Noise at Franklin Gardens hits the right notes for Rob Horne

By Neale Harvey Rob Horne says it took something special to turn his back on Australia for a new life in...

‘I want Edinburgh to be refereed fairly’, says frustrated Cockerill

By Adam Ellis Richard Cockerill bemoaned the officiating in his side’s 28-8 defeat to Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets, but did...

Dream Team: Soane Tonga’uhia – Bristol prop

1. Craig Dowd – He was the Auckland and All Blacks loosehead when I was growing up and I was lucky...

McCall left short of back row men

BILLY Vunipola’s knee injury will leave Saracens short in the No.8 department according to director of rugby Mark McCall with other...

Billy is off again and doubtful for autumn Test series

By NICK CAIN BILLY Vunipola’s participation in the autumn series appears to be in serious jeopardy with the England No.8 hobbling...

Kingston: Was that no-arms tackle?

QUINS director of rugby John Kingston was riled by the Telusa Veainu tackle that left Marland Yarde sprawling: “There were a...

Quins’ fans cry foul as Yarde takes a late hit

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Cooking on gas: Leicester’s Greg Bateman gets away from a tackle by Mike Brown to score PICTURES: Getty...

Marcus has all the attributes to be a world class general

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE…EVERY WEEK In the spotlight: Harlequins new young star Marcus Smith PICTURE: Getty Images We shouldn’t be...

DREAMTEAM

JOE LATTA, THE BRISTOL AND FORMER GLOUCESTER AND HIGHLANDERS SECOND ROW, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST…...

Haskell-Marler spat shows refs need help

COLIN BOAG Round three of the Premiership saw a couple of less than satisfactory performances from the officials. The one that’s...

Relax Johan, it will work out in the end

AS an Exeter Chiefs supporter I suggest new Gloucester head coach Johan Ackerman keeps his trap shut about refereeing and realises...

Why did refs allow laws to be ignored?

REGARDING Wayne Barnes’ comment last week: “Most of the Premiership clubs are now hooking and everyone in the England set-up is...

PRO12 should join an expanded two tier Premiership

I FOUND last weekend one of the saddest days for professional rugby in many years. It was sad to see the...

Focus more effort at home, not USA

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

Socino living the dream with big bro at Falcons

By JON NEWCOMBE SANTI Socino admits it is a dream come true to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Juan...

England proposal rejected

THERFU’s proposal to condense the Six Nations Championship into a sixweek schedule from 2020 has been rejected by the other five...

New licence giving Walker space to grow with Quins

By JON NEWCOMBE HARLEQUINS’ pocketrocket Charlie Walker is enjoying cutting opponents down to size as he enjoys a fine start to...

Nick gives Clermont something to cheer

FRENCH COLUMN DAVID BARNES They were grateful round Clermont way for the Nick Abendanon try that helped give them a 23-21...

Unbeaten duo set to face off in an epic battle

SWALEC Division One round-up By JOE REES ITpromises to be the game of the season in Division 1 East next weekend...

Ace Mat lands 18 points as Pool hit half ton

SWALEC Championship round-up MATTHEW Jones scored18 points as reigning champions Pontypool made it four wins in a row with a 55-24...

Ironmen end barren run in style to edge thriller

By JAMES CANDY Methyr …43 Newport…33 MERTHYR bounced back from three straight defeats to come out on top against Newport in...

It’s a kind of Majkic as Vale earn road win at Arms Park

By JOE BRIGLY Cardiff …25 Ebbw Vale…30 EBBW Vale battled hard and recorded a stunning away victory against Cardiff. In total...

Keys find the secret to unlocking the leaders

By ANDREW COFFEY Cross Keys …25 Bedwas …22 CROSS Keys beat high flying Bedwas in an enthralling encounter at Pandy Park....

Howe holds his nerve to snatch a draw for All Whites

By STEFFAN THOMAS Swansea …16 RGC 1404 …16 SWANSEA were held to a 16-16 draw by RGC 1404 in what was...

Kristian falls short as Drovers are beaten at last

By ROB COLE Aberavon…20 Llandovery …19 KRISTIAN Jones had the chance to snatch victory at the death with a difficult conversion...

Ravens cling on at the death to deny Quins fightback

By LUKE FOX Carmarthen…30 Bridgend …28 BRIDGEND almost timed their second-half revival to perfection, but ultimately fell short in a narrow...

