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Latest News
/ 2 years agoLest we forget: The bravery of the fallen
PETER JACKSON It's a long way from Maesteg to Mametz Wood, from a mining community in the Llynfi Valley to a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoInjury and illness can’t stop the fun
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT’S time to dip back into the 1974...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDon’t lose Six Nations bonus on a Sunday
By Brendan Gallagher There have been more reports recently about the Six Nations wanting to do away with Sunday games and...
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Features
/ 2 years agoExpect the Chiefs Mk2 to be real contenders
PAUL REES LOOKS AT WHY EXETER’S DOR HAS PUT PLAYER RETENTION AHEAD OF RECRUITMENT AT SANDY PARK The most eye-catching result...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoWhy is captain replaced so early?
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME So the All Blacks keep their home record of wins at Dunedin...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoTime for players to behave properly
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There are no ‘good’ responses to Melvyn Jaminet’s violently racist outburst on social media, or the serious...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoTowering talent who took Bath to the top
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK Jack Rowell’s contribution to Bath rugby was immeasurable from the beginning when he arrived...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoWainwright stands out as Wales fail to impress
PETER JACKSON Political swings being all the rage, the sixth-best team in the Six Nations duly fell victim to one of...
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Columnists
/ 2 years agoRFU still has urgent questions to answer
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoTrio who tempt us to search for genius
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED What do we mean when we talk of genius? It is a question as old as Noah,...
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Features
/ 2 years agoBig guns in danger of just looking after No.1
ANALYSIS PAUL REES WONDERS HOW THE SPORT CAN KEEP PAYING FOR ITSELF IN HARD TIMES....WHILE UNIONS BUILD FOR THE FUTURE When...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoJack’s philosophy? Win today, win tomorrow…
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Of all the enduring memories from Jack Rowell’s tumultuous time in charge of...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoThere’s more than money to Toulouse
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There have, rightly, been acres of words written...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDangers of brain trauma not new
The perceived wisdom is that rugby was not overly aware of the dangers of concussion and brain trauma back in the...
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Features
/ 2 years ago‘It’s about being the best player you can be’
Paul Rees finds out what drives new Tigers head coach Michael Cheika and what he plans to do at Welford Road...
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International Rugby
/ 2 years agoBorthwick happy to go back for future
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME So it looks like Steve Borthwick has learned a lesson and decided...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoScratch XV that downed Boks
Brendan Gallagher was at Sixways when a National League One team caused a big upset - here he looks back to the...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoJalibert is top of the ‘wanted’ list again
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Never mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoEngland looking good for first Test
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK It was imperative that England won their opening game against Japan before taking on...
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Columnists
/ 2 years agoOur aim is to make everyone proud
OLAMIDE SODEKE ENGLAND U2O SECOND ROW Having landed in South Africa last Sunday, we’ve already had a memorable time on and...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoTime for England’s rock-steady crew
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK NOW comes the acid test of England’s attacking progress. When Steve Borthwick side...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoWarriors deserved to take the glory
Glasgow Warriors’ 21-16 win over the Bulls in Pretoria to clinch the URC title has earned them deserved accolades after outscoring...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoWhistler’s authority must be protected
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED In the middle: Sara Cox took charge of the Women’s Premiership final between Gloucester-Hartpury and Bristol last...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoCheika’s first job: to speak ‘Tiger’
As top-flight English clubs go, none are as English as Leicester, with their grizzled battalions of steadfast Midlands yeomanry – all...
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Features
/ 2 years agoBorthwick is right to keep faith with Smith
Paul Rees Looks at the challenges facing England in New Zealand... While another Aussie steps in at Leicester Steve Borthwick hopes...
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Features
/ 2 years agoPenaud proves the ultimate in French flair
Peter Jackson adds up the points scored last season across all games and finds the French with much to celebrate Damian...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years ago25 years on and it’s still a special place
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It was the 25th anniversary of the first-ever...
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Features
/ 2 years agoGloucesterer are facing a defining season
PAUL REES LOOKS AT THE CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR COACH GEORGE SKIVINGTON AND CEO ALEX BROWN AT KINGSHOLM Gloucester marked their 150th...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoGatland hits the 50-mark for Wales
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Unless they change the habit of a lifetime in Australia over the next...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoEngland have enough to down the All Blacks
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Steve Borthwick’s England team have taken their first step of their summer...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoTry from the end of the world…
Brendan Gallagher looks back to 1994 when New Zealand last lost at Eden Park, beaten by a brilliant French team that...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoTerrific Toulouse go on the rampage
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN “We didn’t just lose the arm wrestle – we had our wrists broken under the table,” Bordeaux...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoWhy less might not be more for stars
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED MARTIN Johnson spent a rugby eternity perfecting his survival skills in the engine room of the scrum...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoEtzebeth puts it on the line
PETER JACKSON Rising high: Peter O’Mahony, left, competes at the lineout with Eben Etzebeth PICTURE: Getty Images EBEN Etzebeth has never...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoSpongeBob glad of his place in the Oldies XV
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW TWENTY years ago this very week on the banks of the Clyde, New...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoWe’re all heading in different directions
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Sunday Mixed signals: The Championship is being seen as development tool –...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoBorthwick should go with Marcus first up
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK It will be a choice between Harlequins’ Marcus Smith and Northampton’s Fin Smith at...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoMistake to select Tom and not Ted
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ted Hill must be wondering what else he has to do to get...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoAll Blacks will be ready to roll
NICK CAIN Rumours that New Zealand are in a state of flux heading into their two-Test summer series against England should...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoReturn of relegation is reason to cheer
NICK CAIN The restoration of promotion and relegation, which this column has advocated non-stop since the RFU’s ring-fence moratorium in 2021,...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoEffort and enterprise the key for Saints
PAUL REES SEES PLENTY OF HIGHLIGHTS BUT WARNS THE GAME MUST SHOW IT CAN PAY FOR ITSELF Northampton’s first Premiership title...
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Features
/ 2 years agoQuartet help Cardiff pull off unlikely double
Peter Jackson discovers which clubs and players come out best and worst when it comes to red and yellow cards Despite...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoSorry, but Obano did not have to do that
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED The best definition of madness in rugby? There are several contenders: picking a fight with Eben Etzebeth...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoAnother lesson from the French
CHRIS HEWETT Now that Vannes have made it into the top tier of French rugby and the people running things across...
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Features
/ 2 years agoThe unexpected revolutionary
Paul Rees says this should be a summer of opportunities for England and head coach Steve Borthwick Steve Borthwick is an...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoHill’s recall flies in the face of loyalty
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Cory Hill walked out of the Wales squad last summer, preferring to join...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoThe day Meredith made history
PETER JACKSON Courtenay Meredith spent the last 71 years of an exceptionally long life with something to shout about over what...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoThere is no warm welcome for Spain
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Gone but still winning. Sort of! London Irish...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoTeam Brittany show what might have happened in Cornwall
RUGBY MATTERS GO west young man. The phrase, attributed to American newspaper editor Horace Greeley, became a byword for the expansion...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoRefs must regain authority on pitch
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Red card: Beno Obano is sent of by referee Christophe Ridley at...














