The analysis and modelling of the structure of turbulent flow in a circular pipe subjected to an axial rotation is presented. Particular attention is paid to determining the terms in various turbulence closures that generate the two main physical features that characterize this flow: a rotationally dependent axial mean velocity and a rotationally dependent mean azimuthal or swirl velocity relative to the rotating pipe. It is shown that the first feature is well represented by two-dimensional explicit algebraic stress models but is irreproducible by traditional two-equation models. On the other hand, three-dimensional frame-dependent models are needed to predict the presence of a mean swirl velocity. The latter is argued to be a secondary effect which arises from a cubic nonlinearity in standard algebraic models with conventional near-wall treatments. Second-order closures are shown to give a more complete description of this flow and can describe both of these features fairly well. In this regard, quadratic pressure–strain models perform the best overall when extensive comparisons are made with the results of physical and numerical experiments. The physical significance of this problem and the implications for future research in turbulence are discussed in detail.