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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Nick Mallett about the growing threat of South Africa
Nick Mallett knows a thing or two about being in charge of “the most dominant team in the history of the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoKeith Wood: Only Ireland’s very best for 80 minutes will suffice
Only five nations on this rugby planet have beaten New Zealand in a Test match in 110 years of trying so...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Departure of Jonathan Davies highlights WRU feud
Jonathan Davies will more than double his money at Clermont this season, a move into the £400,000-a-year bracket befitting a player...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Get scrum right Alain – or be kicked into touch
When Alain Rolland was introduced at the Millennium Stadium last weekend as the referee for the Wales v South Africa match...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years ago‘Smoking’ Joe Launchbury is the new silent assassin
Ten years after lifting the World Cup alongside Richard Hill, Lawrence Dallaglio is convinced England have found their new silent assassin...
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Latest News
/ 13 years agoAlex Gray in line for England Sevens debut in Dubai
Alex Gray is set to make his first appearance in the HSBC Sevens World Series after being named in the England...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott’s verdict: Scrum has the X factor now we need some backs
England might lack an individual with real X factor at the moment but their collective dog and spirit is their special...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s autumn verdict: McCaw & co look like world champions elect to me
England gave it a rattle and for once New Zealand seemed to come off second best with the ref but still...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson’s verdict: Wales know the precise problem
George North knew he needed something special to reassure the faithful shocked at the sight of Bryan Habana giving their gigantic...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoTon-up Warren Gatland chases a landmark success
He may have been denied a cap as a player, but on Friday Warren Gatland will become only the second coach...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: What chance a real scrum when refs can’t get it right?
Question: What are the reasons for scrums? I was asked the same question by a friend who currently occupies a high...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Brave rebel Byron Hayward is still blazing his own trail
Of the 1,109 players capped by Wales, only one began by scoring a hat-trick of tries on debut as a second-half...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Stuart Lancaster ducks his big chance to be bold
Little more than a week ago Stuart Lancaster called the next 12 months a “defining year” for his team. The England...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoBuck up, Matt Kvesic or lose No.7 fight – Lewis Moody
Former England captain Lewis Moody fears Matt Kvesic’s drop in form means he is losing the race to be the Red...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to World-cup winning coach Wayne Smith about the All Blacks, Australia and England
Wayne Smith is hardwired with the All Black genome from the soles of his feet to the last hair on his...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s fallen heroes
1914 06 09 14 Xavier ‘Gastofer’ Mayssonnie (France): The only Toulouse player in France’s first Five nations game. Adjutant 259ème Regiment...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoTom Youngs’ strengths outweigh his weaknesses, says George Chuter
Former England hooker George Chuter has launched a staunch defence of Tom Youngs in the wake of the criticism directed towards...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher’s verdict on Wales
And still Wales can’t make the breakthrough the nation demands and expects and their talent warrants. For all their excellence on...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott’s verdict on England
As thoughts turn to New Zealand do you judge Chris Robshaw‘s team on their first half performance or that inexplicably poor...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoMike Ford: Anthony Watson in line to get England call for Six Nations
One has worked with him for four years, the other for four months – but both Neal Hatley and Mike Ford...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher: League legend Ray French never let ‘Cold War’ sour his Union links
Somewhere up in Ray French’s attic, amid thousands of programmes, is a dusty typed letter from the RFU clearing him to...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Wales must speak out over shame of Mike Phillips
According to Alain Afflelou, only his presidential intervention prevented Bayonne giving Mike Phillips the order of the boot 12 months ago. Afflelou...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoExtra place will tempt the Celts to sign up for Champions Cup
The significant change to the play-off structure has been made in response to the Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Italian Unions refusing...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Leave the subs on the bench for better results
There is a ‘tinkerman’ alive and kicking inside every coach, so here’s a plea to Stuart Lancaster, Andy Farrell and Graham...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: England still need balance between backs and forwards
It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since that great night in Sydney when an England team finally delivered...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoBattering ram Billy Vunipola is Richard Hill’s top man
The modern loose forward can be a man of many hats: specialist, scavenger or even a six-and-a-half. But Richard Hill believes...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott’s verdict: I didn’t think I’d ever see Owen Farrell score a try like that
It was a good win for England if not the most convincing of performances – but coaches and players are, in...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain assesses the challenge a warring Argentina will set for England this week
Patricio Albacete is Argentina‘s most experienced forward, and is widely regarded as one of the best locks in the game, yet...
