Pivac must make bold calls to stop Welsh slide

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Since taking charge of Wales after the last World Cup, Wayne Pivac has...

Ripley breaks England drought against Wales

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

Note to Eddie: Freddie is flying

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER I’M not sure why I should do Eddie Jones’ job while he is off moonlighting in Japan...

Three areas where rugby could grow

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Sussex success stories: Joe Marler, left, and Marcus...

Dream start for England turned into a nightmare

MY LIFE IN RUGBY TOM VARNDELL THE FORMER LEICESTER, WASPS, BRISTOL AND ENGLAND WINGER Record breaker: Tom Varndell, playing for Bristol,...

Eddie’s the best, he’s a World Cup specialist

PAUL REES TALKS TO FORMER ENGLAND FLANKER JAMES HASKELL ABOUT THE CALLS FOR EDDIE JONES’ HEAD James Haskell laughs when asked...

It’s winner takes all on Super Saturday

ROCKY CLARK ENGLAND’S MOST CAPPED PLAYER AND WORLD CUP WINNER England and France are leading the way and it’s all set...

France cruise to their fourth bonus win

By PAUL EDDISON Wales ................5 France ............33 FRANCE will welcome England to Bayonne next week with a Grand Slam in mind...

Sillari inspires Italy to maiden victory

By JOSH GRAHAM Italy ..........................20 Scotland ....................13 ITALY won their first game of the 2022 TikTok Women’s Six Nations as a...

Superstar Scarratt brings her ton up

By ALEC McQUARRIE PREVIEW... England v Ireland Today. Kick-off 12pm, Welford Road IT’S set to be a special homecoming for Emily...

Rampant Chiefs claim first silverware

ALLIANZ CUP FINAL By HARRY SCOTT-MUNRO Exeter ..............57 Harlequins ......12 EXETER Chiefs showed just how far they had come in the...

Boyd urges authorities to address fixture gap

By PAUL REES CHRIS Boyd has challenged the authorities to sort out a fixture list that will leave some Premiership clubs...

Sheeran’s show is hindering Munster’s advance

CHRIS HEWETT EVEN in a world of surprises, it would be quite something for an Ipswich Town football nut to drive...

Streamline Champions Cup -don’t just dilute it

CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST What bright spark invented this game of ours? The creation myth tells us it was a hoity-toity...

DREAM TEAM

JAMES STOKES, THE LONDON IRISH FULL-BACK AND FORMER COVENTRY AND CAMBRIDGE PLAYER CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH AND...

Lancaster loving Leinster but won’t rule out England return

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER STUART Lancaster admits it would be hard to leave Leinster after being mentioned as...

Tigers aim to tie down Montoya

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER LEICESTER Tigers have opened talks with Argentina hooker Julian Montoya in an attempt to...

Falcons sound out Simpson about move north

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Kingsholm exit? Joe Simpson JOE Simpson still has another year left to run on...

France preferred choice for Eden

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER JERSEY appear to have missed out on signing Bristol fly-half Tiff Eden, one of...

Wilson lines up return to Falcons

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER WHISPERS are that there will be more changes to the Newcastle coaching staff. Blindside...

Sharks get pay-out for Springbok stars

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER SALE pocketed significant six-figure fees for Springbok World Cup-winning stars Faf De Klerk and...

14-man Scots scrape home

By GARY HEATLY Edinburgh ......29 Zebre ..............26 SOMETIMES you have to win ugly and Edinburgh did just that against Zebre Parma,...

Carty kicks Connacht to gutsy win in Jo’burg

By JOHN FALLON Lions........................30 Connacht ..............33 JACK Carty nailed a penalty two minutes from time to claim a superb win for...

Leinster’s push for top spot held up by Sharks

By KEVIN FALLON Sharks ....................28 Leinster..................23 CHAMPIONS Leinster missed out on the opportunity to secure top spot in the URC when...

Lousi stars as Scarlets hit Dragons for six

By STEFFAN THOMAS Dragons..............19pts Tries: Dixon 35, J Williams 50, Warren 61 Conversions: S Davies 35, 62 Scarlets ............38pts Tries: Lousi...

250 up! AWJ gets it right this time

By ROB COLE Cardiff ..................6pts Tries: Priestland 28, 44 Ospreys ............22pts Tries: Lake 54, Webb 61, Parry 66 Conversions: Anscombe 55,...

