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Features
/ 5 months agoPaul Rees: Protectionism of the Prem is costing England and Steve Borthwick
Paul Rees looks at the selection issue hindering England coach Steve Borthwick.
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoJeremy Guscott: ‘Home’ advantage can give holders Bordeaux Begles the edge over Leinster
The right teams will be contesting the European Cup final, because holders Bordeaux Begles and challengers Leinster are the best in...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoNick Cain: Saints expose case for defence of van Rensburg
The integrity of the Prem as a league capable of producing international quality players took a battering when Northampton humiliated Bristol...
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Chris Hewett
/ 5 months agoChris Hewett: Changing Premiership game still needs derby passion
If there is a god in rugby’s heaven, Leicester and Northampton will be still be squaring up to each other this...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoPeter Jackson: If only the RFU had backed walk-off referee George Crawford
George Crawford remains the only referee to make the ultimate protest over on-field violence between old Anglo-Welsh foes.
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoTop 14 roundup: Louis at double as Bordeaux hit back
With two rounds of the Top 14 still to play, the play-off situation is becoming increasingly clear
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoJeremy Guscott: Secrecy surrounding England review makes no sense
The RFU review into the 2026 Six Nations was never likely to make great reading after England lost four Championship matches...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoAlison Kervin: The game is flourishing – don’t make it different
If you have been to any women’s rugby matches recently, you will have witnessed scenes that were unimaginable a decade ago:...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoNick Cain: Detailed? Robust? No… It’s a farcical non-review
The RFU’s review into England’s 2026 Six Nations nosedive was a whitewash that told the English rugby public, and the media,...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoPeter Jackson: Leigh Halfpenny bravery wins royal approval
Peter Jackson pays tribute to Leigh Halfpenny’s courage, humility and unforgettable career, from his iconic Twickenham tackle to Lions glory and...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoPeter Jackson: Leo Cullen should know that the press aren’t cheerleaders
AS head coach of Leinster, Leo Cullen runs a squad crammed with more capped players than any other club, province or...
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Features
/ 5 months agoPaul Rees: ‘Europe’ is a formidable mountain to conquer
Paul Rees looks at the challenges teams face on the road in the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup plus more...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: French director calls the shots
Dastardly French TV directors have been quietly controlling big games in France for a couple of decades now so in one...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoJeremy Guscott: Dynamic duos facing battle for supremacy
The battle for supremacy between the 9-10 partnerships for Bath and Bordeaux-Begles will be the hinge on which the outcome of...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Aussies musn’t waste the Lions windfall
The Lions have bailed-out Australian rugby again, with the hugely profitable 2025 tour by the British & Irish outfit last summer...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoPeter Jackson: Pair of Wasps on a collision course
When Wasps went bust with debts of £95m and all 167 employees lost their jobs, a redundant pair of England internationals...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Lions really must head to Argentina
Better late than never. After decades of lobbying by some – not least this column – the Lions are reportedly looking...
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Nick Cain
/ 6 months agoDu Toit can make difference for Bath
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK TODAY will be a reckoning for a Bath pack touted as the most...
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Features
/ 6 months agoPaul Rees: Bath’s train heading for glory
Paul Rees looks forward to today’s Champions Cup semi-final between Johann van Graan’s men and Bordeaux-Begles
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Beware! A great TV deal is no slam dunk
The imminent prospect of a closed franchise Premiership is the subject de jour, although I would say that we have effectively...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoJeremy Guscott: Bath head coach Johann van Graan must start with his strongest pack in Bordeaux
We are at the business end of the season and Bath have two big matches in a row with the top...
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Chris Hewett
/ 6 months agoChris Hewett: Super Rugby’s survival is far from guaranteed
Remember the days when Super Rugby was so hot, you could toast yourself on it?
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoPeter Jackson: It cost me £24m to win title – Brian Kennedy
Nobody knows the savage cost of trying to make rugby union pay in Greater Manchester better than Brian Kennedy.
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Nick Cain
/ 6 months agoAll eyes on Diego Sarthou’s 10-a-side match as France vs England ‘Le Crunch’ gets creative
French rugby seems to be ahead of the curve at the moment, not least in putting innovation into practice rather than...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Seismic defeat at Twickenham shows RFU Board not fit for purpose
The RFU Board suffered a seismic SGM defeat at Twickenham on Friday night of such magnitude that it is hard to...
