My concerns: attack, defence and attitude

WATCHING England now is the most frustrating thing in the world. I want them to do well, but it does not look promising when a lot of the players are playing worse for England than they do for their clubs.

Springboks fire out a World Cup warning

SOUTH Africa showed how hard they will be to dethrone as World Champions by inflicting New Zealand’s biggest ever defeat in Test rugby at Twickenham on Friday night.

Scotland head to France on a high

SCOTLAND  put a sluggish first half behind them to score five second-half tries and head to the World Cup in buoyant mood with a third victory out of four from their warm-up campaign.

Galthie puts his faith in Jalibert to step up at 10

FRANCE head coach Fabien Galthie has gone full throttle for their final World Cup warm up match against Australia this afternoon.

Shambolic England crash to new lows

THIS was not just England hitting rock bottom, it was plumbing the rugby depths.

Davies: I almost gave up on Wales career

SCARLETS scrum-half Gareth Davies has revealed he came close to giving up on his international career before Warren Gatland's return as head coach.

Bassett gets ready to roar for Tigers

CHRIS ASHTON will take some replacing but Josh Bassett has come to Leicester hoping to make a splash of his own.

Player welfare needs top priority - Hayman

CARL Hayman says rugby is in denial about player welfare and insists there must be improved education on head injuries.

Welsh aiming for 10-team elite division

THE Welsh Premiership will be replaced in the 2024-25 season by a “finishing school” for rising talent with the number of teams reduced from 13 to 10. Existing Premiership clubs can each apply for a slot, with criteria for the Elite Domestic Competition (EDC) yet to be finalised.

Lawes: We were made to look silly

STEVE Borthwick had to admit his side were outplayed yesterday as England suffered their first ever defeat to Fiji who triumphed at Twickenham 30-22.

S Africa ward off England fightback

SOUTH Africa delivered a commanding performance in the second half to beat England U18s.

De Klerk: We're out to prove a point

FAF de Klerk says South Africa have a point to prove against New Zealand when they clash at Twickenham on Friday.

Rugby League has taken over says Campese

AUSTRALIA legend David Campese is concerned that rugby union is starting to mimic traditional rugby league and is a poorer sport as a result.

Moyle quick off the mark as Pirates find their feet

CHAMPIONSHIP side Pirates produced seven tries as they dominated the first of two outings against National One Plymouth in front of an excellent pre-season crowd of 1,360.

England must get the ball to the wide men

FOR four years, Sir Clive Woodward in his matchday analysis in his newspaper column always states that the coaches pick the right team... he might be right one day.

New Scotland cap Healy has point to prove

NEW Scotland recruit Ben Healy admits he may have “a bit of a chip on his shoulder” as he aims to prove he was right to switch international allegiance from his native Ireland.

Fiji give France a run for their money

FRANCE put the loss of star fly-half Romain Ntamack behind them as they continued their fine form but were made to work hard for a win over Fiji in Nantes.

Gatland's men get lesson in finishing

AS distressing dress rehearsals go, this one leaves a wishful Wales pinning their faith in the old showbiz dictum that ‘It’ll be all right on the night’.

Time is running out for chaotic England

ANOTHER day, another English disciplinary implosion with a red card, this time given to Billy Vunipola, for a headhigh tackle on Ireland loose-head Andrew Porter in the 52nd minute of this Red Rose warm-up debacle in Dublin.

Robinson's delight to be back at Bath

Jon Newcombe finds the club's former captain in fine form as he returns to join coaching team

Take mental health seriously - Rugman

ELLIE Rugman has urged new England head coach John Mitchell to take mental health more seriously after her struggles with anxiety were ignored by the previous regime.

Tierney set to be first female CEO at WRU

THE Welsh Rugby Union has appointed its first female chief executive in Abi Tierney. Tierney has been director general of the HM Passport Office and UK Visas and Immigration for the past three years.

Not again! Vunipola red adds to misery

MARO Itoje admitted England have to clean up their act after Billy Vunipola’s red card sent them hurtling to a 29-10 defeat in Ireland.

Powell aims to prove her time is now

CONNIE Powell believes she now has what it takes to become England’s first choice hooker and has moved to Harlequins for consistent game time

We want to push top teams all the way - Short

HARTPURY’S Harry Short is hoping his side can build on last season’s impressive campaign and keep pushing the full-time teams at the top

Biljon: Standards going through roof

JERSEY Reds director of rugby Harvey Biljon believes the standard in the Championship is through the roof and expects it to be competitive across the board next season

Barrington: Losing Mako is huge blow

RICHARD Barring- ton feels the loss of Mako Vunipola is a huge blow to England but remains upbeat about the prop options in Steve Borthwick’s pack

All Blacks put faith in Retallick's recovery powers

VETERAN lock Brodie Retallick has been named in New Zealand’s squad despite suffering a knee injury against Australia last weekend

Giant Skelton leads new-look Wallabies

HEAD coach Eddie Jones has named La Rochelle second row Will Skelton as captain of a young Wallabies squad, with veterans Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper left out

It's now time for England to reboot

THERE are a number of utility players selected in the England World Cup squad of 33 announced this week by head coach Steve Borthwick