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Latest News
/ 2 years agoA sporting heritage that needs protection
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHAT’S in a name? A huge amount if you consider what Wembley means...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoWhat counts is how the money is spent
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED IT WAS a close-run thing but, after crunching the numbers harder than a caffeine-fuelled psephologist on election...
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Features
/ 2 years agoBerry’s briefest of brief encounters…
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW TEN summer Olympiads have come and all but gone since Marty Berry went...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoHow the sun keeps shining for Spain
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Impressive: Joel Merkler in action for Toulouse PICTURE:...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoSponsorship deal will really help grassroots
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME THE news that the cabbage patch is to get a name change...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoJeremy Guscott: Current All Blacks lack the fear factor
New Zealand don’t carry the same fear factor that they had in the 2011-2015 era going into this season’s Rugby Championship.
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British and Irish Lions
/ 2 years agoJoe Schmidt’s Wallabies will provide a tough test for Lions
Nick Cain gives his thoughts on the 2025 British Lions series against Australia, saying the Aussies will be hard to beat...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoFrance show us how to do it – again
NICK CAIN THE 2024 Olympic Sevens was a massive showcase for Antoine Dupont’s extraordinary sporting talent, but also for rugby union,...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoWhy SVNS makes sense for the future
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Rugby sevens – or SVNS, as a London-based team of funkily-dressed marketing executives have somehow succeeded in...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoFearless beach boy who ran with Lions
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW PETER Morgan’s day would begin at the crack of dawn on a Pembrokeshire...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoIt was good to see Scotland support for T2
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Captured: Gus Warr in action against Canada PICTURE:...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoGood to see women winning more awards
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME IT WAS disappointing that Team GB women’s sevens side were unable to...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoBuild the future on front row brilliance
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE England U20 scrum is the best in the world, and in winning...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoDay when the Real McCoys stood up
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED THE governing bodies of the union game are not renowned for their speed off the mark –...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoRichardis goes the distance with pearler of a kick
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Delight: Spain U20 celebrate victory over Fiji PICTURE:...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoWales in danger of a Lions wipe out
PETER JACKSON - THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW EVER since the ‘British Isles Rugby Union Team’ became the Lions 100 years...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoReshuffle helping to bring on youth
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME NOW we are at the end of the season there is the...
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Guest columnists
/ 2 years agoBest team in the world, I screamed
OLAMIDE SODEKE ENGLAND U20 SECOND ROW Friday night was the highlight of my short-lived rugby career so far and was the...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoEngland going in the right direction
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK If we measure England from the time Steve Borthwick took over as head coach...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland need to beat the big boys
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK It is intriguing to see England being touted already as serious 2027 World...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoA drop of magic is just what we need
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED STRANGE as it may sound to generations of rugby lovers raised on a fizzy-drink, dopamine-heavy diet of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoNo stopping the American battlers
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT’S exactly 100 years ago since France and...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDon’t let our sport move to summer
RUGBY MATTERS NOT for the first time I offer a heartfelt warning against those who continue to argue for a switch...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoSpanish youngsters show how to tackle low
RUGBY MATTERS I DON’T know if you caught any of Spain’s game against Italy at the Junior World Cup last Sunday...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoFlamboyant Harlequins add steel to their spine
HARLEQUINS are following the path trodden by Northampton a year ago, one that took the Saints to Twickenham and the title...
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Features
/ 2 years agoAll Black who was bristling with pride
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW On the front foot: Norm Hewitt leads the Haka before a match against...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoIt takes a long time to learn ‘the dark arts’
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME SO IT was a second defeat in New Zealand for an England...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoVannes facing a tough early test
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promoted ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoA thunderous match that had no losers
PAUL REES The first thing that needs to be said is that this was an absorbing Test match between two teams...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoHigh-risk blitz puts England in charge
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK There's nothing not to like about England’s blitz defence. It’s bold, gutsy, and good...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoWales show defiance but the wait goes on
PETER JACKSON All week long the Red Dragon legions had planned their regimental mobilisation with just enough military precision to let...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoOverseas stars are blocking new talent
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is a double standard in English rugby that stands out as a...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoEuropean elite keen to exclude outsiders
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Whichever way you care to define the i-word, it was an interesting few hours for Canadian sport....
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoSlipper deserves place at top table
Wallaby props? How we used to snigger at them over here in England as Jason Leonard, Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan...
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Features
/ 2 years agoEntertaining the crowds is not the only thing
Paul Rees says that, while attracting a new audience is important, the game must not ignore its core support Scott Robertson...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoPeter Jackson: Warrior Peter O’Mahony learns a brutal lesson
A Grand Slam winner last year, Peter O’Mahony backed it up by captaining Ireland to a second successive Six Nations title.
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoLest we forget: The bravery of the fallen
PETER JACKSON It's a long way from Maesteg to Mametz Wood, from a mining community in the Llynfi Valley to a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoInjury and illness can’t stop the fun
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S time to dip back into the 1974...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDon’t lose Six Nations bonus on a Sunday
By Brendan Gallagher There have been more reports recently about the Six Nations wanting to do away with Sunday games and...
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Features
/ 2 years agoExpect the Chiefs Mk2 to be real contenders
PAUL REES LOOKS AT WHY EXETER’S DOR HAS PUT PLAYER RETENTION AHEAD OF RECRUITMENT AT SANDY PARK The most eye-catching result...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoWhy is captain replaced so early?
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME So the All Blacks keep their home record of wins at Dunedin...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoTime for players to behave properly
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There are no ‘good’ responses to Melvyn Jaminet’s violently racist outburst on social media, or the serious...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoTowering talent who took Bath to the top
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK Jack Rowell’s contribution to Bath rugby was immeasurable from the beginning when he arrived...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoWainwright stands out as Wales fail to impress
PETER JACKSON Political swings being all the rage, the sixth-best team in the Six Nations duly fell victim to one of...
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Columnists
/ 2 years agoRFU still has urgent questions to answer
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoTrio who tempt us to search for genius
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED What do we mean when we talk of genius? It is a question as old as Noah,...
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Features
/ 2 years agoBig guns in danger of just looking after No.1
ANALYSIS PAUL REES WONDERS HOW THE SPORT CAN KEEP PAYING FOR ITSELF IN HARD TIMES....WHILE UNIONS BUILD FOR THE FUTURE When...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoJack’s philosophy? Win today, win tomorrow…
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Of all the enduring memories from Jack Rowell’s tumultuous time in charge of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoThere’s more than money to Toulouse
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There have, rightly, been acres of words written...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDangers of brain trauma not new
The perceived wisdom is that rugby was not overly aware of the dangers of concussion and brain trauma back in the...















