Rugby news

• Smith makes Sale move ‘for family’

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  NICKY Smith is bidding a reluctant farewell to Leicester at the end of the month having agreed a move to Sale for the benefit of his family. By PAUL REES On the move: Nicky Smith in action for Leicester Tigers PICTURES: Getty Images The 32-year old prop joined the Tigers two years ago having spent […]
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• Bath are stunned as Exeter Chiefs head to the Prem final

  14-06-2026 05:45 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Exeter Chiefs stunned defending champions Bath 27-26 with a brilliant second-half fightback yesterday to reach their first Prem final since 2021.
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• Bath are stunned as Exeter head to final

  14-06-2026 05:00 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN JAYCOCK EXETER stunned defending champions Bath 27-26 with a brilliant second-half fightback yesterday to reach their first Prem final since 2021. The Chiefs, 26-10 down at the break, scored 17 unanswered points in the second half and will go to Twickenham on Saturday to take on Northampton Saints, victors over Leicester on Friday […]
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• Willis is crowned Prem player of the year

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  SARACENS No.8 Tom Willis leaves England for France as the Prem player of the year, edging out Leicester fly-half Billy Searle, Bath scrum-half Ben Spencer and Northampton wing Tommy Freeman to the prize. Willis, 27, is returning to double Champions Cup winners Bordeaux this summer where he will come up against his brother, Jack, at […]
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• Why I’m right behind this new Nations battle

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK THE Nations Championship, which will be contested by the world’s top tier international teams for the first timet this year, is a welcome idea. It puts some order into the international calendar by bringing European and southern hemisphere competitions into one entity. The inaugural tournament starts in July […]
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• What the Warriors have achieved this season has been incredibly special

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Worcester Warriors captain Matt Kvesic admits he never imagined he would be lifting silverware with the club again after its collapse in 2022, but says helping lead his reborn side to Champ glory ranks among the most special achievements of his career. By Ben Jaycock Q: Matt, you were one of the first major signings […]
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• Vesty: Speed of ball made the difference

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  DELIGHTED Northampton head coach Sam Vesty said breakdown dominance and speed of delivery was key to victory. “Our attack was fast, and because our ball was fast – Archie [McParland] had it off the floor so quickly – that the defence could never get set,” Vesty said. “I thought our breakdown and the fact our […]
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• Treacey’s backing tackle-height trial

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By BEN JAYCOCK ENGLAND U20s captain Connor Treacey is backing World Rugby’s tackle-height trial in the forthcoming World Championship, having suffered a ‘fair few concussions’ already at the age of 20. Tackles in the show-piece age-grade tournament in Georgia must be made below the base of the sternum after community tackle height trials yielded positive […]
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• Trailfinders look to upset champions

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By BEN JAYCOCK PREVIEW... Gloucester-Hartpury v Trailfinders Today. Kick-off 2pm, Kingsholm TABLE toppers Gloucester-Hartpury will look to put recent setbacks behind them when they host Trailfinders today in their PWR semi-final at ‘Queensholm’. For the first time in 18 months, Gloucester-Hartpury head into a knockout fixture with questions over momentum after successive defeats. Trailfinders ended […]
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• Townsend calls up two uncapped hookers

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By SAM JACKSON GREGOR Townsend has called up two uncapped hookers in Scotland’s 36-man squad for the Nations Championship with George Turner and Dave Chery injured. Glasgow Warriors pair Gregor Hiddleston and Seb Stephen have been named for matches against Argentina, South Africa and Fiji alongside experienced Edinburgh hooker Ewan Ashman. Hiddleston, 24, and Stephen, […]
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• Super Saints at their swashbuckling best

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK JUSTICE was done at a packed Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night when Northampton, the best team in the league over the 18-match regular season, produced a fizzing attacking display to become the first club to secure a Prem final berth by outscoring East Midlands arch-rivals Leicester 45-31. […]
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• Standout stars of a trying season

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  PAUL REES SELECTS FIVE FROM EICESTER AND THREE FROM SARACENS IN HIS BEST XV FROM 2025-26 IT HAS been a trying season in the Prem. The 18-round regular season, which concluded last weekend, produced 774 tries, an average of 8.6 a match, and 104 try bonus points were accumulated in the 90 games. Table-topping Northampton […]
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• Smith quits over Alphonsi post

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  RFU council member Matthew Smith has resigned following his discriminatory online post about England World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi. Smith, who represents Warwickshire on the 62-strong body, asked “can someone please explain to me WTF does Maggie Alphonsi know about men’s rugby?” in a Facebook post during France’s 48-46 win over England in March. This […]
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• Size does matter

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  CONSIDERING Steve Borthwick was around when power, weight and size mattered in the scrum and pack, has he lost the plot? I totally agree with Nick Cain’s article (May 31) around the size of props required in the modern game. Take a look at France and South Africa to see how there current dominance in […]
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• Simmonds puts illness behind him to lift Siam Cup

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By CHRIS COLLYER Live wire: Charlie Simmonds on the run CHARLIE Simmonds has enjoyed plenty of memorable moments in a Guernsey Raiders shirt, but few can match helping the island reclaim the Siam Cup from Jersey last month. The fly-half’s accurate boot played a key role as Guernsey edged their Channel Islands rivals 35-28 in […]
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• Scrum that said Fiji were real thing

