Nick Cain - News, Views and Opinion -The Rugby Paper https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/ Sun, 10 Aug 2025 09:30:01 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/RP-flavicon-150x150.jpg Nick Cain - News, Views and Opinion -The Rugby Paper https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/ 32 32 Nick Cain: Wallabies paid price for unprofessionalism during Lions Tour https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/463834/wallabies-paid-price-for-unprofessionalism/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/463834/wallabies-paid-price-for-unprofessionalism/#respond Sun, 10 Aug 2025 02:59:34 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/463834/wallabies-paid-price-for-unprofessionalism/ 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 of its impact and benefits is no longer as straightforward as looking at a win-loss ledger. Despite record profits for the tour being projected, with cash-strapped Rugby Australia alone […]

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Nick Cain: No return to Australia for the Lions without legal guarantees https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/463836/no-return-without-legal-guarantees/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/463836/no-return-without-legal-guarantees/#respond Sun, 10 Aug 2025 02:59:33 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/463836/no-return-without-legal-guarantees/ Should Australia get the Lions back in 12 years? The answer is that Rugby Australia would have to commit to a far more competitive pre-Test itinerary than it provided in 2025, and it would have to be legally binding. Without that, the answer should be no. There is also no guarantee that even with the […]

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Nick Cain: Joe Schmidt’s bogus words jeopardise Lions’ future https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/463347/schmidts-bogus-words-jeopardise-lions-future/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/463347/schmidts-bogus-words-jeopardise-lions-future/#respond Sun, 03 Aug 2025 02:59:38 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/463347/schmidts-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 series win over the Wallabies, and the second was an unacceptable provincial itinerary in Australia being airbrushed from an accurate picture of the tour by the euphoria of a winning series. The third was […]

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Nick Cain: Henry Pollock must play with 7 on his back https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/462791/pollock-must-play-with-7-on-his-back/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/462791/pollock-must-play-with-7-on-his-back/#respond Sun, 27 Jul 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=462791 Henry Pollock looked lost at times against a First Nations & Pasifika selection which wanted to get in the faces of the Lions and show that Australian rugby still has a bit of “biff ” about it. The match at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on the Tuesday before the second Test highlighted some of […]

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Nick Cain: Maverick Rassie Erasmus is doing us all a service https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/462189/maverick-erasmus-is-doing-us-all-a-service/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/462189/maverick-erasmus-is-doing-us-all-a-service/#respond Sun, 20 Jul 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=462189 Rassie Erasmus is one of rugby union’s most controversial characters, but he is also an international coach who thinks deeply about the game. It doesn’t matter whether it is tactics, selection, or sports psychology, the South African often brings an innovative left-field perspective. His latest two offerings in South Africa’s second Test 45-0 swamping of […]

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Nick Cain: Joe Schmidt may force British and Irish Lions to move on https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/461728/schmidt-may-force-lions-to-move-on/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/461728/schmidt-may-force-lions-to-move-on/#respond Sun, 13 Jul 2025 02:59:33 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/461728/schmidt-may-force-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 Test series which starts in Brisbane on Saturday. However, while it would permanently enhance the New Zealander’s international coaching CV, there is another long-term consideration that Aussies would do well to consider before they […]

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Nick Cain: Felipe Contepomi committed selection hara-kiri against England https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/461731/contepomi-committed-selection-hara-kiri/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/461731/contepomi-committed-selection-hara-kiri/#respond Sun, 13 Jul 2025 02:59:32 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/world/international-rugby-union/461731/contepomi-committed-selection-hara-kiri/ England deserved most of the plaudits lavished on them after their comprehensive four try 35-12 dismantling of Argentina last weekend. Fin Baxter, Jamie George and Joe Heyes punished the Pumas’ desperately weak scrum – as I’m sure Asher Opoku-Fordjour (at loose-head) and Afo Fasogbon would have also done – and the acute attacking orchestration and […]

