Parker finds his groove to pull the strings

By JEREMY TYRRELL N’berland …35 East Mids …12 NORTHUMBERLAND ended their Bill Beaumont Cup campaign on a high with a bonus-point...

Surrey rebuild as Glos let slip chance of glory

By TONY FIELDING Surrey…………13pts Gloucestershire…11pts Chip and chase: Tom Hunt collects a kick ahead and runs on to score for Surrey...

Bingham hat-trick fires Lancs to HQ

By ALLAN FOSTER Lancashire…64 Cheshire……23 ANTHONY Bingham helped himself to a hattrick as Lancashire ran in nine tries to see off...

Yorkshire fall short despite success

By NIALL JACKSON Eastern Co…24 Yorkshire …27 A TIGHT encounter at Grange Road ended in defeat for Eastern Counties as Yorkshire...

Warks to take on Durham in final after win

By RICHARD ISAACS Division Two Round-up WARWICKSHIREmoved into the Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 2 final after an enthralling 31-24 win...

Wasps sign 7s flier but Leicester lose theirs to Australia

By JAKE JONES WASPS duo Danny Cipriani and James Haskell have signed for Gloucester and Northampton respectively with the pair opting...

Cinderford lead the charge with just one loss to blemish record

PROMOTED Cinderford set the pace but, just like in the league, Chinnor push them all the way Harry Hone CHAMPIONS Cinderford...

MY LIFEIN RUGBY

TONY SWIFT THE FORMER ENGLAND, BATH, SWANSEA AND FYLDE WINGER All six of my England caps came as a Swansea player...

Party boy Brooks knew how to have a good time

THE1968 Lions departed for South Africa 50 years ago on Friday May 13 which didn’t worry the tour manager David Brooks...

Losing to the Boks in ‘68 set Lions’ foundation for glory days to come

BRENDAN GALLAGHER looks back at the muchmaligned Lions tour to South Africa in 1968 Casualty: Barry John had his collarbone broken...

Eastmond calls time on Union days

KYLE Eastmond is set to return to Super League when his contract with Wasps runs out next month. The cross-code international,...

ON THE BLINDSIDE

Three horse race for Harlequins job BY NEIL FISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler HARLEQUINS have spent this weekend making a...

Ackermann to bring in Bok power

GLOUCESTER will this week confirm that Springbok tighthead Ruan Dreyer will be the latest player to arrive at Kingsholm front South...

Born again Broncos keep on bucking

WHENit comes to redemption, the Deri Broncos are in a class of their own, no mean achievement considering Stuart Lancaster’s recovery...

Wales knew the score on availability

WALES have fallen foul of Premier Rugby’s unbending rule against releasing Englishbased players for out-of-window Test matches often enough to have...

Time waits for no man… except maybe Sexton

New goal: Johnny Sexton with the Champions Cup PICTURE: Getty Images JOHNNY Sexton has let it be known that he would...

Apprentice Hansen can be master of Wales

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Four New Zealanders have been touted for the imminent vacancy of running Wales,...

Exclusively second hand…

WE’VE become used to various news outlets making off with The Rugby Paper’s stories like jackdaws in the night, with no...

Northern clubs break away from RFU league structure

By JON NEWCOMBE TWENTY-FOUR clubs in Lancashire have voted to break away from the RFU League structure to form their own...

RUGBY MATTERS

More rough treatment for rugby’s underclass BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points IT WAS all smiles...

New Laws would give a different complexion

SPORT – especially athletics and cycling – is getting to grips with the ‘astrix’ when compiling rolls of honour and I’m...

Kirkby Lonsdale set to star in new blockbuster

By NEALE HARVEY HOLLYWOOD came to Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC this week with filming starting in the small Lake District town for...

O’Connor: Ford still the best No.10 in England

By NEALE HARVEY Underfire: George Ford was dropped by Eddie Jones for the Ireland game PICTURE: Getty Images LEICESTER head coach...

Dirksen knows he must silence Stockdale

HANNO Dirksen is confident he can get one over on Ireland try machine Jacob Stockdale and fire the Ospreys into the...

Solomona insists he’s ready to make amends for those missing four weeks

DENNY Solomona had been told by his RFU minders to be on-message, and having blotted his disciplinary copybook twice within the...

