Percival nurtures the gorilla in everyone

JAMES Percival, former Harlequins and Worcester star lock, has used his playing highs and lows to launch an exciting new brand...

Passion of the fans got me hooked on my first outing

By WARREN MUGGLETON who is hosting the The National League Rugby Review Show My first experience of National League Rugby came...

National Leagues get online show to shine spotlight on 48 member clubs

NATIONAL League rugby is set for its own weekly highlights show, with part of the proceeds generated going back to its...

Lions will beat the over-rated Boks says Nick Easter

  FORMER England No.8 Nick Easter believes South Africa are over-rated and predicts a Lions series win. Easter, now defence coach at...

Lions will need to stage their own full-on scrum sessions

BRENDAN GALLAGHER VERDICT Possible bolter: Chris Harris LIONS trips to South Africa are glorious in so many ways but one or...

Gatland’s big decision is still about Farrell | Jeremy Guscott

THIS was a step up in performance from the game against Japan last weekend and that’s all head coach Warren Gatland...

Lions are criticised over Cowan-Dickie

THE Lions have been publicly rebuked for playing Luke Cowan-Dickie a mere seven days after he had been knocked-out at Twickenham....

Sigma Lions 14-56 Lions: ‘Warrenball’ no more as fluid Lions show flair

A RUNAWAY victory against markedly inferior opposition usually offers little value, but for Warren Gatland’s Lions every match in the build-up...

Team GB face Pool rematch with Fiji

Previous: Great Britain take on Fiji in 2016 Olympic final PICTURES: Getty Images SQUADS GB men: Dan Bibby, Alec Coombes, Alex...

Sharks role too good to resist for League convert Langley

By ROSS HEPPENSTALL JAMIE LANGLEY has landed a unique job as Sale’s new peak performance coach – and is determined to...

Heineken Cup tiers revealed ahead of pool draw

NEWS EXTRA THE ROAD to next season’s Heineken Champions Cup final in Marseille will begin to be mapped out when the...

Can French ‘third string’ spring more surprises? | James Harrington

Against seemingly evermounting coronavirus odds, France’s July tour of Australia is still set for Test takeoff – it may not quite...

My Life in Rugby – Ashley Johnson: World Cup snub led me to Wasps

LIKE any black player growing up in South Africa, you couldn’t be mediocre, you couldn’t just be another talent, you had...

Blues bring in Bailey

BEDFORD have signed flanker Bailey Ransom from Newcastle. The 24-year-old former Millfield pupil joined Falcons’ senior academy set-up in 2019 and...

Scott back at Scarlets

WALES centre Scott Williams is to rejoin Scarlets after leaving Ospreys. Williams, 30, who has 58 Wales caps, left Scarlets to...

Pirates pilfer two more

CORNISH Pirates have signed Ampthill’s former Wales U20s hooker Syd Blackmore and Wasps winger Callum Sirker on one-year deals. Sirker, 23,...

Exiles unveil new recruits

LONDON Irish have signed Leinster scrum-half Hugh O’Sullivan, 23, and La Rochelle’s Springbok prop Marcel van der Merwe, 30, for next...

Wasps beef up the pack

RUGBY SHORTS WASPS have signed All Blacks back five forward Vaea Fifita for next season and have re-signed Nizaam Carr from...

Oxford jab medic brings bit of needle to Varsity match

Pride: John Henry WINNING a place in the Varsity Day squad can be all consuming, but Oxford prop John Henry has...

Marler: I feel for Alun Wyn over Lions

JOE Marler says he is “gutted” Alun Wyn Jones may not get the chance to make more rugby history in South...

Joe Marler and Danny Care have last tango at Twickenham

JOE Marler fears that Harlequins stunning victory in the Premiership final will be the last dance he enjoys with Danny Care....

Grassroots game must get fairer funding | Jeff Probyn

When I sat on the RFU council, no matter what was happening in the rugby world the CEO’s review of the...

Erica decides to give her assets an outing

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

Los Lelos need a few more like Davit

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER HAVE Georgia finally unearthed their first superstar outside back? The lack of firepower behind the scrum has...

