Club Rugby
This is where you will find all of The Rugby Paper’s Club Rugby news, interviews, reports, opinion and other content.
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoSSE National Leagues preview
With the National Leagues competitions starting on Saturday, we take a look at how Fylde, Ealing, Caldy and Redruth are preparing....
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoChampionship winners must go up says chairman Geoff Irvine
Championship clubs’ chairman Geoff Irvine, right, says their Premiership counterparts need worry about only one thing – to avoid finishing bottom...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoAlex Gray hopes fast start can earn green light at London Irish
London Irish No.8 Alex Gray is hoping for ‘second season syndrome’ in reverse as he looks to put a disappointing first...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoPremiership preview (4 days to go): Worcester, London Wasps, London Welsh
With the start of the Aviva Premiership only four days away, we take a look at what lays ahead for the...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years ago“I’m more than just a fast mover,” says Wasps winger Christian Wade
Wasps winger Christian Wade is sick of being labelled simply a speed merchant and is determined to prove he has more...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoSaracens Andy Saull working to build same power as Jacques Burger
English rugby has been crying out for a classic openside who can link play in the loose, turn over the ball...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoFalcons have strength in depth to make a quick return says Glen Delaney
With the honourable exception of Bedford’s Mike Rayer, there is no coach with more experience of English rugby’s second tier than...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoNew Exeter signing Ian Whitten is out to prove he’s not just a stop-gap
Ian Whitten spent last season stepping in whenever needed at Ulster – now at Exeter he intends to make himself part...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoERC “dismayed” over Anglo-French threats.
As exclusively revealed by Peter Jackson in The Rugby Paper on May 6th, English and French clubs have given an ultimatum...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoAge is no worry for new Esher coach Ollie Smith
Having made his Leicester debut a few months after leaving school and toured with the Lions, aged 22, Ollie Smith’s appointment...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoProp stars give Worcester’s Matt Mullan best of both worlds
Mentored by Phil Vickery at Worcester and Graham Rowntree with England – Matt Mullan doesn’t have to look too far for...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoNew funding deal for Championship clubs revealed
As revealed in our The Rugby Paper on August 5th, the RFU has unveiled today a new four-year funding deal for...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years ago“I’ve come South to toughen myself up,” says Scotland giant Richie Gray
Richie Gray wants to emulate boyhood hero Martin Johnson and become a master of the dark arts of forward play following...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years ago‘Battered’ Sale Shark flanker Hendre Fourie in battle to play again
England flanker Hendre Fourie has suffered another setback in his comeback from a debilitating shoulder injury. The 32-year-old admits that the...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoHenry Thomas relishing Andrew Sheridan Heineken Cup rematch
Henry Thomas is eager for the chance to turn the tables on former tutor Andrew Sheridan this season after Sale‘s graduation...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoCipriani and Gray to make Sale debuts
Danny Cipriani and Richie Gray are set to make their Sale debuts after being selected among the replacements for tomorrow’s friendly...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoWaldouck handed first Saints start against Leinster
New Northampton Saints signing Dominic Waldouck has been selected to make his home debut for his new club in tomorrow’s pre-season...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoGary Gold and Bath look at tie-up with Super Rugby side
Bath are considering forming an alliance with a Super Rugby side in a groundbreaking move which could involve trans-hemisphere player swaps....
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoReformed Shark Andy Powell is the new ‘Sebastien Chabal’
Sale Sharks are to extend Andy Powell’s contract in recognition of the Welshman’s emergence as ‘the new Sebastian Chabal.’ The Premiership‘s...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoElliot Daly’s rise means Dai Young won’t miss Dominic Waldouck
The emergence of Elliot Daly as a star for Wasps this year made director of rugby Dai Young‘s decision to let...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoStep aside you Brownlees rugby has the Claassens
The Brownlee brothers have provided no shortage of excitement with their Olympic triathlon exploits but rugby will be able to enjoy...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoLondon Welsh: “We’ll stick to our principles”
Ed Jackson believes the culture at London Welsh this season will not change despite the arrival of a host of foreign...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoLet me wing it like Alesana says new Tiger Adam Thompstone
Alesana Tuilagi racked up more than a half-century of tries for Leicester at an average of better than one every three...
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Featured
/ 13 years agoLock of ages? French turn back clock for Brits
The burgeoning British colony in France hurls itself into Top 14 action next weekend, an assault force headed by surely the...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoLondon Welsh capture hard men Kirill Kulemin and Paulica Ion
London Welsh have plunged into the European transfer market and signed a pair of international forwards born behind the then Iron...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoSerge Blanco lets me know if I’m kicking too much says Iain Balshaw
World Cup winner Iain Balshaw knows all about instinctive rugby and would love England to show more of it. We meet...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoFinal offer from RFU would see Championship clubs receive £4.3m backing
Championship clubs are close to agreeing a funding deal for the next four seasons after receiving what has been described by...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoBen Ryan asks: Can Ashton adapt to Sevens in time?
