Please forgive the self-indulgent bits, because it’s been awesome to follow this guy’s career. A retirement interview with Alex Goode: www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Been fascinated by the long commutes of professional coaches for a while. Lee Blackett let me join his one on Monday morning, which got going at 3.53am. It was an absolute treat. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A long-read on how VAT on independent school fees could alter the landscape of English rugby union. 😡 Anger about “envy tax” 🏰 Do “life-changing” bursaries go? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 “Anomaly” state school with 3 Eng U18s 🏉 ACE programme key? 💭 Future solutions www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Response towards Bath's recruitment seems to be 'how are they doing that?' Salary info in here (with @charliemorgan.bsky.social ) on Santi Carreras and Henry Arundell, along with how Bath are structuring their contracts. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Interview with Kepu Tuipulotu. A very talented, very enthusiastic young man. And Wales tried to call him up for the 2024 Six Nations before he’d played a game of senior rugby union… www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A look at Marcus Smith’s performance. Scruffy bits and lucky escapes, but sparked England in distinctive ways and helped them win kicking battle. Also highlighted naivety/stubbornness of France, who didn’t put a high ball on him til the 74th minute. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Piece on that last England try and how it encapsulated England's selection/tactics/performance - Faith in kick-pressure with it all on the line - Bench vindicated because line-out became a weapon - A strike move borrowed from Saints to clinch it www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A longish read on Fin Smith, who will have a lot of proud well-wishers today. Self-aware, unselfish, tough. 📺 A rare teenager who watched full games ⚔️ Leadership amid Worcester collapse 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 How it could have been Scotland 😇 How he makes others look good www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Spoke to some referees about refereeing Maro Itoje and what sort of England captain he will be. 📊 Stats illustrating risk v reward 🥷 Properly sneaky stuff at the line-out 💬 How demeanour compares to predecessors 📏 Why new laws might temper penalties www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Ben Curry and Ben Earl have taken precisely zero line-outs between them this season for their clubs. Here's a piece on insert lifting, a tactic that is often totally missed by television coverage and might well be key to England's strategy this weekend. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

It's a year, in terms of Test fixtures, since Courtney Lawes retired from internationals. England haven't settled on a succession plan, seemingly. That's not a massive surprise, because Lawes was/is a freak-show. But they do have options... www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A look at the domestic and Champions Cup form of each player in the England squad. Some heading into the Six Nations hot, others in a tricky patch. Form never the only factor in Test selection, but still interesting. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Understand that Fergus Burke is “definitely in the mix” for a maiden Scotland call-up. Final decision at the beginning of next week. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Harry Byrne imitated AJ MacGinty in Leinster training the week before his team played Bristol. A fortnight later, when Bristol needed a fly-half on loan, he told Pat Lam that he’d carved up Leinster using Bristol’s plays. A piece on a fascinating signing: www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Closer look at Tom Willis’ monster performance against Bristol Bears, specifically how Saracens used him and Ben Earl together. Really interesting to see how England balance their back five. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Was at the StoneX yesterday for Saracens-Bristol and Tom Willis *surely* smashed down the England door. Report: www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Learned this week that Kepu Tuipulotu was invited into the England senior camp over the autumn for a “taster”. He’ll make his Premiership debut on Sunday off a seven-one Bath bench. All very exciting. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Seemingly fourth choice 18 months ago, Alex Mitchell is now arguably England’s MVP. Here’s a piece on that, with a focus on his performance in Pretoria. Shout-outs for loads of other Saints as well. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Nine years ago, England were a team that relied upon 6.5s. A decade on, they’re striving to fit in as many as three 7s. This contains theories, charts, quotes and clips. And lots of Aussies. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Some thoughts on 'Rugged Rugby: Conquer or Die'. Once you get past the title (or Die!) and dubbed American voices ("no more of that crap" from one referee to a player is a highlight), this is all very silly and also a great way to sell the sport. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Fairly sobering chat with Ben Cohen about life after rugby and the importance of the Champions 2003 charity. “It meant everything, winning a World Cup... but it’s not like it’s a degree.” www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A formal apology to Bristol Bears (and some Champions Cup predictions with @crichardsontel.bsky.social and @charliemorgan.bsky.social) www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Interview with Henry Pollock. Swaggering and spiky (as well as seriously skilful) on the pitch. Found him open, polite and pretty funny off it. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Statty deepish dive into Premiership EQPs, with a positional breakdown (sort of). Think there are more (and better) EQPs than many fear 📈 Club by club figures 🇮🇪 EQPs that aren’t EQPs 🤷‍♂️ Fair system? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ten tighthead starts last week! 😬 New ‘problem positions’? www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

