In this issue

August 15, 2021

Trinder opts for Amps over top flight return

HENRY Trinder plans on bringing the attacking style of rugby which dominated his 172-game career with Gloucester to Championship side Ampthill.

3 mins

O'Flaherty eager to right the wrongs of painful last season

TOM O’Flaherty is putting the rest of the Premiership on notice that Exeter Chiefs are determined to rediscover their ruthless streak next season.

2 mins

Lions must now engage with the Premiership

The idea that the best players from the Home Unions get together every four years and travel to the southern hemisphere is a hugely romantic one, with decades of history behind it. Away from home and family for weeks on end, it’s only natural that the players bond, and friendships made on tour last a lifetime. However, nowadays those players are full-time professionals, who have chosen to sign contracts with clubs, or in the Celtic nations it might be Unions, that commit them to playing when their employers need them.

3 mins

Kick-fests will make us all turn off the TV

INTERNATIONAL rugby is the peak of our sport, and World Rugby has to act on the questions that were raised by the 2021 Lions tour – or watch its showcase events lose their sparkle and have the audience reach for the off button.

5 mins

This smearing of Gatland as conservative is claptrap

WARREN Gatland is a great coach, and assorted attempts to undermine his reputation this week were unworthy at best, and vindictive at worst.

5 mins

Wales can feed off grassroots energy

GRASSROOTS rugby is back up and running in Wales and it’s just brilliant to see those who love the game involved at their local clubs again. I’ve been added to the Amman United second team WhatsApp group for the new season – they’re trying to tempt be back to play once again and I’m resisting… for now!

3 mins

The sterile Lions Tests are killing the game

You have to laugh, even in the darkness. It’s better than the alternative. After countless stackings of the deck in favour of attack over defence by World Rugby, we have just been subjected to the most sterile, poverty-stricken Test series in well over a century of officially-sanctioned British and Irish Lions business trips. Six tries in three matches? Whoopee doo. Hang out the bunting.

4 mins

Change guidelines to weed out ‘cheats'

I’m not going to do a Rassie and make a 60minute video nasty slagging off a specific referee but before the Lions tour disappears in our rear view mirror there are a few little refereeing items that need addressing under ‘any other business’.

5 mins

Lions should have put pressure on Boks' backs

What we hoped would be a successful Lions series turned into a loss that’s still hard to believe. In all three Tests the Lions showed a commitment and drive to match the Boks forwards but only then did they attempt to outplay their backs.

4 mins

Council steps in to take care of Beziers

Thirteen months ago, you probably recall, a proposed mega-money takeover of French ProD2 side Béziers dominated the rugby headlines on the French side of the Channel.

5 mins

Read all stories from The Rugby Paper

The Rugby Paper Magazine Description:

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.