Sports
The Rugby Paper
Overnight success took Chiefs 13 years!
On Tuesday, Exeter Chiefs celebrate the tenth anniversary of winning promotion to the Premiership. NEALE HARVEY marks that momentous day by talking to two of the main personalities
6 min |
May 24, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Welsh trio can put pressure on Conor
NICK CAIN LOOKS AT THE CONTENDERS FOR EACH POSITION - THIS WEEK... SCRUM HALVES
4 min |
May 24, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Miracle workers keep World Cup dream alive
Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful
4 min |
May 24, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Boyd's trust has seen Fraser grow
SAINTS centre Fraser Dingwall credits the trust Chris Boyd places in his young players for leading him to the fringes of the England team.
3 min |
May 24, 2020
The Rugby Paper
How Many Of The Staff Will Be Deemed Key Workers?
When do you think rugby might restart? With lockdown easing just a little, hopes will rise, but I can’t see it happening for a long time to come, despite Wednesday’s announcement that elite sports can return to individual or small groups training.
4 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Symons: Joe will grow Down Under
JOE Marchant’s Super Rugby experience with the Auckland Blues will lay the platform for him to become an England regular, says Harlequins lock Matt Symons.
3 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
England In 4 Nations Plan For The Autumn
England and Wales plan to finalise fixtures for an emergency Four Nations tournament this autumn in response to rugby’s worsening global crisis.
3 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Wow! What a thrill to see Ospreys' new chance
I nearly choked on my cornflakes when I read about the new investment coming into the Ospreys. What a turn-around for my old club.
3 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Max eyes triumphant end to horror season
FRUSTRATED Saracens playmaker Max Malins hopes his impending move to Bristol will bring title glory and reignite his international ambitions with England.
3 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Kearney is king of Europe's try scorers
Peter Jackson gets out his stats book to reveal this seaon’s leading scorers in Europe’s top leagues
3 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Even Lomu and Pocock can't get in this team
Assuming you have a little time at your disposal at this benighted moment of infection rates, anti-social distancing and publessness, close your eyes and dream of a match between the best British and Irish Lions of the World Cup era and a rival line-up drawn from all three countries on the current tour rota.
4 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Coltish O'Driscoll oozed class right from the start
Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful
4 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Chiefs can really be big daddies this season
HENRY Slade is expecting big changes at Sandy Park after lockdown – not least a club creche!
4 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
All Blacks must decide to play Beauden at fly-half
THE most recent news from New Zealand has been about the appointment of Sam Cane as the new captain of the All Blacks, but, for me, the biggest decision coach Stu Foster will have to make is where to play Beauden Barrett.
5 min |
May 17, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Marti's mission makes the Begles top dogs
PETER JACKSON reveals how many, or how few, watched Europe’s top leagues
4 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Kennedy bankrolls Booster for north west
BRIAN Kennedy spent millions bankrolling Sale’s rise to become Premiership champions in 2006 and now the Scottish businessman is embarking on a very different mission that should prove every bit as uplifting.
5 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Global Game? Germany Are Twenty Years Behind
During the decidedly uncivil English war over control of the nascent professional game, Cliff Brittle had a dream which sounds as impossible today as it did then.
4 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Bill's right, Six Nations owe SANZAAR nothing
THE gnashing of teeth and wailing from the southern hemisphere unions that accompanied the failure of Agustin Pichot to unseat Bill Beaumont as World Rugby chairman was predictable.
4 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
RFU need grasroots rescue package
So, as expected, Bill Beaumont has achieved his second term as the head of World Rugby and is promising to raise the stakes by making another attempt to refloat the idea of a Nations League, although not just yet.
4 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
South Sea Bubble could provide tonic for rugby
RUGBY has made many false moves and poor decisions over the decades and what is so frustrating is that on quite a few occasions the authorities got incredibly close to absolutely nailing it before making the wrong call.
3 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
New kicking law will increase excitement
I was really looking forward to seeing the results of the World Rugby law experiment ‘50:22’, but the abandonment of the season has put paid to any meaningful data coming back from this year’s trials.
3 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
My new dawn: increase squad size, cut salaries
What I’m about to suggest will be seen by some as barking mad, but bear with me.
3 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Clubs must grasp this big chance to reset their goals
THE Covid-19 pandemic has been unfortunate for so many people that when Rugby Union starts again it will not top the agenda. However, this enforced break does give clubs the opportunity to reassess where they’re going, and whether what they were doing before the lockdown is going to get them to their chosen destination.
4 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Beating Australia is cherished memory
GREIG TONKS FORMER SCOTLAND, LEICESTER, NOTTINGHAM, EDINBURGH AND LONDON IRISH UTILITY BACK
5 min |
May 10, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Virus Ends Brock's Hope Of A Fitting Career Finale
On the first weekend of January this year in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the visitors made a tactical change then of such insignificance that it vanished into the minutiae of just another Saturday.
2 min |
May 03, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Young Jonah, just doing what came so naturally
Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful
4 min |
May 03, 2020
The Rugby Paper
My mission is to make Bath exciting and scoring tries
Bath’s first-year director of rugby Stuart Hooper tells NEALE HARVEY how he’s coping with the current shutdown while attempting to plan ahead.
10 min |
May 03, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Evergreen Elvis has lots of hits left in him
TONGAN Test hooker Elvis Taione puts his remarkable longevity down to Pacific Island genes, sleep and a lifechanging decision to swap work on a building site for rugby.
2 min |
May 03, 2020
The Rugby Paper
Glad I took Dad's advice not to quit
AS a teenager, I was told I was too small to play rugby (I’m 5ft 8), and that I would never make it to the top. So, when I look back on a career that saw me win 55 Argentina caps, play at three World Cups and professionally in England and France, I’m very proud of what I achieved.
5 min |
May 03, 2020
The Rugby Paper
No French champions for first time since WW2
The 30 presidents of the Top 14 and ProD2 this week agreed to end the 2019/20 season, leaving a number of questions unanswered. The hope, now, is to start the 2020/21 season in September but the clubs cannot begin their pre-season planning until a definite start date is confirmed, and medical measures are agreed and met.
6 min |