Dream Team: Bristol Bears hooker Tom Lindsay

Formerly of Wasps, Gloucester and Bedford

Biggar finds the target end to Wales ten years to put an of misery

By PETER JACKSON Wales Tomas Francis is tackled by Australia’s David Pocock PICTURES: Getty Images AND SO the biggest blot on...

Lawes was victim of the hideous law that protects scrum-halves

BRENDAN GALLAGHER VERDICT All action: Jack Goodhue feels the Courtney Lawes power EDDIE JONES apparently wants his England side to start...

Tenacity, courage, the belief is building again

OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE…EVERY WEEK JEREMY GUSCOTT Standout player: Sam Underhill breaks past Sam Whitelock Without a TMO England would have won...

Ashton: It’s been a long road back to England

CHRIS Ashton was left with mixed emotions after grabbing a dream try on his long-awaited retur n to the England set-up...

No sweet victory, but World Cup lives again

From NICK CAIN at Twickenham AT THE end of this great Test match although England had lost by a sliver to...

Noves loads the guns for epic finale with Laporte

DAVID BARNES FRENCH COLUMN Sacked France team boss Guy Noves is preparing an explosive dossier in support of his £2m claim...

Squirrels edge to victory to stay at summit

By CARL FIELD Welsh Division One round-up RHIWBINA made it six wins out of seven in One East Central with a...

Pooler on cloud nine as Crows downed

By CARL FIELD Welsh Championship round-up PONTYPOOL went six points clear in the WRU National Championship with a 29-24 bonus-point victory...

Rhodri on song to make it three straight for Drovers

By CARL FIELD Llandovery ….15 Ebbw Vale ………9 LLANDOVERY battled back from behind to beat Ebbw Vale at Church Bank and...

Powerful pack has Wizards feeling magic once again

By HOWARD EVANS Bedwas …………5 Aberavon ………19 TWO penalty tries not only demonstrated the power of the Aberavon pack but also...

Jarvis heroics show reigning champs joy of six

By ROB COLE Merthyr ……….20 Pontypridd ….14 TWO late penalties from Matthew Jarvis earned reigning champions Merthyr a sixth win in...

How’s Matt! Boot of O’Brien keeps Black & Ambers rolling

By ALEX BYWATER Newport …………9 Swansea ……….3 NEWPORT made it four wins in a row to keep Swansea deep in relegation...

Five-star Quins leave the All Blacks feeling blue

By TIM LEWIS Carmarthen Q41 Neath ……………14 CARMARTHEN Quins scored five tries as they thrashed basement club Neath on a rain-soaked...

Gogs squander advantage as Blue & Blacks on the rise

By STEFFAN THOMAS Cardiff …………25 RGC 1404 ………19 CARDIFF came from behind to beat RGC 1404 in atrocious weather conditions at...

Keys fail to unlock defence in deluge

Cross Keys ……5 Llanelli ……………5 CROSS Keys stayed firmly in the bottom half of the Principality Premiership as Llanelli earned a...

Second string Blues put Los Teros to the sword

URUGUAY lost against a reserve Cardiff Blues side at the Arms Park on Tuesday night. Wales will face Los Teros in...

Canucks get in gear with five-try win over Coventy

By PAUL SMITH CANADA’S attempt to maintain their record of having qualified for every World Cup faces a test of endurance...

YOUNG GUNS

ALEXCRAIG GLOUCESTER LOCK Alex Craig’s first team debut for Gloucester against Wasps a fortnight ago was a long time coming but...

Answering the call…

Brendan Gallagher looks at some of the extraordinary rugby players - individuals from all backgrounds, nations and clubs and of differing...

Farrell debate rages on, but no doubt over scrum frailty

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Aweek has passed but the controversy continues, was it or wasn’t it?...

Northmore score sets wet Met on their way

By JOE BYRNES BUCS ROUND-UP ONLY four teams were in action on Wednesday for the rearranged round of fixtures. Cardiff Met...

Jan keen for more as Chester climbing

By STEVE SMITH Chester …………….33pts Tynedale……………22pts CHESTER took advantage of their game in hand to move up to second in National...

MY LIFEIN RUGBY

MIKE UMAGA FORMER SAMOA AND ROTHERHAM BACK AND DoR AT BISHOP BURTON COLLEGE BEING booed by 60- odd thousand South Africans...

