Luke Cowan-Dickie admits he feared he would never join England’s 50-cap club

Luke Cowan-Dickie is poised to join England’s 50-cap club, admitting injury and an encounter with rugby’s judiciary left him fearing the...

Alex Mitchell backs Tommy Freeman to make seamless transition to outside centre for England

Alex Mitchell is backing Tommy Freeman to make a seamless transition to outside centre if his Northampton Saints team-mate is repositioned...

Skechers: Where Street Style Meets Performance

Fashion and comfort don’t always go hand in hand. For decades, people felt they had to choose between looking stylish and...

Tactics and Strategy: What Casino Players Can Learn from Rugby Players

On the surface, casino tables and rugby pitches seem to live in completely different worlds. Yet the nimble thinking, bold moves,...

Noah Caluori named in England squad for Quilter Nations Series

Teenage winger Noah Caluori has been included in the England squad for their upcoming Quilter Nations Series.

England wing Tom Roebuck takes lessons from Chris Ashton ahead of Autumn Series

Tom Roebuck is aiming to make a splash in the November Tests after taking lessons from Chris Ashton as a youngster.

Saracens are leading the chase for Jac Morgan

Saracens are heading the race to sign Wales skipper Jac Morgan as he considers a move away from the Ospreys.

Injury concern over artificial pitches – Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam

Bristol Bears’ director of rugby Pat Lam believes artificial pitches are partly to blame for the high number of injuries in...

England & Sale Sharks flanker Tom Curry closing in on his return to action

Tom Curry is expected to return to action next month, having had wrist surgery following the Lions tour with England and...

Ethan Roots hoping his Exeter Chiefs form will impress England

Ethan Roots believes Exeter Chiefs’ resurgence this season will boost his bid to add to the four England caps he won...

England head coach Steve Borthwick has to make every second count

Steve Borthwick admits he faces a race against time to make sure his England side are not undercooked against Australia at...

Welsh regions to be cut to three, announces WRU

The number of professional men’s teams in Wales is to be cut from four to three within three years.

Steve Tandy glad to have Louis Rees-Zammit back in the Wales squad

Bristol Bears wing Louis Rees-Zammit is back in the Wales squad after a two-year absence and an attempt to make it...

Mark Jones is tipping Morgan Morse to make a big impact with Wales

Few people know new Wales squad member Morgan Morse better than Mark Jones. He worked with him at Wales U20s and...

Fighting weight is key to Rory Hutchinson’s Scotland hopes

Rory Hutchinson has been one of Northampton Saints’ top performers this season having been told not to lose weight when on...

Recall for Magnus Bradbury as Sione Tuipulotu leads the charge for Scotland

British and Irish Lions centre Sione Tuipulotu will captain Scotland in the autumn Tests with Gregor Townsend recalling Magnus Bradbury and...

British/Irish League is the way forward

THE attendance figures for Leinster v Munster (51,589) and Lions v Scarlets (1,771) on October 18 highlight a major problem with...

Swan dives are an expression of joy

I DISAGREE with Paul Sheehan’s complaints about swan dives in general, and in particular about Chris Ashton’s patented Ash Splash version...

Bears in trophy hunt

I READ Nick Cain’s article last week regarding the Gloucester-Bristol game last Friday with interest and whilst he made some valid...

Not good look for Prem

Rout: Harvey Skinner scoring in Exeter’s win LAST weekend saw Exeter beat Harlequins 38-0in the Premiership, and Saracens put 65 points...

Scrap jackling and bring back rucking

ONCE upon a time a winger was chosen because they were fast and elusive, not now...they have to be able to...

Officials must work in a team – all season

HAVING read Jeremy Guscott’s article last week on Problem Laws, I agree with everything he says. However I do not see...

Law makers have stuffed up scrum

JEREMY Guscott’s contribution in The Rugby Paper last week expressed what I have been trying to understand, and failing miserably for...

DREAM TEAM

MALIQ HOLDEN, THE FORMER DONCASTER KNIGHTS, HARTPURY UNIVERSITY AND CORNISH PIRATES WING WHO IS NOW HEAD OF RUGBY AT HULL IONIANS,...

Jeremy Guscott: England are buzzing and ready to have a go

The reboot of the international season starts for England when they face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday, and they go into...

Bath 40-15 Bristol Bears: Prem champions take their time to get into right gear

This was only Bath’s fourth victory in their last 14 against close rivals Bristol Bears in the league, but despite the...

We should have won by more, says coach van Graan

JOHANN van Graan felt Bath’s two late tries gave the scoreboard a realistic look in a one-sided West Country derby. Bath...

