In this issue

May 07, 2023

Thomas defends decision to defect

HENRY Thomas will start work on his unprecedented transfer from England to Wales this month – 16 years after an abortive attempt to join The Land of his Father

3 mins

Top flight to be cut down to 10 teams

Premiership to go down to 10 teams

3 mins

Sale get in the mood for Tigers showdown

SALE warmed up for their Premiership play-off semi-final against Leicester with an impressive and fluent display against old rivals Newcastle who will be glad to see the end of this season

2 mins

Lawes in the mood to finish on a high

COURTNEY Lawes has set his sights on finishing what has been a frustrating season for last year’s England captain on a high with Northampton and making the England squad for France in what would be his fourth World Cup campaign

3 mins

Ounsley quitting rugby to be a Gladiator

EXETER winger Jodie Ounsley will leave the Premier 15s side to join the TV series Gladiators

1 min

Beaumont predicts a physical encounter

JOSH Beaumont refuses to read too much into statistics as Sale prepare to welcome Leicester to Salford on Saturday with a prize in the Premiership final at stake

3 mins

Spencer: Fire to play for England still burns

BEN Spencer smiles and says nothing when asked whether the England coaches have been in touch

2 mins

England look too confused in attack

IT has been difficult to see how England want to attack since Steve Borthwick took over as head coach

4 mins

Lawrence pounces to grab Cup place

AFTER the coronation came the procession. Bath will dust down their Champions Cup regalia after sealing eighth spot with their final play of the season following the bizarre decision of Saracens to keep the ball alive in their own half with the countdown clock on zero

2 mins

Bears win but find the honey has gone

THE battle of the under-achievers went the way of Bristol but, in a dramatic finale, their Heineken Champions Cup spot for next season was cruelly taken away from them by a resurgent Bath who climbed above Bears by defeating an under-strength Saracens at The Rec

2 mins

Red for Ashton as Quins hold on

CHRIS Ashton’s illustrious career looks to be over after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle in this niggly tussle which saw Harlequins hold on in a desperate finish

2 mins

Joy for Kidney as Gonzalez seals it

DECLAN Kidney heaped praise on his Exiles for shrugging off their struggles over unpaid wages to sign off the season by clinching fifth place in the Premiership

2 mins

Nine Lions of Leinster would be in my team

MITCHELL, Aston, Wotherspoon, Rotherham, Bromet, Hammond, Mayfield, Surtees, Thompson: on an early September afternoon in 1891, nine Cambridge University rugger types took the field in Cape Town for a set-to with their South African hosts

3 mins

Irish going in the right direction - Rogerson

MATT Rogerson is confident that the wage upheaval which last week threatened London Irish’s match against Exeter yesterday will not halt the progress the club have made this decade

2 mins

Leinster's double dream is on track

LEINSTER are three games away from a league and cup double after this five-try defeat of the Sharks

2 mins

Ealing on fire to set up Jersey 'cracker'

TRY doubles for Reuben Bird-Tulloch and Jonah Holmes saw Ealing cruise past Doncaster to book their place in the final of the Championship Cup

2 mins

Asiedu: Title win would have made great TV

KWAKU Asiedu believes Amazon should have filmed an All or Nothing series on Cambridge’s remarkable campaign as the Blood & Sand went top for the first time on the last day of the season to snatch the National 1 title and secure promotion to the Championship

2 mins

RFU should capitalise on success of Reds - Biljon

HARVEY Biljon fears the RFU’s strict policy on promotion may come back to haunt them as he believes they’ve missed an opportunity to capitalise on a catchment area in which the sport is thriving

2 mins

Blackett ready to fire up Bath attack

NEW Bath recruit Lee Blackett says his time away from the Premiership has enriched him as an attack coach

4 mins

Players must keep a licence to thrill

IF, God forbid, I ever find myself in the dock I will be hiring Sam Warburton KC to defend me

4 mins

Success at county level will help game grow - Lewis

THE Gill Burns Women’s County Championship returns today and while the men’s tournament seems to reduce in popularity each year, Leicestershire head coach Philippa Lewis believes the county game is vital for the continued growth of the sport

2 mins

Henderson keeps Lancashire on road

LANCASHIRE got off to a winning start on the road at Upper Park, Birkenhead as they ran in eight tries to Cheshire’s three

1 min

Twickenham now the home of the women's game

CONGRATULATIONS to the Red Roses on another Grand Slam with a great result against France

1 min

Boost for finances as recovery continues

THE Commission des Championnats professionnels de l’Autorité de régulation du rugby – the new name for the financial auditors of the professional game at this end of the Channel Tunnel – reported that revenues for Top 14 and ProD2 clubs rose 43 per cent between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, from just under €360 million to €515m. Some €371m of that revenue was generated by the Top 14 alone

4 mins

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The Rugby Paper, the UK's number 1 selling rugby title, brings you exclusive stories, reports and features on your device, published in exceptional clarity. It contains renowned journalists such as Nick Cain and Peter Jackson, and famous former players as columnists including Jeremy Guscott and Jeff Probyn. Published every Sunday, The Rugby Paper covers Rugby Union from national teams and Premiership / Rabo Direct down to grass roots.