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English Championship
/ 12 years agoBarkley joins London Welsh
London Welsh have celebrated their return to the Premiership by announcing the arrival of Olly Barkley. The fly-half, 32, arrives from...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Regional academies would reduce number of lost players
So that’s the end of European Rugby Cup Ltd’s involvement in Europe – and what an end, as both teams ensured...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Willie John’s Lions are dwarfed by Toulon titans
When the Lions secured their only series win against New Zealand in 1971, they did so with a pack averaging 15...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 12 years agoEuro Cup place ‘will keep’ Joe Launchbury at London Wasps
Fears that England lock Joe Launchbury could be the next Wasps star pinched by Saracens have eased now that qualification for...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: We’ve had hell and miracles, so what next for England?
England rugby tours of New Zealand – with some just fleeting visits in these furious fast forward times – are always...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Surely Steffon Armitage warrants exceptional treatment
Steffon Armitage’s omission from the England squad for the tour of New Zealand raises an interesting question. If, before the 2019...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoEngland boss justifies latest Steffon Armitage snub
Percentage of EQPs in Premiership justifies the rule that prevents overseas based stars from donning a red rose jersey.
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Kyle Eastmond must seize this chance to show his skill
Kyle Eastmond can skin players in his sleep with his speed, footwork and swerve, and one of the things I’d most...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks ahead to England’s opening test in New Zealand on Saturday
,Freddie Burns is a big fan of the endurance magician David Blaine. Blaine has found fame and fortune as a modern...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoDave Ward not prepared to settle for only being No.4 at No.2
England new boy Dave Ward has revealed how he nearly quit Harlequins last summer before staying to enjoy the best season...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Why Bruce Craig’s vision for global season will fail to see the light
Last week’s interview encapsulating Bath chairman Bruce Craig’s vision of the future of global rugby showed some interesting, if slightly naive...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Yes, it all goes South when we head South
Every June the home countries fly south of the Equator in a battered state of semi-resignation to what awaits them. Almost...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 12 years agoI’d no idea George North was this good, says Alex King
Northampton backs coach Alex King salutes the impact of George North.
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: You’ve been in overdrive, BT, but keep the brake on Austin Healey
It’s that time of the year when self-opinionated columnists dispense gongs, and the occasional brickbat, to those who deserve them and...
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Latest News
/ 12 years agoVIDEO: Tom Mitchell take on Colin Gregor in kicking challenge
England captain Tom Mitchell goes head to head with his Scottish counterpart Colin Gregor. Video courtesy of CNN’s International’s ‘Rugby Sevens...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoLewis Moody backs Luke Wallace for England No.6 role
One of the biggest gaps Stuart Lancaster has to plug for the first Test in New Zealand is at blindside flanker...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher charts the career of Jonny Wilkinson, the player who has transcended the game
Talk about synchronicity. When confirmation of Jonny Wilkinson’s much-touted retirement was filtering through this week I was actually rummaging around my...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: A moment of brilliance from George North could swing it
There is a certain kind of justice that the top two teams from the nine month league campaign have made it...
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Champions Cup
/ 12 years agoBath chief Bruce Craig will be director of new Champions Cup
An Irish soccer convert, the mayor of a village in Provence and an English multi-millionaire are to play roles in Rugby’s...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoSouth Africa send for Richie Gray to get ready for Welsh collision
Richie Gray is the not-so-secret weapon South Africa have just re-employed to help them overcome Wales this summer on the way...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Less use of the TMO? Then stop these ref witch-hunts
Hard to believe that it is just a week since Leicester‘s Richard Cockerill called for referees to be less reliant on...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Warren Gatland’s Law takes a mauling from WRU!
Warren Gatland made a strange announcement last Tuesday over the resurrection of the Welsh trial match, buried long ago with other...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 12 years agoIt’ll be a whole new ball game if Bath’s supremo has his way
The battle over Europe has been won but Bath chairman Bruce Craig believes the war over global season structure and how...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Rob Baxter about the Heineken Cup final
Rob Baxter is in the unique position for an English coach of having done the surgery on the victims-in-common of Heineken...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: So, it’s farewell Heineken, you were already just champion!
Rather in the way journalism is often considered the first draft of history, the Heineken Cup was effectively European Rugby’s first...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoBen Foden can’t wait to link up with old pal Chris Ashton
Northampton full-back Ben Foden admits he misses his pal Chris Ashton – and is thrilled at the prospect of a reunion...
