Barnard Castle, monument to mystery old and new

Old boy: Underwood ISN’T it great to see Barnard Castle back in the news! Actually there is a long, proud tradition...

Can life be pumped back into French titan?

BRENDAN GALLAGHER Dynasty: Beziers captain Richard Astre shows the Bouclier de Brennus after beating Montferrand 31-9 to win the 1978 French...

Farrell has the game to replace Sexton

NICK CAIN LOOKS AT THE CONTENDERS FOR EACH POSITION 2021 LIONSA YEAR TO GO THIS WEEK… FLY-HALVES Ice cool from the...

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Baron’s Coronavirus Cup proposal dismissed

FRANCIS Baron’s idea of a major international tournament to be held in England in 2021 to ease the financial impact of...

World Rugby law trials not for us says Davies

By SAM JACKSON Integrity: Gareth Davies WORLD Rugby have approved ten optional law trials to help reduce the risk of Covid-19...

Trailfinders bolster backline with top flight duo

Versatile: Max Bodilly EALING Trailfinders have strengthened their squad for next season with the arrival of centre Max Bodilly from Exeter...

Ford: Bodes must be mad to give me a go!

By JON NEWCOMBE Tough gig: Joe Ford coaching at Leeds PICTURES: Getty Images Boss: Steve Boden Tenacious: Sam Olver Talent: Charlie...

RUGBYQUIZ

FORMER LEADING WELSH REFEREE ALUN WYN BEVAN TESTS YOUR KNOWLEDGE Making an entrance: Erika Roe at Twickenham 1. Who were England’s...

DAN BIGGAR ON…

...Gareth Anscombe’s arrival spurring him on I made a joke and said I was happy coming off the bench last season,...

I’ll never be like Beauden but I aim to be a winner

NICK CAIN TALKS TO WALES AND NORTHAMPTON FLY-HALF DAN BIGGAR, THE SCOURGE OF ENGLAND Injury-hit: Gareth Anscombe DAN Biggar says he...

Force for good is coming out of Oz at long last

SHOCK! Horror! A good news rugby story from Australia, where tales of woe have been a dime a dozen since Israel...

Lansdown argument all about monopoly

CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST According to the American business magazine Forbes, there are around a thousand people in the world blessed...

Cudd talks himself out of his job at Dragons

NIC CUDD is quite rightly proud of what he achieved over eight seasons at the Dragons, but perhaps his greatest legacy...

Thomas urged to make Ospreys chance count

By ROB COLE Held: Nicky Thomas of Scarlets tackles Leinster’s Ed Byrne Inset: Nicky Smith Help: Bernard Jackman NICKY Thomas’ return...

Isiekwe will be a Saint for a year

ENGLAND forward Nick Isiekwe, 22, will join Northampton Saints on loan for the 2020-21 season, as revealed on Blindside in March,...

Holmes in at Dragons

DRAGONSconfirmed the signing of Wales wing Jonah Holmes following his release from Leicester. The 27-year-old scored 24 tries in three seasons...

Tyrrells are toast for the women

TYRRELLS have chosen not to renewtheir threeyear sponsorship of the Women’s Premier 15s when it comes to end in August. The...

Battlefields to playing fields, medics with double lives

Brendan Gallagher continues his enthralling series by looking at the most impressive rugby doctors TOP 20 ...RUGBY PLAYING DOCTORS NEXT WEEK...

Back three riches will give Pivac a problem

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND There was a time not so long ago when Wales were worried about their back...

Five clubs in a queue for Lucas

Wanted: Isaac Lucas LONDON Irish and Bath are among the clubs who are interested in signing former Queensland Reds fly-half Isaac...

You read it all in Blindside first, folks!

BLINDSIDE has once again proven this week that nobody comes close to us to providing transfer news. We reported last Sunday...

Saracens make a bid for Bok lock Flip

Offer: Flip van der Merwe SARACENS are set to make a bid to tempt former Springbok second row Flip van der...

Trailfinders trio are off to join Quins

HARLEQUINS are ready to confirm that they have swooped for Ealing Trailfinders stars Craig Trenier, Jordan Els and Matt Cornish. The...

