Wingers taking the faster lane

■By CAMERON STEPHENS TAQELE Naiyaravoro believes that speed is becoming an increasingly important attribute of the modern winger and that powerhouse...

Champions Cup: The seven best match-ups of the weekend

The penultimate round of fixtures in the Champions Cup pools gets underway this weekend, with some huge team selection calls being...

Antoine Dupont set to make only second southern hemisphere appearance when Toulouse face Sharks 

Reigning French and European champions Toulouse are set to put a full-strength team out in their away trip to South Africa...

Hansen’s comments proved the final straw for Chris Busby

Ireland and Connacht winger Mack Hansen has provided guaranteed entertainment to the game of rugby by means of his exciting style...

What Are Bonus Buy Slots?

Regardless of where in the world you’re playing from, you’ve probably come across bonus buy slots. There are a few specifics...

Zoe Aldcroft replaces Marlie Packer as England captain for 2025

Zoe Aldcroft has replaced Marlie Packer as England Women’s captain for 2025. Gloucester-Hartpury forward Aldcroft, who has 58 international caps, will...

Key Storylines to Watch in the 2025 Six Nations Championship

The 2025 Six Nations Championship is fast approaching, and rugby fans around the globe are eagerly awaiting one of the most...

Poker and Passport: Exploring the World Through the Lens of the Game

Travel and poker might seem like an unusual pairing, but they share a common allure: adventure, strategy, and the thrill of...

Wales prop Leon Brown forced to retire after multiple neck surgeries

Wales and Dragons prop Leon Brown has announced his retirement from rugby with immediate effect because of a neck injury. Brown...

The Rugby Paper Podcast – S4, E17: Discussing the incredible year of Taqele Naiyaravoro

Happy new year one and all and welcome back to the Rugby Paper Podcast! We hope you had a restful holiday...

England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso ruled out for entire Six Nations

England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will miss the entire Six Nations because of the dislocated shoulder sustained on club duty for Exeter...

Ilona Maher ‘loves being a superstar’ as Bristol signing looks to grow the game

Ilona Maher hopes she can inspire and elevate more players to superstar status in women’s rugby. Olympic sevens bronze medallist Maher...

Ange Capuozzo at scrum-half: Is the bench about to be changed forever? 

Italian full-back/ winger Ange Capuozzo played as the replacement scrum-half for Toulouse in their defeat to La Rochelle and did not look out of place one...

2025 Predictions: More Antoine Dupont dominance + The British & Irish Lions to win down under

2025 has begun and a year of rugby excitement awaits. With it being a World Cup year for the Women’s game...

Fin Smith’s last-minute penalty lifts Northampton Saints over Bath in Premiership final rematch

By Charlie Elliott Northampton Saints edged out Bath in a nine-try thriller at Franklin Gardens, with a last-gasp Fin Smith penalty...

Premiership Team of the Week: Fin Smith and Tom Willis impress again to strengthen England cases

By Charlie Elliott This weekend of Premiership action provided the perfect mix of technical flair and big men bulldozing through that...

Rugby Sponsorships That Celebrate The Game

Let’s cut to the chase: professional-level sports are expensive. Running tournaments, getting bums on stadium seats, securing lucrative streaming deals; its...

Stick with Marcus Smith, he’s the best in England

By Paul Rees Steve Borthwick has put three outside halves on hybrid contracts and he has less than a month to...

Leicester Tigers chasing dream double

By Gary Fitzgerald Nicky Smith insists Leicester Tigers will not be content unless they complete a “dream double” as Michael Cheika’s...

Steve Borthwick and England facing historic USA test

EXCLUSIVE By Jon Newcombe England’s summer tour will include a historic Test against the USA, as well as the already announced...

Computer games annoy Alex Sanderson

By Mark Stevens Angry Alex Sanderson has vowed to channel the perceived lack of respect for his Sale Sharks side into...

Rob Baxter: Fixture schedule hurting us

By Mark Stevens If tackling the elite of English and European rugby was not enough for Exeter Chiefs to contend with,...

Tom Parton off to Japan

Saracens full-back Tom Parton has left the club to join Japanese side Panasonic Wild Knights. The 26-year-old, who also plays wing,...

Will Muir’s aiming to hit the target with Bath

By Mark Stevens Darts-loving winger Will Muir hopes Bath can hit the bullseye in 2025 having gone so close to Premiership...

I can’t see me returning to coaching, says Geordan Murphy

By Jon Newcombe Former Leicester boss Geordan Murphy has revealed he is still scarred by the manner of his departure from...