Second half scores spare Bulls blushes

Bulls ........................46 Benetton ................29 THE Bulls scored six tries to claim a bonus point win over Benetton to bolster their URC...

Tyro back row Kendellen leads Munster charge

By JOHN FALLON Ulster ......................17 Munster ................24 ACADEMY back rower Alex Kendellen led the way as Munster powered to their first...

Warriors crash to four-try defeat

By GARY HEATLY Stormers ........32 Glasgow ............7 GLASGOW Warriors were blown away in the last 50 minutes in Cape Town on...

Danger of Planet Rugby spinning out of control

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND All of a sudden it feels as though the game of rugby is getting more...

Top tackler Earl relishing test against a ‘proper team’

Motivated: Ben Earl BEN Earl says Saracens will be motivated by finishing in the top two and ensuring a home tie...

Proving the doubters wrong fuels Vermeulen

By PAUL REES PREVIEW... Saracens v Exeter Today. Kick-off 3pm, StoneX Stadium EXETER have played in the last six Premiership finals,...

Shake up tired Six Nations fixture list

NICK CAIN THE Six Nations chief executive, Ben Morel, is not slow to pat himself on the back, over-hyping the last...

‘Yellow card cost us two scores’

NEWCASTLE d irector of rugby Dean Richards said the firsthalf yellow card changed the game. He said: “They scored twice during...

Six-try Exiles keep play-off dream alive

By BEN JAYCOCK Newcastle ........14pts Tries: Robinson 19, Stevenson 40 Conversions: Hodgson 20, 40 London Irish ....42pts Tries: Rowe 16, Tuisue...

Bristol deliver on Lam’s call to action

PAT Lam revealed he held a mass club meeting ahead of the derby in order to instill passion in a season...

Gloucester denied by Fricker’s late double

By TOM BRADSHAW Bristol ................29pts Tries: Thacker 3, Uren 7, Fricker 68, 79 Conversions: Sheedy 4, 8, 69 Penalties: Sheedy 11...

We’ll be going flat out in every single game, says Blackett

WASPS boss Lee Blackett firmly believes his squad can still claim end-ofseason glory. “We’ve got two competitions and we will be...

Atkinson’s style puts Wasps on right road

By ROB WILDMAN Wasps ................41pts Tries: West 4, Bassett 31, Stooke 53, Oghre 63, 79, T Willis 80 Conversions: Gopperth 4,...

Lions trio fighting to save their careers

By PETER JACKSON WALES must wait another six months to discover whether three of their all time greats can save their...

Adopt NFL model at elite level – Haskell

By PAUL REES RUGBY should look to American football and make the professional game self-contained with an emphasis on quality and...

What to find in Sunday’s The Rugby Paper

The Rugby Paper returns this Sunday as we turn our focus to the Premiership run-in as the race for the play-offs...

Young English players who could break into the national team before the 2023 World Cup

The 2023 World Cup is now less than 18 months away, and after a lacklustre Six Nations performance, England head coach...

Ealing withdraw Premiership appeal

Ealing Trailfinders have withdrawn their appeal of the RFU‘s decision to not grant them promotion to the Gallagher Premiership. The RFU...

Beno Obano’s latest documentary – “Prep To Win: Harlequins”

Ahead of his latest Amazon Prime documentary “Prep To Win: Harlequins”, Beno Obano believes it is crucial content around the sport...

Newcastle Falcons v London Irish: Philip van der Walt returns for Falcons

Philip van der Walt returns from injury as Newcastle Falcons make six changes for Friday’s visit of London Irish in the...

Bristol Bears v Gloucester: Bears make six changes to starting XV

Steven Luatua returns to captain the Bristol Bears in Friday night’s West Country derby clash with Gloucester. Gloucester coach George Skivington...

Dragons announce signing of versatile New Zealand back Sio Tomkinson

Dragons have announced the signing of versatile New Zealand back Sio Tomkinson. Known for his hard-tackling and range of skills, Tomkinson...

Ospreys prop Tom Botha signs two-year contract extension

Ospreys prop Tom Botha has signed a two-year contract extension at the region. The South African-born tighthead prop joined the Ospreys...

The Premiership returns with a big match on Sunday

So, after a long break for the Eurocups, the Premiership returns to stadiums and TV screens. The tournament kicks off on...