Stop portraying Sarries as victims

PAUL Rees’ article in last week’s TRP states “it was Saracens desire to do right by their players that took them...

Borthwick shows he has the edge

COLIN BOAG What did you make of the Premiership final? I thought it was enthralling, and epitomised everything that’s great about...

Playing Farrell at 12 could cause trouble for England

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK The relevance of England’s game against the Barbarians is that it was an opportunity...

England need to rewrite the script quickly

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The roll call for England’s three-Test tour of Australia reads as follows: two...

Wallabies won’t beat us like this, insists Jones

By BEN JAYCOCK England ........21pts Tries: Cokanasiga 36, May 51, Smith 60 Penalties: Smith 16, 34 Barbarians ..52pts Tries: Penalty 19,...

Moroni joins his Pumas pals at Falcons

NEWS EXTRA NEWCASTLE Falcons have signed Premiership winner Matias Moroni from Leicester Tigers. The 31-year-old centre, who has 43 Argentina caps...

Quins take top spot for live TV coverage

Jon Newcombe crunches the numbers and finds out who was the biggest ‘turn on’ in the Premiership It will come as...

Crusaders revive the dying art of rucking

CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST The former England captain Phil de Glanville will continue as “Senior Professional Game Board Representative”, according to...

McLennan riled Kiwis – but he has a point

THIS week’s “cat amongst the pigeons” award goes to Hamish McLennan, chairman of Rugby Australia and newly-appointed leader of the Wallaby...

Dazzling French too strong for battling Irish

By BEN JAYCOCK France ..............42pts Tries: Labarthe 16, Gailleton 18, Depoortere 47, Montgaillard 70, 78 Conversions: Auriac 18, 18, 46, 48...

Concern for England as Baby Boks take charge

By BEN JAYCOCK England ............22pts Tries: Stewart 9, Ilione 58, Oresanya 79 Conversions: Smith 10, 59 Penalties: Smith 50 South Africa...

Working with Cowan-Dickie will help my game, says Burrows

By STEFFAN THOMAS Ambitious: Oli Burrows OLI BURROWS hopes working with England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie can help him on his journey...

Wales turn on the power to smash seven past Scotland

By BEN JAYCOCK Scotland ............15pts Tries: Hiddleston 20, Harrison 56, 78 Wales ................45pts Tries: Andrew 2, Barratt 16, Fackrell 24, Houston...

Young Guns: Francois Carlo Mey – Italy U20s and Clermont Centre

Italian rugby may be unearthing its latest young star as Clermont bound Francois Carlo Mey hopes to continue his stellar form...

Dallas want Ford to drive changes

MIKE Ford has been mentioned in dispatches from the United States as a possible target for the Major League Rugby flops...

Top 14 clubs in pursuit of Du Preez brothers

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEILFISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler Sale forwards Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez are on the...

Warriors sweat on Deano amid American interest

GLASGOW are sweating to see if former Newcastle boss Dean Richards, their first choice to replace Danny Wilson at Scotstoun, will...

Thompson goes back to Falcons

MATT Thompson is set to return to his former club Newcastle Falcons this summer as part of the club’s new-look backroom...

Dream Team

JAMES GASKELL, THE FORMER WASPS AND SALE SHARKS LOOSE FORWARD, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST 1....

Question is: Where are Wales mentally?

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND The first moment of truth of the summer for Welsh rugby comes at Loftus Versfeld...

Pride of the Premiership

Paul Rees selects his team of the season – with a nod to those who came close FULL-BACK: Freddie Steward (Leicester)...

Four Irishmen join the South African all-stars

By BEN JAYCOCK THE Stormers lifted the inaugural United Rugby Championship as they saw off the Bulls 18-13 in an all-South...

Crusaders and Blues share spoils in dream team

THE Crusaders outclassing the Blues to claim their sixth piece of silverware in as many years with the inaugural Super Rugby...

My countrymen are proving their worth

NEIL DE KOCK FORMER SARACENS AND SOUTH AFRICA SCRUM-HALF South African players were key protagonists in this season’s Gallagher Premiership with...