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Chris Hewett
/ 6 months agoMulti-taskers who are pushing out specialists on the World Rugby stage
Contrary to popular belief, hybrid players – those who can play in the pack, as well as the backs – are...
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Peter Jackson
/ 6 months agoTide may be turning in favour of Ospreys
FOR three long months of unrelenting anxiety while their owners negotiated to buy Cardiff, Ospreys fans have fought the good fight...
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Features
/ 6 months agoPaul Rees: Exeter Chiefs in search of an American with a dream
Paul Rees looks at the financial challenges facing the Prem.
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Features
/ 6 months agoPaul Rees: Attacking sides get away with too much at the breakdown
Paul Rees on how and when the TMO should get involved...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoJeremy Guscott: Courtney Lawes can be a force at the next World Cup
Courtney Lawes’ decision to return to the Premiership to join Sale Sharks next season was not one that most people saw...
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Chris Hewett
/ 6 months agoChris Hewett: An epic drama? No, just drowning in tries
A quarter-final classic”, proclaimed the BBC. Hyperbole? Quite the opposite. As the avalanche of superlatives triggered by Bath’s victory over Northampton...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoPeter Jackson: Bordeaux stars will take some beating, warns ex Bath prop Duncan Bell
Now that they are heading back to Bordeaux for the first time since winning the Heineken Cup there in 1998, Bath...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: VIP treatment with Big Gav and Campo
The Hong Kong Sevens is 50 years old this weekend which is a sobering thought, probably the first time in recorded...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Bill Sweeney’s presiding over a house divided
Getting administrative wires in a tangle seems to have been an RFU default position during Bill Sweeney’s six-year tenure as chief...
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Features
/ 6 months agoPaul Rees: Wales go in search of a path back to the summit
Paul Rees sees signs of a better tomorrow for the men in red as debate continues about what happens next.
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: When it comes to self-harm, rugby union’s in a league of its own
Anyone in doubt about the magical properties promotion-relegation can have in galvanising a sport need look no further than the sensational...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoWelsh clubs in the Prem? Rowe has a point
EXETER chairman Tony Rowe has called for talks aimed at inviting Welsh teams into a 14-club English Premiership. He is the...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Harlequins lacking the launchpad George Furbank needs
George Furbank is a gem of an attacking full-back with the skills and elusive running to spark a backline.
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Features
/ 6 months agoPaul Rees: Duelling French aristocrats! Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles clash in the Champions Cup
Rugby in France has never been more popular. The television audience for the final Six Nations match against England peaked at...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoJeremy Guscott: French rivals are showing England the way ahead
No-one is really surprised by the magnitude of the heavy defeats suffered in the European Cup Round of 16 last weekend...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoPeter Jackson: I’d love to offer help to WRU, says Kingsley Jones
Twenty years have come and all but gone since a Welshman from Blaina prepared Manchester’s champions-elect for their coronation in one...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Sorry, Mako Vunipola, but you can’t play for Tonga
The rumbustious heart on his sleeve, no-nonsense Mako Vunipola has always been a favourite player of mine since I first saw...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: At the top level, Northampton Saints’ young guns have a bit to learn
When the European Cup reaches the last eight thankfully it has shed the hangers-on who finish in the lower end of...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: RFU should get Sir Clive Woodward back on board
When it comes to an understanding of what high-performance means, and the ability to implement it and create a world-beating team,...
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Features
/ 7 months agoPaul Rees: Why rugby must adapt to survive in the social media age
Paul Rees reports on how the game needs to adapt to attract new fans in a world dominated by social media.
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoJeremy Guscott: Geoff Parling’s Leicester Tigers must rise to the occasion
When you think of Leicester Tigers, and the closeness of last season’s Premiership final when they lost by a couple of...
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Chris Hewett
/ 7 months agoChris Hewett: And with that, it’s back to the studio! The Geoff Parling-Craig Doyle incident
A little over 20 years ago, Alan Partridge committed one of broadcasting’s cardinal sins by shooting a chat show guest live...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoPeter Jackson: Time for George North to face the final curtain
Precious few teenagers dared to make an entrance remotely like George North’s two tries against the Springboks, evoking golden memories of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 7 months agoBrendan Gallagher: 30 years on from Matt Gallagher’s special day
There’s been a lot going on recently in the rugby world, but it would be remiss not to pause awhile to...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoJeremy Guscott: Now Bath need to be serial winners
Having played rugby at Bath since the age of seven, and been at The Rec as a one-club-man for the duration...
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