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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoLawes is level with England’s greatest
RUGBY MATTERS Members of the Rugby Writers club have recently been voting for the Pat Marshall award which we scribes use...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoMias made his mark in land of the giants als
Lucien Mias, below, who died this week aged 93, was never a giant of a man physically but when the force...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoNew law changes will hurt the game
JEFF PROBYN Am I the only one who thinks that something is wrong with ‘those in charge’ of our game as...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoDramatic finale puts Brive into play-offs
By JAMES HARRINGTON The ProD2 supplied a final glorious regular-season round for the ages in a perfectly timed reminder to broadcasters...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoLeicester have the class to rule again
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK Leicester are not where their fans want them to be – and a minority...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime to put an end to marquee players
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ARE marquee players, or coaches, worth it, or are they just a Premiership...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoMistake to reduce value of the scrum
The danger World Rugby’s high-handed law-makers face with their insistence on trying to marginalise the scrum is that it could easily...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCalling MPs will add to pressure
The decision of Championship clubs to contact their local MPs to ask for Government to mediate in its gridlocked negotiations with...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoRugby’s holy trinity prove the difference
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED SINCE time immemorial, rugby has been cloaked in its own cliches: Prince Obolensky was always “dashing”; Colin...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoMo’unga likely to be back in black
SO he hasn’t gone for good, after all. Not quite. If the All Blacks have their way, as they invariably do...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoPower of the four musketeers
A common theme of last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals was the influence of the four scrum-halves, the catalysts of teams that...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoDavies the leading light in Welsh quartet
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Four international fly-halves took flight from Wales last year, understandably so given the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoWhen Goodall was the bigger man
Ken Goodall shall forever be remembered as one of Ireland‘s greatest back row forwards, a humble man with a freakish talent...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years ago50 years ago, the Lions start to sweat
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER At the start of the year, this column...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoGB face Monaco battle for Olympic decider
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER ANY rugby tourist, or indeed anybody who finds themselves in striking distance of Monaco, should consider looking...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoDon’t only blame RFU for lack of confidence
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME IT WAS interesting to read last week’s comments by Simon Halliday in...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoI may sell Toulon for €1 – Lemaitre
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A matter of weeks after ProD2 strugglers Biarritz were sold for €1, Toulon owner Bernard Lemaitre suggested...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoWales will be caught out if Carre steps up
Rhys Carre’s imminent exit from the Arms Park comes at the end of a season when Wales steadfastly ignored him while...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoQuins have to climb very steep mountain
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK WHEN Harlequins face Toulouse this afternoon in their first European Cup semi-final in south-west...
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoRFU’s still killing the dreams of investors
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The RFU’s indecision is final. It does not know what to do about...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoDon’t put Dickson in that position
If the Karl Dickson furore in the Harlequins v Northampton clash last weekend at Twickenham tells us anything, it is that...
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Features
/ 2 years agoWithout referees, there is no game
Paul Rees looks at the pressures on the men and women in the middle and asks what can be done to...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoLouis has sights set on Kansas gold rush
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW The latest phase of his footballing reincarnation took Louis Rees-Zammit to a school...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoDelighted to see Titans stand tall
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There are some teams you grow particularly attached...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoStorti brings season to an end in style
Portugal wing Raffaele Storti may have made a slow start to the season but he has been making up for it...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoThe ringfence which is encouraging open play
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME THERE have been a few articles written about how the Premiership has...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoBiarritz’s fight for survival goes on
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Ten days ago, under-new-management ProD2 strugglers Biarritz gave themselves what looked a lot like a crucial safety...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoTime for Saints to be true to themselves
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK THE contest between the 9-10 pairings of Leinster’s Jamison Gibson-Park and Ross Byrne and...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoLeinster’s workload merits little sympathy
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK LEINSTER are worried about the pressure that could prevent them from winning a...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCrunch time for red lines
The crunch is coming as negotiations between the Championship and the RFU/Premiership over promotion-relegation intensify, with the Premiership ring-fence moratorium finishing...
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Club Rugby
/ 2 years agoKick off with Cup
The Papa Johns Cup has staggered into its second season with almost as many walk-overs as matches played, despite an increase...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoThe boys down west who know how to win
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED The way they see it down Exeter way, only one team is flying the flag for the...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoThe day Sir John picked up the bill
Steve Diamond always had a way with words – some of his stories concerning Danny Cipriani during the wayward outside-half ’s...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoWales on a mission to survive or decline
Paul Rees asks whether the country which has won 12 Grand Slams can still afford to run four regional sides A...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 years agoWales no longer the big shots
The schedule of 21 Tests over five weekends in November offers renewed evidence of the spiralling gap between Ireland and Wales....
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoAwayday struggles
Having endured more than their share of hard times in following a club which once described itself in all immodesty as...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years ago‘Ireland in blue’ will provide stiffest test
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Phil Dowson and Leo Cullen first crossed paths in European action 10 seasons...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years ago35 years on and Tim’s charity still full of hope
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER If you believe rugby is the ultimate team sport – which I still do – it is...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoPGP deal is nothing but a waste of time
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME I can't help thinking that the new Professional Game Partnership (PGP) is...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoRecord crowds flock to matches
JAMES HARRINGTON - FRENCH COLUMN More people than ever are flocking through the turnstiles of Top 14 and ProD2 matches, according...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoBarrett’s Leinster move seems strange to me
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK JORDIE Barrett’s signing by Leinster on a six-month contract from December until the end...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland must take Quins pair to NZ
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WILL Collier and Fin Baxter have been showered with praise following Harlequins epic...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoBan teams who pick reserves for knock-out stages
The Bulls are not the first outfit to undermine the European Cup by picking an understrength team, with some French clubs...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEnvious eyes fall on Leinster’s recruits
Leinster's ability to cherry-pick two of the 2023 World Cup final’s biggest stars, signing All Black centre Jordie Barrett to augment...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoRobertson will cash in on Barrett move
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED LOOKING at it from Leinster’s point of view, the signing of the world’s best inside centre is...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoTry-fest with big issues below the surface
The Paris Games, more formally known as the XXXIII Olympiad, are almost upon us and the Rugby Sevens schedule is full...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoOutsiders aiming for a place in the final
Paul Rees looks ahead to the Champions Cup semi-finals where Quins and Saints are facing an uphill battle BEFORE this season’s...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoLion who enjoyed a taste of Italy
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW ANDREA Gazzi’s grave lies on the Inner Hebridean island of Islay, a long...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoBarrett, the man for every occasion
As a centre-three-quarter par excellence, there is nothing Jordie Barrett cannot do. Nobody in his position can truck it up the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoThe Sheriff will be sorely missed
PETER JACKSON The gods played a dirty trick in denying Ken Owens a farewell appearance for his beloved Wales and...
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