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Nick Cain: Jack Willis deserves to be part of this British and Irish Lions party https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461222/willis-deserves-to-be-part-of-this-lions-party/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461222/willis-deserves-to-be-part-of-this-lions-party/#respond Sun, 06 Jul 2025 02:59:36 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461222/willis-deserves-to-be-part-of-this-lions-party/ It is one of the biggest travesties in this sport that Jack Willis could be destined to never pull on a Lions jersey. Yet, Willis has just produced a back row masterclass to help Toulouse to a third consecutive Bouclier de Brennus title after an epic Top 14 final against 2025 European Cup champions Bordeaux, […]

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Nick Cain: Owen Farrell’s British and Irish Lions call-up shouldn’t cause discord https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461224/farrells-call-up-shouldnt-cause-discord/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461224/farrells-call-up-shouldnt-cause-discord/#respond Sun, 06 Jul 2025 02:59:35 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/461224/farrells-call-up-shouldnt-cause-discord/ The furore surrounding Owen Farrell being brought into the Lions squad as a replacement for Elliott Daly has stirred the nepotism bad genie. Speculation that it could undermine head coach Andy Farrell by sowing division in the Lions ranks was soon rife, despite the father of the son referring to it as “nonsense”. I’m not […]

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Nick Cain: England must concentrate on a power game against Argentina https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460523/england-must-concentrate-on-a-power-game/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460523/england-must-concentrate-on-a-power-game/#respond Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460523/england-must-concentrate-on-a-power-game/ We are about to find out about the depth in England’s playing resources, and whether the Premiership produces enough players ready to take the step up to international level, as England face two away Tests against Argentina over the next fortnight. Given the quality of Argentina’s win over the Lions, achieved without many of their […]

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Nick Cain: Lessons of Dublin must be learned for the British and Irish Lions https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460526/lessons-of-dublin-must-be-learned/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460526/lessons-of-dublin-must-be-learned/#respond Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:59:38 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460526/lessons-of-dublin-must-be-learned/   One of the strangest elements about the 2025 Lions starting line-up in the non-tour match against Argentina in Dublin was that the players looked jet-lagged. Given that this was before they boarded the flights that would simultaneously transport them to The Land Down Under, and into the orbit of genuine circadian dysrhythmia after crossing […]

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Nick Cain: Let’s hope the Whole Game Union wins the day https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460528/lets-hope-the-wgu-wins-the-day/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460528/lets-hope-the-wgu-wins-the-day/#respond Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:59:37 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/460528/lets-hope-the-wgu-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 the RFU as the actions of a group of reckless “Rebels” ahead of this weekend’s AGM, drew the following response from Paddy McAlpine, the co-chair of the WGU and chairman of Chichester RFC. McAlpine […]

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Nick Cain: Don’t let Joe Schmidt take British and Irish Lions for a ride https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459916/dont-let-schmidt-take-lions-for-a-ride/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459916/dont-let-schmidt-take-lions-for-a-ride/#respond Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:59:41 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=459916 The Lions are being taken for pussycats by Australia coach Joe Schmidt. Contrary to the assurance given by Phil Waugh, the chief executive of Rugby Australia that “it is important that Test stars play for their franchises against the Lions”, Schmidt is still boxing and coxing. Having declared in May that he would “safeguard” his […]

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Nick Cain: Whole Game Union is hoping to land a longshot https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459917/wgu-is-hoping-to-land-a-longshot/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459917/wgu-is-hoping-to-land-a-longshot/#respond Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:59:40 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=459917 There is an RFU AGM on Saturday, and it could pass by with a barely discernible ripple, or deliver a seismic shock which could topple the RFU Board and Bill Sweeney’s incumbent administration. From the point of view of chief executive Sweeney and the Board, the main aim of the AGM, to be held at […]

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Nick Cain: Steve Borthwick will want young guns to fire on Argentina Tour https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459364/borthwick-will-want-young-guns-to-fire/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459364/borthwick-will-want-young-guns-to-fire/#respond Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:59:44 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459364/borthwick-will-want-young-guns-to-fire/ The idea being touted that England’s two-Test tour of Argentina at the beginning of July will be the unearthing of a new generation of English talent is good for clickbait headlines, but is unlikely to materialise. A more plausible outcome is that there will be bit-parts but not leading roles for most of the young […]

