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Northampton Saints 35-33 Saracens: George Furbank gets into gear for England call
George Furbank is ready to help England try and get their stuttering Six Nations campaign back on a winning track in Rome if required. The post Northampton Saints 35-33 Saracens: George Furbank gets into gear for England call appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Harlequins 35-14 Newcastle Red Bulls: Cadan Murley and Chandler Cunningham-South fire up Quins
England internationals Cadan Murley and Chandler Cunningham-South were among the scorers as Harlequins comfortably saw off Newcastle Red Bulls to provide some much-needed positivity for their supporters. The post Harlequins 35-14 Newcastle Red Bulls: Cadan Murley and Chandler Cunningham-South fire up Quins appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Dragons 15-15 Benetton: The Welsh side go close to making it five in a row
There was late drama at Rodney Parade as the Dragons narrowly missed out on a fifth successive home win after drawing with Benetton, Angus O’Brien’s last-minute touchline conversion just drifting wide. The post Dragons 15-15 Benetton: The Welsh side go close to making it five in a row appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
London Scottish 24-21 Chinnor: Quick-fire Scots hold on to deny the Villagers
London Scottish, putting on one of their best displays of the season, held on at the death to secure five points at home, in a physical, fiery, and often frantic encounter against Chinnor. The post London Scottish 24-21 Chinnor: Quick-fire Scots hold on to deny the Villagers appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Peter Jackson: Mike Gibson remembers the Welsh lions of ’76
When he sits at home in Belfast next Friday night to watch Ireland-Wales, Mike Gibson could be forgiven for recalling a day he would rather forget. The day the visitors painted the purple patch to end all purple patches. The post Peter Jackson: Mike Gibson remembers the Welsh lions of ’76 appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Plymouth Albion 26-34 Blackheath: The Club rings proudly to prove three is a crowd
Blackheath kept up the pace in the promotion race, with a thoroughly deserved victory over nearest rivals Plymouth Albion. The post Plymouth Albion 26-34 Blackheath: The Club rings proudly to prove three is a crowd appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
RFU defends move to franchise model at the top of English club rugby
Promotion and relegation is set to be scrapped in a major restructure at the top of English club rugby. The post RFU defends move to franchise model at the top of English club rugby appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Italy wing Paolo Odogwu out to add to England’s despair in Six Nations clash
Paolo Odogwu aims to help Italy heap more Six Nations misery and despair on Henry Pollock and England when they visit Rome next weekend. The post Italy wing Paolo Odogwu out to add to England’s despair in Six Nations clash appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Nottingham chief Alistair Bow concerned by RFU’s franchise plans
Nottingham chairman Alistair Bow aired his concerns over the proposed franchise structure of the Prem in the match programme ahead of Friday’s clash with Worcester. The post Nottingham chief Alistair Bow concerned by RFU’s franchise plans appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Hamstring injury rules Mitchell out of Six Nations
ENGLAND’S first-choice scrum-half Alex Mitchell, right, has been ruled out of the remainder of their Six Nations campaign with a hamstring injury suffered in last Saturday’s 42-21 defeat by Ireland. Mitchell has started England’s last 10 Six Nations matches. Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet, above, replaced Mitchell in the 24th minute at Allianz Stadium. Bath’s Ben […] The post Hamstring injury rules Mitchell out of Six Nations appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Ireland lose Lowe
WING James Lowe has been ruled out of Ireland’s two remaining Six Nations matches with a groin injury. Lowe was replaced by Tommy O’Brien just 20 minutes into Ireland’s 42-21 victory at Twickenham. Ireland, who sit third in the table, face Wales in Dublin on Friday before hosting Scotland in their final game on March […] The post Ireland lose Lowe appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Kyran Bracken: Steve Borthwick has work to do but calls for him to lose his job are over the top
I’ll be honest, I’m as surprised as anyone by what we’ve seen from England over the last two weeks. The post Kyran Bracken: Steve Borthwick has work to do but calls for him to lose his job are over the top appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
We’ve not approached Farrell, insist Saracens
NEWS EXTRA SARACENS have rejected “disrespectful” reports that they have offered Ireland boss Andy Farrell a coaching role for after the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The club said “no offer has been made” after the Irish Independent reported Farrell has been approached with a deal worth more than £1m per year to return to Saracens. […] The post We’ve not approached Farrell, insist Saracens appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
New Zealand’s record try scorer calls time
NEW Zealand’s leading try-scorer Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has retired from Test rugby for a second time. The 34-year-old winger who has scored 50 tries helped the Black Ferns win the World Cup in 2017 and 2022. She retired after claiming a second gold at the 2024 Olympics but returned for last year’s World Cup in which […] The post New Zealand’s record try scorer calls time appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Robertson is happy to coach Barbarians
FORMER New Zealand coach Scott Robertson will return to rugby by taking charge of the Barbarians this summer. Robertson, whose two-year spell with the All Blacks ended in January, will lead the invitational side against world champions South Africa in Port Elizabeth on June 20, before a match against Wales at Twickenham on 27 June. […] The post Robertson is happy to coach Barbarians appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Bath 38-26 Gloucester: Will Muir takes to the air to put the holders into semis
Seb Atkinson passed his Six Nations audition, but it was holders Bath who marched into the semi-finals of the Prem Cup from Pool A with victory over Gloucester. The post Bath 38-26 Gloucester: Will Muir takes to the air to put the holders into semis appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Abject failure must not be protected
