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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoWhen I was hit, I used to smile
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME With the World Cup finally over and an outcome that was half...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoStade set bar high in bid for new start
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The Laurent Labit-Karim Ghezal era at Stade Francais officially starts here – and the talk around Stade...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoBrilliant Boks are worthy champions
BRENDAN GALLAGHER So they have only gone and done it! South Africa have become the first team to win four World...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoKamikaze Kids in unison once again
BRENDAN GALLAGHER OK, it wasn’t a cracker but nor was this play-off game a dud. In a tournament marked by a...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoBorthwick needs to rebuild England pack
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK IT was a well executed England game-plan against South Africa in the semi-final, but...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoBorthwick has tough decisions to make
PAUL REES FOURTH in the Six Nations, third in the World Cup. Redemption rather than progress for England given the pool...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoEngland will struggle to replace Marler and Cole
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Here is a prediction. England will not win another World Cup, or Six...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWhy wait until 2030? Get this contest going now
The closed-shop in international rugby union was reinforced this week after the second coming of the Nations Championship was announced by...
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Rugby World Cup
/ 2 years agoVillage teams which gave stars their start
SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND WHEN the Principality Stadium crowd rises to salute Leigh Halfpenny as he makes his final...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoIt’s time to decide who we really are
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED JUST the other day, during a sandstorm stoppage at a Cricket World Cup match, the commentators on...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoChoosing the right word is not easy
CHRIS HEWETT Does language matter? We are not talking Bongi Mbonambi-Tom Curry here, although no one should underestimate the importance of...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoSmall steps, but it may be a quiet revolution
Paul Rees is pleased to see World Rugby introduce three changes which will help grow the global game World Rugby is...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoWhy we won’t see the likes of this victory again
What the planned changes will not do is revive the old-fashioned international tour that used to be a feature of the...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years ago‘Pence’, the most humble superstar
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW When the curtain comes down on his international career next Saturday, Leigh Halfpenny...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoFinal bow for these veterans
PETER JACKSON Now that the World Cup has come and gone, so, too, has a distinguished team of veterans with matching...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years ago60 years on and what a day it was!
PETER JACKSON Monday marks the 60th anniversary of surely the greatest single act of giant-killing by a club team against the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoEngland’s finest right to the end
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Now here’s a little in-house admission. A couple...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoLagisquet’s effort cannot be ignored
RUGBY MATTERS World Rugby could desperately do with an injection of PR savvy not to mention a certain generosity of spirit....
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English Championship
/ 2 years agoCoventry show how it should be done…
Paul Smith takes a look at rugby values...and which club in particular is walking the walk while England talk the talk...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoEngland missed their big chance
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME I can't help thinking the disappointment that is currently being felt by...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoWe’re all set for the real start to season
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TODAY, as fans get their breaths back after the Rugby World Cup final and the end of...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoEngland go with heads held high
PAUL REES England did everything but win. They were ahead after two minutes and held on to the lead until there...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoPaying the price of a lopsided draw
BRENDAN GALLAGHER And there, ladies and gentlemen, we can see the mortal danger of having such a lopsided draw. We may...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoBorthwick must plot his own course
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK FOR the first time in a long time all four quarter-final games were outstanding...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoOne-sided victory is nothing to celebrate
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK TONY Rowe is one of the most vociferous of the Premiership owners, and...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoCoventry show the right spirit
NICK CAIN If you were looking for an example of the true spirit of the game look no further than Coventry’s...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoWhy take off key players?
NICK CAIN The main factor in France being edged out by South Africa in last weekend’s quarter-final classic was that there...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoNext time, Dupont will take what is his
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED DID the spirit of rugby romance go to meet its maker in the immediate aftermath of the...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoKolbe’s magic hidden from view
CHRIS HEWETT AMONG the many mysteries of this World Cup –Why isn’t Patrice Lagisquet coaching a competitive nation? Why doesn’t Ben...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoGatland’s decison to stay is best news of all
SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND THERE’S just a week to go at the Rugby World Cup in France and you’d...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoCurtain falls on dynamic duo
Paul Rees sees Johnny Sexton and Dan Biggar exit stage left as their epic international careers come to a close ALL...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoTop teams getting too far ahead
The World Cup kicked off to a barrage of complaints about the draw for the groups, which was made three years...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoPut Kolbe fast show on the big TV screen
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Seven days on, Thomas Ramos will still be kicking himself over falling victim...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoJohnny should be OK by 2051
Sean Fitzpatrick, suitably jubilant over the All Blacks’ gigantic win over Ireland, offered Johnny Sexton some sobering advice on how long...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoWhy the final step is often one too many
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER If I had a fiver for every time...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoPleased Dickson made the right call
Did you, like me, cheer inwardly when Karl Dickson could be heard on comms explaining that not all hits to the...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoGood to see England leading northern light
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME WHO would have believed it? England the only Northern hemisphere team to...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoI’m going nowhere, promises Galthie
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN "I have a contract that runs until June 2028, so no.” That was France head coach Fabien...
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Shane Williams
/ 2 years agoThe only way is up for this team
SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND IF IT was all a bit of a let down in the end, let’s not...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoSorry end for Sexton and his band of brothers as they fall short yet again
BRENDAN GALLAGHER No No No. Not again surely? After 36 years of trying to win a quarter-final Ireland have fallen short...
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Jeremy Guscott
/ 2 years agoEngland must get best out of Smith
JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK STEVE Borthwick does not have a lot of choice when it comes to selecting...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoThe twin pillars of England’s rebuild
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ollie Chessum and Marcus Smith play with such enthusiasm when they pull on...
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Nick Cain
/ 2 years agoTime to discover if spine is strong
NICK CAIN One of the oldest methods of assessing the strength of a team is to look at the 2-8-9-10-15 positions...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoOne Goon show we could all do without
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED It is just about possible, if you’re seriously odd, to imagine that Dan Cole might stand a...
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Chris Hewett
/ 2 years agoTravelling coast to coast is a delight
CHRIS HEWETT A good many moons ago, this column identified the No.14 shirt as the latest cutting-edge fashion garment in the...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoA French-inspired XV to take on the world
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points The ProD2 Twitter account – sorry X account...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoWhy do Aussies let so many escape?
RUGBY MATTERS The problems facing Australian Rugby are many and numerous but a largely unmentioned issue would appear to be letting...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoRegions facing a battle to stay afloat
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW ACCORDING to the official blurb, Wales’ match against the Barbarians next month is...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoHistory backing France
PETER JACKSON For reasons that defy all logic, France have never failed to reach a World Cup final once every 12...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoBlocking out the noise
PETER JACKSON The Springboks have been warming up for tonight’s semi-final against France to the overpowering sound of an ecstatic Gallic...
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