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Nick Cain: Argentina selection’s bad news for British & Irish Lions https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459366/argentina-selections-bad-news-for-lions/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459366/argentina-selections-bad-news-for-lions/#respond Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:59:43 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/459366/argentina-selections-bad-news-for-lions/ The devaluing of fixtures throughout the professional game is becoming a blight, and an understrength Argentina facing the Lions on Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, as their final warm-up before leaving for Australia, is the latest example. A third of Pumas head coach Felipe Contepomi’s 32-man squad is uncapped, with 11 players selected […]

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Paul Turner – Don’t let the Championship turn into ‘zombie league’ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/459406/dont-let-the-champ-turn-into-zombie/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/459406/dont-let-the-champ-turn-into-zombie/#respond Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:59:29 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/459406/dont-let-the-champ-turn-into-zombie/ Nick Cain talks to Paul Turner as he says his goodbyes to Ampthill after 14 years in charge Paul Turner’s record as a player and a coach deserves an almanac of its own given the extent and variety of his experience before he joined Ampthill 14 years ago. However, what he has achieved at the […]

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Nick Cain: Brute forces which could do the game great harm https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458711/brute-forces-which-could-do-the-game-great-harm/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458711/brute-forces-which-could-do-the-game-great-harm/#respond Sun, 08 Jun 2025 02:59:35 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=458711 Rugby Union has reached a critical crossroads in which the future of our sport is in the balance, particularly in England, Wales, and Scotland, but also further afield in Australia, and even New Zealand. That is over half of what used to be called the ‘big eight’ nations suffering a serious decline in playing numbers, […]

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Nick Cain: At last! Bath vs Bristol lived up to all the Premiership hype https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458713/at-last-match-which-lives-up-to-all-the-hype/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458713/at-last-match-which-lives-up-to-all-the-hype/#respond Sun, 08 Jun 2025 02:59:34 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=458713 The Premiership finally lived up to the overblown hype pumped out about it when Bath and Bristol produced a genuinely competitive hammer-and-tongs playoff semi-final at the Rec on Friday night. Bath had to earn their 34-20 win with a storming second-half after being outplayed in the first half by a Bristol side which had a […]

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Nick Cain: Wallabies need to find some form – and sharpish https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458714/wallabies-need-to-find-some-form-and-sharpish/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/458714/wallabies-need-to-find-some-form-and-sharpish/#respond Sun, 08 Jun 2025 02:59:33 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=458714 Australia's whole will have to be much greater than the sum of its parts to win the imminent Lions series if the collapse of the Queensland Reds and the NSW Waratahs in the final rounds of this season’s Super Rugby tournament is an accurate yardstick. The Reds were overwhelmed 32-12 by the Crusaders in a […]

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Nick Cain: Henry Pollock needs to wise up – old pros will be keen to take him out https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/457537/pollock-needs-to-wise-up-old-pros-will-be-keen-to-take-him-out/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/457537/pollock-needs-to-wise-up-old-pros-will-be-keen-to-take-him-out/#respond Sun, 01 Jun 2025 02:59:31 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/457537/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 looking to take the Northampton openside tyro down a peg...or five. Step forward Jefferson Poirot, the 36-cap former France loosehead and Bordeaux-Begles skipper, who made a beeline for Pollock immediately the final whistle signalled […]

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Nick Cain: This American dream will only end in tears https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/457540/nick-cain-this-american-dream-will-only-end-in-tears/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/457540/nick-cain-this-american-dream-will-only-end-in-tears/#respond Sun, 01 Jun 2025 02:59:30 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/457540/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 Bath owner Bruce Craig, and supported by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.

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Nick Cain: Time for Steve Borthwick to ignore the easy options https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/455859/time-for-borthwick-to-ignore-the-easy-options/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/455859/time-for-borthwick-to-ignore-the-easy-options/#respond Sun, 25 May 2025 02:59:50 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/455859/time-for-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 13 of his leading players on Lions duty.

