The Rugby Paper

09/01/2026

🚶‍♂️ On the go? Then we’ve got your rugby fix.

🎧 Catch the latest Rugby Paper Roundup as Ben Jaycock is joined by The Sale Sharks winger Obi Ene

Listen on Spotify wherever you are 👇
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cVZeYskZ1IBgXGzKUxn8X

Also on Apple Podcasts 👇
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-champions-cup-returns-prem-promotion-relegation/id1608401587?i=1000744428864

09/01/2026

👏 🏆 Obi Ene on making his Champions Cup debut this Saturday for The Sale Sharks and the ‘battle of the Sharks’ banter surrounding the fixture.

09/01/2026

🗣️ “It was a frustrating time to get injured.”

🔙 Harry Randall returned earlier than expected from a hamstring injury that required surgery and is looking to put himself in contention for the upcoming Six Nations.

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Harry Randall returned earlier than expected from a hamstring injury that required surgery and is looking to put himself in contention for the Six Nations.

09/01/2026

🗣️ “I need to keep developing and maintain as high a playing level as possible each game.”

🏆 Guy Pepper is targeting European club success in 2026 while keeping a firm grip on a place in England’s Six Nations squad.

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GUY Pepper is relishing a huge start to 2026 with eyes on potential European club success and also keeping a firm grip on an England jersey for the Six Nations.

09/01/2026

📢 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐏 🚨

🔙 Champions Cup returns
🤔 Prem promotion & relegation debate
🆕 Discussion on the newly rebranded Champ

🎙️ Ben Jaycock is joined by The Sale Sharks winger Obi Ene on this week’s episode!

WATCH 👇

CHAMPIONS CUP RETURNS + PREM PROMOTION/RELEGATION! Ft. OBI ENE (Sale Sharks) | The Rugby Paper Roundupn this week's episode of the Rugby Paper Roundup...Assi...

08/01/2026

🏉 Great coaches shouldn’t have to burn out to keep clubs alive.

The Rugby Coach Weekly Partner Club Programme helps clubs recruit, train and retain volunteer coaches — while making your coaching life easier.

For more information visit 👇
https://www.rugbycoachweekly.net/partner-club-programme

08/01/2026

🗣️ “He always seemed indestructible.”

✍️ Brendan Gallagher on former England centre Tony Bond, remembered by Fran Cotton as a force of nature whose career was shaped by rugby’s cruellest twists.

News, features and match reports from The Rugby Paper, the UK-based newspaper which specialises in rugby union at all levels ready for your viewing every Sunday of the year.

08/01/2026

ICYMI 👀

🏆 With the Rugby World Cup looming in 2027, one group-stage rivalry could finally settle a debate that has divided northern hemisphere rugby for years.

✍️ Will Judd

With the biggest ever Rugby World Cup in 2027 on the horizon, one rivalry will come to a head in the group stages, and the outcome may not just decide who enters the knockout stage, but could end a debate that has split northern-hemisphere rugby for years.

08/01/2026

⚔️ With the return of the Champions Cup, a series of new rivalries will reignite, including one of the most dynamic and unexpected new rivalries: Leinster vs La Rochelle.

✍️ Chris Collyer

With the return of the Champions Cup, a series of new rivalries will reignite, including the rematch between last season’s finalists Northampton Saints and reigning Champions Bordeaux Begles, alongside one of the most dynamic and unexpected new rivalries: Leinster vs La Rochelle.

08/01/2026

🗣️ “We can stay grounded, take it week by week and keep getting better.”

⚔️ There is a renewed swagger about Exeter Chiefs this season – and nowhere is it more evident than in the confidence and control of fly-half Harvey Skinner.

There is a renewed swagger about Exeter Chiefs this season – and nowhere is it more evident than in the confidence and control of fly-half Harvey Skinner.

07/01/2026

🗣️ “His powers of endurance, driven not by self-aggrandisement but by helping find a cure to a cruel illness, know no bounds.”

✍️ A mixture of the weird and the wonderful is reflected in Peter Jackson’s New Year honours list.

News, features and match reports from The Rugby Paper, the UK-based newspaper which specialises in rugby union at all levels ready for your viewing every Sunday of the year.

07/01/2026

🗣️ “The clampdown on defenders blocking chasers has made a high kick a 50-50.”

✍️ Paul Rees looks at how one law tweak by the game’s authorities can have unintended consequences.

Paul Rees looks at how one law tweak by the game’s authorities can have unintended consequences.