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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoPlay it straight for game to flow
THERE is a growing concensus – at last – that the scrum, rather than being a collapse-fest in which front rows...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoDon’t blame us, Pichot
AGUSTIN Pichot is banging the drum that Georgia should be allowed into the Six Nations for the good of the game....
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoAlun-Wyn will be Lions leader… or maybe Conor!
Top candidate: Wales second row Alun-Wyn Jones PICTURE: Getty Images WHO should Warren Gatland pick as captain? It is one of...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoDylan must hope Lions history isn’t repeated
Not counting his chickens: England captain Dylan Hartley PICTURE: Getty Images The Lions leave the England captain at home, pick his...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoParry Jones spotted Duggan’s surrender to battle fatigue
THE passing of broadcaster David Parry Jones, aged 83, evokes memories of Wales- Ireland in 1975, a unique match in that...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoHandsome Mike had some ugly moments
MIKE PHILLIPS has been called many things in his time as befitting one who often dealt in the outrageous on and...
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Guest columnists
/ 9 years agoLions Watch: locks
The giants of the second row have always loomed large in the folklore of the Lions as the driving force behind...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Judgement Day – for the regions… and Wales
Wales can’t afford to let this summer’s tour pass without blooding some youngsters – and that’s why Judgement Day is going...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: JPR’s a Wales legend but was Price even better?
Anniversaries have been all the rage of late, from the 25th of England‘s last Grand Slam double under Will Carling to...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Willie wasn’t a wonker – he just got it wrong
Don’t blame Willie Le Roux or Danny Cipriani for that matter. Wasps‘ humbling defeat at Leinster went much deeper than an...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Lions have the ferocity up front to shock All Blacks
It’s not long now until Warren Gatland makes the final call on what will be the biggest challenge of his coaching...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoAndy Goode: Ford’s a top 10 in Europe but Tigers need to find a pack
Matt O’Connor returned to these shores this week to resume command of the club he left in 2013, which begs the...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoAckermann will give Gloucester some steel
ON the face of it Gloucester’s appointment of Johan Ackermann, below, as their new head coach for 2017-18, seems a shrewd...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoLions have the ferocity up front to shock All Blacks
IT’S not long now until Warren Gatland makes the final call on what will be the biggest challenge of his coaching...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoJPR’s a Wales legend but was Price even better?
Anniversaries have been all the rage of late, from the 25th of England’s last Grand Slam double under Will Carling to...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoIrish give Champions Cup a six-figure boost…
NOWthat the Irish have brought the crowds back to the Champions Cup, the semi-finals are likely to reach 100,000 for the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years ago… Bath rejoice at seven-figure loss
‘BATHRugby’, the headline on the club’s website proclaimed, ‘announces improved financial performance for the 2015-16 financial year.’ At face value it...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoWillie wasn’t a wonker – he just got it wrong
Don’t blame Willie Le Roux or Danny Cipriani for that matter. Wasps’ humbling defeat at Leinster went much deeper than an...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoJudgement Day – for the regions … and Wales
Wales can’t afford to let this summer’s tour pass without blooding some youngsters – and that’s why Judgement Day is going...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoThere’s never been another like England fly-half Karen
THIS week marked the 30th anniversary of the first women’s rugby international between Wales and England which was staged at Pontypool...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoItaly should stage finals
NOBODY is keener than me to see rugby gain an even firmer foothold in Spain and I don’t doubt that next...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoFord’s a top 10 in Europe but he needs proper pack
MATT O’CONNOR returned to these shores this week to resume command of the club he left in 2013, which begs the...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoLions need tough guy at ten
MA’A NONU may not be around to scare the life out of defences anymore, but you can bet that the All...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoStimmo learns a painful lesson
OLD men really should know better. Tim Stimpson is paying the price for taking me on at football in a Bet...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Tale of two rugby cities could not be starker
On a wintry Friday night by the Clyde, Glasgow Warriors and Newport Gwent Dragons played out a 16-all draw. So few...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Clash of Titans? No longer, but it’s still a crucial game
The concept of ‘The Clash’ appeals to me, with an expected crowd of 60,000 at Twickenham to watch Bath against Leicester...
