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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain takes stock of how the England pack rates against the world’s best
Forwards, and how many of them he needs, will be at the top of Stuart Lancaster’s agenda as he contemplates cutting...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn: How those cunning Aussies threw World Cup wide open
That’s it! All bets are off after last week’s results in the Rugby Championship as the favourites for both games failed...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain looks ahead to next season’s Champions Cup which kicks off two weeks after the World Cup final
How big will the World Cup hangover be, and which of this season’s European Champions Cup contenders will be hit hardest?...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s feature: Record-breaker Richie McCaw was on a different level from the start
It was a dirty Dublin night in November 2001 when our shambles of a taxi driver eventually located the Killiney Castle...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain’s column: Sorry, but the North/South divide is as wide as ever
Of the seven World Cups that have preceded the 2015 edition which kicks off next month all but one have been...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: Chopping Richard Hibbard will leave Wales exposed
Warren Gatland has wielded his axe and cut some really prominent players from his World Cup squad after last week’s heavy...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: Size, skill and speed, the Wallaby backs have it all
Despite the heavy defeat the Wallabies just got from New Zealand, when it comes to backline talent, I believe the 14...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: Mike Phillips axe gives Gareth Davies a glimpse of redemption
Gareth Davies changed the course of history in Rome on Super Saturday, albeit not in the way he would have wanted...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: TV drops Gareth Edwards… unlike Lions and Wales
Wales never went anywhere without him and neither did the Lions. Just as the unbeatable Joe Calzaghe never lost a world...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn’s column: Schools should link up with grassroots clubs for legacy
Last Wednesday I attended the first of what I would assume are many planned fund raisers for the hoped for legacy...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott: Jonny May must keep improving to make himself invaluable
There is always a dilemma for international coaches such as Stuart Lancaster when it comes to cutting players, because it is...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain talks to England’s world class lock Courtney Lawes about his vital role in RWC 2015
Courtney Lawes hits twice as hard in the tackle as most of his Red Rose team-mates, and it has earned him...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ Wales verdict: Poor scrum performance remains my big concern
Message to all Welsh rugby fans – don’t panic! As far as World Cup warm-up games go what happened against Ireland...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain’s column: Axeman Stuart Lancaster must sharpen his plans in midfield
One of the enduring issues during Stuart Lancaster‘s tenure as England head coach has been a revolving door selection policy at...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: Winning is same in any language for Michael Cheika
Michael Cheika speaks French, Italian and Arabic. He is also known to be fluent in coarse Anglo-Saxon and looks forward to...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn: Too much expectation riding on the shoulders of England
I’m sure you have all seen the TV adverts featuring the England players being carried on the shoulders of supporters as...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s Rugby World Cup bolters
Danny Barrett (USA): One of the great hopes surrounding the US Eagles Sevens programme is that some of the talent identified...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s column: Scandalous delay that haunts the World Cup
One of the biggest drawbacks of Rugby Union’s obsession with amateurism was that the Rugby World Cup was belatedly dragged kicking...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher previews the Bledisloe Cup
This year’s quick-fire Rugby Championship seems to be hurtling to a conclusion almost before it began but the organisers couldn’t have...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: I’m proof that bolters can earn a late RWC call
Some people may question the need for warm-up games before a World Cup but I am living proof of how they...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: Still time for Sam Burgess to prove his vast potential
The big word is that Sam Burgess will get a place in Stuart Lancaster final World Cup squad. It’s big news...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn’s column: You’re right Steve, new maul is ‘bloody boring’
How unusual, a New Zealand coach bemoaning the opposition’s tactics despite winning the game. Steve Hansen’s complaint about the Argentinian driving...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: Wallabies are never beaten, just ask Wales!
Same old players, same old Wallabies. Not for the first time, Australia were the second-best team on the pitch and yet,...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: Bok boys can do lot more than just bash
It would be a huge surprise if these sides continue to play this type of expansive rugby in the World Cup,...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s column: Sometimes it’s better just to put your feet up
I don’t know if Wales‘ fitness guru Paul Stridgeon and Bristol coach Sean Holley are Jos Stone fans and I certainly...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: Over-load on players so wrong says Larder
George Ford played 32 matches for club and country last season, more than any of his international contemporaries anywhere in Europe....