‘Man strength’ helped make it best final ever

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Power play: Wilco Louw scores for Quins in...

Record man Sam Simmonds did it the hard way – how the stats measure up

During the last season before the RFU plucked up the courage to organise League rugby, Dean Richards scored 20 tries for...

Championship may get new Thursday night TV slot

PREMIER Sports believe a successful Lions tour would help them achieve a breakthrough in England as they extend their rugby coverage...

Alcock clocked him first, but Stoop helped Poulton become the star

RONNIE Poulton-Palmer might have attracted the attention of Adrian Stoop at an early stage but the Quins captain wasn’t the only...

Cradle of game have made big strides to return to the top table

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools ENTIRE books have been written about William Webb Ellis and the...

Young Guns: Worcester Warriors wing/centre Jack Johnson

Premiership defences will have to watch out for much more than Ollie Lawrence in the Worcester backline with the towering force...

Petit general Le Garrec gets France marching

By SAM JACKSON France ..............36pts Tries: Haddad 3, Tchaptchet 16, 36, Reybier 30, Debaes 55 Conversions: Le Garrec 4, 31, 37,...

Six-try Italy humiliate Scots in Cardiff rout

Scotland ............3 Italy..................43 ITALY stunned Scotland with a six-try demolition job at Cardiff Arms Park to keep Sean Lineen’s team winless....

Scrum power keeps the Grand Slam alive

By ADAM ELLIS Ireland ..............15pts Tries: Soroka 58, De Buitlear 74 Conversions: Doak 59 Penalties: Doak 43 England ............24pts Tries: Brantingham...

DREAM TEAM

LEE JARVIS, THE FORMER WALES, CARDIFF, PONTYPRIDD, NEATH, DRAGONS & CORNISH PIRATES FLY -HALF, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED...

Lions tour should not be going ahead now

COLI BOAG While not being as much of an enthusiast for the British & Irish Lions as some, I absolutely understand...

Three generations of Fishers make history

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

Women’s Game in Focus: Harlequins hooker Amy Cokayne

Harlequins and England hooker Amy Cokayne moved to New Zealand when she was nine after her father, Ian, was recruited by...

How Quins found their jester spirit just in time

PAUL REES charts the remarkable transformation that made Quins champions The Premiership season finished as it had started more than seven...

Tomas Lezana aims to get Scarlets back row on the front foot

GROWING up as a football-mad River Plate supporter in the Argentinian city of Santiago del Estero, Tomas Lezana dreamed of a...

Redpath is coach at Park

FORMER Scotland captain Bryan Redpath has joined Rosslyn Park as attack coach. Redpath, who won 60 caps for Scotland and appeared...

Old-school Barrie Thomas had the ear of superstars | Peter Jackson

BACK in the day of thriving local newspapers and soaring sales in the Welsh communities they served, each and every one...

Conor Murray part of Munster legacy with the Lions | Peter Jackson

From his home by the banks of the broad, majestic Shannon, Keith Wood considers one of the more startling facts about...

Exeter Chiefs are watching England U20 star Sam Riley

EXETER Chiefs are keeping tabs on Harlequins’ England U20 hooker Sam Riley just a week after losing the Premiership final to...

Botha adds to Bishop’s coaching positions

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Nous: Mouritz Botha FORMER England lock Mouritz Botha has been named the new forwards’...

Saints prepared if Toulon persist in Dan Biggar swoop

NORTHAMPTON Saints have set aside a ‘healthy budget’ as they search fora new fly-half that places question marks over the future...

Help us watch the Lions plead clubs

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER TEWKESBURY Rugby Club have called on the RFU to help clubs who fear they...

RFU silence on Lynagh gets dad tweeting

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler Future: Louis Lynagh EDDIE Jones has refused to be...

OLLIE LONGMORE

ROOM 101 THE SALE FC HOOKER TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Clubhouse pundits...

Analysis: Marcus Smith must step up and shine the light ahead for Eddie

    The last time England played the United States, in sultry Kobe, it was the start of a cycle that...

Formidable front five but weak around the fringes

A LOT has happened since the Springboks were last in action over 609 days ago. Corona was merely a drinkable beer....