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Columnists
/ 1 month agoPeter Jackson: Will Jordan’s phenomenal try-scoring feat for All Blacks is Bob Beamon-esque
Peter Jackson traces the evolution of Test rugby’s greatest try scorers and explains why Will Jordan’s breathtaking race to 50 tries...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 months agoChris Hewett: France’s battalion of centres is unmatched
Chris Hewett believes France’s extraordinary depth at centre gives Fabien Galthie a decisive edge ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Tommy Freeman deserves a decent run at 13 for England
Nick Cain argues England must stick with Tommy Freeman at outside centre, insisting Steve Borthwick’s stop-start handling of the Northampton Saints...
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Features
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: England put on a show to take the heat off Steve Borthwick – for now
England produced a ruthless 11-try display to ease the pressure on Steve Borthwick, but Paul Rees warns the head coach’s problems...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoJeremy Guscott: England chief Steve Borthwick must start with Henry Pollock against Argentina
Jeremy Guscott calls for Steve Borthwick to unleash Henry Pollock from the start against Argentina, warning England must rediscover their energy...
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Features
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: Nations Championship has to deliver for rugby to grow
Paul Rees says the new Nations Championship is rugby’s biggest opportunity to grow the game globally – but only if it...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: John Bevan’s story comes to vivid life on stage
Brendan Gallagher applauds the new stage production celebrating the life of dual-code great John Bevan and says rugby has no shortage...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: When Wales scrum-half Glyn Turner made the most of his Argentine trip
Peter Jackson looks back at Wales’ pioneering 1968 tour of Argentina, when scrum-half Glyn Turner seized his chance on the Test...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoBubble of unreality threatens England
SOMETIMES being in a backs-to-the-wall bubble can work for a team under pressure, but at other times ‘group-think’ can become an...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 months agoChris Hewett: Captain, my captain (but maybe not yours)
Chris Hewett explores what makes a great captain, arguing there is no single blueprint for leadership as he compares Ben Stokes...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: England’s headless chickens end up getting roasted
It was England’s first match since the review at the end of the Six Nations that pledged change without specifying what...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoJeremy Guscott: Test matches are the lifeblood of the game
Jeremy Guscott argues international rugby must remain the sport’s priority, defending the expanded Test schedule and the financial reality behind it.
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Excluding the Willis brothers is costing England
Nick Cain explores how England are harming themselves by excluding Jack and Tom Willis, urging the RFU to scrap its overseas...
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Miscellaneous
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Nations Championship gets off to a humdinger of a start
The Nations Championship naysayers – and there is an army of them – should take a look at the competition’s inaugural...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher watches six Nations Championship Tests in one day – here’s what happened
Brendan Gallagher settled down to watch six Nations Championship Test matches in a row. How did he find it? And did...
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Features
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: Louis Bielle-Biarrey leading a race to hit a century
Peter Jackson sees the French flyer reach 92 tries in his career so far as he takes a break ahead of...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 months agoChris Hewett: Champions Cup revamp sounds good to me
The most predictable story of the week concerned yet another revamp of the much-maligned, used-and-abused Champions Cup, which was once the...
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Features
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: Top 14 shows us how it’s done
Paul Rees looks back on Toulouse’s victory over Montpellier in the Top 14 final – and what it can teach the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: The time when Eddie Jones was on fire
Brendan Gallagher looks back on England’s historic 2016 series win in Australia, Eddie Jones’ finest hour and the decisions that shaped...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: Rhys Carre proves the WRU’s 25-cap rule is failing Wales
Peter Jackson examines Wales’ controversial 25-cap rule, Rhys Carre’s rise and whether the policy is helping or harming the national team’s...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Henry Pollock showing us all he’s the real deal
Henry Pollock has silenced the doubters – and he's only just getting started. Brendan Gallagher explains why England have a special...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: Anton Segner – The German loving life as an All Black
Anton Segner’s All Blacks call-up highlights rugby’s global reach as Peter Jackson explores the Nations Championship’s multinational squads.
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 months agoChris Hewett: When ‘record highs’ can be low on quality
Chris Hewett questions whether rugby’s growing number of one-sided finals and record scorelines signal a sport in danger of tipping the...
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Autumn Internationals
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: Nations Championship – North take on South in the battle for supremacy
Paul Rees previews World Rugby’s new 12-team tournament, the Nations Championship, which kicks off next weekend.
