Brendan Gallagher
News By Brendan Gallagher
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 week agoBrendan Gallagher: Referees should not be above criticism
Brendan Gallagher argues World Rugby was wrong to punish Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada for criticising the officials, insisting referees can no...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 week agoLions musn’t be pussycats
SHOULD the Lions play Italy before heading off to New Zealand in 2029? I don’t see any reason why not. But...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: Nations Championship proves the big boys are still not playing nice
Brendan Gallagher believes the Nations Championship is reinforcing rugby’s old hierarchy, with the sport’s biggest nations continuing to protect their own...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: John Bevan’s story comes to vivid life on stage
Brendan Gallagher applauds the new stage production celebrating the life of dual-code great John Bevan and says rugby has no shortage...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 weeks agoBrendan Gallagher: The time when Eddie Jones was on fire
Brendan Gallagher looks back on England’s historic 2016 series win in Australia, Eddie Jones’ finest hour and the decisions that shaped...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: Henry Pollock showing us all he’s the real deal
Henry Pollock has silenced the doubters – and he's only just getting started. Brendan Gallagher explains why England have a special...
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International Rugby
/ 1 month agoFrance XV 35-19 England XV: Steve Borthwick’s side still lack that final flourish
England’s second string weren’t lacking for endeavour at the end of a long season when they lost to their French counterparts...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 month agoBrendan Gallagher: Exeter Chiefs’ revival an example to us all
Brendan Gallagher examines Exeter Chiefs’ remarkable revival and asks why Test coaches so often insist successful rebuilds must take years.
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Club Rugby
/ 2 months agoNorthampton Saints 45-31 Leicester Tigers: George Furbank says his farewell with a final flourish
Northampton Saints booked their place in Saturday’s Twickenham showdown with an exhilarating performance against rivals Leicester Tigers to lift the spirits...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Premiership Bonus point system just plain nonsense
I did take one last lingering look at the table this week to lodge it in my shell for recall if...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Longer seasons don’t give us much in return
Brendan Gallagher argues that rugby’s domestic season has become longer despite featuring fewer meaningful matches than in the early years of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Success in Europe not all about the money
The European finals in sweltering Bilbao proved to be a humbling weekend for Irish sides with both Ulster and Leinster taking...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: The day Scott Hastings proved he was a great team player
All the tributes to Scott Hasting have included mention of his bubbling personality and constant positivity at all times and I...
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Club Rugby
/ 3 months agoNorthampton Saints 94-33 Bristol Bears: Sizzling Saints make it hell for tame Bears
Northampton Saints predictably bounced back from their no-show against bitter rivals Leicester Tigers last week... but nobody could have envisaged this...
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Latest News
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Newcastle Red Bulls must find a totem pole player
Much of Newcastle’s rugby has been utterly meaningless and has cruelly mocked those in the Championship such as Ealing
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: French director calls the shots
Dastardly French TV directors have been quietly controlling big games in France for a couple of decades now so in one...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Lions really must head to Argentina
Better late than never. After decades of lobbying by some – not least this column – the Lions are reportedly looking...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Beware! A great TV deal is no slam dunk
The imminent prospect of a closed franchise Premiership is the subject de jour, although I would say that we have effectively...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 months agoBrendan Gallagher: VIP treatment with Big Gav and Campo
The Hong Kong Sevens is 50 years old this weekend which is a sobering thought, probably the first time in recorded...
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Club Rugby
/ 4 months agoBristol Bears 53-12 Gloucester: Fitz Harding directs a demolition derby
Bristol Bears breathed life back into their faltering Premiership campaign with a record victory over West Country rivals Gloucester, whose abysmal...
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Champions Cup
/ 4 months agoBath 43-41 Northampton Saints: Ted Hill steps up to get Johann van Graan’s side over the line in a thriller
Bath, not without controversy, survived an extraordinary early Northampton Saints blitzkrieg to mount a stirring comeback and reach the Champions Cup...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Sorry, Mako Vunipola, but you can’t play for Tonga
The rumbustious heart on his sleeve, no-nonsense Mako Vunipola has always been a favourite player of mine since I first saw...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 months agoBrendan Gallagher: 30 years on from Matt Gallagher’s special day
There’s been a lot going on recently in the rugby world, but it would be remiss not to pause awhile to...
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Champions Cup
/ 4 months agoNorthampton Saints 49-41 Castres: George Furbank is on fire as Saints put on a show
Northampton Saints reached their third Champions Cup quarter-final on the trot after this frantic, edgy, entertaining riot of a game against...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Referees must control the advantage law fairly
Every four or five years or so, it seems, rugby gets its knickers in a twist over the advantage law, how...
