By PAUL REES Northampton had the chance last night to quiz Dan McKellar about their Champions Cup semi-final opponents Leinster but, before the East Midlands […]
By BEN JAYCOCK Despite their fierce London rivalry with Harlequins, Saracens backs coach Kevin Sorrell is pleased two Premiership sides reached the last four of […]
JEFF Page wrote last week a letter headlined ‘easier to spot the fairer competition’ in which he compared Leicester unfavourably with Leinster.Leicester is a PLC […]
Paul Rees looks ahead to the Champions Cup semi-finals where Quins and Saints are facing an uphill battle BEFORE this season’s Champions Cup started, there […]
BRENDAN Gallagher reports on Leinster’s convincing win over Leicester Tigers in the European Champions Cup last 16. The Leinster side is drawn from a variety […]
Leicester Tigers have again been fined for exceeding the Premiership salary cap. The club have been handed a £47,000 overrun tax for going over the […]
The recent announcement of a second salary cap infringement by Leicester indicates that the Premiership’s policing of its own financial regulations remains desperately inadequate – […]
Leicester’s latest fine for salary cap irregularities – their second in as many years – throws up an interesting question or two about the structure […]
NICK CAIN – READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK SEETHING financial undercurrents are undermining the main pillars of the game in England, with the professional […]
Diamond’s warning to his young guns By PAUL REES Steve Diamond has warned his young charges at Newcastle to beware of offers from other Premiership […]
CHRIS HEWETT Rugby’s political scene is quite lively enough when the arguments are being conducted in a sporting echo chamber. When it finds itself up […]
By JON NEWCOMBE Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson still harbours some hope that Courtney Lawes has a future at Franklin’s Gardens beyond the end […]
RUGBY MATTERS I don’t know about you but it’s occasionally been a bit of a torture watching Owen Farrell struggle with himself ever since England’s […]
Owen Farrell’s much-rumoured move to Racing 92 has been confirmed, ending his 15-year career at English champions Saracens. Farrell, 32, captained England in their most […]
By JON NEWCOMBE Alex Sanderson remains against increasing the Premiership salary cap back up to £6.4 million after his club Sale Sharks and Friday’s opponents […]
Northampton are struggling to hold on to Courtney Lawes. The 34-year-old former England flanker, who retired from international rugby after the World Cup, is mulling […]
Paul Rees looks at how England, without Owen Farrell at the helm, could turn into an attacking force Steve Borthwick’s England promise to look very […]
By BEN JAYCOCK Three-time Champions Cup winner Brian O’Driscoll believes English sides will be up against it again in Europe this season when the tournament […]
By JON NEWCOMBE Courtney Lawes will make a decision on his Northampton future during the Six Nations window in February. Lawes announced his retirement from […]
By PAUL REES ALMOST half the players in the Premiership earn between £50,000 and £150,000 with outside-halves the best paid and hookers the worst, Premiership […]
ON THE BLINDSIDE Premiership Champions Saracens could re-sign out-of-favour Wales loosehead Rhys Carre for next season. Carre, 25, made eight appearances after joining Sarries following […]
By PAUL REES Pat Lam has re-established the French connection to the Premiership by signing powerful centre Virimi Vakatawa following a chance conversation in August. […]
By NICK CAIN The latest incarnation of the Premiership Cup, and the most positive because it includes Championship clubs competing against those in the top […]
By PAUL REES Premiership clubs get their season underway this weekend with Northampton’s director of rugby Phil Dowson looking confident that the gloom that has […]
SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND Another week in Welsh rugby and another potential drama emerges. They always say the close season is the ‘silly […]
By BEN JAYCOCK James Haskell believes the Premiership should be ring fenced and rebuilt using a franchise style NFL model, including a draft system that […]
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Heaven knows The Rugby Paper has been warning of a Domesday scenario […]
ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Wigan Warriors have moved to put distance between themselves and a reported big-money cross-code move to take England skipper […]