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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Owen Farrell must play flat if England are to score tries
England‘s attack has been a hot topic this week after an autumn of few tries against the better teams. This is...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: The good, bad and ugly of the scrum machines
So at last we have the answer to all scrum problems – the new scrum machine being used by Bath Rugby...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Peter Jackson
/ 12 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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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Sevens World Series
/ 12 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
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Peter Jackson
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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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Nick Cain
/ 12 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
/ 12 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...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Ireland’s new star is made in Wales
At the end of a week when English football got its knickers in a nationality twist, Ireland’s next scrum-half can be...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: The bogus water boys are pouring out advice
With Mike Catt giving England coaching directives while on the pitch during Six Nations matches last season, and Neil Jenkins doing...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: Heroic, tragic and downright eccentric, yes rugby has it all
A mate of mine, literary agent David Luxton, has had the brilliant idea of organising the inaugural London Sports Writing Festival...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain talks to Exeter’s captain Dean Mumm about the Heineken Cup and Australia’s autumn challenge
Dean Mumm does not hail from anywhere within 10,000 miles of Devon. Yet, the Exeter Chiefs captain, New Zealand born and...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Lancaster must be able to pick on-form players
The first European break gives us time to look back at what has been a hectic start to the season. Five...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Robshaw has credentials to captain England again
Stuart Lancaster‘s comments this week about selecting the England captain, and putting off the decision to do so, are intriguing. The...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Euro row could be start of clubs flexing more muscle
I have a question. Does the word ‘professional’ mean running a business or getting paid, or are they one and the...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain looks at the opening rounds of the final Heineken Cup
The 19th Heineken Cup has been billed as the last of its kind, the collector’s edition. And winning it will be...
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Sevens World Series
/ 12 years agoBehind the England Sevens’ scenes with Tom Mitchell: Countdown to round One…
Sitting on a sun drenched balcony in Australia looking out over Surfers Paradise the idea six gruelling games of 7s might...
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James Haskell
/ 12 years agoJames Haskell’s nutrition tip: Let’s shake – it could do you the world of good!
I get asked a lot on twitter by young guys: Do I take protein shakes? Do I take creatine? There is...
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Peter Jackson
/ 12 years agoPeter Jackson: Regrets? I’ve got a few about Cup admits Ring
Once upon a time long ago, Mark Ring found himself within touching distance of lifting the European Cup in his very...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 12 years agoBrendan Gallagher: The quiet-man keeping that Tigers’ roar loud and clear
A small, bald-headed gent has been taking centre stage at Leicester on match days this autumn but the volume and quantity...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 12 years agoJeremy Guscott: Lancaster’s dilemma is who plays 10, Farrell or Burns?
Having watched the best team in the world, New Zealand, beat the second best, South Africa, 38-27 in a humdinger of...
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Nick Cain
/ 12 years agoNick Cain: Let George go, Saints, or risk his goodwill
George North is box office, and although he had to wait until last Friday night for his first try for Northampton...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 12 years agoJeff Probyn: Clubs face oblivion if RFU take on PRL over Europe
Financial Oblivion are the words used by Bath‘s owner Bruce Craig when describing the possible fate facing the RaboDirect Pro12 if...
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