Eight-try Scarlets ‘playing with smile’

By ROGER PANTING AFTER three games, Scarlets remain the only undefeated side in PRO 14’s Conference B, as they inflicted an...

Fast start, but Warriors made to fight for first win

By GARY HEATLY GLASGOW Warriors held on for a crucial first PRO14 win of the season last night. The home side...

Red-hot Cooney has Ulster on a high

ULSTER recovered from last week’s heavy defeat with a six-try triumph to end their South African PRO14 tour on a high....

Can anyone stop these All Blacks?

Nick Cain evaluates the chances of the last eight teams in the World Cup quarter-finals England v Australia: Matt Toomua, left,...

Worcester stung by Watson hat-trick

By GEOFF BERKELEY MARCUS Watson scored a second-half hat-trick as Wasps eventually swept aside Worcester Warriors at the Ricoh Arena. After...

Ashton double proves Sharks are big threat on the wings

By NEALE HARVEY CHRIS Ashton lit up a compelling contest with a sniper’s try-double as Sale secured a fourth successive Premiership...

Freddie’s try turns it into a horror for Glos

By ROGER PANTING GLOUCESTER crashed to an embarrassing defeat to see them leave the competition without a win. It was the...

Eddie gets a reminder from super Spencer

By GARY FITZGERALD BEN Spencer shrugged off his World Cup snub to showcase his prodigious all-round skills and help secure Sarries...

Forward power gets Chiefs home semi-final

By MIKE SINCLAIR EXETER had effectively ensured their home clash with Harlequins in February’s semi-finals inside 31 minutes when prop Harry...

Saints march to victory led by general Grayson

By ROB WILDMAN NORTHAMPTON claimed a third successive East Midlands derby in an attack-minded encounter they edged in the last 20...

Sharks must show more bite in attack

Brendan Gallagher assesses the runners and riders in the new Premiership title race More firepower: Mark Wilson is on a one-season...

Sports lawyer: Sadly, Scots will have to accept it

BEN Ticehurst, a senior associate at Howard Kennedy solicitors in London and part of the firm’s Sports Law group, told The...

Scotland’s law threat is wrong says former star

By TOM BRADSHAW SCOTTISH Rugby are “completely wrong” to have raised the threat of legal action over World Rugby’s handling of...

Parisse deserves much more

A SHAME that the longest international career of the 21st century should have been condemned to the most anti-climactic of finishes...

Cobus was quick – but no cigar!

COBUS Reinach’s elevenminute hat-trick for the Springboks against Canada is among the fastest of the professional era but is not the...

Kamikaze man Siggy has made real impact

Just before the collision it is essential that you do not shut your eyes for a moment so as not to...

DREAMTEAM

JEFF TOOMAGA-ALLEN, WASPS AND FORMER NEW ZEALAND AND HURRICANES PROP, CHOOSES HIS BEST XV PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST… 1. Tony Woodcock...

It’s a shambles and that’s all down to World Rugby

COLIN BOAG It’s six years since the Oxford English Dictionary first included ‘omnishambles’ in its pages, and there can rarely have...

Plight of Carnegie players is absorbing

The RFU and Yorkshire Carnegie club owners aside, it was good to see them score their first try of the season...

Avoiding England could give French a shot in the arm

SO England top the Pool and escape an attritional game and potential injuries by avoiding France, who can rest up ahead...

Pick and go rugby leaves me cold!

SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO: The Rugby Paper, Tuition House, St Georges Road, Wimbledon SW19 4EU email: newsdesk@therugbypaper.co.uk PLEASE can we get...

Cancelled game will help Welsh chances

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND SHANE WILLIAMS WALES are battered and bruised, but they are also battle-hardened for the World Cup’s quarter-finals...

Force majeure…life is a calculated risk!

Brendan Gallagher recalls other cases when extreme weather or random events have affected sport THE great and the good, not to...

Owen and Billy are Eddie problems

Nick Cain arrives in Tokyo to find Eddie Jones confronted by some big selectorial decisions Not at their best: Owen Farrell,...