A piece on Premiership recruitment and why Argentines remain so attractive even as other overseas stars have diminished. ‘Hot Rod’ – best nickname in the league. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Lots of strong reaction last night towards Bill Sweeney's salary increase to £1.1m. One source: “It is very difficult to justify. Many in the game will be shocked and disappointed.” Story with @charliemorgan.bsky.social and @crichardsontel.bsky.social. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

There’s been a hell of a lot of content in England’s 2024 and now they’re at a crossroads. Here’s another long read on all that. I know you’re bored of the caveats but they bear repeating. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Exclusive | Gloucester leading the race to bring Ben Loader back to Premiership www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Fully expect some people to hate this, and that's OK. But I don't think this headache is going away before the Six Nations. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Jonny May column for @telegraphnews.bsky.social on Eddie Jones. "If you were comparing Eddie with Steve Borthwick, Steve definitely hasn’t got the charisma that Eddie has. Steve is aware of that, which is why we had Aled Walters around." www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Subtlety of the Springboks. Great angle of the 'scoring' phase of South Africa's non-try against England. Variation on a popular play: 9>12>10 out the back, 13 short Key is Libbok shaping to circle De Allende for a pull-back, only for De Allende to go across Libbok, pushing Fassi on an overs line

Long-read on England centre partnerships 🏉 Code-hoppers 💥 Tuilagi reliance 💪 “Over-indexing on power” 🧠 Creative burden on 10? 🛣️ Fixation on “Test quality” www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

And here it is! Includes Charles being covered in snails in Paris. podfollow.com/the-telegrap...

Credit where it's due, the RFU are being proactive about supporting the England U20 side that won the World Championship. They've fast-tracked a few to the A team, and they're serious about Junior Kpoku becoming a senior international www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Nice angle of Gabriel Ibitoye's off-the-ball work for a slick England A try yesterday. Great offload from Oscar Beard but - as ever - it needs the support line. Always enjoy assists being celebrated before the try has been scored.

We’re back in the studio recording the latest @telegraphnews.bsky.social Rugby Podcast this morning - please send @charliemorgan.bsky.social and I your questions 🎙️

Was at the Twickenham Stoop today. Good England A performance against a combative Australia A side. This piece is largely on Henry Pollock. Because it’s quite hard not to be excited about him. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

England's autumn (so far): a report card. A long piece, because there are a lot of moving parts. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

🎙️ Quick Tap episode 3. It was late, we were maybe a bit delirious. But definitely listen. We got into South Africa’s lineout defence and all sorts. m.youtube.com/watch?v=kepr...

All starts from Marcus Smith kick-pass to Ollie Sleightholme, who grubbered up the touchline. Kick to kick vs a blitz defence – clever stuff from England.

Spoke to Ox Nche for this @bencoles.bsky.social production. Shout-out to the old baboons ❤️. Full piece here: www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Latest on last night’s breakaway league news with @charliemorgan.bsky.social. Understand that Finn Russell has been lined up to be the headline attraction from the Premiership. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

I bet nobody on Bluesky replies with “score more points” www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Psst there’s going to be a *lot* of kicking on Saturday www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

📆 Strong programme of fixtures 👨🏻‍🏫 Coaching alignment 3️⃣ Troublesome positions (3, 4/5,12) addressed 💨 “Generational talent” fast-tracked England A, as a concept, is making a suspicious amount of sense. That’s exciting www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Jannes Labuschagne, who was sent off for South Africa in 2002 for a late hit on Jonny Wilkinson, is now a preacher. Spoke to him about that moment and the vision he had before the game, his faith, and the current Springboks under Rassie Erasmus. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Seems more serene here already… Here’s an interview with Eben Etzebeth about his beloved Springboks, Maro Itoje, Mauritius and loads more. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...