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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain talks to Des Seabrook, the coach of the North who beat the All Blacks in 1979
Des Seabrook was the architect of one of the greatest wins an English team has had over the All Blacks, when...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Patience needed while refs negotiate the speed bump
The focus on the refereeing of high tackles has grown massively since last weekend’s games. The high tackles by Brad Barritt...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Modern referees are paid professionals, so act like it
Sometimes you get things wrong and then, when you realise and try to even things up for those you feel you...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Warburton’s too good to be left in the cold for long
In hindsight, Sam Warburton might have seen the writing on the wall as well as everywhere else on the day of...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams – This won’t rule Sam out from Lions role
Sam Warburton‘s decision to give up the Wales captaincy won’t be one he’s taken lightly, but I think it’s the right...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoCaptain? First Alun-Wyn must earn his place!
One of the oldest truisms in the game – and especially where Lions selection is concerned – is that the captain...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: New tackle laws could help bring attacking rugby back
The start of a new year always brings anticipation for what lies ahead but also the chance to take a look...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: The day Big Bad Jim forgot his old pals act
The years keep rolling by but when it comes to dispensing their own brand of rough justice, a pair of Welsh...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Halfpenny should go to Scarlets, not Blues!
Leigh Halfpenny has a big decision to make on his future – but I believe it’s time for him to come...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher previews the last two rounds of the Champions Cup
The European Champions Cup – which will forever remain the ‘Heineken’ for those of a certain age – can sparkle at...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Johnno and Tigers are made for each other
When it comes to filling the managerial vacuum at Leicester left by the sacking of a larger-than-life character like Richard Cockerill,...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: It’s a tough job but refs can be their own worst enemy
The game is never short of talking points, and refereeing is facing some serious challenges going into 2017. After my 43...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Offer proper protection for all… or the game could die
As the repercussions of George North‘s concussion story look set to rumble on through the New Year, now is surely the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: I see a man on a tractor roaring in to lead Lions
Now 2017 has dawned, no New Year would be complete without a few gongs inspired by the events of the old...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s ten to watch in 2017
Ardie Savea, above: Outrageously gifted All Blacks flanker and younger brother of Julian. Combines at bit of Michael Jones and Jerry Collins....
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain’s wishes and expectations for rugby in 2017
Rugby Union in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland has a host of reasons to be cheerful in 2017. At the apex...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Rhino-skinned Dan Biggar has the self-belief to reach very top
Dan Biggar was one of the most confident men I played with and I always knew he had something special. So...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Fasten your seatbelts for a rip-roaring 2017
The great thing about the New Year, for the rugbyhead anyway, is that everything seems to accelerate after January 1. The...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: George Ford has to play with a smile on his face again
George Ford faces another huge decision in the coming weeks, as from today he is officially allowed to hear offers from...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Jones wanted an abrasive leader, well he’s got one
Somehow the words leopards and spots have sprung to mind this week, having once again had to listen to all those...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Candid Phil Steele shares his demons to help others
Phil Steele has earned himself a rewarding reputation as a technical-zone television reporter and after-dinner speaker, a veritable bundle of laughs....
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoWorld Rugby made a mistake by picking Beauden Barrett as Player of the Year
Maro Itoje should have been World Rugby‘s Player of the Year by a clear margin ahead of New Zealand fly-half Beauden...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Germans are defying odds to climb up the rankings
So suddenly Germany are ranked 23rd in the world, hard on the heels of recent World Cup qualifiers Namibia and Uruguay...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: James Davies ban spot on but Dylan Hartley put so much at risk
There is simply no place in rugby for abusing match officials, but any talk of the Scarlets sacking James Davies for...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Eddie Jones will stick with Dylan for as long as he needs to
Disciplinary wonders never cease! Two Welsh disciplinary officers – Simon Thomas and Rhian Williams, and another from Italy, Marco Cordelli –...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Northampton have the personnel to fight back in New Year
We have a tendency to go on autopilot when we hear that Dylan Hartley has been red-carded again. We think about...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Rather than bonus points, let’s regulate the kickers
Reading Nick Cain’s article in last week’s paper, got me thinking about the Six Nations and why the committee think it...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoPeter Jackson: Billy Boston’s old club being left for dead by the Union
The world’s first multi-racial rugby club, the one in Cardiff docks made famous by Billy Boston, is fighting for its life....
