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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Ryan aware that Welsh armband fits loosely
Wales have changed their captain so often in recent seasons that Ryan Jones is in his ninth spell in charge. In...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: I’m starting to believe in a Grand Slam for England
It has often been said that a week in rugby is a long time. Two weeks ago I sang the praises...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain looks at the key areas which will decide today’s battle at the Aviva stadium, Dublin
It is a decade since England last won in Dublin in the Six Nations. In the interim there have been heartache...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: BOD magic captured in a move from the matrix
The best centre I have seen play in the last decade is Brian O’Driscoll. That’s not forgetting my favourites, Philippe Sella,...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Yes to bonus points, no to TV-driven fixture lists
There are so many contradictory knee-jerk spoutings about the Six Nations that you sometimes wonder whether Glenda Slagg has taken up...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Rowlands remains Top Cat of the lineout
The 50th anniversary of perhaps the strangest of all Wales matches has come and gone with scarcely a mention. Admittedly it...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Mutual trust is what bonds a winning squad together
Why is it that every England team have to proffer the idea that they are so different to those that have...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Fred Michalak who has gone from enfant terrible to mature superstar
Fred Michalak is France’s main man going into this Six Nations, with all the signs pointing towards flaky Fred having been...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Hold onto your hats for a humdinger!
Owen Farrell will rightly get the headlines for his latest incarnation as England’s Iceman. But he will also be the first...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Can Stuart Lancaster do everything?
There are a couple of questions that need urgent answers since Stuart Lancaster‘s extraordinary elevation this week from being the England...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: WRU see sense with price cut
When he retired after captaining Wales at the 1995 World Cup in Johannesburg, Mike Hall began to make the most of...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Memo to Telfer: the Scots are most elitist of them all
So the English are too arrogant, too pretentious and too condescending and the Welsh are lazy, or so says former Scotland...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain : Ben Morgan set to fire with Telfer ‘bullet up his bum’
Ben Morgan couldn’t be in more illustrious company. A quick scan of who the Gloucester and England No.8 will be contending...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: No Manu Tuilagi? Then send for speedy Jonathan Joseph
How could England lose at home to the old enemy after beating New Zealand so convincingly? It’s so fresh in the...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: the Scots are no pushovers
Two months ago there was not a single scribe, broadcaster, or media pundit anywhere who predicted England would beat New Zealand....
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Bonus points could cost Grand Slammers the title
Six years ago France went into the final match of the final round knowing exactly what they had to do to...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Scotland must prove they should not be demoted
Just one more week and the wait is over for the most eagerly awaited Six Nations Championship in years. Each of...
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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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