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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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Features
/ 2 years ago‘It’s about being the best player you can be’
Paul Rees finds out what drives new Tigers head coach Michael Cheika and what he plans to do at Welford Road...
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Features
/ 2 years agoBorthwick is right to keep faith with Smith
Paul Rees Looks at the challenges facing England in New Zealand... While another Aussie steps in at Leicester Steve Borthwick hopes...
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Features
/ 2 years agoGloucesterer are facing a defining season
PAUL REES LOOKS AT THE CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR COACH GEORGE SKIVINGTON AND CEO ALEX BROWN AT KINGSHOLM Gloucester marked their 150th...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoEffort and enterprise the key for Saints
PAUL REES SEES PLENTY OF HIGHLIGHTS BUT WARNS THE GAME MUST SHOW IT CAN PAY FOR ITSELF Northampton’s first Premiership title...
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Features
/ 2 years agoThe unexpected revolutionary
Paul Rees says this should be a summer of opportunities for England and head coach Steve Borthwick Steve Borthwick is an...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoBy George! Hendy is the saviour of Saints
PAUL REES Courtney Lawes has never been one to turn his face away from reality. His first reaction at the final...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoSaints stars give credit to Vesty
By PAUL REES On the run: Alex Mitchell breaks through against Saracens during the semi-final PICTURES: Getty Images Alex Mitchell and...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoGloucester put faith in ‘some old heads’
By PAUL REES It was typical of Gloucester’s season – make that the last couple – that when they came up...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoTime to let Borthwick pick from the best
PAUL REES SAYS THE ENGLAND COACH SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED TO ONLY SELECTING PLAYERS WHO PLAY IN THE PREMIERSHIP England's preliminary...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoWe will have a full deck of cards next season – McKellar
By PAUL REES Leicester's dejection at finishing well short of the play-off positions was compounded by the sight of their fierce...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoOnce again, the French wizard calls the shots
PAUL REES Is there anything Antoine Dupont cannot do? Drop a goal with his left foot from his own half, perhaps?...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoFantastic four face final tests
PAUL REES LOOKS FORWARD TO THE PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINALS: NORTHAMPTON v SARACENS AND BATH v SALE NORTHAMPTON The Saints finished at...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoDiamond out to add some steel
By PAUL REES Even someone without Steve Diamond’s coaching experience would have known that taking over at Newcastle was never going...
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Features
/ 2 years ago‘We have to manage load’
PAUL REES EXAMINES THE FALLOUT FROM GLOUCESTER’S 90-0 HIDING BY NORTHAMPTON SAINTS George Skivington has had better weeks. He knew his...
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Features
/ 2 years agoCup final is genuine clash of the giants
By PAUL REES Nearly half of the Champions Cup finals have involved Toulouse or Leinster, the two most successful sides in...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoPower of the four musketeers
A common theme of last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals was the influence of the four scrum-halves, the catalysts of teams that...
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Features
/ 2 years agoWithout referees, there is no game
Paul Rees looks at the pressures on the men and women in the middle and asks what can be done to...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoWales on a mission to survive or decline
Paul Rees asks whether the country which has won 12 Grand Slams can still afford to run four regional sides A...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoOutsiders aiming for a place in the final
Paul Rees looks ahead to the Champions Cup semi-finals where Quins and Saints are facing an uphill battle BEFORE this season’s...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoTime to create a new dynasty
Paul Rees looks at what Mark McCall needs to do at Saracens as several big names head for the exit door...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoIt’s still all to play for in race to the finishing line
Paul Rees predicts a nerve-racking end to the Premiership season where bonus points will prove crucial THE two-month Premiership break has...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoThe scrum is fighting to stay in the game
Paul Rees wonders whether some of World Rugby's law tweaks will mean the end of the scrum as we know it...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoIreland’s finest take control
Paul Rees picks his Six Nations team of the tournament with the men in green providing six of the best ...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoEngland prove they are a force again
SIX NATIONS 2024 PAUL REES The Six Nations saved the best to last. France sealed second place ahead of England in...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoAll set for a race to the finish
With the Premiership resuming next weekend, Paul Rees looks at how the runners and riders are gearing up The Premiership resumes...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoBorthwick gets his big selections right
PAUL REES Seldom can a victory plundered with the last kick of the match have been so richly deserved. England, so...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoPlayers or gladiators? Why the game is struggling to find the right balance
Paul Rees reports on World Rugby's attempts to broaden the sport's appeal but can see problems ahead It has become an...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoIt’s time for take – off, England
Paul Rees says that, with Ireland at home and France away to come, Borthwick's men must become relentless IT WAS three...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoBorthwick’s conundrum: Stick or twist for Ireland
PAUL REES It was England’s first real test this Six Nations as they faced a team that expected to defeat them...