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Club Rugby
/ 4 months agoBath 62-15 Saracens: Champions stir up a storm to blow away Sarries
Bath, playing like millionaires and why not with Sir James Dyson now on board, dismissed Saracens from their presence with a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 4 months agoBrendan Gallagher: The rise of Italy lifted the whole Six Nations
You can make a decent case for 2026 being the best Six Nations ever – whatever ‘best’ means – but it...
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International Rugby
/ 5 months agoIreland 43-21 Scotland: Crowning glory! Irish rediscover their mojo to topple Scotland
Ireland claimed their fourth Triple Crown in five years, and their 12th win on the trot against Scotland, to finish their...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Explore… Dream… Discover. That’s Italy
It was a curious, slightly unsettling experience in the final quarter at Rome last week watching Italy – who, frankly, hadn’t...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: The Romanian who stood tall for his country
You bump into some huge human beings on the rugby circuit, but I’ve encountered few bigger than Romanian lock Constantin Cojocariu,...
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International Rugby
/ 5 months agoIreland 27-17 Wales: Hit by lightning! Rhys Carre puts on a show for the visitors
Ireland fans were happy enough with a bonus point win and Wales supporters will point to a second strong performance on...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Players love getting one over the referee
I’m intrigued, fascinated, perplexed, occasionally entertained, but mostly irritated by why sportsmen and women feel the need to subtly but deliberately...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: My Six Nations Top 20 – The good, the bad and the rugby
And breathe! In the blink of an eye, we are 60 per cent through the 2026 Six Nations, and we are...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Jamison Gibson-Park is back to his best as he pulls the strings for Ireland
A few weeks back, with Ireland’s possible decline ahead of the Six Nations, the subject de jour I ventured the opinion...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 5 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Award booming huge pens a full five points
We are losing so much from the game as World Rugby dumbs down in the professional era, which is bizarre considering...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: I think Sevens is badly in need of an energy boost
I worry about Sevens which, having invested so much energy and emotion into securing Olympic status, seems to have become very...
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International Rugby
/ 6 months agoFrance 36-14 Ireland: Matthieu Jalibert leads the musketeers to Six Nations opening win
France, save for one stodgy period in the second half, produced sublime rugby in tricky wet conditions to blow Ireland away...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Why it’s time to be nicer to the French
I’ve always found it odd the blind spots and prejudices that develop in sport and indeed life, the absolute determination by...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Why putting your faith in data doesn’t add up
Of all the sports most ill-suited to detailed statistical analysis it strikes me that rugby union comfortably tops this list, which...
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International Rugby
/ 6 months agoSix Nations guide – France: Fabien Galthie looking to tighten up the defences
Brendan Gallagher says France coach Fabien Galthie has eyes very much on the next World Cup
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International Rugby
/ 6 months agoSix Nations guide – Ireland: Andy Farrell will need to cover the cracks
Brendan Gallagher predicts a testing Six Nations campaign ahead for the men in green
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International Rugby
/ 6 months agoSix Nations guide – Italy: Gonzalo Quesada will be planning upsets
Brendan Gallagher finds the Azzurri in an optimistic mood despite their injury list
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Club Rugby
/ 6 months agoGloucester 26-30 Bath: Atkinson double act gives champions a real test
It wasn’t the win that Gloucester badly need but it was, perhaps, the performance to galvanise their season as George Skivington’s...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 6 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Small in stature but big on talent
Back in the day it became almost a cliché that All Blacks forwards were all rugged frontiersmen and farmers – world...
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Champions Cup
/ 7 months agoBath 63-10 Edinburgh: Alfie Barbeary powers hosts into last 16
England don’t exactly lack for back-row candidates at present, but a rampaging Alfie Barbeary must come into the Six Nations equation...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 7 months agoBrendan Gallagher: European Champions Cup is still in dire need of an overhaul
The European Champions Cup which, after this weekend, goes back into hibernation for the best part of three months, remains in...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 7 months agoBrendan Gallagher: A Thursday showdown in Paris is nothing new for the Six Nations
There is very little new in rugby and, although much is being made of the ‘controversial’ decision to kick off the...
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Champions Cup
/ 7 months agoCastres 20-43 Bath: Johann van Graan’s side find their feet and race to the top
Bath made a reassuring return to top form in the south of France to take charge of their pool and, with...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 7 months agoBrendan Gallagher: State school game is in good health
English rugby’s over-reliance on private schools has been cited by some – notably Eddie Jones – as an issue in recent...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 7 months agoBrendan Gallagher: It’s no surprise Harlequins are finding the going tough
I’m surprised that so many people are surprised at Harlequins’ travails this season. It was always going to happen.
International Rugby
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