Analysis
The Bluffer's Guide to the Six Nations
If you've spotted rugby on Netflix and fancy blending in with the fanatics, this rundown is for you...probably
Graham Simmons
21 Feb 2024, 3:38
Contributors
Graham Simmons
Graham is now a rugby coach but for 25 years he was Sky Sports' rugby union reporter, working on Lions' Tours, England Internationals at home and abroad, the Heineken Cup, the Top 14, the Premiership and the Pro 14. He also spent a decade broadcasting for Sky from Ryder Cups, US Opens and USPGAs.
Opinion
The White Hole of Calcutta
Scotland, inspired by Duhan van der Merwe, are becoming a serious problem for England, after another tub-thumping victory
Graham Simmons
26 Feb 2024, 4:47
Opinion
We need to talk about Steve...
The England head coach is 19 Tests into his tenure and there are still doubts over his suitability to the role, with patience wear…
Graham Simmons
04 Mar 2024, 12:40
Opinion
The pitch side poker
Many TV audiences think the role of a post-match reporter is a cinch, but for those who have done the job, it has moments of unadu…
Graham Simmons
20 Oct 2022, 3:28
Opinion
Time gentlemen, please
The Wallabies are incandescent about Mathieu Raynal's refereeing of the Bledisloe's dying moments, in a denouement that has divide…
Graham Simmons
20 Sep 2022, 3:18
Opinion
How the forward pass has tied rugby up in knots
Rugby needs its continuity but if a ball is clearly caught ahead of the point it was passed can we not turn a blind eye amidst rug…
Graham Simmons
17 Aug 2022, 6:37
Opinion
Sledging, shithousery and smack
In the summer Tests there was niggle which saw protagonists like Jonny Hill and Darcy Swain reprimanded, while Sam Cane and Peter …
Graham Simmons
25 Jul 2022, 4:53
Opinion
Freddie and the Dreamers
Leicester Tigers completed their comeback to the top table of English rugby with a most unlikely of heroes as Saracens' bruisers w…
Graham Simmons
20 Jun 2022, 7:48
Opinion
The Road To Perdition
While the first European penalty shoot out in 13 years played out to engrossed fans, many were left wondering if there's not a bet…
Graham Simmons
11 May 2022, 8:59
Opinion
To Europe with love
The Champions Cup quarter-finals are upon us and history tells us that the fans are in for an intoxicating mix of nail biting dram…
Graham Simmons
05 May 2022, 7:18
Opinion
Acts of Succession
The RFU's muddled messaging over the successor to Eddie Jones is nothing new after a litany of curious coaching appointments
Graham Simmons
05 Apr 2022, 8:48
Opinion
France light up the Six Nations leaving England to search for answers
The 2022 Six Nations left France rejuvenated, Italy in dreamland and Ireland sensing firm progress, however on the flip side, Engl…
Graham Simmons
21 Mar 2022, 16:46
Opinion
Maul things considered
Graham Simmons on why the catch-and-drive, rolling maul has become “rugby’s answer to marital sex”
Graham Simmons
09 Dec 2021, 4:37
Interview
The life of a head coach: Bossing it
The job of a head coach is all-consuming, so Dai Young, Lee Blackett, Danny Wilson and Dan McFarland lift the lid on what their jo…
Graham Simmons
13 Oct 2021, 5:02
Interview
The elephant in the room
Stephen Ferris, Scott Quinnell, David Flatman and Matt Garvey lift the lid on the idiosynchrasies of room sharing with very large …
Graham Simmons
28 Sep 2021, 11:02
End of the road for Warren Gatland
The Lions head coach has been a huge figure in the fabled touring party’s history but it is time to look ahead for 2025
Graham Simmons
13 Aug 2021, 5:28
Law and disorder
Three top coaches talk about the psychology and the pitfalls of the penalty count
Graham Simmons
30 Apr 2021, 5:03
Dai against Goliath
It's all to play for as Graham Simmons previews the weekend's Six Nations clashes
Graham Simmons
25 Feb 2021, 6:04
Change your tune
It's time to ditch God Save the Queen but what should England rugby's new anthem be?
Graham Simmons
18 Feb 2021, 15:26
Lost for words
A painful inquest will be underway for a side who woefully underperformed against Scotland
Graham Simmons
09 Feb 2021, 5:42