Leicester Tigers 36-35 Sale Sharks: Battling Tigers hold on to keep Sharks out

Leicester Tigers edged a madcap encounter against Sale Sharks to record a third win from five in the opening set of...

Chalk & cheese, says coach

SALE boss Alex Sanderson was bullish afterwards despite his team’s third defeat of the season. “It was chalk and cheese,” he...

Northampton Saints 43-31 Saracens: Fantastic Tommy Freeman keeps Saints on top

Tommy Freeman, undoubtedly aware of the long queue of wings old and new pressing for England starting spots, chose the perfect...

McCall pleased to see fightback

SARACENS DoR Mark McCall was proud of his side’s fightback but admitted they were blown away in the first quarter. “The...

Exeter Chiefs 39-12 Gloucester: Henry Slade shows why he is still the class act

Henry Slade duly reminded everyone why he has been the heartbeat of Exeter Chiefs for nearly a decade against Gloucester.

Skiv: We must roll up our sleeves

GLOUCESTER boss George Skivington admits his side are in a ‘tough spot’ after this defeat left them winless after five rounds....

Nick Cain: Luke Cowan-Dickie’s reprieve smacks of inconsistency

Luke Cowan-Dickie’s exoneration by an RFU disciplinary panel on Tuesday for a potentially dangerous high tackle on Tom Willis in last...

England’s front row fraternity must power up

ENGLAND have a costly habit of taking their eyes off the ball when it comes to the scrum, and they cannot...

Harlequins 52-14 Newcastle Red Bulls: Marcus Smith masterclass puts Quins in clear

Marcus Smith signed off for England duty in typically inspirational, dazzling fashion as Harlequins put the suffering Newcastle Red Bulls to...

Dickens: One step forward, two back

NEWCASTLE head coach Alan Dickens admitted there were “hard words” exchanged in the Red Bulls dressing room as they slumped to...

Chris Hewett: Too much talent can be a problem

We have heard much wailing and gnashing of teeth over Tom Willis, largely from those who assumed the France-bound Saracens forward...

When numbers add up to the wrong result

THE gazillionaire tech bros across the pond may think they’re ahead of the curve, but fuddy-duddy rugby leaves them for dead....

Scarlets put in the hard work but still prop up table

■ By BEN JAYCOCK Sharks ..............29pts Tries: Tshituka 5, 19, Mazibuko 28, Kolisi 49 Conversions: Smith 20, 29, 50 Penalties: Smith...

Lloyd keeps his nerve to snatch it for Cardiff

■ By ROGER PANTING Cardiff ...............20pts Tries: Mulder 6, Adams 14, Sebastian 42 Conversion: Lloyd 15 Penalty: Lloyd 73 Edinburgh .........19pts...

We should have won that, says Wainwright

■ By LUKE JARMYN Dragons ............... 19pts Tries: R Williams 37, Coghlan 59, Burrows 75 Conversions: De Beer 38, 60 Ospreys...

Munster made to fight all the way

By TOM RICHARDS Munster ..........17 Connacht.........15 JACK O’Donoghue’s late try helped unbeaten Munster see out a hard-fought victory over their Irish...

Leinster youngsters deliver for Cullen

By JIM CASEY Leinster............50 Zebre.................26 JOSHUA Kenny and Alex Soroka scored two tries apiece as a youthful Leinster returned to winning...

That was hard to take, says Murphy

By PETER STRONG Lions................ 49 Ulster................31 LIONS produced their best performance of the season to stun Ulster at Ellis Park. It...

Battling Warriors come from behind

By GARY WRIGHT Glasgow...........21 Bulls..................12 GLASGOW Warriors moved top of the URC temporarily on Friday after a hard-fought victory at Scotstoun....

Matthee stars as Stormers power up

Benetton..........16 Stormers..........31 STORMERS claimed a bonus-point victory to maintain their strong start to the season. In a contest dominated by penalties...

Bedford hit ten to leave Ampthill on the floor

■ By BEN WHITE Ampthill ............12pts Tries: Sylvester 68, Jackson 72 Conversion: Grimoldby 73 Bedford Blues ..66pts Tries: Benson 3, Fish...

Cambridge stumped by the Caldy power show

■ By JOHN LYON Caldy ..................41pts Tries: Hearn 6, 16; Ene 20, Kilcourse 25, 45; Robinson 32, Logan 73 Conversions: K...

Olowofela steps up to take glory and shock Warriors

■ By GUY WILLIAMS Doncaster Knights ........ 34pts Tries: Edwards 33, Rokoduguni 72, Olowofela 79 Conversions: Bennett 33, 72 Penalties: Bennet:...