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Nick Cain: British and Irish Lions must get tough by delivering an ultimatum https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454987/lions-must-get-tough-by-delivering-an-ultimatum/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454987/lions-must-get-tough-by-delivering-an-ultimatum/#respond Sun, 18 May 2025 02:59:36 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454987/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 to lug around Australia this summer, the longer coaches like Joe Schmidt, below, will devalue tours by withholding players until the Test series. The Lions chairman Ieuan Evans should tell Phil Waugh, Australia Rugby’s […]

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Nick Cain: Championship rebrand can be a real game-changer https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454989/champ-rebrand-can-be-a-real-game-changer/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454989/champ-rebrand-can-be-a-real-game-changer/#respond Sun, 18 May 2025 02:59:35 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454989/champ-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 it is a new dynamic required so urgently that it almost cannot afford to fail. The disaffection with the administration of the game is such that it was predictable that naysayers would be out […]

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Nick Cain: Andy Farrell still at 6s and 7s in his British and Irish Lions back row conundrum https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454389/farrell-still-at-6s-and-7s-in-his-back-row-conundrum/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454389/farrell-still-at-6s-and-7s-in-his-back-row-conundrum/#respond Sun, 11 May 2025 02:59:44 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/454389/farrell-still-at-6s-and-7s-in-his-back-row-conundrum/ While Henry Pollock is the talk of the town, and deservedly so following his meteoric rise and selection for the 2025 Lions tour to Australia, there are aspects of head coach Andy Farrell’s back row and lock selection which are puzzling. The most obvious is that 20-year-old Northampton bolter Pollock – who this column argued […]

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Nick Cain: At last! Welcome words reinforce value of jeopardy https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453863/at-last-welcome-words-reinforce-value-of-jeopardy/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453863/at-last-welcome-words-reinforce-value-of-jeopardy/#respond Sun, 04 May 2025 02:59:41 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453863/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 2 board, when he championed the cause of a league system with jeopardy, contradicting RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney’s assertion that promotion and relegation “doesn’t currently work” in the English game. Gillham stated that […]

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Henry Pollock’s energy could give British and Irish Lions that extra boost https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453866/pollocks-energy-could-give-lions-that-extra-boost/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453866/pollocks-energy-could-give-lions-that-extra-boost/#respond Sun, 04 May 2025 02:59:40 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453866/pollocks-energy-could-give-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 era, has diminished in the pro game to the extent that none were expected in the 37-man 2025 Lions tour party to Australia to be revealed on Thursday. That changed with Henry Pollock’s supercharged […]

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Nick Cain: Backing of franchise rugby is myopic, hypocritical and self-serving … https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453869/myopic-hypocritical-and-self-serving/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453869/myopic-hypocritical-and-self-serving/#respond Sun, 04 May 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/453869/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 several chaotic snapshots of English rugby union over the past 10 days. This has been illustrated best by their attempt to stampede the English club game towards accepting a closed-shop franchise system at the […]

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Bath owner, Bruce Craig, backs franchise system https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/453285/bath-owners-backing-for-franchise-system/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/453285/bath-owners-backing-for-franchise-system/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 02:59:56 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/453285/bath-owners-backing-for-franchise-system/ Bath owner Bruce Craig argues that scrapping relegation and relaunching the Premiership as a collection of centrally licensed franchises would bring investment and stability to the game. Wasps, Worcester and London Irish’s bankruptcies have knocked confidence, and every club in the Premiership operates at a loss. Cash-strapped Newcastle, who are again bottom of the table, […]

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Nick Cain: Invest in the Championship – as well as women’s game https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/453329/invest-in-champs-as-well-as-womens-game/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/453329/invest-in-champs-as-well-as-womens-game/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 02:59:40 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/453329/invest-in-champs-as-well-as-womens-game/ The money cut from the funding to Championship clubs in the last five years is believed to be very close to the amount of money invested by Bill Sweeney’s RFU administration in allowing the top tier of the English women’s game to go professional. Whether the push for an accelerated women’s pro tier was the […]

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Nick Cain: Bruce Craig’s protectionism is not what we want https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/453332/craigs-protectionism-is-not-what-we-want/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/453332/craigs-protectionism-is-not-what-we-want/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/miscellaneous/453332/craigs-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, and his protectionist arguments for a closed shop as the ultimate fix for the debt-laden Premiership 10 are utterly unconvincing. After 15 years of uphill skiing trying to assemble a winning Bath team – […]