Captain Kapo’s hat-trick too much for DMP

Richmond…27 Darlington MP…10 CAPTAIN Laura Kapo helped herself to a second-half hat-trick as Richmond beat DMP to pick up their second...

Appleby’s battlers hold on for victory

Glos-Hartpury… 26 Wasps…22 GLOUCESTER-Hartpury made it two from two on Saturday afternoon, but had to work hard to keep Wasps out...

Quins easily Breach Waterloo defences

Harlequins …39pts Waterloo …18pts By CALLUM SHEPPARD A HAT-TRICK from Jess Breach helped Harlequins continue their perfect start to the Premier...

Bristol end drought with 10-try belting of Valkyries

Worcester …10 Bristol…62 BRISTOL claimed their first win of the season in spectacular fashion by smashing their West Country rivals Worcester...

Crossword

LAST CROSSWORD’S ANSWERS Across: 1 Blair, 3 Fylde, 6 Clifton, 7 Lawes, 9 Hell, 12 Reed, 13 Danty, 16 Lovotti, 17...

Russians lay in wait for Continental pool winners

NEXTmonth’s European rugby is not just be confined to clubs competing in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup with the Continental...

Wallace grabs third try in two matches for Bristol

By SAM JACKSON AVIVA A-LEAGUE BRISTOL United recorded their first A-League victory of the season with an entertaining 27-17 victory over...

Scottish duo beef up Tigers front row options

TRANFER WRAP TONGA international Atieli Pakalani is one of three new faces to join Leicester Tigers. Pakalani, 25, can play at...

Matson: Bath’s battle at 10 will fuel title charge

FREDDIE Burns can be world-class for England and his No.10 battle with Rhys Priestland will boost Bath’s title charge, according to...

Roberts hoping Quins young roses will help Wales career bloom again

By NEALE HARVEY Hungry for the ton: Jamie Roberts is developing his game at Quins PICTURES: Getty Images OLD stager Jamie...

Williams ready to prove he’s regained his edge

LEICESTER enforcer Mike Williams knows he must up his physical intensity if he is to have any chance of featuring for...

Marler reprimanded over Haskell incident

JOEMarler has been been given a citing commissioner’s warning, which equates to a retrospective yellow card, after the scuffle with England...

Richards: US was a reasonable success

NEWCASTLE boss Dean Richards says the trip to America last weekend to face Saracens has helped the game despite seeing his...

Blaze quits as Tigers forwards coach

RICHARD Blaze has resigned from his role as forwards coach at Leicester Tigers for “personal reasons”. The 32-year-old was forced to...

Leonard blow to Hartpury hopes

CHAMPIONSHIP new boys Hartpury College will be missing outside-centre Steve Leonard until Christmas with the shoulder injury he suffered in the...

Knee injury may keep Cipriani out till Xmas

WASPS fly-half Danny Cipriani could miss up to three months with the knee injury sustained in Wasps’ 24-21 Premiership defeat to...

Best now a doubt for Autumn Tests

RUGBY SHORTS ULSTER and Ireland captain Rory Best has been ruled out for four to six weeks after a scan revealed...

Rugby in France is going the way of England soccer

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Whitewash: French national team decline continued in the 3-0 summer series defeat...

Sluggish Abbot have Browne to thank

South West Premier NEWTON Abbot remain resurgent in their quest for promotion after seeing off Cleve 64-31 in their fourth bonus...

Lymm extend lead as Ilkley leave it late

Northern Premier LYMM increased their lead at the top of the table following a 33-13 win at home to Wirral. Rob...

Terrific trio going clear of chasing pack

Midlands Premier THE trio of Newport Salop, Peterborough Lions and Birmingham & Solihull Bees continue to set the pace at the...

Sidcup rescued by flurry of late tries

London & South East Premier WITH four games gone, the table is beginning to make some sense. Newcomers Sidcup are in...

YOUNG GUNS

TOM SEABROOK GLOUCESTER CENTRE Tom Seabrook knew breaking into senior rugby was not going to be a walk in the park...

20 QUESTIONS

DANIEL TEMM EALING TRAILFINDERS FLANKER How about that for a fast start to the season? It’s been a nice little start...