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoJeremy Guscott: England should give Maro Itoje a break – and no argument
Jeremy Guscott argues England should end the uncertainty and give Maro Itoje a summer rest after a demanding year for club...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: England still making the same mistakes
Nick Cain says England’s drab defeat to France exposed the same flaws that derailed their Six Nations campaign, leaving Steve Borthwick...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: It was a fitting end to James Lowe’s Ireland odyssey
Peter Jackson reflects on James Lowe’s emotional Leinster farewell, the contract dispute that ended his Ireland career and the challenge of...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Selling the soul of the ‘greatest rivalry’
Nick Cain questions the decision to stage the final South Africa v New Zealand Test in Baltimore, USA, arguing tradition and...
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Features
/ 2 months agoPaul Rees: Why Bath have many questions to answer
Paul Rees says Bath’s defeat to Exeter Chiefs was the biggest setback Johann van Graan has suffered since taking charge.
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Features
/ 2 months agoPeter Jackson: Paul Gustard pulls Stade Francais out of the red zone
Peter Jackson names the guilty – and not-so-guilty – when it comes to red, orange and yellow cards dished out this...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 months agoChris Hewett: Wayne Smith’s ‘new lab’ will be a revelation
Wayne Smith’s return to coaching is a welcome boost for rugby. Chris Hewett explains why the game still needs its great...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Exeter Chiefs’ revival an example to us all
Brendan Gallagher examines Exeter Chiefs’ remarkable revival and asks why Test coaches so often insist successful rebuilds must take years.
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 3 months agoJeremy Guscott: Why I’m right behind this new Nations Championship
The Nations Championship, which will be contested by the world’s top tier international teams for the first time this year, is...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: ‘Project Shaun Edwards’ must be activated
In the last week, in the absence of any formal statement from the French Federation de Rugby (FFR), or France head...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Super Northampton Saints at their swashbuckling best
Justice was done at a packed Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night when Northampton, the best team in the league over the...
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Features
/ 3 months agoPeter Jackson: Once again, Bordeaux are leaders of the attendance pack
During a season when the Pied Pipers of Bordeaux raised their average crowd towards an all-time high of 35,000, Leinster found...
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Chris Hewett
/ 3 months agoChris Hewett: Is Rugby World Cup expansion over-ambitious?
It would be nice to think that at some point this side of eternity, rugby will have created sufficient depth at...
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Chris Hewett
/ 3 months agoChris Hewett: It could be a golden age for our best refs in World Rugby
Good news from the shop window: rugby is doing right by its referees by picking the right referees.
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Peter Jackson
/ 3 months agoPeter Jackson: From death row to a born-again belief for the Ospreys
A sporting city which witnessed a team composed almost entirely of local cricketers beat Australia, not once but twice in the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 3 months agoGiorgi boy is setting a high bar for try scoring
GIORGI Melikidze did something in Paris a fortnight ago which barely caused as much as a ripple on this side of...
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Peter Jackson
/ 3 months agoFijian lock shows how to finish in style
THE botched contract deal which gave James Lowe a yen for joining Suntory Goliath instead of staying in Ireland on a...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoMy 15 to follow had some hits – but selection’s a tough game
THE regular season is done and it’s time to quickly review my eclectic 15 to follow which I offered up back...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Premiership Bonus point system just plain nonsense
I did take one last lingering look at the table this week to lodge it in my shell for recall if...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoPaul Williams: I, for one, am glad South African teams are in the URC
Paul Williams argues the presence of South African teams has improved the URC and that Welsh rugby’s problems run far deeper...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: RFU must move fast to sign up Shaun Edwards for England
Whether Shaun Edwards is in the process of disentangling himself from a French Federation contract which extends until 2028, or is...
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Features
/ 3 months agoPaul Rees: Will England grab the man of steel, Shaun Edwards?
Paul Rees considers whether Shaun Edwards may end up on Steve Borthwick’s staff if he parts company with France...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoJeremy Guscott: The rise of Bath is down to Roger Spurrell
The respect and affection for Roger Spurrell that has poured out since it was announced the inspirational former Bath captain and...
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Chris Hewett
/ 3 months agoChris Hewett: Yes, Nick, Afolabi Fasogbon deserves his chance with England
Chris Hewett argues England are missing a World Cup opportunity by overlooking Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon, whose rise could provide Steve...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoPeter Jackson: Stewart McKinney recalls his great old pal Fergus Slattery
Peter Jackson shares Stewart McKinney’s poignant memories of Fergus Slattery and the devastating toll dementia took on the Ireland and Lions...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 3 months agoBrendan Gallagher: Longer seasons don’t give us much in return
Brendan Gallagher argues that rugby’s domestic season has become longer despite featuring fewer meaningful matches than in the early years of...