European sides need to rise to the SA challenge

BY NEIL DE KOCK If you had said after the first six weeks of the competition that the Stormers would be...

England prepare warm-up

ENGLAND will play two international matches in September in preparation for October's Women's Rugby World Cup. The Red Roses will play...

Scots girls to go pro

SCOTLAND’S national women's rugby team will turn professional later this year, with a minimum of 30 players offered contracts. The Scottish...

‘I’m very passionate, I don’t like watching’

Claudia MacDonald tells Ben Jaycock how she’s desperate to regain her fitness and return to action Claudia MacDonald thought she just...

Crowley set to enjoy Italy’s ‘Blue summer’

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points After that brilliant last-minute win over Wales in...

Kruis kick takes me right back to Ringo

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER IT wasn’t just that giant former England lock George Kruis had the effrontery to kick a backheeled...

‘I wish Conor had been in charge when I was at Quins’

MY LIFE IN RUGBY - LUKE SHERRIFF THE FORMER HARLEQUINS AND NOTTINGHAM FLANKER AND ENGLAND 7S INTERNATIONAL So, maybe the first...

Au Revoir, Arrivederci, Hywl Fawr, Goodbye…

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW At close of business on Friday, 40 Test players boasting a collective stack...

The Cardiff cavalier who failed to make the Exiles laugh

AS footballing cavaliers go, Mark Ring of Cardiff and Wales belonged to the Premier League long before anyone had heard of...

Mystery still over Amanda Blanc affair

THE Amanda Blanc Affair will remain unresolved until the Welsh Rugby Union get round to answer questions raised by her abrupt...

Pumas finally end their long wait for silverware

CURRIE CUP PUMAS fans were crying tears of joy at the fulltime whistle as their long wait for their first major...

PMs, chefs, and a whole lot of history in between

We kick off our new Club of the Week series with Streatham and Croydon who have been celebrating their 150th anniversary...

Old Boys are a proper club, I have so much to be thankful for, says Probyn

AMONGST the most illustrious Streatham and Croydon Old Boys is none other than England prop and Rugby Paper columnist Jeff Probyn...

Deans: Drua can be major force in the future

NEWS EXTRA ■By BEN JAYCOCK FORMER Crusaders head coach Robbie Deans reckpons newcomers Fijian Drua are the best start-up in Super...

England are class above at Budapest Sevens

ENGLAND women made it two tournament wins from two in Budapest last weekend as they followed their Zagreb triumph with another...

Davies in the dock

SARACENS' Wales scrumhalf Aled Davies is facing a ban after admitting a charge of dangerous tackling in Saturday's Premiership final loss...

Top pair clash on opening weekend

■By BEN JAYCOCK Champions: Ealing Trailfinders celebrate winning the league last season PICTURE: PRiME Media Images THE top two in last...

Hull ace Humberstone bows out as a winner

■By BEN JAYCOCK Hot shot: Simon Humberstone kicks a penalty for Hull Inset, winning the league title Having played the sport...

McCarthy ‘really happy I told my team-mates I was gay’

LEINSTER scrum-half Nick McCarthy revealed he had considered quitting the sport as he did not think he could come out as...

‘Turnover king’ Will looking for a new challenge

FRUSTARTED by a lack of gametime at Cardiff, turnover specialist Will Boyde decided to leave the club and become a free...

Thousands gather to say farewell to Benny

Peter Jackson at Parc y Scarlets for Phil Bennett’s memorial service The 440-mile drive there and back took him all of...

A rugby tale: From the sublime to the ridiculous

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Well, what an end to the season with two games of stark...

French penchant for ill discipline strikes again

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful Iconic Rugby...

All eyes on Mercer as he rules in Paris

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There’s no doubt the better side won Friday’s Top 14 final. Montpellier’s 29-10 win over Castres at...

New York crowned champions of America

RUGBY United New York won their first ever Major League Rugby title as they beat the Seattle Seawolves 30-15 at the...

Best leaving Knights in search of a new home

■By BEN JAYCOCK In the hope of setting himself up for life after rugby, Mark Best has decided to find a...