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Features
/ 3 years agoLawes can bring some order
Paul Rees says the former England captain who has signed for Brive will have much to offer when he retires Brive...
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Features
/ 3 years agoBorthwick is still in search of right mix
Paul Rees predicts a close encounter in the Calcutta Cup but sees Ireland winning another Grand Slam THE second round of...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoAfter two wins, it just gets harder from here for England
SIX NATIONS 2024 PAUL REES England named an unchanged side for the first time since the 2019 World Cup, but although...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 3 years agoLegend who had no wish to be one
Paul Rees says it was hard not to fall in love with rugby as a young boy, watching his hero play...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoEngland look ready to throw off the chains
SIX NATIONS 2024 PAUL REES CLOSE yet comfortable summed up a contradictory England performance. Exposed in defence at times, they smothered...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoBorthwick puts club form at top of his list
SIX NATIONS COUNTDOWN Paul Rees says change will be gradual rather than sudden as teams renew after World Cup THE first...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoWith Smith and Mitchell, there should be fireworks
Paul Rees talks to Topsy Ojo and finds the TV pundit in optimistic mood for both club and country Topsy Ojo...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoBorthwick puts his foot on the accelerator
Paul Rees looks at how England, without Owen Farrell at the helm, could turn into an attacking force Steve Borthwick’s England...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoReasons to be cheerful for rugby’s year ahead
Paul Rees canvasses the views of Premiership directors of rugby and finds there is a fair amount of optimism IT IS...
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Challenge Cup
/ 3 years agoThe French out in front? That’s not how it looks
With 12 victories in 16 games, Paul Rees reflects on a promising start by English clubs in the Champions Cup It...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoToo many are being pushed to the edge
Paul Rees says it's time to ensure players spend less time in the gym and more with the ball in their...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoRace for the top is going to be close
The Premiership is taking a short rest after eight rounds and by Christmas will have reached the halfway stage. It is...
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Champions Cup
/ 3 years agoBig clubs ready to rumble
Paul Rees looks forward to the Champions Cup, kicking off this weekend THE Champions Cup returns this week with a tweaked...
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European Challenge Cup
/ 3 years agoGeorgia happy to be joining the party
The Challenge Cup is being used to widen boundaries. A Georgian side, Black Lion which will play its home matches in...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoSet-pieces which make the difference
Paul Rees canvasses expert opinion on how scrums and lineouts can separate the two codes of rugby Last month, World Rugby...
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Features
/ 3 years agoScottish genie turning on the magic at Bath
Paul Rees looks at Finn Russell, the big-money signing who is making a name for himself in the West Country Big-name...
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Features
/ 3 years agoUnassuming Charlie, the water carrier
One of the attractions of rugby union is that it is a game which provides a refuge for the likes of...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoBorthwick has tough decisions to make
PAUL REES FOURTH in the Six Nations, third in the World Cup. Redemption rather than progress for England given the pool...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoSmall steps, but it may be a quiet revolution
Paul Rees is pleased to see World Rugby introduce three changes which will help grow the global game World Rugby is...
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Paul Rees
/ 3 years agoWhy we won’t see the likes of this victory again
What the planned changes will not do is revive the old-fashioned international tour that used to be a feature of the...
