British and Irish Lions
Nick Cain: Wallabies paid price for unprofessionalism during Lions Tour
The Lions are back on the winning trail, but the high stakes surrounding the 2025 tour, whether sporting or commercial, means that getting an objective appraisal...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 3 days agoNick Cain: No return to Australia for the Lions without legal guarantees
Should Australia get the Lions back in 12 years? The answer is that Rugby Australia would have to commit to a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 week agoNick Cain: Joe Schmidt’s bogus words jeopardise Lions’ future
There was a chance of three whitewashes taking place this weekend. The first was whether the Lions would claim a 3-0...
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Columnists
/ 2 weeks agoNick Cain: Henry Pollock must play with 7 on his back
Henry Pollock looked lost at times against a First Nations & Pasifika selection which wanted to get in the faces of...
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Columnists
/ 3 weeks agoNick Cain: Maverick Rassie Erasmus is doing us all a service
Rassie Erasmus is one of rugby union’s most controversial characters, but he is also an international coach who thinks deeply about...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Joe Schmidt may force British and Irish Lions to move on
Joe Schmidt will be hailed as a miracle man if the Wallabies succeed in blindsiding the Lions to edge the forthcoming...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Felipe Contepomi committed selection hara-kiri against England
England deserved most of the plaudits lavished on them after their comprehensive four try 35-12 dismantling of Argentina last weekend. Fin...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Jack Willis deserves to be part of this British and Irish Lions party
It is one of the biggest travesties in this sport that Jack Willis could be destined to never pull on a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Owen Farrell’s British and Irish Lions call-up shouldn’t cause discord
The furore surrounding Owen Farrell being brought into the Lions squad as a replacement for Elliott Daly has stirred the nepotism...
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Columnists
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: England must concentrate on a power game against Argentina
We are about to find out about the depth in England’s playing resources, and whether the Premiership produces enough players ready...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Lessons of Dublin must be learned for the British and Irish Lions
One of the strangest elements about the 2025 Lions starting line-up in the non-tour match against Argentina in Dublin was...
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Latest News
/ 1 month agoNick Cain: Let’s hope the Whole Game Union wins the day
The attempts by some within the Twickenham administration to characterise the Whole Game Union’s campaign to bring about democratic change at...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Don’t let Joe Schmidt take British and Irish Lions for a ride
The Lions are being taken for pussycats by Australia coach Joe Schmidt. Contrary to the assurance given by Phil Waugh, the...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Whole Game Union is hoping to land a longshot
There is an RFU AGM on Saturday, and it could pass by with a barely discernible ripple, or deliver a seismic...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Steve Borthwick will want young guns to fire on Argentina Tour
The idea being touted that England’s two-Test tour of Argentina at the beginning of July will be the unearthing of a...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Argentina selection’s bad news for British & Irish Lions
The devaluing of fixtures throughout the professional game is becoming a blight, and an understrength Argentina facing the Lions on Friday...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoPaul Turner – Don’t let the Championship turn into ‘zombie league’
Nick Cain talks to Paul Turner as he says his goodbyes to Ampthill after 14 years in charge Paul Turner’s record...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Brute forces which could do the game great harm
Rugby Union has reached a critical crossroads in which the future of our sport is in the balance, particularly in England,...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: At last! Bath vs Bristol lived up to all the Premiership hype
The Premiership finally lived up to the overblown hype pumped out about it when Bath and Bristol produced a genuinely competitive...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Wallabies need to find some form – and sharpish
Australia's whole will have to be much greater than the sum of its parts to win the imminent Lions series if...
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Columnists
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: Henry Pollock needs to wise up – old pros will be keen to take him out
Henry Pollock’s upward trajectory has been so stellar that there was always going to be a queue of gnarled old pros...
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Latest News
/ 2 months agoNick Cain: This American dream will only end in tears
The Premiership/ RFU’s stampede for money, and the pitfalls that come with it, is reflected in the franchise fix proposed by...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Time for Steve Borthwick to ignore the easy options
The main challenge facing Steve Borthwick this summer is to maintain England’s momentum by winning a two-Test tour of Argentina with...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: British and Irish Lions must get tough by delivering an ultimatum
The longer the Lions Board continues to be as soft-toy cuddly as the mascot that tour youngster Henry Pollock will have...
