We will have a full deck of cards next season – McKellar

By PAUL REES Leicester's dejection at finishing well short of the play-off positions was compounded by the sight of their fierce...

Time to do away with bonus points

IS it time for a review of the bonus point system? Bath acquired 15 this season to finish second in the...

There’s too much dangerous play around the ruck

AS a long-standing player and supporter of local rugby I feel like tearing my hair out when I see or hear...

I think RFU could have opinions, too

SO the Premiership name might have to go. Premiership Rugby now have a new “chief growth officer” called Rob Calder who...

Lam backs Ibitoye for England’s tour

By NICK POWELL Bristol boss Pat Lam says winger Gabriel Ibitoye should be selected for England’s summer tour after he topped...

Dream Team

Rob Miller, the former Newcastle, Wasps, Sale, Tynedale & England U20 full-back, chooses the best XV he has played with or...

Bath and Saints to win – but only just

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK It's hard to see Northampton changing the way they’ve played all season when they...

Toulouse provide a lesson in brilliance

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Leinster............................. 22pts Tries: van der Flier 93 Conversions: Frawley 94 Penalties: Byrne 18, 43, 46, 65; Frawley 77...

Once again, the French wizard calls the shots

PAUL REES Is there anything Antoine Dupont cannot do? Drop a goal with his left foot from his own half, perhaps?...

Gloucester can’t live with Sharks

By BEN JAYCOCK Gloucester ....................... 22pts Tries: Tuisue 58, Socino 76, Clarke 79 Conversions: Hastings 58, 77 Penalties: Englefield 23 Sharks...

Good to see the winners party like they meant it

BRENDAN GALLAGHER Well it was good to see the Sharks celebrate on Friday night like the European Challenge Cup really meant...

Try tsunami sends a mixed message

Peter Jackson looks at an increase in points scored but suggests the figures may be hiding a problem for the Premiership....

Collier fits the bill for NZ challenge

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK England finished the Six Nations with a resurgence, but their next destination, New Zealand, is...

Lawes still has Lions in his sights

Courtney Lawes was typically modest when he was presented with the Rugby Union Writers Club’s prestigious Pat Marshall Award as the...

Diamond Dupont is surrounded by stars

Match-winning moments, men, and money is what sets Toulouse apart. Foremost among those men is Antoine Dupont, whose brilliance earned him...

I’ll pull no punches on Judgement Day, says Elias

By SIMON THOMAS Ryan Elias says there will be no punches pulled when he goes head to head with Wales rival...

Dugdale’s stepping out of the shadows

By JON NEWCOMBE Sam Dugdale has stepped out of the shadows of the Curry brothers and Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson...

Talk of jeopardy is wide of the mark

THINKING ALLOWED It happened during the early stages of the 2003 World Cup in Australia, when two of the union game’s...

Time for us to see some new thinking

Remember the elderly joke about the flight from Australia to New Zealand? “There’s a time difference between the two countries,” the...

Deadeye Bazalgette on target to steer Hartpury home

By LUKE JARMYN Hartpury........... 43pts Tries: Morgan 18, Forrester 33, Short 37, S Smith 79 Conversions: Bazalgette 19, 34, 38, 80...

Champion Trailfinders cut Blues to shreds

By ROGER PANTING Ealing Trailfinders...... 59pts Tries: Uzokwe 9, Bird-Tulloch 21, 30, 72; Kernaghan 28, 51; Terry 60, Collins 67, Sleightholme...

Pirates seal runners-up spot with strong finish

By DAVID BALLHEIMER L Scottish .........27pts Tries: Ransom 10, Wilkinson 26, Brown 29, Hobson 41 Conversions: Lloyd-Seed 26, 31 Penalties: Lloyd-Seed...

Mee makes his mark as Nottingham end on high

By ROB WILDMAN Nottingham......28pts Tries: Mee 26, Graham 32, Stapley 35, Cherry 43 Conversions: Arden 26, 32, 35, 43 Caldy .......................

Parks finds his range to swing it for Ampthill

By STEVE JACKSON Cambridge .......28pts Tries: Asiedu 15, Brownlie 25, Merigan 59, Veness 76 Conversions: James 16, 26, 60, 77 Ampthill...

Fantastic four face final tests

PAUL REES LOOKS FORWARD TO THE PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINALS: NORTHAMPTON v SARACENS AND BATH v SALE NORTHAMPTON The Saints finished at...