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Lamentable affair which left the Lions in doldrums
From the outside looking in, the 1966 Lions visit to New Zealand seems like a calamitous affair. A first ever Test...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain compares England’s world beaters of 2003 with Eddie Jones’ current crop
1. Trevor Woodman v Mako Vunipola Vunipola has improved as a scrummager to the extent that there is little between him...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Get off Howley’s back, he’s proved a winner at top level
The worst kept secret in rugby is out. Warren Gatland’s selection of Rob Howley, Steve Borthwick and Andy Farrell as his...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Lions must borrow Ireland blueprint to reign supreme
Warren Gatland is the right man to be head coach of this Lions tour to New Zealand because of the success...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Clear this fog over North for the sake of others
Northampton‘s attempt to shroud the crucial issue of George North being knocked out against Leicester last weekend in a fog of...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Bonus points will make Six Nations even better
Just before the start of the 2016 Six Nations Championship this column advocated the tournament trialling a bonus point system, and...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Eddie’s mind games are aimed at referee Peyper
With the Autumn Internationals finally over, at long last we don’t have to listen to Eddie Jones‘ attempts at witty repartee....
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain selects his 2017 Lions squad based on the autumn Tests
This 2017 Lions squad is picked from Home Unions players who took part in the autumn series, and is based entirely...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: Hooky can be key man in Ospreys’ rejuvenation
James Hook is coming home, and it’s great to have him back. But it’s not just a good move for the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoWelsh team is hidden behind wall of silence
There used to be a time when the attendance at a Wales practice match outnumbered those at most club matches across...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Eddie’s challenge has made Youngs world class
The performance by Ben Youngs is up there with his very best for England and proves that Eddies Jones’ mind games...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Yes, I have to admit it, England do have momentum right now
For many years I hated the word momentum, used in a rugby context, and tied myself in knots avoiding it –...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Advantage Kruis now with Launchbury left in limbo
Opportunity: it’s something everybody needs and deserves, but not all can use it to achieve their full potential. Injury has been...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoAre the All Blacks dirty? You’d better believe it!
The trouble with New Zealand‘s protests that they are being victimised following the rolling footage of head shots in last weekend’s...
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Shane Williams
/ 9 years agoShane Williams: How many back rows can finish like Tipuric?
I’ve said it plenty of times, but I’m more than happy to say it again, Justin Tipuric is one of the...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain looks at the motivational forces behind England’s clash with Australia
A few weeks ago Michael Cheika was incensed at being portrayed as a clown on the front page of a New...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoWarren Gatland’s Lions job hits Welsh rebuilding
In December 2013, at the height of the Welsh war when the four regions had been driven towards eloping to the...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 9 years agoJeremy Guscott: Intensity is key to beating the Wallabies
The challenge for all rugby sides – and especially for England if they want to finish this autumn series on a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 9 years agoBrendan Gallagher: England roll on but battle-weary Pumas need rest
A gritty, invaluable win by 14-man England against a Pumas side who finish 2016 punch drunk and dispirited after a year...
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Nick Cain
/ 9 years agoNick Cain: Lions must find room to blood British coaches
When the Lions assistant coaches are announced on December 7 they will represent a few shoots of growth in a desert...
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Peter Jackson
/ 9 years agoHelp! We’re all being overrun by the imports
By PETER JACKSON Within the next 12 months Ireland will be free to cap several more nomadic New Zealanders. Scotland will...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 9 years agoJeff Probyn: Let’s not get carried away by win over these Boks
After a ten-year wait England have finally laid the Springbok ghost to bed with a resounding win by 37 points, including...