Nonu joins San Diego

FORMER New Zealand centre Ma’a Nonu has joined San Diego Legion for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The two-time World...

Whitelock just keeps on winning

NEWS EXTRA THE All Blacks victory over Namibia was stand-in captain Sam Whitelock’s 17th World Cup win in a row. Whitelock...

Diane’s smile caps a glorious debut for Scotland’s star man

ALL sorts of contenders for the jouer de rugby gallant t-shirt this week. The ever smiling Schalk Brits enjoyed what could...

Make Pacific Islands rugby’s West Indies

SO another World Cup is barely halfway through and all the Pacific Islands are on the way home – or rather...

Vocal Pichot’s braced for battle

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points GUS Pichot is used to battling the odds...

Adams hat-trick starts the recovery from Fijian storm

By SAM JACKSON WALES survived a scare to claim victory over Fiji and secure their place in the quarter-finals. The Grand...

Merab: We owe Milton a big debt

GEORGIA captain Merab Sharikadze paid tribute to outgoing coach Milton Haig as their World Cup finished in noble defeat. New Zealander...

Cheika returns Eddie’s volley

Winging in: Marika Koroibete scores Australia’s second try PICTURE: Getty Images From ADAM HATHAWAY at Shizuoka Stadium AUSTRALIA head coach Michael...

Pumas put on a show for Leguizamon sendoff

By SAM JACKSON ARGENTINA secured third place in Pool C with a bonus-point win over the USA to book their place...

Lapse in French focus creates a frantic finish

By GEORGE LAWRENCE FRANCE overcame a battling Tonga last Sunday but coach Jaques Brunel admitted there is serious work to be...

We must make our tackles – Edwards

SHAUN Edwards has told Wales to buck up their defensive approach or risk a World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands...

Red card likely to end Aki’s World Cup

From TOM BRADSHAW IRELAND guaranteed their place in a quarter- final against either the All Blacks or South Africa, but it...

Zinzan: I can’t call All Blacks v England

By GARY FITZGERALD NEW Zealand great Zinzan Brooke admits he ‘fears’ a World Cup semi-final showdown with England. The former All...

Eddie Jones really doesn’t care if Scotland miss out on World Cup quarter-finals

England head coach Eddie Jones has said only Scotland will be to blame if they fail to progress out of their...

The lingering questions for England heading into the knockouts

The considerable disruption Typhoon Hagibis has already caused may have accidentally offered Eddie Jones and England some sense of clarity as...

What to do about minnows?

The Rugby World Cup has caught the imagination of the spectators in Japan as well as audiences on television across the...

Probyn column: The truth about why Mendez punched Paul Ackford

The first shock result of the World Cup fittingly provided by the hosts, Japan, against Ireland will certainly have focused the minds...

Dream Team: Coventry and former Northampton Saints forward Ben Nutley

We talk to Ben Nutley and ask him to pick a XV of the top players he's played alongside or against

Exeter Chiefs keeping an eye on Welsh scrum-half Rhys Webb

Current first-choice scrum-half Nic White will leave Sandy Park at the end of the season and here's why Webb could leave...

World Rugby cancels England’s clash with France as ‘violent’ Typhoon Hagibis stays on course

Tournament organisers cancel two matches with concerns now being raised about Scotland's crunch match against Japan

Jackson column: England v Wales in World Cup final, says John Gallagher

As the first Englishman to win the World Cup and the only one to retire unbeaten, John Gallagher made the most...

Cain column: There’s no pleasure in Domes full of sweat

Nick Cain explores the sweltering conditions of Japan made more energy-sapping by the closure of the roof at stadiums such as...

Nic White to leave Exeter Chiefs and make Brumbies return

White is currently on duty with Australia at the Rugby World Cup

Fast games suit super-fit Wales says training guru

How sports science has Wales ready to be unbroken in the humid conditions of Japan

How to bet on rugby

Rugby is widely considered as one of the most physically combative sports on the planets. No protective pads, no helmets and...

Williams column: Hope has turned into belief after win over Aussies

How Wales' win over the Wallabies changed their outlook for the rest of the World Cup