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Columnists
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Championship rebrand can be a real game-changer
The rebranding this week of England’s second professional league as Champ Rugby could be a game-changer in English club rugby, and...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Andy Farrell still at 6s and 7s in his British and Irish Lions back row conundrum
While Henry Pollock is the talk of the town, and deservedly so following his meteoric rise and selection for the 2025...
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Champions Cup
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: At last! Welcome words reinforce value of jeopardy
One of the few signs of clear-thinking rugby union sanity this week came from Simon Gillham, the chairman of the Tier...
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British and Irish Lions
/ 3 months agoHenry Pollock’s energy could give British and Irish Lions that extra boost
By Nick Cain The likelihood of any uncapped young “bolters”, who were a feature of Lions squad announcements in the amateur...
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Champions Cup
/ 3 months agoNick Cain: Backing of franchise rugby is myopic, hypocritical and self-serving …
The parallel universe which some of the main movers and shakers in the RFU/ Premiership currently inhabit has revealed itself in...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoBath owner, Bruce Craig, backs franchise system
Bath owner Bruce Craig argues that scrapping relegation and relaunching the Premiership as a collection of centrally licensed franchises would bring...
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Miscellaneous
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Invest in the Championship – as well as women’s game
The money cut from the funding to Championship clubs in the last five years is believed to be very close to...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Bruce Craig’s protectionism is not what we want
The decision by Bath owner Bruce Craig to break cover by jumping on the franchise bandwagon this week is no revelation,...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Blueprint for the future lacks rational thinking with franchise idea
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week We are coming to the franchise crunch. Finally, after five years...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoLeinster are good … but they would not beat France
By Nick Cain The hype was in full flood after Leinster’s two-match 142-0 European Cup haul against Harlequins and Glasgow, when...
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Columnists
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Premiership clubs need to set higher standards
The most concerning aspect of the Harlequins no-show against Leinster at Croke Park last weekend, which finished in a 62-0 European...
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Latest News
/ 4 months agoNick Cain: Time to dismantle the ivory towers
TV adverts are a mixed bag, but at their best they paint a picture that nails an irksome aspect of modern...
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English Championship
/ 4 months agoWorcester Warriors return – RFU Board should tell us what it thinks
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The first act of the new Tier 2 Board, which has...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoRFU must prioritise return of promotion to Premiership
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week In defeat, defiance. For supporters of the incumbent RFU administration who...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoThis Premiership cartel is strangling our game
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Welcome to gridlock. Everything that is wrong with the English club...
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Letters
/ 5 months agoThe 7-1 bench split must be given the boot
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The reality of the 7:1 bench split is unmasked. The development...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoTommy Freeman deserves a run in the centres
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The England midfield has been a mishmash of failed partnerships, wishful...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoPressure is building on the RFU Board to stand down
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The Whole Game Union has added its weight to the call...
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Latest News
/ 5 months agoBen Youngs lifts the lid on Steve Borthwick – but too late
By Nick Cain Ben Youngs lifted the lid last week on Steve Borthwick being a “risk-averse” coach, and stated that the...
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Miscellaneous
/ 5 months agoSupport for change at RFU keeps on building
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week As the SGM vote calling for regime change at the RFU...
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Latest News
/ 6 months agoCut bench in half to make a game of it
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The bench is damaging rugby union, and this Six Nations should...
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Latest News
/ 6 months agoSix Nations – England need to be more consistent
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Driving force: Tom Willis has the power to make headway up...
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Latest News
/ 6 months agoFreddie Steward, take a tip from the best…
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Freddie Steward was not England’s worst performer against Ireland. However, the...
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Miscellaneous
/ 6 months agoStop giving No.9s so much protection
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Welcome to the 2025 Six Nations, and, unfortunately, a new abomination...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoTime to be brave and start with Henry Pollock at flanker for England
By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Are England fit for purpose going into the Six Nations? Steve...
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Latest News
/ 7 months agoDo the right thing, Bill Beaumont, and tell Bill Sweeney to be on his way
By Nick Cain Bill Beaumont has a duty to advise Bill Sweeney that his tenure as RFU chief executive is...
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