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Guest columnists
/ 9 years agoLions watch: tightheads and hookers
New Zealand have the highest strike rate off set piece possession in the world game. That is why it is imperative...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher remembers the 1993 Lions tour
The last truly amateur tour in Lions history ended up as just about the perfect metaphor of everything that had preceded...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Warburton still the pick of captaincy candidates
The clock is ticking in the run up to Warren Gatland‘s Lions squad announcement, but for me there’s only one man...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: I doubt that Gatland will be giving out Lions wildcards
Optimism, hypocrisy and concern. Three words that can be used to describe the game of rugby over the last week. Optimism,...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Solomona is quality, but don’t pick him
That Denny Solomona has had a phenomenal start to his Rugby Union career, with 11 tries in 11 matches for Sale...
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Columnists
/ 9 years agoI doubt that Gatland will be giving out Lions wildcards
Optimism, hypocrisy and concern. Three words that can be used to describe the game of rugby over the last week. Optimism,...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: O’Connor had better watch his back at Leicester
The knives are out at Welford Road – again – with Matt O’Connor on his way back in as Leicester‘s head...
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Guest columnists
/ 9 years agoLions watch: scrum-halves
Given the influence that Conor Murray had on the 2013 Lions series victory in Australia, and on Ireland‘s progress since then,...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Stop whinging Rob, you’re ignoring player welfare!
Rob Howley should remember that nobody likes a bad loser as he struggles to justify a poor Six Nations‘ performance by...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Wales backs and pack must get it together
When I look back on Wales‘ Six Nations campaign, my overriding emotion is confusion. How can we play with width and...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Eurostars who can earn chance to make a late check-in for the Lions
European Cup quarter-final weekend is right up there with the very best rugby weekends of the season but doubly so this...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Warren so wrong on Sam’s loss as skipper
Warren Gatland has found the oldest scapegoat under the sun for Sam Warburton losing the Wales captaincy before their worst Six...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain picks his English lions as Eddie Jones reaches a watershed
Whichever way you look at it, the manner in which England’s clean sweep and world record was slammed in Dublin was...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: O’Mahony had a hunger England never showed
There are as many questions after the Six Nations as there were before it in terms of selection for the 2017...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain – the RFU should call off their plan for autumn showdown
The England team rescued and brought back to rude health by Eddie Jones is in danger of being sold down the...
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Guest columnists
/ 9 years agoLions watch: fly-halves
The Six Nations provides Warren Gatland with the most exacting series of trials that any Lions chief selector could wish for....
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Eddie’s lionhearts must now dispel the myth of supermen
As this year’s Six Nations finishes with more of a fizz than a bang, with everything decided last week, have we...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Unthinkable demise of Stade Francais after Mad Max’s razzmatazz
When Max Guazzini bowed out six years ago, Stade Francais had good reason to feel as safe as the Central European...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s Team of the Six Nations
15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland): One of few modern players with genuine x-factor. A try scorer and provider. Rob Kearney was in...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Sorry, France, but this was not in spirit of the game!
What an effort by Wales. What a sham by France! Some might call it cheating, others will say what happened with...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Europe’s finest being sold down the river
Welcome to Northern Hemisphere rugby’s endless road. An 11 month season which purports to be all things to all men, but...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Good riddance to record run, now Eddie can experiment
It had to happen – and in fact you could argue it might have been better for England if France had...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: So, why did England give Ireland so much ball?
It was always going to be a tough ask to claim a second Grand Slam on the bounce in Dublin but...
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Guest columnists
/ 9 years agoLions watch: centres
The ebb and flow of Lions selection at centre during this Six Nations turned decisively in England‘s direction when Jonathan Joseph...