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  THE scrum against Australia at the 2015 Rugby World Cup is probably the moment people remember most from my career. It lasted almost a minute and went viral around the rugby world. Fiji had never really been known as a scrummaging nation. People talked about our flair, our offloads and our natural attacking ability, but […]
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• Savage agrees move to Worcester

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  “As a player, Tom brings a huge amount of experience and leadership. Having made nearly 200 appearances for Gloucester and playing the last two seasons in Super Rugby, we are very excited to see Tom pull on a Worcester shirt.” FORMER Gloucester lock Tom Savage has signed for Champ winners Worcester Warriors from Super Rugby […]
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• Sacha takes in a team that pride of place is full of class

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  THE BEST XV FROM 2025-26 AS VOTED FOR BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS Ben Jaycock canvassed the views of the The Rugby Paper’s United Rugby Championship reporters to select the 2025-26 Team of the Season SACHA Feinberg-Mngomezulu was a class above in this season’s URC, finishing as the top points scorer but you would have got long […]
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• Rising Toulouse star injured again

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  LESS than a month ago, France full-back Pauline Barrat was named breakthrough player of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations. Last weekend, in the final regular-season round of the domestic AXA Elite 1, the 22-year-old suffered her third serious knee injury. The rising Toulouse star suffered a ruptured posterior cruciate ligament in Sunday’s comeback 27-27 draw […]
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• Ramm has his sights on World Cup spot

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By PAUL REES JAMES Ramm is returning to Australia at the end of the season after four years with Northampton to put himself in contention for next year’s World Cup. The 28-year old back three player was part of the title winning squad two seasons ago and started the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles last […]
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• ‘Project Shaun Edwards’ must be activated

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  THE paranoia surrounding coaches leaving one international camp and moving to another with a swagbag of “intellectual property”, including top-secret moves and tactics, is for the most part delusional balderdash. Cracking the codes for lineouts or strike moves is much more likely to be achieved by the rows of analysts in rugby union bunkers around […]
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• Pollard: It’ll be all right on the night this time from the tee

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By BEN JAYCOCK HANDRE Pollard admits he was ‘terrible’ off the tee against Glasgow Warriors last weekend but backs himself to respond in Friday’s URC final. Serial bridesmaids, the Bulls, who have reached three of the last URC four finals, will be banking on Pollard’s usual ice cool place kicking on the big occasion to […]
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• Pivac’s new role

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  FORMER Wales coach Wayne Pivac takes charge of Benetton next week and has brought in former Scarlets and Wales fly-half Rhys Patchell as attack coach. The 63-year-old New Zealander left his job as Wales boss following the defeat to Georgia in November 2022. A stint in Japan followed before he returned home to New Zealand […]
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• Packer wants to leave on a high

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN JAYCOCK Charge: Saracens back row Marlie Packer, left, on the attack PREVIEW... Saracens v Exeter Today. Kick-off 4.30pm, StoneX MARLIE Packer could be playing her final Saracens game today as they host Exeter Chiefs in the last four at the StoneX. The north Londoners’ co-captain Packer will hope to sign off by leading […]
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• Ospreys sign up Aussie centre Foketi

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  ■By SAM JACKSON OSPREYS have signed Wallabies centre Lalakai Foketi from Super Rugby finalists Chiefs, joining former Australia captain and flanker Liam Wright, in switching to Swansea. Aussie fly-half Lawson Creighton is another target for Ospreys. “I’m happy to be joining the Ospreys and I can see the team has a clear vision of where […]
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• Once again, Bordeaux are leaders of the pack

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  Peter Jackson reveals his exclusive club-by-club attendances list for the regulation season in Europe’s major leagues DURING a season when the Pied Pipers of Bordeaux raised their average crowd towards an all-time high of 35,000, Leinster found theirs shrinking on a scale without precedent. Measured strictly on box-office appeal, Europe’s double champions are so far […]
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• My 15 to follow had some hits – but selection’s a tough game

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  THE regular season is done and it’s time to quickly review my eclectic 15 to follow which I offered up back in September. The criteria this time around was not just purely youth and potential – this time I was looking at players who for whatever reason had something to prove, an opportunity to shine […]
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• Moyle: Don’t let county rugby die

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN JAYCOCK Geddon me bewty! Cornwall celebrate victory at Twickenham and, right, Kyle Moyle kicks a conversion PICTURES: Brian Tempest CORNWALL’S Kyle Moyle revelled in bowing out from rugby by hoisting the Bill Beaumont Division 1 title at Twickenham. The former Cornish Pirates and Gloucester fullback retired at the end of a successful season […]
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• Morrow: We would love players to take a break

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By ADAM HATHAWAY PHIL Morrow, England’s head of performance, would love to mimic New Zealand’s sabbatical model – but admits it is a non-runner. The All Blacks regularly give players time off to play in the less strenuous Japanese league, while banking millions of yen, or to have a complete break from rugby. Richie Mo’unga, […]
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• McKenzie leads Chiefs home

  14-06-2026 04:59 via therugbypaper.co.uk
  
  By BEN JAYCOCK CRUSADERS missed out on the final for just the second time in nine years after falling victims to a clinical first half Chiefs onslaught. Last year’s runners-up blew the defending champions away with six first-half tries to lead 42-5at the break – the most points they have ever scored against their rivals […]
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