Nick Cain
News By Nick Cain
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Columnists
/ 4 days agoNick Cain: The Grand Slam is within reach for England
Steve Borthwick’s ship is steady as she goes as England focus on winning a Six Nations Grand Slam for the first...
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Columnists
/ 4 days agoNick Cain: Mark McCall’s record is tough to beat
Mark McCall’s decision to step down as Saracens director of rugby after this season will be the end of a 15-year...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson fails to produce a cutting-edge strategy
Scott Robertson’s ‘windmill’ spin breakdancing celebrations were shelved during his tenure as All Blacks head coach.
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Columnists
/ 4 weeks agoNick Cain: England can bank on speed merchants
Speed could be England’s greatest asset as the Red Rose squad contemplate a New Year in which a Six Nations Grand...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Without promotion we will all be losers
Top of my New Year’s wish-list for rugby union is for promotion and relegation to be restored as the cornerstone of...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Referees must be told to cut out the forward pass
Here is a message to all the referees, assistant referees, and television match officials confirmed this week for the 2026 Six...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: This farce could rip the game to pieces
The longest-running farce in sport is the administration of club rugby union in England, with the RFU and the Prem club...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Happier hunting ground for Prem clubs in Europe
The opening round of the European Cup was notable for far fewer complaints by Prem clubs that they are always on...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Recruiting Benhard Janse van Rensburg sends out the wrong message
The decision by the RFU to petition World Rugby for Bristol’s South African-born-and-bred centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg to be granted...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Don’t exaggerate the importance of bench too much
The eight-man bench is not an aspect of the pro game I support, and the lauding of England’s “Pom squad” as...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 months agoEngland 33-19 New Zealand: Steve Borthwick’s side steamroll jaded All Blacks
There was smoke over Twickenham yesterday evening – black smoke – after an on-fire England team achieved one the rarest of...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: England A team just not up to the job
The Rec was packed with 14,500 Red Rose fans last Saturday, England A were on home turf, and the second-string All...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 3 months agoEngland 38-18 Fiji: Battling Fijians give Steve Borthwick’s side plenty to work on
By the time Maro Itoje dived over the top of the tiring Fijian forwards from close range to score England’s sixth...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Fault-lines show cracks in the All Black armour
Jordie Barrett’s tour-ending ankle injury against Ireland in Chicago last weekend plays into the hands of an England team hunting their...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 3 months agoEngland 25-7 Australia: Henry Pollock puts England on the road to redemption
Henry “Peroxide” Pollock wants to be noticed, and the bleached-blond young flanker made sure the Wallabies will not forget him in...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Avoid the circus and keep strategy simple
We are told the bench is now the ‘swingometer’ that dictates who wins at international and top club level.
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Believe it! All Blacks are there for the taking
New Zealand may not be the imperious double World Cup winners they were in 2015, but at the start of the...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Time for Maro Itoje & Co to take on the world
Maro Itoje scaled one of the most significant peaks in rugby union as a winning Lions captain this summer, but he...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Absurd rule banning Jack Willis from England
The high esteem in which Jack Willis is held at his club Toulouse, in French rugby circles in general, and regularly...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Great result but let’s stay ahead of pack
Congratulations to the England women’s team after winning the 2025 Women’s World Cup, and also going 33 matches undefeated during head...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Sorry, Saracens, but you weren’t the first
The attempts by Saracens to rebrand themselves this week as “The Original Club of North London” extends poetic licence beyond the...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Game facing fight to retain its integrity
The Filipo Daugunu try which gave Australia two losing bonus points against Argentina in Sydney last weekend crossed a red line...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoNick Cain: Four roaring Lions make my star-studded World XV
Two years out from the 2027 World Cup, at the midway point of the 2025 Rugby Championship, with the 2025 Lions...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoNick Cain: Steve Borthwick snared in unworkable fudge with new player welfare stipulation
If international rugby union is the “shop window of the game”, the part that fires the imaginations and ambitions of young...
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Columnists
/ 5 months agoNick Cain: Two-team model in Welsh rugby has little chance of success
The precipice on which Welsh rugby is perched rests on two disastrous decisions made on either side of the Millennium which...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Wallabies paid price for unprofessionalism during Lions Tour
The Lions are back on the winning trail, but the high stakes surrounding the 2025 tour, whether sporting or commercial, means...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: No return to Australia for the Lions without legal guarantees
Should Australia get the Lions back in 12 years? The answer is that Rugby Australia would have to commit to a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Joe Schmidt’s bogus words jeopardise Lions’ future
There was a chance of three whitewashes taking place this weekend. The first was whether the Lions would claim a 3-0...