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Nick Cain: Blueprint for the future lacks rational thinking with franchise idea https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452801/blueprint-for-the-future-lacks-rational-thinking/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452801/blueprint-for-the-future-lacks-rational-thinking/#respond Sun, 20 Apr 2025 02:59:38 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452801/blueprint-for-the-future-lacks-rational-thinking/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week We are coming to the franchise crunch. Finally, after five years of funding cuts, obfuscation, impenetrable red tape, empty promises, bureaucratic stasis, and the false flag of promotion-relegation being sacrosanct, the battle for the immediate future of English club rugby is in plain sight. It […]

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Leinster are good … but they would not beat France https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452806/leinster-are-good-but-they-would-not-beat-france/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452806/leinster-are-good-but-they-would-not-beat-france/#respond Sun, 20 Apr 2025 02:59:36 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452806/leinster-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 the head coach of the next team to take them on in Dublin, Ulster’s Richie Murphy, declared: “At this moment, Leinster look like the strongest team in Europe, possibly in the world.” Murphy was […]

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Nick Cain: Premiership clubs need to set higher standards https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/452102/prem-clubs-need-to-set-higher-standards/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/452102/prem-clubs-need-to-set-higher-standards/#respond Sun, 13 Apr 2025 02:59:39 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/domestic-club-rugby-union/epcr-champions-cup/452102/prem-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 Cup rout, is that the club’s leading England internationals, and would-be Test players, lacked the motivation to battle for places on this summer’s Lions tour.

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Nick Cain: Time to dismantle the ivory towers https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452104/time-to-dismantle-the-ivory-towers/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452104/time-to-dismantle-the-ivory-towers/#respond Sun, 13 Apr 2025 02:59:38 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/452104/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 life, but manage to do it with a dollop of humour. One such is a betting ad which shows a long-suffering punter at a stadium fast food van staring at a cremated offering, that […]

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Worcester Warriors return – RFU Board should tell us what it thinks https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/451407/rfu-board-should-tell-us-what-it-thinks/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/451407/rfu-board-should-tell-us-what-it-thinks/#respond Sun, 06 Apr 2025 02:59:37 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/451407/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 prioritised the rehabilitation of Worcester over upholding Ealing’s right to a promotion-relegation play-off, is a warning sign that it is a neutered body. If acting in the best interests of the English Championship clubs […]

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RFU must prioritise return of promotion to Premiership https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/450666/rfu-must-prioritise-return-of-promotion/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/450666/rfu-must-prioritise-return-of-promotion/#respond Sun, 30 Mar 2025 02:59:31 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/?p=450666 By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week In defeat, defiance. For supporters of the incumbent RFU administration who voted for the retention of chief executive Bill Sweeney at the Special General Meeting, still believing that the £1.36m LTIP executive bonus scheme was a justified corporate metric in a year in which it […]

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This Premiership cartel is strangling our game https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/449947/this-premiership-cartel-is-strangling-our-game/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/449947/this-premiership-cartel-is-strangling-our-game/#respond Sun, 23 Mar 2025 03:59:29 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/449947/this-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 game, and the governance of the RFU Board and its executive, was underlined on Tuesday when the joint RFU/Premiership PRB (Professional Rugby Board) succeeded in rebuilding the ring-fence around the top league cartel by […]

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The 7-1 bench split must be given the boot https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/449294/frankensteins-bench-must-be-given-the-boot/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/449294/frankensteins-bench-must-be-given-the-boot/#respond Sun, 16 Mar 2025 03:59:37 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/449294/frankensteins-bench-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 ushered in first by South Africa’s head coach Rassie Erasmus, and adopted in this Six Nations by his French counterpart Fabien Galthie, is driving Rugby Union inexorably down the same route as American Football, […]

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Tommy Freeman deserves a run in the centres https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448616/freeman-deserves-run-on-centre-stage/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448616/freeman-deserves-run-on-centre-stage/#respond Sun, 09 Mar 2025 03:59:46 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448616/freeman-deserves-run-on-centre-stage/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The England midfield has been a mishmash of failed partnerships, wishful thinking, haphazard revolving-door selection, injury disruption, and endless frustration for followers of the Red Rose for the best part of 20 years. What’s more, as England face Italy this afternoon with Fraser Dingwall, below, […]

