavier police presence on the field than off it, when...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: RFU ‘blazers’ are value for money – unlike others!
The relevance of the RFU Council was brought into question in last week’s paper by former chairman of the management board...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Danny Cipriani about his challenge at Sale, tackling and England
Danny Cipriani has found himself in the headlines over the last few weeks, but they have not been of his own...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Wales must act quickly to stop the talent drain
With the news that Jamie Roberts has decided to move on from Cardiff Blues, Roger Lewis chief executive of the Welsh...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Bending the ref’s ear should be binned
One of the worst aspects of the new TMO intervention on foul play is the sharp increase in players badgering referees...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: It wasn’t just the money that lured Jamie away
Once this column revealed the sheer scale of the offer from Racing Metro a fortnight ago, it was just a matter...
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