Chris Ashton and Alex Goode’s interest in being included in Great Britain’s Sevens squad for the 2016 Olympics Sevens has been...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoSaracens talisman Schalk Brits is hooked on helping talented young guns
Saracens hooker Schalk Brits says he expects to take an occasional backseat at the club this season to accommodate the development...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoLong wait is over for new Gloucester prop Huia Edmonds
Hedging his bets in trying to reach the Premiership and play for Australia in the World Cup almost scuppered Gloucester hooker...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoMoment in Time: Northampton Saints and the 2000 Heineken Cup final
Few people had rated Northampton‘s chances of lifting the Heineken Cup. Still fewer gave them a prayer after they had lost...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoRugby League ace Martin Gleeson ready to switch to Rugby Union
Great Britain Rugby League centre Martin Gleeson is ready to switch codes and follow the Union trail blazed by Jason Robinson...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoGeorge Ford has the attitude to be a truly great No10 says Dave Alred
In just under 18 months Dave Alred had transformed golfer Luke Donald from world No 32 in the rankings to world...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoBath call in Jason Robinson to mentor Kyle Eastmond
Cross-code legend Jason Robinson is mentoring Kyle Eastmond in a bid to help the former St Helens and England RL man...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoSaracens pair will push for role in Rio 2016 Olympics
England duo Chris Ashton and Alex Goode are prepared to put their Premiership careers on hold when Sevens makes its inaugural...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoI was fed up facing the same teams all the time says Jersey new boy Richard Haughton
Richard Haughton has revealed how he turned down offers to remain in the Premiership in favour of a move to Championship...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoNew captain Declan Danaher reveals six players will run the London Irish ship
Declan Danaher, after 13 years at Irish, was the obvious choice to captain the Exiles next term but the flanker has...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoNew Leeds boss Ian McGeechan keen to embrace Leeds Rhinos
John Bentley has hailed the appointment of Sir Ian McGeechan as being massive for the profile of Leeds Carnegie. Bentley, selected...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoKick-chase will destroy the game warns London Irish new boss Brian Smith
Brian Smith has blasted South African-style ‘kick-chase’ rugby, insisting it is killing the game and that English teams should instead look...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoNorthampton captain Dylan Hartley urges Saints to shake off that losers’ tag
Saints captain Dylan Hartley has demanded his side shake off their tag as the nearly men of English rugby. While Northampton...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoExeter winger Matt Jess: “Team ethic is only concern for Chiefs”
When Bath chairman Bruce Craig told the club’s end-of-season dinner that there wasn’t a single player in his side whom he...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoIt’s time for Nathan Catt to sparkle says Bath new boss Gary Gold
This is the season that loosehead Nathan Catt will stop being talked of as a potential talent and start becoming a...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoLeicester Jordan Crane looking for Leicester Tigers and England place
Jordan Crane is itching to put a season-long absence behind him and challenge Thomas Waldrom for his place in the Leicester...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoCoventry Nathan Jones: “Some Championship players earn no more than minimum-wage”
Coventry‘s new signing Nathan Jones has hit out at Championship clubs’ pay structures, revealing some of his former Nottingham teammates earn...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoWhy those gentlemen of league are on the defensive
While rugby league’s national standing has waned as union’s has risen since the introduction of professionalism, its influence on the XV...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoCornish Pirates Aaron Penberthy ready to unleash full range of skills
Cornish Pirates supporters might have thought they had seen Aaron Penberthy’s full range last season, but the 20-year-old fly-half has said...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoWe’re doing things even better than the Natal Sharks says Bristol head coach Liam Middleton
Bristol head coach Liam Middleton hopes a recent fact-finding mission to South Africa will make the difference as his side targets...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoNew Nottingham boss Marting Haag can make the step up says Ian McGeechan
Sir Ian McGeechan has backed Martin Haag to be a big hit in his first head coach role after Nottingham appointed...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoEngland Ben Morgan’s advance no shock to Brad Harrington
Brad Harrington has not been surprised by the impact Ben Morgan has had in an England shirt. Gloucester‘s new No.8 has...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoNewcastle Falcons revival will be key for Jon Golding’s England call
A Newcastle pack getting the better of their Wasps counterparts at Adams Park sounds a familiar tale but this scene took...












