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Contributors

Mick Cleary

Mick Cleary was sports feature writer for The Observer from 1988-1997 covering Wimbledon, Tour de France, F1, cricket, golf, athletics and horse racing. In 1997 he became Chief Rugby Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph. He has covered eight Rugby World Cups as well as seven Lions tours. Cleary has also written several books on the sport.

Mick Cleary: 'There is no such thing as a run-of-the-mill, tepid, easy-as-it-goes East Midlands Derby'
For all the talk of exotic World Club Championships, it is affairs closer to home that stir the blood with the East Midlands derby…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
18 Apr 2024, 0:10
Mick Cleary: 'Warren Gatland didn’t bother asking Feyi-Waboso who he fancied playing for. Baxter left nothing to chance.'
The Chiefs have nothing to lose when heading to Toulouse and have a puncher's chance of causing an upset
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
10 Apr 2024, 8:57
Mick Cleary: 'It's hard to know why Farrell was never loved in the manner Jonny Wilkinson was'
The Saracens legend will soon be plying his trade in France and England fans should be left with regrets over his treatment
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
04 Apr 2024, 2:03
Mick Cleary: 'England proved they are more than a limited, functional side'
In embracing attacking rugby, Steve Borthwick has proven himself to his players and the wider public.
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
18 Mar 2024, 4:03
Mick Cleary: 'What England were missing was what they produced big time on Saturday – a statement victory'
Steve Borthwick finally has a performance and result to build upon as Twickenham erupts, but it must not be a one-off
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
11 Mar 2024, 2:12
Mick Cleary: 'England are in need of another resurrection act.'
Steve Borthwick's men are expected to be another bump in the road on Ireland's triumphant path to the Grand Slam, can they spring …
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
08 Mar 2024, 1:42
Mick Cleary: 'England fans are entitled to be grumpy and weary'
Steve Borthwick's men fumbled the ball, tried to play too much rugby and were ultimately undone by Duhan van der Merwe's brillianc…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
25 Feb 2024, 23:50
Mick Cleary: 'England can’t go down without having a craic. That’s a positive development, a ballsy selection decision'
Steve Borthwick has shed his conservative image by dropping the dependable Freddie Steward for the creative George Furbank
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Mick Cleary
23 Feb 2024, 2:31
Mick Cleary: 'England would not supply many, if any, names to a Six Nations XV'
Steve Borthwick's side have identity, but remain too formulaic and too blunt in attack.
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
12 Feb 2024, 4:04
Mick Cleary: 'Come on, Warren, send those boys out to Twickenham with a sense of Barry John in their souls'
England and Wales are sides in transition and both coaches must empower their players to cut loose and play on instinct
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
07 Feb 2024, 2:23
Mick Cleary: 'An England captain has to be more than a mere figurehead'
Jamie George is hugely experienced and a popular member of the squad and his relationship with Steve Borthwick will be pivotal
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
31 Jan 2024, 1:35
Mick Cleary: 'Jamie George is England's rock at the head of a here's-hoping squad'
The new skipper has much on his plate, but there are reasons for cautious English optimism.
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
18 Jan 2024, 0:44
Mick Cleary: 'Farrell has proven he has the rugby IQ for Lions task'
Andy Farrell's honesty, personality, charisma and humility means the 2025 tourists will be in good hands.
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
12 Jan 2024, 6:43
Mick Cleary: 'No team wins without a sense of itself. No team prospers without a good bit of fight in it.'
Steve Borthwick has tweaked his coaching team ahead of the 2024 Six Nations, emboldened by a strong showing in France
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
05 Jan 2024, 12:19
'Lighten up and be a man of influence' - the festive issues facing Steve Borthwick
What must the England coach address as a new year and a new World Cup cycle begins?
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
19 Dec 2023, 8:35
Revitalised Bath have 'puncher's chance' in European quest
After so long in the doldrums, a 'well-balanced' Bath side look 'in reasonable shape' for a tilt at honours
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
07 Dec 2023, 7:21
Mick Cleary: 'Andy Farrell gets it. Head and heart in perfect alignment. Get him in the job now.'
With the Rugby World Cup filed away, attention will soon turn to the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, and the planning nee…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
25 Nov 2023, 12:50
It's time to let the England players take French leave
Economic forces have forced the likes of Henry Arundell and Jack Willis over the channel to France and they shouldn't be published…
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Mick Cleary
17 Nov 2023, 9:52
Mick Cleary: 'The RFU need to give the English public some assurance that things can get better'
Steve Borthwick's side have put respectability into the shirt but it is a mirage to suggest all in rosy in England's garden
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
30 Oct 2023, 3:18
Mick Cleary: 'What has changed is that England have regained respect'
England's ills are not entirely cured but they made a huge step in the right direction against the world champion Springboks
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Mick Cleary
22 Oct 2023, 12:44
Mick Cleary: 'Owen Farrell is not to everyone’s taste but he is a scrapper beyond compare'
Unbeaten yet unfancied, England have taken on the mantle as rank underdogs against the Springboks after navigating Fijian fire
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
16 Oct 2023, 6:25
Mick Cleary: 'What price would England supporters give for some swagger'
Steve Borthwick's men are eking out results but their fans worry what will happen when they play one of the tournament's thoroughb…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