Build team around our Jack says Jess

JACK Nowell’s versatility and ‘world class’ skillset should make him an England starter says Matt Jess, now coach at Chiefs. Jess...

Relegation talk inspires Warriors underdog spirit

By TOM BRADSHAW HARD-CARRYING Worcester flanker Marco Mama says predictions that his side are favourites to be relegated from the Premiership...

Du Preez fine tuning his attack at Sharks

By JON NEWCOMBE Shark attack: South African fly-half Robert du Preez PICTURE: Getty Images ROBERT du Preez wants to reinvent himself...

Let battle commence for the final place in Japan

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points THE RWC2019 repechage tournament – the first of...

Memorial to rugby’s fallen in the Great War

ONE of rugby’s many tributes to those who fell during World War 1 this weekend has been a special commemoration gathering...

DREAMTEAM

JAKE COOPER-WOOLLEY, WASPS AND FORMER DORKING, CARDIFF AND BEDWAS PROP, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE PLAYE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST...

Get over it Rassie, slo-mo shows the ref was spot on

COLIN BOAG Slo-mo is a strange beast: sometimes it can make an incident seem to be more serious than it is,...

Time for a reboot

HAS the time come to review rugby’s points scoring system? The object of the game is to score tries. Last Saturday,...

Tribute to Peter

SHAME rugby did not remember one of its own with a minute’s silence at Twickenham last weekend. Former RFU president (2016/17...

Surely Premiership fans can see what’s at stake with Lions?

WELL said, John Rowlands, in your letter last week, headed “Lions should play hard ball with PRL”. If a Lions tour...

What if Farrell had been a Springbok?

SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO: The Rugby Paper, Tuition House, St Georges Road, Wimbledon SW19 4EU email: newsdesk@therugbypaper.co.uk I WAS rather surprised...

Jones gets chance to state case in midfield

By JON NEWCOMBE LEWIS JONES is itching to show what he can do as Ealing look to burst Jersey’s bubble and...

Morris hails resilience as 13-man Exiles hold the fort

By LUKE JARMYN ON A night when both clubs paid tribute to the 162 players lost between them in the Great...

Penalties wreak havoc as Knights sneak in

By GUY WILLIAMS DONCASTER, out-scored by three tries to two at Castle Park, survived – just – relentless Coventry pressure late...

Our season will start in Round 10 – Stirling

By WILL HOPPER YORKSHIRE Carnegie put their league woe to one side to run out comfortable winners over Nottingham by six...

Irish defy the rain to hand brave Hartpury five-try defeat

By JENNY BATES IRISH got their Cup campaign off to a winning start with a five-try display despite the wet conditions...

Duncan: Pirates must get physical

Preview Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues Today, Kick-off 2.30pm TOM DUNCAN is on a revenge mission when the Cornish Pirates get...

Conlon to step back for 2 years

SARACENS flanker Joel Conlon has been advised to have a two-year break from the game due to a neck injury. Conlon,...

Garvey craving a trophy finish for mentor Booth

By NEALE HARVEY CAPTAIN Matt Garvey insists Bath are “massively motivated” to send departing coaches Toby Booth and Darren Edwards away...

Townsend commits to new deal at Chiefs

EXETER Chiefs have won their tug-of-war with two of their West Country rivals to retain the services of Stu Townsend, below,...

Watson ready to re-sign but JJ and Ewels holding out

Staying at the Rec: Anthony Watson BATH look to have won their battle to keep at least one of their out-of-contract...

Quins making moves for another Kiwi 10

HARLEQUINS are trying to bring New Zealand U20 vice captain Harry Plummer to the Twickenham Stoop for next season. Fly-half Plummer,...

Worry for Japan

JAPAN will this week get the chance to see at first hand one of the things that worries them the most...

Edinburgh lead race for Tuisue

In talks: Albert Tuisue FIJI flanker Albert Tuisue is poised to have talks with Premiership and PRO14 sides while in the...

ROOM 101

MARK LAMBERT THE HARLEQUINS LOOSEHEAD PROP TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Bad manners...

Thorburn gives Doddie plea the boot!

THEWelsh Rugby Union may have been shamed into making a donation to Doddie Weir’s charity raising funds for research into Motor...