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Contributors

Neil Squires

Neil Squires is the ex-rugby union correspondent for the Daily Express and has covered eight Rugby World Cups and 30 Five/Six Nations Championships. He has also written four books on the sport including the well-received but commercially catastrophic House of Lancaster, released with impeccable timing, to coincide with England's 2015 World Cup campaign.

LONG READ
Opinion

High time conversion charge downs were consigned to history

Players being allowed to charge down conversions but not penalties adds unnecessarily to rugby's complexity.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
13 Feb 2024, 7:41
LONG READ
Opinion

'Murrayfield carries with it the feeling of a mugging waiting to happen'

Pipers, pillars and pain: Scotland's backyard has proved unsettling for many an England team

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
20 Feb 2024, 10:32
LONG READ
Exclusive

Our friends in the North

Yorkshire has produced an abundance of talent for the English rugby team and it is a county with rich seams of talent

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
28 Feb 2024, 6:49
LONG READ
Opinion

A question of nationality

Players playing in this year's Six Nations come from all over the globe and reflect the diverse society we live in

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
05 Mar 2024, 10:55
LONG READ
Opinion

'Borthwick may conclude George Martin is now indispensable'

All the best teams have an enforcer’s presence and in George Martin, England have a natural

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
13 Mar 2024, 13:19
LONG READ
Opinion

Is it about time we gave George Ford a bit of respect?

The England fly-half put in a classy performance against France and looks to have sealed Steve Borthwick's trust

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
19 Mar 2024, 12:17
LONG READ
Exclusive

Luke Cowan-Dickie: 'I didn’t feel right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Everything was going black in front of me'

The abrasive Sale Sharks hooker feels he owes his new club a favour when he faces his beloved Exeter Chiefs

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
28 Mar 2024, 11:00
LONG READ
Opinion

Are English sides underdogs at the business end of Europe?

There maybe six Premiership sides still standing as we head into the Champions Cup knockout stages, but how many will progress fur…

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
05 Apr 2024, 4:55
LONG READ
Opinion

'Star power of individual players can grow overall size of rugby's pie'

It is typical of rugby union, the ultimate team game, that Marcus Smith's individual brilliance is mistrusted in certain quarters

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
10 Apr 2024, 12:23
LONG READ
Opinion

'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in'

What is the point in having South African teams in the Champions Cup if they demean it when it comes to the showpiece games?

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
17 Apr 2024, 7:37
LONG READ
Interview

Rugby’s forever man Mike Brown: 'I'm a driven individual'

Mike Brown may be considered past his sell-by date but he remains a Premiership force at 38.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
27 Apr 2024, 4:39
LONG READ
Interview

Alex Mitchell: Saints 'are in a very good place at the moment'

Northampton have mirrored the England scrum-half's own rise and will travel with confidence to face Leinster in Dublin.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
01 May 2024, 11:17
LONG READ
Interview

Ben Youngs: 'The job description of a 9 has changed. Gibson-Park and Dupont are leading the evolution'

It is the most poorly paid position in the Gallagher Premiership but never has the influence of a scrum-half been so high

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
09 May 2024, 3:15
LONG READ
Interview

'Nobody wants to go the entire season without a league win' - Falcons aim to avoid equalling record

Newcastle have one match left to break their winless run or join Rotherham and London Welsh in Premiership history.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
14 May 2024, 3:28
LONG READ
Opinion

Why Gloucester and England will miss Jonny May, the great entertainer

The popular speedster has made the most of his natural gifts and will hope to leave English rugby by lifting a cup with his belove…

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
23 May 2024, 9:33
LONG READ
Interview

Tom Dunn: ‘Bath was a massive ship facing the wrong way.'

The piratical hooker has been at the coalface through a turbulent 12 years and wants to leave a tangible legacy.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
30 May 2024, 16:56
LONG READ
Interview

Jon Callard: 'It'll be just like the old days. Last one off to Twickenham turn the light off'

Twenty-eight years after their last Premiership title, Bath tread a path to HQ once so familiar.

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
04 Jun 2024, 17:02
LONG READ
Opinion

Borthwick's Babes primed to take New Zealand by storm

With Test centurions Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes absent, there is a youthful feel to England's touring party

Neil Squires
Neil Squires
12 Jun 2024, 18:32
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