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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoRaring to roar: Brendan Gallagher dissects the chosen 38 for the British and Irish Lions
Backs BACK THREE Blair Kinghorn (Scotland and Toulouse): Age 28: Scotland caps 60. Rangy outside back, a quick and versatile player...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoSaints deserve to be given medal for this impressive hat-trick
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Quality: Tommy Freeman dives in to score against...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 1 year agoI’m surprised that Owen was left out
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Waiting game: Neither Owen Farrell nor, inset, Jamie George were picked by...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 year agoJeremy Guscott: Maro Itoje the right man to bring the British and Irish Lions together
By Jeremy Guscott - Outspoken and unmissable every week... The ceremonial unveiling of the 2025 Lions squad at the O2 Arena...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: Northampton Saints win over Leinster is the best win on the road I’ve seen
I’ve been reporting on this Heineken Cup, European Cup, Investec Champions Cup – call it what you want – since the...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: At last! Welcome words reinforce value of jeopardy
One of the few signs of clear-thinking rugby union sanity this week came from Simon Gillham, the chairman of the Tier...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 year agoHenry Pollock’s energy could give British and Irish Lions that extra boost
By Nick Cain The likelihood of any uncapped young “bolters”, who were a feature of Lions squad announcements in the amateur...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Backing of franchise rugby is myopic, hypocritical and self-serving …
The parallel universe which some of the main movers and shakers in the RFU/ Premiership currently inhabit has revealed itself in...
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 year agoTrio recalled All Black triumph one final time
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW SHORTLY before Christmas, in the hometown of the Manic Street Preachers, a trio...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: Here are my 37 to tour with the British and Irish Lions
Brendan Gallagher picks his likely lads for the Summer trip to Australia Let the fun begin. Every four years, we all...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBritish and Irish Lions bolters who truly made their mark
Rugby Matters - A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher What exactly do we mean by...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoJeff Probyn: Women’s game not paying for itself
By Jeff Probyn - A front row view of the game First things first, congratulations to England’s women’s team for winning...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoBath owner, Bruce Craig, backs franchise system
Bath owner Bruce Craig argues that scrapping relegation and relaunching the Premiership as a collection of centrally licensed franchises would bring...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 1 year agoJeremy Guscott: I’m just so excited by Bath’s brilliance
By Jeremy Guscott - Outspoken and unmissable every week... Where Bath are now, compared to where they have been, leaves me...
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Miscellaneous
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Invest in the Championship – as well as women’s game
The money cut from the funding to Championship clubs in the last five years is believed to be very close to...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Bruce Craig’s protectionism is not what we want
The decision by Bath owner Bruce Craig to break cover by jumping on the franchise bandwagon this week is no revelation,...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoBen Youngs – It’s been an awesome ride and I feel privileged
Paul Rees talks to Ben Youngs as he prepares to call time on his career after 18 years at Leicester and...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 year agoChris Hewett: If there is any justice, George Ford will be a British and Irish Lion
By Chris Hewett - Thinking Allowed The difference between time and eternity? It’s all relative – get it? – but in...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoMission Impossible: How Northampton Saints can beat Leinster
By Peter Jackson - The man truly in the know Phil Dowson only has to press a button anytime during the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 1 year agoRhys Litterick takes high road to Scotland
By Peter Jackson Rhys Litterick, a tight-head graduate from the Adam Jones school of scrummaging, joined Cardiff from Harlequins two years...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoPeter Jackson: Pathetic Nolann Le Garrec stoops to a new low
By Peter Jackson Not since Andy Haden and Frank Oliver staged their amateurish theatrics against Wales at the Arms Park in...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoRugby’s Biggest Scandals: Desire to win can end in tears
Paul Rees on what connects bloodgate, a collapsed scrum, a backhander and the dives of Le Garrec and Haden Racing 92...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: Little good news is coming out of Africa
By Brendan Gallagher - Rugby Matters Mention recently of the late Claude Saurel and his eclectic coaching career brought back memories...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoNorman Mbiko – A Leopard who did change his spots
Norman Mbiko is probably not a name that resonates strongly here in Britain and Ireland, but the feisty scrum-half from the...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoJeff Probyn: Premiership Promotion should not depend on capacity
