Ironmen show steely side for victory No.7

By SIMON ROBERTS Llandovery............. 16 Merthyr....................26 Merthyr kept their hopes of a play-off place in the Premiership alive with this impressive...

Foursome Saunders leads try rampage

Division One round-up By TRP REPORTER LLANGENNECH went on the rampage as they ran in 16 tries in their 106-10 win...

Priestland undecided if he will continue playing next season

Rhys Priestland will not be looking at his phone every few minutes this week to see whether he has been picked...

Pearce takes job at Titans after exit from Hull

By JON NEWCOMBE Gary Pearce has been appointed as head coach of Rotherham following his departure from Hull. Pearce, 62, is...

Triple top! Galthie has tough ‘to-do’ list

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Delight: Fabien Galthie celebrates beating England to secure the 2022 Grand Slam PICTURE: Getty Images FRANCE coach...

Champions Cup Friday and Saturday preview

It’s an incredibly busy Friday and Saturday in the Heineken Champions Cup, with nine fixtures over the next two days as...

Challenge Cup Friday and Saturday preview

With two Welsh sides currently dominating both of the European Challenge Cup‘s 12-team pools, it’s a busy Friday and Saturday as...

Moody defiant in battle against brain tumours

Lewis Moody shared the inspiration and goals of his charity as they continue their goal of raising awareness in the fight...

Davidson makes history in Scarlets vs Cheetahs

Scotland‘s Hollie Davidson is set to lead the first ever all-female officiating team in a men’s European rugby match this Friday....

Ireland and France – Top Favorites to win the 2023 Six Nations

The annual rugby competition known as Six Nations gathers more and more interest among sports fans. The six participating nations –...

Removals near me: getting the best deals off the market

Moving can be an overwhelming and stressful experience. As a result, a lot of people usually hire extra hands to lessen...

Season 2 Episode 1 – Picking an England XV with Lewis Moody

Happy new year! The Rugby Paper Podcast is back for its second season, and at the turn of World Cup year,...

What to expect from Guinness Six Nations hospitality experiences at Twickenham Stadium

The 2023 Guinness Six Nations is a historic tournament globally recognised for its rivalries and passionate supporters. It is hard to...

Six Nations 2023: England with a point to prove under Borthwick

England head into the 2023 Six Nations tournament with a major point to prove ahead of their bid to win the...

Farrell’s Six Nations in jeopardy after citing

Owen Farrell‘s hopes of playing an influential role in this year’s Six Nations are in jeopardy after he was cited for...

Sale stretch gap in second with superb wet weather win

Harlequins…………….16 Tries: Marchant 42, David 74 Penalties: Allan 5, 31 Sale Sharks……………24 Tries: O’Flaherty 18, Du Preez 24, van der Merwe...

Wales flier targets England showdown

By PETER JACKSON Louis Rees-Zammit is backing himself to be fit for Wales’ biggest match of the Six Nations – England...

Baxter: We’ll go in hard against Bulls

By PAUL REES Exeter will be at full strength next weekend when they face the Bulls in Pretoria as they look...

Plea for RFU to honour pre-Covid funding plan

By LUKE JARMYN Nottingham are calling for the RFU to agree an increase in Championship clubs central funding next season in...

Chessum still keen to make England mark

By PAUL REES Ollie Chessum would love to continue working with Steve Borthwick in the England set up but says his...

McCall: No contact over Peel so far

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall says there has been no contact from England with his scrum coach Ian Peel amid...

Borthwick calls up Evans

England have appointed Nick Evans as attack coach on a short-term deal for the 2023 Six Nations. Harlequins coach Evans comes...

Haywood out to end his days on a high at Saints

By PAUL REES Mike Haywood is one of Northampton’s longest serving players and hopes to finish his career at the club...

Sanderson backing Ford for England

By JON NEWCOMBE On form: George Ford scoring a try for England against Scotland PICTURE: Getty Images Alex Sanderson is confident...

Maunder: French leavers a big blow

By JON NEWCOMBE Exeter scrum-half Sam Maunder admits the departure of their England stars at the end of the season will...

New Year honour for chairman Rowe

Exeter chairman and chief executive Tony Rowe has been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to...