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoLondon Welsh will say farewell to Old Deer Park home
London Welsh are preparing to end 128 years of rugby history in England’s capital city by shifting the club lock, stock...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years ago‘Mental block’ is stopping Wales
Wales will have to smash a ‘mental blockage’ when they go big-game hunting against the Springboks in Cardiff on Saturday.
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Threadbare Wales are on a wing and a prayer
Wales will go into their annual home bash at the Southern Hemisphere down to the bare bones in specialist wings. They...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoHeadless chicken days over – Courtney Lawes
Courtney Lawes knows he is in the form of his life as he looks forward to playing in his first Autumn...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain previews Twickenham’s opening match of the autumn internationals
When it comes to being two-faced, Stuart Lancaster’s England win the prize hands down. The question is which face will we...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher remembers the 2003 World Cup triumph with Lawrence Dallaglio
Lawrence Dallaglio wipes his plate clean – the monster ‘Magnifica’ breakfast at Carluccios in Richmond having been routed with lip-smacking relish...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Alcohol abuse is affecting more players than drugs
The announcement this week of just five positive results out of a total of 617 drug tests in the RFU‘s anti-doping...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoDon’t question my Scottish heritage says new man Blair Cowan
London Irish back rower Blair Cowan insists he is no ‘kilted Kiwi’ and that his shock call-up by Scotland is the...
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Sevens World Series
/ 13 years agoTom Mitchell: Gold Coast behind us, Dubai next
We are back in the gym and working hard. Sessions on the running track and training park are back to their...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Matt Kvesic must play if he’s going to be special K
Matt Kvesic’s early departure from the England squad to play Australia highlights the thorny problem of how far a head coach...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Stuart Lancaster needs his leaders to push hard for excellence
England will be favourites with the bookies for next week’s match against the Wallabies, and it’s not hard to see why....
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Autumn Internationals
/ 13 years agoYou’re out, no you’re not, Wales tell James Hook!
Wales told James Hook he had been dropped from their squad only to reinstate him barely 24 hours later.
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoChase on to sponsor the £10m Champions Cup
Five global brands are in the market to sponsor the proposed Champions’ Cup at a minimum asking price of £10m-a-season.
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English Championship
/ 13 years agoRichard Thorpe: Time with Leicester Tigers was no waste
London Welsh flanker Richard Thorpe is desperate to forget nine months of injury hell by firing the Exiles back into the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 13 years agoPeter Jackson: Fifty years on, the kick that rocked the world as Newport beat the All Blacks
Dick Uzzell and his old comrades will be given the freedom of Newport next week in belated recognition of something they...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 13 years agoJeff Probyn: Anecdotally, I can’t see how salary cap can work
Last week’s letter to the paper from Tom Taylor-Woodward asking for reassurance that clubs were enforcing the salary cap appeared to...
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Champions Cup
/ 13 years agoConsensus reached in Dublin over Heineken Cup row
A consensus has been reached over the Heineken Cup row at a meeting in Dublin today.
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain talks to Warren Gatland about the Lions triumph and autumn challenge
Warren Gatland‘s credentials as the best coach in Northern Hemisphere rugby, and arguably the best in the world, have been writ...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 13 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Gregor Townsend still getting to grips with the enigma of French rugby
Gregor Townsend, who did rather more than simply survive five seasons of club rugby in France, has always insisted that one...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 13 years agoFrancois Louw: I’m happy to split Bath with Springboks
Just seven days after playing for the Springboks in a pulsating Rugby Championship decider against New Zealand, Francois Louw was not...
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Nick Cain
/ 13 years agoNick Cain: Certitudes for England? I can count only two!
Stuart Lancaster’s head must be in a spin. This is because with only two weeks to go before England open their...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 13 years agoJeremy Guscott: Joel Tomkins fits my idea of a real outside centre
When I look at an outside centre I want an attacking player with enough pace to worry his own full-back and...
International Rugby
George Kruis backs Courtney Lawes for England’s 2027 World Cup push
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