ROOM 101

TIM COCKER BT SPORT’S RUGBY PRESENTER TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Oversharing Online...

Bristol get set to welcome back fans

By NEALE HARVEY PREMIERSHIP clubs are preparing to welcome back spectators, with Bristol leading the way in being ready to accommodate...

Bristol get set to welcome back fans

Mills aims to up his game Ryan Mills admits his form was not consistent enough at Worcester and is determined to...

Orange card gets thumbs up from Nigel

By PETER No cop out: Nigel Owens THE orange card is today given the green light by the world’s most-capped Test...

British & Irish Lions select Murrayfield as host venue for pre-2021 tour Test

Lions set to play at home of Scottish rugby for only the second time in history

Q&A – Mark Mapletoft: Harlequins could improve on bringing through more youngsters

After a decade at Harlequins, academy coach Mark Mapletoft is moving on. We asked him about his time at the Stoop...

Faith shown by Chris Boyd has seen Fraser Dingwall grow at Saints

The Northampton Saints centre talks to Jeremy Blackmore about his breakthrough season at Franklin's Gardens

My Life in Rugby: Playing for British & Irish Lions was most special honour for Rory Underwood

England's all-time leading tryscorer played in a World Cup and was a spectator at the 2003 triumph in Sydney

French lessons will help Myles Edwards make his mark at Wasps

The new Wasps signing explains how his career took a detour in France before a Premiership homecoming

Rugby Matters: Expected disaster story turned into a fairytale

Brendan Gallagher recalls the doom-mongering around the 1995 Rugby World Cup, as South Africa grappled with fragile identity after Apartheid's end

My goal is France in 2023, says Worcester centre Ollie Lawrence

The competition is stacking up behind England main man Manu Tuilagi

Williams column: Life with the Lions was just so physical

Rugby against the Springboks and provincial South Africa sides in 2009 was as hard as four years prior against the All...

Rugby contracts will deviate from what we know now, says Carl Fearns

The former Bath No.8, now at Rouen, believes rugby's player base could shift towards preferring freelance agreements

Hewett column: Reduce the size of the bench? It can’t happen

It's 40 years since Robin Cowling played through a dislocated shoulder against French great Robert Paparemborde

Sam Underhill goes back to his roots during lockdown, but embraces future with Bath, England and as a possible Lion

The England flanker recalls working with his painter/decorator Grandad, and the grind required to bring success to Bath and a Lions...

Young Guns: Northampton Saints No.8 Tui Uru

Uru was signed by Saints after playing for Bury St Edmunds in National Two South

Jackson column: Apartheid so sickened Tony Ward, he did not go back

The Ireland fly-half tells Peter Jackson how the disparaging sights of Apartheid South Africa he witnessed on the 1980 Lions tour...

World Rugby approves trials aiming to restrict virus transmission

Return-to-play law trials released by World Rugby, and include the scrapping of scrum resets

Leinster wing Dave Kearney is king of Europe’s elite tryscorers

Peter Jackson looks over the stats for Europe's top performing players in terms of tries and points scored

Northampton sign back-five forward Nick Isiekwe on season-long loan

The England lock has agreed an extension with Saracens but will not be playing in the Championship

TRP’s National Two North Team of the Season

We can reveal the National Two North XV voted for their standout campaigns in 2019-20

Guscott column: Premiership can learn financial fair play from NFL

Jeremy Guscott judges how the salary cap is applied in the NFL to maximise financial and regulatory viability

Leicester Tigers to follow up major overhaul of academy with new signing

An ally of Simon Cohen is set to exit Welford Road, as further change takes shape at Leicester

David Humphreys in power struggle, as Gloucester braced to lose two South African stars

The Gloucester director of rugby faces challenges to bring in an outside hire to succeed Johan Ackermann as head coach

Harrington column: Takeovers, big moves, life goes on in Pro D2

James Harrington reports on how money is swirling around the second tier of French rugby

Cain column: Most marquee players just aren’t worth the money

The Premiership has been a two-team preserve for too long. But Nick Cain questions Steve Lansdown's route to dethroning Saracens