Powers that be must think of spectators

SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO: The Rugby Paper, Tuition House, St Georges Road, Wimbledon SW19 4EU email: newsdesk@therugbypaper.co.uk CAN the people that...

Bath hope Russell can be catalyst for success

By GARY FITZGERALD Finn Russell has “bought into the Bath dream” according to the man hoping the mercurial Scotsman can help...

Marler seems like a dinosaur in our modern game

I CAN’T help wondering after watching the Harlequins versus Bristol match what Joe Marler has to do before a serious punishment,...

Top marks to Saints… and Luke Pearce

AT LAST World Rugby has pushed for speeding up the game, and in last Sunday’s match between Northampton and Quins, it...

Dream Team with Paul Hill

Paul Hill, the Northampton Saints, England and former Leeds prop, chooses the best XV he has played with or against 1....

Gatland must find new blood up front

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK WARREN Gatland has been very successful throughout his coaching career, and it would be...

Ruthless Chiefs are too sharp for Saints

By PAUL REES Exeter ................................ 35pts Tries: S Simmonds 2, Woodburn 15, Cowan-Dickie 28, 44; Slade 56 Conversions: J Simmonds 3,...

Hooker’s injury a scare for England

Luke Cowan-Dickie gave Steve Borthwick an early injury worry when he limped off in the second-half after rolling his ankle. “I...

Carreras helps to demolish Leicester

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Newcastle........................ 45pts Tries: Carreras 13, 35, 37; Chick 27, Blamire 52, Moroni 74 Conversions: Connon 14, 36, 38,...

Walder: We flew out of the blocks

Newcastle Falcons boss Dave Walder was understandably delighted with his team’s performance. “That’s three wins in our last three home league...

Borthwick sees the two sides of Farrell

By TOM BRADSHAW Gloucester ........................ 16pts Tries: Thorley 16 Conversions: Carreras 17 Penalties: Carreras 36, 45, 73 Saracens ........................... 19pts Tries:...

McCall: We competed and scrapped for everything all the way

Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, hailed his side’s tenacity as they extended their lead at the summit of the...

England need scrum firing on all cylinders

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Here is a New Year prediction. The scrum will be hugely influential in...

Time to ban the curse of the caterpillar

NICK CAIN The stop-watches are in play with a view to speeding-up the game by putting time limits on goal-kickers, setting...

Flannery: We need to get back on right track

By BEN JAYCOCK PREVIEW... Harlequins v Sale Today. Kick-off 3pm, Twickenham Stoop Harlequins coach Jerry Flannery is looking for a reaction...

Sharks keen to build on record win over Leicester

By JON NEWCOMBE Fit and firing: Manu Tuilagi caused Tigers problems LAST season’s thumping 36-14 win over Harlequins at the Twickenham...

Home comforts key to Irish challenge

By PAUL REES PREVIEW... London Irish v Bristol Today. Kick-off 3pm, Brentford Community Stadium Benhard Janse van Rensburg believes home comforts...

Rejuvenated Bears believe they can still make playoffs

By PAUL REES Leading the way: Ellis Genge scores in the 40-36 win over Irish in September BRISTOL exorcised a ghost...

Gatland has great chance to make a big difference

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND It was a pleasant and pretty reassuring sight seeing Warren Gatland back in the stands...

Rhyno makes Ulster suffer

By KEVIN FALLON Benetton ........ 31 Ulster ...............29 Ulster's mid-season crisis deepened when they fell to a fifth defeat in six...

Misery for Cardiff as Scarlets triumph

By ROGER PANTING Cardiff .................22pts Tries: Faletau 35, Carre 48, Adams 63 Conversions: Evans 35, 48 Penalties: Evans 2 Scarlets ..............28pts...

Leaders Leinster fight back to deny Ospreys

By ANDREW ROBERTS Ospreys ............. 19pts Tries: Giles 15 Conversions: C Evans 16 Penalties: C Evans 11, 43, 54, 73 Leinster...............

Warriors keen to measure progress

Preview Glasgow v Stormers Today. Kick-off 3pm FRANCO Smith says his Warriors are ready for the challenge against the defending champions...

Edinburgh dig in to avoid upset

By BRYN PALMER Edinburgh ...... 24 Zebre ................ 17 EDINBURGH survived a major scare as Paddy Harrison’s late try earned an...