Sports
The Rugby Paper
Baxter: Fixture schedule hurting us
IF tackling the elite of English and European rugby was not enough for Exeter Chiefs to contend with, director of rugby Rob Baxter has blasted fixture schedulers in regards to weekly turnaround times for his side.
1 min |
January 05, 2025
The Rugby Paper
Muir's aiming to hit the target with Bath
DARTS-loving Will Muir hopes Bath winger can hit the bullseye in 2025 having gone so close to Premiership glory last season.
3 min |
January 05, 2025
The Rugby Paper
Computer games annoy Sanderson
ANGRY Alex Sanderson has vowed to channel the perceived lack of respect for his Sale Sharks side into a driving force for their Premiership title push in 2025.
1 min |
January 05, 2025
The Rugby Paper
Tigers chasing dream double
NICKY Smith insists Leicester Tigers will be content not unless they complete a \"dream double\" as Michael Cheika's men target domestic and European glory.
2 min |
January 05, 2025
The Rugby Paper
Stick with Marcus, he's best in England
STEVE Borthwick has put three outside halves on hybrid contracts and he has less than a month to decide which one to select for the start of the Six Nations in Dublin.
2 min |
January 05, 2025
The Rugby Paper
A humble hero who had a big heart ...
A DARK cloud of sorrow has been hovering above St Thomas’ Church at the east end of Swansea this Christmas over the loss of one of its most beloved disciples, Geoff Wheel.
4 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Firefighter Konkel turning the heat up for Harlequins
FIREFIGHTER Jade Konkel has ignited a Harlequins title charge following a run of miserable successive seasons for the 2020/21 winners.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Quins finish year at the top of the pile
HARLEQUINS went top of the Premiership Women’s Rugby with victory in Big Game 16 at the Allianz Stadium.
1 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Pirates are on course to make it five in a row
CORNISH Pirates are riding a wave of momentum looking for their fifth consecutive Championship win when they visit strugglers Ampthill today.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Nottingham take their chances to silence Cov
A THRILLING display of high-tempo attacking rugby in which wingers Ryan Olowofela and David Williams played prominent roles earned Nottingham a bonus-point success over Midlands rivals Coventry.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Itoje: Life's taken turn for the better under Borthwick
ENGLAND and Saracens lock Maro Itoje has claimed that the ‘atmosphere and experience’ of playing for the national team has improved under Steve Borthwick compared to life under former head coach Eddie Jones, adding that some of the practices Jones employed to get the best out of his players were ‘unnecessary’.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Varndell: Lam has put flair into Bears
WHEN it comes to scoring tries in Premiership Rugby, few players have struck fear into opposition defences quite like Tom Varndell.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Let's hope Brizball can stay in fashion
THIS is not obviously the time to be talking balls – the Twickenham elite have cornered that particular market – but the question demands to be asked: is Brizball the union game’s version of Bazball?
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Roots looking to find his old form
ETHAN Roots started 2024 with a bang, man of the match in Italy on his England debut, but his year ended with more of a splutter.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Dragons still can't get better of Cardiff
DRAGONS’ nightmare run against their fiercest rivals continued as they fell to their 19th consecutive defeat, having not beaten them since Boxing Day 2014.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Skivington: Balance is better but much to do
GLOUCESTER director of rugby George Skivington is confident his team are close to striking the right balance between attack and defence as they look to put their Sandy Park jinx to bed.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Rampant Sale leave Bears with nothing
WHAT a difference a week makes. Last weekend, Bristol’s all singing and dancing 54-24 performance at Leicester was hailed as one of the best in Premiership history.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Mitchell & Smith get Saints back on track
NORTHAMPTON swept aside a tame Newcastle team in a match that was over after just 15 minutes.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Quins are denied as Tigers snatch draw
ON a weekend of bizarrely one-sided games, a full throated and entertaining draw in front of nearly 80,000 fans at Twickenham redressed the balance a little but this 16th edition of the Big Match wasn’t without controversy.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Bath give Saracens lesson in finishing
BEN Spencer brushed off his autumn blues to come back and help inflict a record league victory on his old club as Bath went five clear at the top of the Premiership.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Ollie is the right man for England
SINCE Ollie Sleightholme won his first two England caps against New Zealand last summer, and then came off the bench again in the autumn series to score two tries against Australia, and another two against South Africa and Japan, he has not been exposed or looked out of place.
4 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Sides are coming after us - Dowson
PHIL Dowson concedes his Saints are still struggling to cope with being targeted by rivals desperate to stick one on the reigning English champions.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Wilson backing Isgro to create havoc for Quins
RODRIGO Isgro is a “physical specimen” who will become an even more destructive weapon for Quins once he is Premiership “battled hardened”.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Strength in depth at Bath and Scotland is huge, says Bayliss
JOSH Bayliss enjoyed his best run in a Scotland jersey over the autumn but insists competition for places means he’ll never take selection for granted, for either club or country.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Steward prepares new plan of attack
FREDDIE Steward has the safest pair of hands in the Premiership and is now set on finding his feet as an attacking force.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Ford set to follow family line and take up coaching
GEORGE Ford admits he sees himself following in the footsteps of his father and two brothers by moving into coaching one day.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
MacGinty out for four months with knee injury
BRISTOL fly-half AJ MacGinty is to miss the next four months with a knee injury that has required surgery.
1 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Jenkins excited to get back in action
BY his own admission, it’s been a ‘painful’ watch for Dafydd Jenkins so far this season.
2 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
Diamond is happy to stick with Newcastle
STEVE Diamond has committed himself to Newcastle longterm, as long he is wanted by the new owners when Semore Kurdi sells his stake in the Falcons.
3 min |
December 29, 2024
The Rugby Paper
McCall: That was horrible and ugly
THUNDERSTRUCK Mark McCall urged his Saracens side to get off the canvas after they were handed their worst Premiership defeat by rampant Bath.
2 min |