Diamond out to add some steel

By PAUL REES Even someone without Steve Diamond’s coaching experience would have known that taking over at Newcastle was never going...

You write off Saracens at your peril – Grewcock

By BEN JAYCOCK Danny Grewcock has joined Paul Sackey as the second player to be inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall...

Day O’Reilly missed out on Hollywood

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW When he last spoke in public, at his old Dublin rugby club a few hefty...

The £20m circus which led to a World Cup

David Lord would kick off every email to The Rugby Paper during the last years of his life in the down-to-earth...

Young guns who are shining for the Chiefs

Paul Rees talks to Exeter DoR Rob Baxter to find out how his investment in homegrown talent is paying off at...

Playing for Tigers a privilege, says Scott

By MARK STEVENS Matt Scott says it was his ‘privilege’ to pull on the Leicester Tigers jersey after playing his final...

Poor defence cost us, admits Wilson

By NICK POWELL Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson has admitted poor defence cost them a place in the play-offs after a...

Cloete & Van Velze to retire at end of season

Bath's South African forwards GJ van Velze and Chris Cloete will retire from rugby at the end of the season. Van...

Saracens hold on to take it at the death

By HARRY SCOTT-MUNRO Saracens ............................ 33pts Tries: Clifford 20, Gregson 29, Campbell 40, 66; Cleall 59 Conversions: Harrison 21, 40, 60,...

Trailfinders make L’borough work hard for three in a row

By ROGER PANTING Trailfinders....... 18pts Tries: Dow 6, Laflin 31 Conversions: Green 31 Penalties: Green 17, 24 Loughborough.. 19pts Tries: Keates...

Wills grabs hat-trick as Bears go on rampage

By STEWART MCCULLOUGH Harlequins .......25pts Tries: Neumann 9, 27, Mullen 74 Conversions: Cromack 10, Tuima 74 Penalties: Cromack 17, 21 Bristol...

Rigoni double as Sale show promise

By SAM JACKSON Leicester ........ 21 Sale...................36 In a battle of the league’s bottom two, Leicester fell short at home to...

Jennings looking for new challenge

By JON NEWCOMBE Still only 28, Rory Jennings is seeking the seventh full-time contract of his nomadic career after being released...

Zebo calls time

Munster flyer Simon Zebo will retire at the end of the season. The 34-year-old was capped 35 times by Ireland, helping...

IRFU changing funding model

THE Irish Rugby Football Union has announced a change to its funding model which will see the four provinces contribute “up...

Kent show true grit to hold firm

By ADAM CLEARY Kent...........................34 Cornwall..................33 KENT continued their defence of the Bill Beaumont Cup with victory over Cornwall at Charlton Park,...

Yorkshire set up shootout with rivals Lancashire

By WILLIAM GUPWELL Somerset........... 31pts Yorkshire...........33pts YORKSHIRE secured a vital win in this Bill Beaumont Cup thriller to set up a...

Five-star Oxfordshire power into last four

By LUKE JARMYN Division 2 round-up OXFORDSHIRE scored five tries with their best performance of the campaign to grab a 34-27...

Devon secure place in semi-finals

By JOE SANTAMARIA Division 3 round-up DEVON continued their good form by dispatching a competitive Berkshire side at Maidenhead RUFC. Fresh...

Barnes hits four in nine-try rout

By GEORGE WELLBELOVE Surrey.......................................... 7 Hampshire...............................63 HAMPSHIRE ran in nine tries to thrash Surrey and kick-start their campaign with Curtis Barnes...

Too many law changes-just let players play

Steve Hill puts the questions to James Shanahan, the head coach of Blackheath RFC and Cambridge University Why did you get...

Camborne make impact but top two dominate final line-up

NATIONAL 2 WEST DREAM TEAM >> THE BEST XV FROM 2023-24 AS VOTED FOR BY OUR REPORTERS After Dings Crusaders’ National...

Buckinghamshire push Surrey all way

By GEORGE WELLBELOVE Surrey ...................... 14 Buckinghamshire.. 5 SURREY won a battle of attrition by absorbing much of Buckinghamshire’s pressure. The...

Champs Lancashire kick off with big win

Round-up REIGNING Gill Burns Cup champions Lancashire made a dominant start last week with a 39-6 victory against Gloucestershire in Pool...

Calcutta Cup win the highlight of my career

MY LIFE IN RUGBY Scott Steele - Former Scotland, Leicester, London Irish Harlequins & Edinburgh Scrum-Half I was sat on a...