If England aren’t pulling together Eddie must take share of blame

NICK CAIN VISITS THE RED ROSE TRAINING CAMP AND FINDS IT’S ALL PEACE AND LIGHT ON THE SURFACE Learning curve: Owen...

Patchell proves why he must be starter at 10

SWASBUCKLING, sizzling, sensational! Now it’s time for the Scarlets to make it back-to-back titles and cement their status in Welsh rugby...

Tour ban may help Wales in long run

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND SHANE WILLIAMS THE last thing you want as a rugby player is for your career to be...

Electric start sends Scarlets into final

By ROGER PANTING Powerplay: Ken Owens scores Scarlets fourth tryfrom a driving lineout PICTURE: Getty Images THE great entertainers of British...

European kings keep course for the double

By JOHN FALLON LEINSTER remain on course to become the first PRO14 side to do the domestic and European Cup double...

Romania cover up

THE decision by a World Rugby independent committee to parachute Russia into the 2019 World Cup at the expense of Spain,...

Scrap this apprentice policy for game time

MARCUS Smith is still 19, and the Harlequins flyhalf is eligible for the England U20 side that will compete in the...

Yet again Championship clubs have been shafted

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK NICK CAIN BRACE yourselves for the Premiership Cup, a tournament which reflects the desperate lack...

Burns banking on Dempsey to hone Bath’s attack

By NEALE HARVEY FREDDIE Burns hopes the arrival of attack coach Girvan Dempsey will help unlock his full potential after a...

Lucock should be next to step up says Davies

By JON NEWCOMBE BATH signing Alex Davies has backed former Yorkshire Carnegie team-mate Pete Lucock to follow him and make the...

Hurricane Thomson targeting Scotland

By ALEX BYWATER Boost: Blade Thomson BLADE Thomson has handed Scotland coach Gregor Townsend a big boost with the news the...

Defeat doesn’t dampen Polledri’s dream season

By NEALE HARVEY GLOUCESTER back row Jake Polledri says even the pain of last week’s Challenge Cup final defeat to Cardiff...

Our big players stood up well says McCall

OWEN Farrell earned the praise from Saracens boss Mark McCall after his commanding 27-point display against Wasps, which overhauled the previous...

Flawless Farrell sets records tumbling as Saracens power on

By NICK CAIN at Allianz Stadium OWEN Farrell was the chief executioner – a flawless 11 from 11 goal-kicks for 27...

Americans stay schtum on Wales ticket sales

By PETER JACKSON THE American promoters of Wales’ Washington premiere are refusing to say how many tickets have been sold for...

Simmonds eager for big title showdown

By MIKE SINCLAIR JOE Simmonds is hoping for a double first when Exeter clash with Saracens in next Saturday’s Premiership final....

Declan Kidney can ‘revive’ London Irish spirit, says Donncha O’Callaghan

Having been coached by Kidney as an 18-year-old into his pro years, the retired lock says things are sure to pick...

Cheetahs full-back Clayton Blommetjies eyes Wales route after Boks snub

The Scarlets-bound full-back claims he was unfairly treated by former Springboks coach Allister Coetzee

Guscott column: Danny Cipriani can be the catalyst for England to cut loose

The Gloucester-bound fly-half is on the plane to South Africa, read what Jeremy Guscott thinks of his inclusion

New Zealand are hypocrites for their fuss over Brad Shields

Pacific Islanders and their occasional route into New Zealand rugby...

Cain column: Greatest? No way, but Dylan Hartley has had his moments with England

Nick Cain examines Dylan Hartley's career after Eddie Jones' claim the hooker is England's greatest captain

TEAMS: Ulster welcome Ospreys to the Kingspan for final Champions Cup spot

Record breaking Stockdale starts on left wing in crucial match for place in next season's Champions Cup

TEAMS: Exeter play Newcastle for a place in this year’s Premiership final

Following being named Discovery of the Year, Sam Simmonds starts at eight ahead of this crunch match

TEAMS: Saracens come up against Wasps in first Premiership semi final

Jackson Wray to join Saracens' 200 club in Premiership semi final

TEAMS: Pro14 semi final all Ireland clash between Leinster and Munster

Nacewa captains Leinster in final game at the RDS