George Hendy in position to drive Northampton Saints on

By Paul Rees George Hendy’s career has a theme running through it – keep pushing and see where you end up....

Jack Walker’s eager to build on last year’s success with Harlequins

By Paul Rees   Jack Walker has warm memories of last season when he was part of England’s World Cup squad,...

Pat Lam: Fitz Harding is good enough for England

By Paul Rees Pat Lam’s New Year wish is for his Bristol captain Fitz Harding to gain international recognition after a...

Time for a root change to way we run our sport

I note that much has been written about the future of the RFU CEO Board which hopefully will be resolved in...

We need return to the County game

In Rugby Paper December 29, Paul Rees refers to Exeter’s Rob Baxter, whose club were bottom of the Premiership after eight...

Too easy to blame governing body

Congratulations to Paul Rees for his piece last week offering a reasoned and balanced assessment of the risks associated with a...

Great to see a big match on ITV

Big game: Tommy Reffell on the attack for Leicester against Harlequins PICTURE: Getty images WELL said Peter Warren, TRP letters 29/12/2024....

Time for Northampton Saints to push Bath up front

By Jeremy Guscott - Outspoken and unmissable every week Northampton are the Premiership’s reigning champions, and when you are in that...

Ben Youngs steps up to make sure for Leicester Tigers

By Rob Wildman Leicester .......................... 28pts Tries: Cracknell 14, Henderson 33, Hassell-Collins 68, Youngs 77 Exeter ................................. 15pts Conversions: Pollard 14,...

Rob Baxter baffled by Will Rigg yellow

Exeter boss Rob Baxter claimed he was “baffled” by referee Christophe Ridley sin-binning substitute wing Will Rigg in the 65th minute...

Tom Willis on a rampage to ignite Saracens

By Brendan Gallagher Saracens .......................... 35pts Tries: Willis 7, 39; Cinti 47, Burke 16, 77 Conversions: Lozowksi 8, 17 Penalties: Daly...

Pat Lam: I’m pleased with the bonus

Bristol's director of rugby Pat Lam was pleased by the way his side refused to give up. He said: “The boys...

Tomos Williams in control to finish off Sale Sharks

By Paul Rees Gloucester ....................... 36pts Tries: Carreras 5, Llewellyn 20, 60; Hathaway 25, Williams 76 Conversions: Carreras 21, 26, 61,...

George Skivington: That was a test of resilience and we passed

George Skivington praised his players for not letting getting on the wrong side of the referee deflect them as they recorded...

Harlequins leave it late to power past Newcastle Falcons

By Luke Jarmyn Newcastle .........................14pts Tries: Radwan 32, Redshaw 65 Conversions: Connon 33, 66 Harlequins ....................... 38pts Tries: Chisholm 9, Smith...

Steve Diamond: We must go back to basics

Steve Diamond pledged that his Newcastle side will “have to go back to basics” after watching them capitulate and concede three...

Ollie Lawrence: We want to do double over Saints

By Jon Newcombe Match Preview Northampton v Bath – Kick-off 3pm, Franklin’s Gardens For Ollie Lawrence, last year’s Premiership final defeat...

Northampton Saints ring the changes

Saints rounded off 2024 with a resounding 61-0 victory over Newcastle Falcons last weekend and director of rugby Phil Dowson has...

Hybrid Hash will tie Steve Borthwick in knots

 By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The description ‘Hybrid Central Contracts’ does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually...

Pressure growing for SGM changes

The heat around an SGM is building, with the motion for the removal of Bill Sweeney as chief executive, and changes...

Luke Cowan-Dickie: I’m back and buzzing

By Mark Stevens Luke Cowan-Dickie’s journey back to the pinnacle of rugby is nothing short of extraordinary. The tenacious hooker, known...

Lotte Sharp: It’s been toughest season ever at Saracens

By Ben Jaycock Lotte Sharp says Saracens are enduring the most difficult campaign since she joined the club 10 years ago...

Dream Team – Sam Cross

SAM CROSS, THE FORMER GB SEVENS AND NEWPORT, OSPREYS, NEWCASTLE AND TARBES FLANKER, WHO IS NOW AT MERTHYR RFC, CHOOSES THE...

A star-studded XV that would lead by example

By Chris Hewett - Thinking Allowed Like “business ethics” and “military intelligence”, the phrase “rugby leadership” is not an oxymoron. Almost,...

Scarlets in the mood as Dragons set adrift

By Simon Thomas Scarlets ............32pts Tries: Murray 8, 16, Macleod 30, Mee 43 Conversions: Costelow 9, 17, 31 Penalties: Costelow 11,...