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Latest News
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Without a deal, R360’s credibility is on the line
The R360 phantom is up-and-running again with Louis Rees-Zammit rumoured to be involved following his exit from the Jacksonville Jaguars and...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 6 months agoBritish and Irish Lions 29-26 Wallabies: Hugo Keenan’s last-gasp lunge seals epic victory
Australia ........................... 26pts Tries: Slipper 23, Gordon 29, Wright 31 Conversion: Lynagh 29 Penalties: Lynagh 5, 11, 54 British & Irish...
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Henry Pollock must play with 7 on his back
Henry Pollock looked lost at times against a First Nations & Pasifika selection which wanted to get in the faces of...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 6 months agoBritish and Irish Lions 27-19 Wallabies: Round One to the Lions as Finn Russell pulls strings
Australia ............................19pts Tries: Jorgensen 28, Tizzano 67, McDermott 78 Conversions: Donaldson 68, 78 in association with British & Irish Lions ........
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Columnists
/ 6 months agoNick Cain: Maverick Rassie Erasmus is doing us all a service
Rassie Erasmus is one of rugby union’s most controversial characters, but he is also an international coach who thinks deeply about...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Joe Schmidt may force British and Irish Lions to move on
Joe Schmidt will be hailed as a miracle man if the Wallabies succeed in blindsiding the Lions to edge the forthcoming...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Felipe Contepomi committed selection hara-kiri against England
England deserved most of the plaudits lavished on them after their comprehensive four try 35-12 dismantling of Argentina last weekend. Fin...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Jack Willis deserves to be part of this British and Irish Lions party
It is one of the biggest travesties in this sport that Jack Willis could be destined to never pull on a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Owen Farrell’s British and Irish Lions call-up shouldn’t cause discord
The furore surrounding Owen Farrell being brought into the Lions squad as a replacement for Elliott Daly has stirred the nepotism...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: England must concentrate on a power game against Argentina
We are about to find out about the depth in England’s playing resources, and whether the Premiership produces enough players ready...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Lessons of Dublin must be learned for the British and Irish Lions
One of the strangest elements about the 2025 Lions starting line-up in the non-tour match against Argentina in Dublin was...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Let’s hope the Whole Game Union wins the day
The attempts by some within the Twickenham administration to characterise the Whole Game Union’s campaign to bring about democratic change at...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Don’t let Joe Schmidt take British and Irish Lions for a ride
The Lions are being taken for pussycats by Australia coach Joe Schmidt. Contrary to the assurance given by Phil Waugh, the...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoNick Cain: Whole Game Union is hoping to land a longshot
There is an RFU AGM on Saturday, and it could pass by with a barely discernible ripple, or deliver a seismic...
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Columnists
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Steve Borthwick will want young guns to fire on Argentina Tour
The idea being touted that England’s two-Test tour of Argentina at the beginning of July will be the unearthing of a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Argentina selection’s bad news for British & Irish Lions
The devaluing of fixtures throughout the professional game is becoming a blight, and an understrength Argentina facing the Lions on Friday...
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Columnists
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Wallabies need to find some form – and sharpish
Australia's whole will have to be much greater than the sum of its parts to win the imminent Lions series if...
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Columnists
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Henry Pollock needs to wise up – old pros will be keen to take him out
Henry Pollock’s upward trajectory has been so stellar that there was always going to be a queue of gnarled old pros...
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Latest News
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: This American dream will only end in tears
The Premiership/ RFU’s stampede for money, and the pitfalls that come with it, is reflected in the franchise fix proposed by...
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Columnists
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Time for Steve Borthwick to ignore the easy options
The main challenge facing Steve Borthwick this summer is to maintain England’s momentum by winning a two-Test tour of Argentina with...
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Latest News
/ 8 months agoNick Cain: Ben Spencer steps up to prove his worth for Bath
It's been a long time between drinks for Bath’s faithful fans when it comes to winning worthwhile silverware, so no one...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 9 months agoNick Cain: British and Irish Lions must get tough by delivering an ultimatum
The longer the Lions Board continues to be as soft-toy cuddly as the mascot that tour youngster Henry Pollock will have...
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