I HEARD last weekend from a reliable source that Ealing Trailfinders will once again be denied promotion on the ground of minimum operating standards. This was on the same day that Ealing moved to 18-0 on the season, and going back to last season they recorded their 23rd straight win. If we roll back to […] The post Abject failure must not be protected appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
This exhibitionism is too much for me
NICK Cain is quite right (February 15) to draw attention to those elements in our game promoting ‘showbiz’ rugby. He wrote in the context of lawmakers downgrading the set scrum but the governing bodies of all the Six Nations are actively promoting this trend. How else can one explain the crass and vulgar spectacle that […] The post This exhibitionism is too much for me appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Woeful was right…
HAVING read Nick Cain’s comments on the England’s performance last Saturday and seeing the ‘player watch’ by Paul Rees, I’ve concluded they watched a different game. Nick rightly opened with ‘Woeful England’, that is was, so how Paul can give an average player score of 5.8 for the England starting 15 is beyond belief, George […] The post Woeful was right… appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Global ambitions take some planning
Yes: Fiji celebrate victory at Twickenham in 2023 IS the recent announcement that Fiji will play their home games for the new Nations League here in the UK telling us that due to the vast distances between southern hemisphere nations then would it have been better to have had the games all played either in […] The post Global ambitions take some planning appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
We just can’t stick with the status quo
WHEN the franchise system for England’s pro clubs is introduced, it will formally reinforce the existing practical gulf between the small number of clubs that can sustain the salary costs involved in competing at the highest level and the rest. This is considered by some in the game to be a bad thing, but I […] The post We just can’t stick with the status quo appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
England can’t take pressure
MY first inclination was not to heap more misery on arguably England’s worst-ever performance last weekend. However amid all the soul searching and excuses pedalled by the England camp, there were two comments from Ellis Genge and Steve Borthwick respectively which aroused my curiosity. First Genge referred to the England team believing their own hype […] The post England can’t take pressure appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
DREAMTEAM
ROBIN HISLOP, THE EDINBURGH AND FORMER ROTHERHAM TITANS, DONCASTER KNIGHTS, SARACENS AND WASPS PROP, SELECTS THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST... 1. Allan Jacobsen – Coming through at Edinburgh, ‘Chunk’ was brilliant with me as a proper old-school prop and Scottish legend. Took time to help younger lads and set standards on […] The post DREAMTEAM appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Chris Hewett: Difficult choices in the game of survival
There is no shortcut to anywhere worth going, as rugby discovered to its acute discomfort following the fumbled embrace of professionalism after the “Mandela World Cup” a little over 30 years ago, and the governing classes learned the lesson well. These days, the people at the top of the sport take the most scenic route to everywhere before ending up in the wrong place. The post Chris Hewett: Difficult choices in the game of survival appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
England numbers fall short at No.9
CHRIS HEWETT IT remains perfectly possible that England will beat the French in Paris in the final round of Six Nations fixtures – if the Starmer government can go a full 24 hours without a U-turn, as it did one day last week, everything is conceivable – but the cross-Channel balance of power has shifted […] The post England numbers fall short at No.9 appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Ulster have no answer as Ospreys take charge
By ROGER PANTING Ospreys .............21pts Tries: Foley 3, Ratti 68, Kasende 77 Conversions: Walsh 4, 69, 78 Ulster ................. 10pts Tries: Ward 9, Stewart 12 OSPREYS took another notable scalp as high-flying Ulster were toppled at the Brewery Field. Ulster were looking to rise to third in the table but after an evenly-matched first period […] The post Ulster have no answer as Ospreys take charge appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Edinburgh launch quick fightback to sink Scarlets
By SIMON THOMAS Edinburgh ....... 24pts Tries: Vellacott 30, 49; Bradbury 46, Paterson 69 Conversions: Thompson 31, 47 Scarlets ...........19pts Tries: Roberts 22, 62; Louis 28 Conversions: Leggatt-Jones 23, 29 EDINBURGH produced some sparkling rugby as they came from behind to claim a bonus point victory at Hive Stadium. After trailing 14-0, they ran in […] The post Edinburgh launch quick fightback to sink Scarlets appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Impressive Cardiff overpower Leinster
By ROGER PANTING Try: Davies 54 Penalty: Sheedy 18 Cardiff ................. 8pts Leinster ............... 7pts Try: McGrath 67 Conversion: Tector 67 CARDIFF ground out an impressive victory to end Leinster’s winning run of 11 matches in incessant rain at the Arms Park. The win took Cardiff up to third in the league table and their […] The post Impressive Cardiff overpower Leinster appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Bulls ………….41 Sharks ……… 12
THE Bulls secured a commanding victory over the Sharks in a one-sided South African derby at Loftus Versfeld to move up to eighth in the URC. The hosts were ruthless in the first half, racing into a 22-0 lead by the break, which all but put the contest to bed. Canan Moodie opened the scoring […] The post Bulls ………….41 Sharks ……… 12 appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Lions ………….24 Stormers ….. 10
THE Lions claimed a deserved victory over the Stormers to move up to seventh and strengthen their playoff push. Stormers lost just their third match of the season and fell behind when flanker Sibabalwe Mahashe powered over, with Chris Smith on hand to add the extras. Three minutes later, Henco van Wyk finished a sharp […] The post Lions ………….24 Stormers ….. 10 appeared first on The Rugby Paper.