Rugby news

• Exeter’s Ridl blow

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  EXETER winger Campbell Ridl is set to miss much of the season after suffering a knee ligament injury. Ridl was a breakout star last season scoring 17 tries in 24 games including one in the final defeat to Northampton. The 21-year-old former England U20 flyer was hurt in Exeter’s opening pre-season game when they lost […]
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• Play a Six Nations match in Las Vegas? I’m in, says Itoje

  20-09-2026 05:00 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By GARY FITZGERALD MARO Itoje would jump at the chance to lead England in a “home” Six Nations clash across the Pond. However, the captain expects the RFU will be loathe to lose out on a big Twickenham “money-maker”. World Rugby says it will offer financial incentives to countries willing to switch a Six Nations […]
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• Maro Itoje: I’m open to England playing Six Nations in USA

  20-09-2026 05:00 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Maro Itoje says he would welcome the chance to lead England in a Six Nations match in the United States, despite the financial appeal of playing at Allianz Stadium.
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• Henry Pollock: Eddie Hearn won’t distract me from playing rugby for Northampton Saints

  20-09-2026 05:00 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Henry Pollock’s profile is soaring away from the pitch, but the Northampton Saints back row insists his growing list of outside interests will never come at the expense of his rugby.
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• Warriors opening is just so Savage!

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  REIGNING champions Worcester Warriors laid down a huge marker in their defence of the Eli-or Champ Rugby title with a thumping victory over last season’s finalists Bedford Blues. ■By JEAN BULL Worcester Warriors .... 40pts Tries: Wallis 5, 28; Brown 47, Trewin 62, Chapman 77, 80+2 Conversions: Reed 6, 48, 63, 78, 80+3 Bedford Blues […]
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• Wales on a high as hard work pays off

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By HARRY TOVEY Wales ...............50pts . Tries: Keight 6, Tuipulotu 10, 42; Lockwood 21, Davies 25, Jones 33, Neumann 38, Callender 69 Conversions: Bell 7, 11, 26, 39, 43 South Africa .. 19pts Tries: Jacobs 17, Tshiremba 49, Samboya 55 Conversions: Dolf 50, 56 WALES opened their WXV Global Series campaign with a stunning victory […]
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• Wainwright sure to give Tigers a cutting edge

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  LEICESTER Welsh fire: Aaron Wainwright is now at Leicester PICTURE: Getty Images The Tigers looked set for a second successive play-off final when it all went wrong in the final weeks of the season. They were primed for a top two finish after they routed rivals Northampton and then ended a six-year wait for victory […]
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• Venter plans to make the most of Martin power

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  SARACENS full force: George Martin scoring against South Africa PICTURE: Getty Images Saracens have gone back to the future with Brendan Venter taking over as director of rugby from the man who replaced him in 2011, Mark McCall. It was Venter who shook off the inconsistency that had bedevilled Sarries since the onset of professionalism […]
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• Van Graan will be looking to sharpen attack

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  BATH Bath landed three trophies in the 2024-25 campaign but last season fell three times at the semi-final hurdle. Not a lot changed for a club that has been upwardly mobile since the arrival of head coach Johan van Graan, right, in the summer of 2022, but the season ending injury suffered by England and […]
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• Van Graan backing new boys

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By GARY FITZGERALD JOHANN van Graan is banking on his new Bath recruits to bring some fizz and freshness to The Rec and help the club celebrate a second title success in three seasons. The head coach predicts yet another “tight and exciting” struggle in the battle to be crowned England’s club kings. But this […]
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• Up front, Amy is the complete e competitor

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  FORMER EXETER CHIEFS, TRAILFINDERS AND UNITED STATES BACK ROW KATE ZACKARY CHOOSES OSES THE BEST XV SHE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST... 1. Hope Rogers – I’ve played with Hope in USA Sevens and XVs for a decade, so I’ve seen her evolve with the position. She’s always had that physicality and power and loves […]
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• Time for Pollock to count his blessings

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  IN stark contrast to the palaver over Henry Pollock’s demand that Northampton pay him £20,000-a-week, another of Saints’ England brigade signed his new contract the other day without any fuss or furore. Tommy Freeman needed no second thoughts, declaring his decision ‘a no-brainer in terms of the coaching staff we’ve got at the club.’ That […]
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• The days of brute force and ignorance

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  I USED to look forward to the beginning of the rugby season but these days I approach it with the thought “will it be better than last year?” and I have my doubts. Why? Because the game, that used to be about running and passing and looking for space, has become nothing more than brute […]
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• Strictly drops the ball

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  I FEAR for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing and not for the reasons being written about all over social media. My question is: Where is the rugby player? No wonder the new series is struggling to engage with the great British public. Who could forget Austin Healey and Matt Dawson, Chris Robshaw and […]
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• Sotuto the right man to get the juices flowing

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  NEWCASTLE There will be more attention lavished on Newcastle than they have become used to since the days of Sir John Hall following the takeover by Red Bull. It is Newcastle’s first full season under the new owners who wasted no time in recruiting players from all over to not just end a run of […]
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• Searle’s new deal

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  LEICESTER Tigers and England A fly-half Billy Searle has signed a new contract with the club. The 30-year-old joined Leicester in 2025 from French club Agen and scored 217 points in 24 appearances in all competitions during his debut season. His form earned him a nomination for the Prem player of the season award in […]
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• Schools rugby looks in fine fettle

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  THE appetite to watch good schools rugby is alive and well judging by the 2,000-strong crowd that watched Bedford School play Rugby School at Goldington Road on September 4. The Midlands derby, which was a Friday evening fixture played under floodlights at the home of Champ stalwarts Bedford Blues, showed that the heart of community […]
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• Scarlets make Saracens battle all the way