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: Vernon Pugh was right, we’re playing too many Tests
Fifty years ago, Jack Kyle held the record as the world’s most-capped player with 46 matches for Ireland. It had taken...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn’s column: Why do altitude training if it may hinder your speed?
As we approach the Rugby World Cup and hear more and more details of how the teams are preparing, I have...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain looks at the way Michael Cheika is trying to rebuild the Australian scrum
Australian have traditionally struggled to match South Africa for size and strength, but Michael Cheika is on a mission to change...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s Rugby Championship preview
In a World Cup year a short sharp Rugby Championship – each of the four teams plays each other just the...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: Michael Cheika can bring best out of talented Wallabies
If we know one thing about Australia it’s that they frequently get it right for World Cups. A lot of their...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain’s column: Stuart Lancaster’s bubbling cauldron is troubling
There are times when the England selection alchemy seems stacked against players who bring something different to the squad. We had...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: I’m really missing all that freezing and wheezing!
World Cup training camps send a shiver down most players’ spines but I have to admit, I really miss it. It’s...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn’s column: So, is the ‘Old Boys’ Club’ in control of rugby again?
Training camps, past managers views and the World Cup have taken the focus off the biggest decision the game faces in...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher meets up with Brad Barritt
By my count there are nine players in the current England long squad who could justifiably harbour hopes, albeit some much...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain talks to Leicester captain Ed Slater
Ed Slater could be an irresistible catalyst for change. That’s because the Leicester captain’s first two main forays in an England...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: Wales can’t ignore the threat of soccer
Can football overtake rugby union as the national game of Wales? It’s a question I am asking myself more and more...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s feature: A gentle boot-camp and warm-up for the Cup? Tell that to the Marines
The thing about World Cup camps is that the handbrakes come off and, especially among Tier One Nations, the notoriously tight-fisted...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: Treasure this camp, lads – time passes in a blink
The great upside of getting into England training camp early is that the excitement builds from the minute you arrive at...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain’s column: Bad referees must pay the price in World Cup
It doesn’t matter if you don’t penalise crooked feeds, or if you stuff up monumentally as a 2015 World Cup referee,...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain gets out his crystal ball and the form book to pick his 2017 Lions
Two years from now the Lions will be in the midst of a three Test series against a New Zealand side...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain’s column: Time for Lions to show claws over intinerary
The 2017 Lions itinerary, which was due to be announced in May but is now expected later this summer according to...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn: Heading off to the hills on another mission from God
Training camps and altitude training in far-flung foreign fields do make you wonder what the game is coming to. As big...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson’s column: Accept it, Gatland’s Law is now a nonsense
Like Mo Farah’s front doorbell when the drug testers came calling, Warren Gatland‘s eponymous law has much to answer for. As...
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Shane Williams
/ 11 years agoShane Williams’ column: Liam Williams’ loss gives the likely lads a chance
There’s no hiding from the fact that losing Liam Williams would be a major blow to Wales. It would have been...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 11 years agoBrendan Gallagher speaks to Firebrand Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu about preaching the message of alofa
As well as being a cracking Test centre and fly-half and a ‘have boots will travel’ professional for a decade or...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 11 years agoJeremy Guscott’s column: In-form Matt Banahan would be my first choice wing
Wingers are try-scorers first and foremost, as they always have been, but in the modern Test arena they’ve had to develop...
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Nick Cain
/ 11 years agoNick Cain talks to England captain Chris Robshaw
Chris Robshaw does not come from the Eric Evans school of England captaincy. Evans, who was captain of the 1957 Grand...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 11 years agoJeff Probyn: Let’s hope Ian Ritchie’s warning does not stop team bonding
As England prepare to jet off to their Colorado training camp the words of RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie must be...
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Peter Jackson
/ 11 years agoPeter Jackson: When Bill Samuel kept Gareth Edwards from lure of football
The making of Gareth Edwards as a rugby superstar, humble human being and now knight of the realm, would probably never...
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