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English Championship
/ 12 years agoWorcester Warriors stuck by me so I’ll stay on, says Chris Pennell
The Premiership player of the year nominee has been a model of consistency in an otherwise disastrous Warriors campaign, the only...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoGareth Anscombe told to come now or miss World Cup
Warren Gatland has opened the door for Gareth Anscombe to play his way into Wales’ World Cup squad.
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Chris Pennell would find a place on loan in any Premiership squad
It’s not often that a back stands out in a side that hasn’t performed, but Chris Pennell has done so for...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Good to see Danny Cipriani back – now it’s all up to him
Danny Cipriani has been thrown a lifeline by Stuart Lancaster, but it remains to be seen whether it is long enough...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain picks his Premiership Dream Team
Selecting a Team of the Season is always a subjective business, and although statistics tell part of the story, they can...
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Latest News
/ 12 years agoJonny Wilkinson to hang up boots
As revealed in The Rugby Paper on March 23, Jonny Wilkinson will retire at the end of the season. Seventeen years...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: A couple of England-Wales tickets, sir? That’ll be £630
The last England-Wales match at Twickenham grossed around £5m in ticket money. The next one will top £20m. For the World...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Worcester and Dean Ryan still have a mountain to climb
The failure of Worcester to survive in this year’s Premiership season was probably the most anticipated relegation since the leagues began....
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 12 years agoCharlie Matthews making up ground on old pal Joe Launchbury
Harlequins second row Charlie Matthews believes he is finally coming of age after putting his injury hell behind him to start...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain discovers what England can expect in New Zealand
Jimmy Cowan has such an intimate knowledge of the workings of All Blacks that it’s surprising Steve Hansen hasn’t had him...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoAmbitious Bismarck du Plessis targets Welsh scrum
Wales beware, Bismarck du Plessis says the Springboks’ front row aims to be the most formidable in the world and will...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Malakai Fekitoa case shows IRB are letting down world game
New Zealand protests that they do not poach from the Pacific Islands should always be taken with a block of salt,...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Super George North can help Northampton Saints reach another Premiership final
The bridesmaid tag is an easy one to hang on Northampton, and it’s there because although they have attracted some big-name...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Why I’ve learned to love the Premiership play-offs
How quickly time moves on and blazing rows of yesteryear recede. For many it was the blackest of days midway through...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoUgo Monye backs Manu Tuilagi to wing it for England
The auditions are in full swing but Ugo Monye believes Manu Tuilagi’s X-factor means he should line up on the wing...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoI’ve not won the super 8s battle yet, admits Billy Vunipola
Billy Vunipola is England’s premier ball-carrier but he knows all this could change in an instant and that any number of...
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Latest News
/ 12 years agoEngland finish third at London Sevens
England put their semi-final disappointment at the London Sevens beating Fiji 26-19 to finish third. With tries from James Rodwell, Howard...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: IRB must raise qualification period to at least eight years
The two biggest spending clubs in France and England, Toulon and Saracens, have proved that money can buy success. Although it...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: On the march with Trelawny’s Army, rugby’s great outsiders
So the European legislators, God bless, have finally caught up with the rugby world and officially recognised Cornwall as being very...
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Featured
/ 12 years agoJonathan Joseph can talk his way back into EPS
Jonathan Joseph reckons his X-factor with ball in hand will boost his chances of an England recall – a claim backed...
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English Championship
/ 12 years agoDoncaster Knights’ workhorse may need to lighten his load
Having become the first coach to bounce his side back into the Championship following relegation, Clive Griffiths is now busy with...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to three great English Lions to gather their views about the England back-row
Back-row expertise does not come with better credentials than that offered by Roger Uttley, Mike Teague and Peter Winterbottom. The trio...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Murder on the dancefloor as Harlequins try to get a grip
The Murderball challenge is on. Mike Brown, already proud ambassador for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, wants to celebrate Harlequins‘ coming on...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: I’ll be back, says David Moffett as ceasefire is called
The hierarchy of the Welsh Rugby Union could have been excused for heaving a collective sigh of relief last Wednesday evening....
International Rugby
George Kruis backs Courtney Lawes for England’s 2027 World Cup push
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