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Scarlets...................14pts Saracens................ 26pts SARACENS completed their pre-season programme with a hard-fought victory in difficult conditions at Llanelli on Friday night. Four different try scorers helped Saracens come from behind on a wet night in Wales ahead of their Prem opener against Leicester Tigers next Sunday. Scarlets, who begin their URC campaign on Saturday at home […]
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• Saracens take command to overrun Tigers

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN JAYCOCK LAST season’s double winners Saracens made a devastating opening statement of intent in the PWR Cup with a 66-0 demolition of Leicester Tigers yesterday, running in 10 unanswered tries. Charlotte Wright-Haley opened the scoring for the holders after three minutes before Joia Bennett, Daisy Fitzgerald and Emma Hardy crossed to establish a […]
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• Sanderson will want Lawes to set the standard

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  SALE The Sharks have been circling in the summer months after enduring an annus horribilis. Few predicted their slump last season. Expected They conceded 150 points and 23 tries in their two matches against Saracens, who did not have their best campaign, and were hit for 77 by Toulouse. Director of rugby Alex Sanderson reacted […]
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• Samoa swept aside by Spain

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By SAM JACKSON Samoa ............. 21pts Tries: Savelio 44, 53, Falaniko 66 Conversions: Leiataua 45, 54, Pati Ah Cheung 66 Spain ................ 61pts Tries: Perez Perez 3, Perez Marquez 17, 47; Fernandez de Corres 25, Capell 28, Rosell Martinez 38, Cortes 49, Argudo 61, Miguel Gil 81 Conversions: Pena Hidalgo 18, 26, 29, 39, 48, […]
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• Saints will count on team spirit to defend their title

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  NORTHAMPTON SAINTS Centre of attention: Tom Litchfield on the attack for Saints PICTURE: Getty Images Champions for two of the last three seasons and beaten champions Cup finalists in between, Northampton are the team to beat. They may not be the highest spenders but they have forged a squad spirit that allows them to ride […]
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• Rotherham back with a bang to seal real thriller

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By GUY WILLIAMS Rotherham .......38pts Tries: Cambriani 9, Barling 21, 70; Veness 41, Bustin 52, Lacey-Babalola 75 Conversions: Hayes 21, 41; Bennett 70, 75 Coventry ...........35pts Tries: Bacon 5, Maunder 14, 30; Poole 34, Houston 62 Conversions: Houston 5, 14, 30, 34, 62 ROTHERHAM enjoyed a dramatic and sensational return to the Champ, after an […]
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• Richmond denied as Ampthill snatch it

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By TIM FORRESTER Richmond .........40pts Tries: Goffey 14, Cardew 33, Hastings 39, 42; Langston 45, Addams 54 Conversions: Grieve 34, 40, 43, 46, 55 Ampthill ........... 42pts Tries: Browning 19, Mapapalangi 31, Adegbemile 51, Davidson 58, Rawlins 62, Dakin 80 Conversions: Davidson 20, 32, 52, 59, 62, 80 AMPTHILL cruelly took the honours in the […]
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• Revenge for Japan in Nations Cup win

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By SAM JACKSON EDDIE Jones’ Japan beat Fiji 20-15 to claim the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time since 2019. The Brave Blossoms had lost to the Flying Fijians in both the 2024 and 2025 finals in Hanazono and Salt Lake City, respectively, but they got their revenge in Tokyo, coming through in the […]
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• Rees-Zammit can put the zip back into Bears

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  BRISTOL High flyer: Louis Rees-Zammit PICTURE: Getty Images It is a big season for Bristol who in the last two years have missed out on the play-offs in the home straight. They looked well set at the end of January when the Premiership went into its Six Nations hibernation, but as the days lengthened and […]
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• Rampant Fiji show no mercy

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN MORRIS Fiji .....................54pts Tries: Nailolo 8, Qoro 11, 29; Ralivanawa 34, 39; Neivosa 36, Sorokacika 51, Duva 68 Conversions: Qoro 9, 30, 35, 37, 40, 52; Vueti 69 . Hong Kong ......26pts Tries: Dhar 17, Lynam 26, Knowler 56, Bolton 81 Conversions: Knowler 18, 28, 57 FIJI produced a devastating attacking display to […]
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• Pollock: I will keep my eye on the ball

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  HENRY Pollock’s profile is soaring but the back row insists he won’t let his outside interests affect his biggest selling point – playing rugby. By ADAM HATHAWAY He was a VIP guest at Katie Taylor’s farewell fight at Dublin’s Croke Park and partied with Hearn and some of his other clients on a yacht in […]
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• Pirates set for tough opener

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By BEN JAYCOCK PREVIEW... Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights s Today. Kick-off 4pm, Mennaye Field CORNISH Pirates will target a flying start to their Champ campaign when they welcome an ambitious Doncaster Knights side to the Mennaye this afternoon. Neither side managed to reach the playoffs as Doncaster finished a largely underwhelming eighth last season, […]
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• Nottingham see off Blackheath revival

  20-09-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By COILIN DUFFY Nottingham ......38pts Tries: Ward 3, 17; Ramply 40, Murphy 47, Davies 53 Conversions: O’Leary 3, 17, 40, 47, 53 Penalty: O’Leary 36 Blackheath ......31pts Tries: Burns 8, Harding 14, Smart 30, Penalty 61, Hennessey 71 Conversions: Morley 9, 71 Nottingham lock Will Ramply was yellow carded and Blackheath capitalised when Billy Harding […]
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