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Pressure is building on the RFU Board to stand down https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448618/pressure-is-building-on-the-board-to-stand-down/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448618/pressure-is-building-on-the-board-to-stand-down/#respond Sun, 09 Mar 2025 03:59:45 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448618/pressure-is-building-on-the-board-to-stand-down/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week The Whole Game Union has added its weight to the call by Francis Baron for the entire RFU Board to be replaced (see front page) by adding a “Resolution of No Confidence in the Board” for consideration at the SGM on March 27. The resolution […]

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Ben Youngs lifts the lid on Steve Borthwick – but too late https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448620/youngs-lifts-the-lid-but-too-late/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448620/youngs-lifts-the-lid-but-too-late/#respond Sun, 09 Mar 2025 03:59:44 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/448620/youngs-lifts-the-lid-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 kick-first strategy adopted by Eddie Jones, and continued by his former assistant, “was boring to play in”. It’s a great shame the centurion scrum-half has waited until retirement from the international arena before making […]

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Support for change at RFU keeps on building https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/447986/support-for-change-at-rfu-keeps-on-building/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/447986/support-for-change-at-rfu-keeps-on-building/#respond Sun, 02 Mar 2025 03:59:36 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/447986/support-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 approaches, it is critical that the 1,400 community clubs who are the vast majority of its members remember the tried-and-tested maxim: The people who got us into this mess are not the ones to […]

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Cut bench in half to make a game of it https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/447484/cut-bench-in-half-to-make-a-game-of-it/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/447484/cut-bench-in-half-to-make-a-game-of-it/#respond Sun, 23 Feb 2025 03:59:37 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/447484/cut-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 be a watershed moment in curbing its overblown influence. The availability of eight tactical replacements per team is undermining the concept of players being fit enough to play for 80 minutes, especially in the […]

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Six Nations – England need to be more consistent https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446944/england-need-to-be-more-consistent-2/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446944/england-need-to-be-more-consistent-2/#respond Sun, 16 Feb 2025 03:59:37 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446944/england-need-to-be-more-consistent-2/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Driving force: Tom Willis has the power to make headway up the middle PICTURE: Getty Images Those who believe England have turned a big corner following their last-minute fireworks against France are optimists, simply because their record so far under head coach Steve Borthwick suggests […]

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Freddie Steward, take a tip from the best… https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446406/take-a-tip-from-the/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446406/take-a-tip-from-the/#respond Sun, 09 Feb 2025 03:59:35 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/446406/take-a-tip-from-the/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Freddie Steward was not England’s worst performer against Ireland. However, the ease with which he was beaten by Jamison Gibson-Park’s inside-step for the scrum-half to score the first Irish try in Dublin last weekend, probably explains why Steward did not feature in the match 23 […]

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Stop giving No.9s so much protection https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/445834/stop-giving-no-9s-so-much-protection/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/445834/stop-giving-no-9s-so-much-protection/#respond Sun, 02 Feb 2025 03:59:36 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/all/columnists/nick-cain/445834/stop-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 of a law trial aimed at “Protecting the 9” which will turn scrum-half – a position which has produced many of the greatest players rugby union has seen – into a sacrosanct, but diminished, […]

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Time to be brave and start with Henry Pollock at flanker for England https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445237/time-to-be-brave-and-start-with-pollock-at-7/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445237/time-to-be-brave-and-start-with-pollock-at-7/#respond Sun, 26 Jan 2025 03:59:46 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445237/time-to-be-brave-and-start-with-pollock-at-7/ By Nick Cain - Read his expert opinion every week Are England fit for purpose going into the Six Nations? Steve Borthwick listed a lack of fitness as one explanation for England’s serial final quarter slumps in the autumn, and the big issue going into their Dublin opener against reigning champions Ireland is whether anything […]

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Do the right thing, Bill Beaumont, and tell Bill Sweeney to be on his way https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445239/do-the-right-thing-bill-and-tell-sweeney-to-be-on-his-way/ https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445239/do-the-right-thing-bill-and-tell-sweeney-to-be-on-his-way/#respond Sun, 26 Jan 2025 03:59:45 +0000 https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/445239/do-the-right-thing-bill-and-tell-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 over, rather than face a vote to remove him at an SGM which has been convened for March 27. Having accepted the role of RFU interim chairman, it is incumbent on Beaumont to acknowledge […]

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