Nick Cain

Jeff Probyn

/ 1 year ago

WR should fund free second opinion

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME IMUST admit to being a little surprised by last week’s paper where...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Podcast

/ 1 year ago

Series 4, Episode 8: 20-Minute Red Card Debate and Newcastle Falcons Finally End Drought

With the rugby world divided over the trial of the 20-minute red card during the November internationals, it’s only right that...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

Return of the big clubs has my vote

I UNDERSTAND the arguments against offering an olive branch to the three ‘Phoenix clubs’, as detailed in Nick Cain’s column last...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Autumn Internationals

/ 1 year ago

Time for England to walk the walk

By Nick Cain Right here, right now, English rugby union craves forward momentum. It needs something to knock the negatives surrounding...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Podcast

/ 1 year ago

Series 4, Episode 7: Nick Auterac’s Journey from Rugby to Music Composition + England Squad Reaction

We love a prop episode! The self-professed ‘oddball’ Nick Auterac joins host Ollie Little and columnists Chris Hewett and Nick Cain...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

Too much debt is a cause for concern

WITH reference to Nick Cain’s column (Sept 29) on Premiership finances, it just goes to show that our game at the...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Will Collier shows what England are missing

By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Will Collier’s command performance for Castres against Toulouse in the Top...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

Time to add Japan and Fiji to Rugby Championship

THE endless mistreatment of Fiji as a second rate rugby nation is another disastrous admin blunder in the sport’s professional era....

By The Rugby Paper Team

International Rugby

/ 1 year ago

Steve Borthwick should call up these young props

By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week It was surprising that neither of England’s U20 world champion props,...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Podcast

/ 1 year ago

Series 4, Episode 5: David Campese reviews Rugby Championship and Australian Rugby

The Rugby Championship has a new winner for the first time since 2019, as South Africa clinched the last trophy available...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

That’s not what I call a good idea ITV

Brilliant idea ITV! Put your freeview Premiership highlights programme on an obscure channel. Schedule it for a Wednesday lunchtime. Replace Flats...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Minimum standards criteria must apply to all

By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Do title-chasing Bath – and other top tier clubs – meet...

By The Rugby Paper Team

English Championship

/ 1 year ago

Simon Halliday’s demand for clarity over promotion-relegation play-off

By Nick Cain The RFU is under fire from the Championship for its failure to provide clarity over the terms of...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Once again, the RFU is failing second tier

By Nick Cain READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK A new English season starts this weekend with strife and frustration in...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Podcast

/ 1 year ago

Series 4, Episode 3: Gallagher Premiership season preview with Luther Burrell

The Gallagher Premiership returns! Can Northampton defend their title? How will Saracens fare without Owen Farrell? Will Newcastle give a better...

By Cam Stephens

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

It’s time for Itoje to stand up and prove his worth

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Tough task: Maro Itoje will have to be at his best to lead...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

England must find answers …and fast

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Left in the lurch: England boss Steve Borthwick and, inset, Felix Jones, left,...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Columnists

/ 1 year ago

It’s time to call for three-man scrum

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Uncontested scrums are a blight on the fifteens game, and my solution to...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

An age-old problem for Farrell and Lions

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK ‘Dad’s Army’: Bundee Aki will be 35 when the Lions arrive in Australia....

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Poor terrestrial coverage is doing the game no favours

NICK CAIN THE NFL has infiltrated free-to-air broadcast channels in the UK, such as the BBC and ITV, using weekly content...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Erasmus now the creator supreme

NICK CAIN RASSIE Erasmus is a breath of fresh air, a coach who combines innovative out-of-the-box thinking with a detailed understanding...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

LETTER: RFU not helping English rugby

Steve Borthwick is doing a great job in charge of the national side as are his players and our recent U20...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

A sporting heritage that needs protection

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK WHAT’S in a name? A huge amount if you consider what Wembley means...

By The Rugby Paper Team

British and Irish Lions

/ 1 year ago

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies will provide a tough test for Lions

Nick Cain gives his thoughts on the 2025 British Lions series against Australia, saying the Aussies will be hard to beat...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

France show us how to do it – again

NICK CAIN THE 2024 Olympic Sevens was a massive showcase for Antoine Dupont’s extraordinary sporting talent, but also for rugby union,...

By The Rugby Paper Team

/ 1 year ago

Build the future on front row brilliance

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE England U20 scrum is the best in the world, and in winning...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

World Cup 2031 will be a tough sell in USA

Nick Cain World Cup USA is six and a half years away. Yet, outside the fraught situation World Rugby (IRB) faced...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Nick Cain

/ 1 year ago

England need to beat the big boys

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK It is intriguing to see England being touted already as serious 2027 World...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Letters

/ 1 year ago

Unwise to invest in the hope of reaching the top

JON Newcombe writes about how Blackheath in Kent have agreed a £1.5m deal to buy their ground in south-east London. He...

By The Rugby Paper Team

International Rugby

/ 1 year ago

Overseas stars are blocking new talent

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK There is a double standard in English rugby that stands out as a...

By The Rugby Paper Team

English Championship

/ 1 year ago

Halliday calls for clarity on Championship funding issues

By NICK CAIN Championship clubs are calling for the funding issues surrounding next season’s reintroduction of promotion-relegation to be ratified urgently....

By The Rugby Paper Team

International Rugby

/ 1 year ago

England go close but All Blacks have enough to take honours

By NICK CAIN New Zealand.................... 16pts Tries: Reece 16, Savea 25 Penalties: McKenzie 55, 66 England .............................. 15pts Tries: Itoje 21,...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Columnists

/ 1 year ago

RFU still has urgent questions to answer

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Time for England’s rock-steady crew

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK NOW comes the acid test of England’s attacking progress. When Steve Borthwick side...

By The Rugby Paper Team

English Championship

/ 1 year ago

Deadlock broken as promotion restored

By NICK CAIN Promotion and relegation between the Premiership and Championship has been restored from next season after the Championship clubs...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Winters leads brutal ride across USA in aid of Doddie

By NICK CAIN Even for men as mentally and physically durable as former England Grand Slam back rowers Peter Winterbottom and...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Mistake to select Tom and not Ted

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Ted Hill must be wondering what else he has to do to get...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

All Blacks will be ready to roll

NICK CAIN Rumours that New Zealand are in a state of flux heading into their two-Test summer series against England should...

By The Rugby Paper Team

English Championship

/ 1 year ago

Return of relegation is reason to cheer

NICK CAIN The restoration of promotion and relegation, which this column has advocated non-stop since the RFU’s ring-fence moratorium in 2021,...

By The Rugby Paper Team

Latest News

/ 1 year ago

Series 3, Episode 42: Tom Pearson reflects on Premiership win and England summer squad debate

Northampton have ended their 10-year drought, securing the Gallagher Premiership title against 14-man Bath in a thriller at Twickenham on Saturday....

By The Rugby Paper Team

Nick Cain

/ 1 year ago

Hotshot Hendy seizes the day

By NICK CAIN at Twickenham Northampton Saints..... 25pts Tries: Freeman 24, Sleightholme 28, Mitchell 73 Conversions: Smith 24, Furbank 75 Penalties:...

By The Rugby Paper Team