08 Oct 2023, 8:03
Mick Cleary: 'Why not organise a Lions tour to South America'
The presence of three South American countries at the World Cup for the first time raises hopes that one day, the Lions will tour …
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
02 Oct 2023, 11:49
Mick Cleary: 'England are finally at the World Cup party.'
Steve Borthwick's men showed they could cut loose with careless abandon, the question now is whether they have to revert to type
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Mick Cleary
25 Sep 2023, 2:52
Mick Cleary: 'England were laboured, hyper-pragmatic and damn lucky to break Japan’s resistance.'
Steve Borthwick's side continue to frustrate, with their uninspiring gameplan but they are eking out the wins and building momentu…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
18 Sep 2023, 3:58
Mick Cleary: 'George Ford has to stay as the starting No 10. It is as straightforward as that.'
Finally, England showed their hand, and put in a gritty, savvy performance to get their show back on the road
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Mick Cleary
11 Sep 2023, 1:16
Mick Cleary: 'This was England at home. This was Twickenham. This was supposed to be a joyous send-off.'
Steve Borthwick's men signed off a woeful series of World Cup warm-up games with a loss to the joyful Fijians, and could have no c…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
28 Aug 2023, 1:57
Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick has to bring some self-discipline to proceedings. A bit of joy wouldn’t go amiss either.'
England's preparation ahead of the World Cup has been a disaster but a fortuitous draw means all is not lost
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Mick Cleary
21 Aug 2023, 3:54
Mick Cleary: 'Farrell should be banned and for the full term. This was a misjudgement too far.'
England rallied for a scrappy win against a second-choice Wales side but the non-performance was troubling
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Mick Cleary
14 Aug 2023, 2:17
Mick Cleary: 'Only way is up for death-by-data England'
England fans will have every digit crossed after Steve Borthwick named his World Cup squad, writes Mick Cleary.
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Mick Cleary
07 Aug 2023, 5:11
Mick Cleary: My 33-man England squad for France 2023
Steve Borthwick will name his England squad for the Rugby World Cup in a matter of days and there are huge decisions to be made
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Mick Cleary
01 Aug 2023, 10:57
Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick's men are outsiders, a rare state of affairs for an England side heading into a World Cup'
A workmanlike squad full of toilers built in the image of their coach, England are rank outsiders for World Cup glory but that may…
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Mick Cleary
04 Jul 2023, 3:15
Mick Cleary: 'You don’t win a World Cup without a top-class scrum-half'
History has shown us that it is nigh on impossible to lift a World Cup without a stellar 9, so are England any closer to knowing w…
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Mick Cleary
20 Jun 2023, 7:02
'Rugby World Cup lends credibility to a sport battling grave issues'
As clubs go bust and player welfare concerns heighten, the Rugby World Cup remains a vital beacon of light.
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Mick Cleary
08 Jun 2023, 4:33
Mick Cleary: 'Sport, as we know, is one of life’s great escape mechanisms. Not in Premiership rugby it isn’t.'
It has been a chastening season in English rugby with yet another side on the brink and the hope is no more clubs perish
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Mick Cleary
30 May 2023, 8:31
Mick Cleary: 'Leicester don’t mess about when it comes to the scoreboard. You're either in front or a loser'
Tigers have battled their way from mid-table to be within a game of a Premiership final and they have a puncher's chance against S…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
12 May 2023, 1:17
Exeter ready themselves for one last hurrah before break-up
The Chiefs have had an inglorious season but one last heroic effort could extend the most emotional of goodbyes
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Mick Cleary
27 Apr 2023, 10:11
Is Luther Burrell the best thing to have happened to English rugby?
The damning report published by the RFU backed the former England centre to the hilt reinforcing that the game has to kick on and …
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
20 Apr 2023, 0:10
Mick Cleary: 'There has been a lot of negativity over the exodus of English players to France. It is time to find a solution.'
The parlous finances in Premiership rugby has forced players to head to France to earn a living but should that stunt their Englan…
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Mick Cleary
04 Apr 2023, 7:23
Mick Cleary: 'England have managed to re-kindle that most precious of things, a modicum of hope'
Steve Borthwick has had an uncomfortable first Six Nations campaign, but there were tentative signs of progress against Ireland
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Mick Cleary
20 Mar 2023, 4:24
Mick Cleary: 'There was nothing to warm English hearts, nothing whatsoever.'
Steve Borthwick's men had a painful reality check in how far they had fallen behind the world's best side as France humiliated the…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
13 Mar 2023, 4:06
Mick Cleary: 'England may not gladden our souls but they are playing to type, just as Borthwick said they would'
Three games in and while not perfect, there are tentative signs of progress within the England camp after a forgettable afternoon …
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
27 Feb 2023, 1:53
Mick Cleary: 'Even Tom Curry will have to go some to reclaim that starting shirt. Willis is back in the frame'
England put some pride back into the shirt with a much-improved effort against an ambitious Italy side, but there is still work to…
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
13 Feb 2023, 0:39
Mick Cleary: 'It is time to install Farrell as England's starting fly-half'
Steve Borthwick has been dealt a poor hand but now is not the time for bemoaning ill-fortune, there is a Six Nations to win
LONG READ
Mick Cleary
06 Feb 2023, 5:51