By Jeff Probyn - A front row view of the game It is funny how quickly things change once the pressure...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoTime to show the right spirit, Henry Pollock
By Simon Walters No one can dispute the brilliance of England rugby’s new star, Henry Pollock of Northampton Saints. He scored...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 year agoJeremy Guscott: Johnny Sexton divisive for the British and Irish Lions? Not in my book
By Jeremy Guscott - Outspoken and unmissable every week Whatever conflicting views there are over the appointment of Johnny Sexton to...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Blueprint for the future lacks rational thinking with franchise idea
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week We are coming to the franchise crunch. Finally, after five years...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoLeinster are good … but they would not beat France
By Nick Cain The hype was in full flood after Leinster’s two-match 142-0 European Cup haul against Harlequins and Glasgow, when...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 year agoChris Hewett: Geoff Parling is thriving as the quiet ‘Australian’
By Chris Hewett - Thinking Allowed Whatever lights might be hidden under rugby’s bushel, precious few of them belong to Australian...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoPaul Rees: A brighter future for Wales lies in its past
PAUL REES SAYS IT WAS THE LOCAL RIVALRIES WHICH HELPED BUILD THE GAME IN WALES AND WHICH NEED TO BE REVIVED...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoPeter Jackson: Where the ghosts of the greats still roam in Welsh Rugby
By Peter Jackson - The man truly in the know In the golden days when the sun never set on Welsh...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: 20 years ago, we had games worth seeing in the Champions Cup
Rugby Matters - A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher I have no great wish to...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoJeff Probyn: Like wine, props used to get better with age
A front row view of the game Earlier this week, I was asked to do an interview for GB News to...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoFrench Column: Big guns want to take on All Blacks
By James Harrington Could Fabien Galthie head to New Zealand for July’s three-Test tour with a France squad that looks more...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoJeremy Guscott: Power of four will be crucial for Andy Farrell
In terms of pedigree, the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad selected by head coach Andy Farrell next month to tour...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Premiership clubs need to set higher standards
The most concerning aspect of the Harlequins no-show against Leinster at Croke Park last weekend, which finished in a 62-0 European...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoNick Cain: Time to dismantle the ivory towers
TV adverts are a mixed bag, but at their best they paint a picture that nails an irksome aspect of modern...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 year agoChris Hewett: Dan Biggar’s lessons in staying strong
The last time Wales won a game of rugby against someone other than the Barbarians – those struggling to recall that...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoQuinnell’s quick pint at The Ferry Boat Inn
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW OF ALL the books written about the Lions, no reference can be found...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoMemo to the suits: Give us some jeopardy
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER I FEEL the need to tap out a...
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Columnists
/ 1 year agoJeff Probyn: Drop the tackle height for everyone
A front row view of the game The University of Edinburgh has discovered through research and by watching and comparing 18,702...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoTop 14: Raffaele Storti set to get his chance at Grenoble
French Column by James Harrington Portugal winger Raffaele Storti has made a habit of not doing things the easy way –...
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Champions Cup
/ 1 year agoJeremy Guscott: Champions Cup still has a role to play
By Jeremy Guscott - Outspoken and unmissable every week... The European Cup is as big as the clubs involved want to...
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English Championship
/ 1 year agoWorcester Warriors return – RFU Board should tell us what it thinks
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The first act of the new Tier 2 Board, which has...
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Chris Hewett
/ 1 year agoOwners should be careful what they wish for
By Chris Hewett The ambition among some Premiership owners to turn the league into rugby’s version of cricket’s T20 is a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 year agoBritish and Irish Lions: Come on, Andy Farrell, put a bolter on your list
Thinking Allowed by Chris Hewett Henry Pollock is the most headline-grabbing talent to emerge in English rugby since Maro Itoje, who...
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Latest News
/ 1 year agoFijian captain Waisea Nayacalevu fails to make appearance for Ospreys
By Peter Jackson - The man truly in the know In the natural world of all things ornithological, the sighting of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: I’m all for the thrills but keep game real
Rugby Matters - A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher Like many of you, I was...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 1 year agoBrendan Gallagher: Let’s get these tapped pens taken from the right place
By Brendan Gallagher As a follow up to my main theme, I offer a little warning on tapped penalties as we...














