Kyle Sinckler admitted “sport is cruel” after he was knocked out in the opening moments of England’s 32-12 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.

Eddie Jones says that England are going to be “kicking stones for four years” following their comprehensive World Cup final defeat against South Africa.

Eddie Jones will enter his meeting with Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Steve Brown this week armed with the conviction England can still win the World Cup.

In total there are five changes to the side defeated by Scotland at Murrayfield.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend says Chris Harris has earned his place in the starting line-up of their NatWest 6 Nations opener in Cardiff.

Police raided the headquarters of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) yesterday as part of an investigation into alleged conflict of interest involving the federation’s president Bernard Laporte, a source close to the matter said.

As Munster’s on-field coordinator, Billy Holland has to size up the opposition, attack vulnerable areas, and decide where to target, writes Donal Lenihan.

Leicester Tigers 16 Munster 25: Munster planted one boot firmly in the Champions Cup quarter-finals as they grabbed an invaluable away win at Welford Road last night and gave new boss Johann van Graan a benchmark performance for the rest of the season.

Munster’s visit to Welford Road was always going to prove the most challenging of the reverse fixtures against a clearly hurting trio of Aviva Premiership clubs after their Champions Cup whitewash by the Irish provinces last weekend, writes Donal Lenihan.

Munster head coach Johann van Graan feels his team have taken a major step forward in their development after beating Leicester 25-16 at Welford Road.

The key moment, talking point and key man from an intense game at Welford Road.

Johann van Graan has called on his Munster side to reduce the penalty count when they go into the Tigers’ den at Welford Road on Sunday.

Eddie Jones has criticised Australia for seeking to influence referee Ben O’Keeffe through the media.

Hurricanes 31 - Lions 31: IF CJ Stander, Iain Henderson and Dan Cole had any hope of staking their claims to a place in Warren Gatland’s matchday squad for Saturday’s second Test against the All Blacks, it surely waned as the clock ticked past 75 minutes and they were still on the pitch, running themselves into the ground for the British & Irish Lions.

From day one of his tenure as the head coach of the 2017 British and Irish Lions, Warren Gatland has preached the importance of a power-packed set of replacements to come into the game and either close out a victory or reel in a deficit.

Rory Best is set to captain the British & Irish Lions against the Chiefs on Tuesday after Warren Gatland named a matchday squad missing tour skipper Sam Warburton in the final game before Saturday’s first Test with the All Blacks.

The British & Irish Lions will have to smarten up at scrum time and focus on painting better pictures for referees following the frustrations in defeat to the Highlanders.

Here is the possible make-up of a squad charged with targeting a first Test series triumph against the All Blacks since 1971.

Given all the other challenges Warren Gatland faces, getting the balance to the squad right is one of the few totally within his control, writes Donal Lenihan.

The last time we saw Tadhg Furlong, he looked just about done in.

Joe Schmidt must have given serious consideration to putting Peter O’Mahony in the starting line-up, writes Donal Lenihan.

England head coach Eddie Jones said: "We've got to come up with a new name for it, no-ruck rugby."

England survived an almighty scare to finish 36-15 winners at Twickenham as Italy issued a rousing response to scrutiny of their ongoing presence in the Six Nations.

England must launch their Grand Slam defence without three first-choice forwards – and face question marks over four more.

Rassie Erasmus may not remember whether he played at Welford Road during his Springboks days but the Munster boss is canny enough to acknowledge his players cannot afford to turn up there today feeling in any way complacent.

Modesty and an acute awareness of the fickle nature of sport prevents Conor Murray from strutting around Munster’s High Performance Centre like a prize peacock.

Eddie Jones will send England out against Australia with orders to “break them mentally and physically” in Saturday’s climax to the autumn at Twickenham.

Eddie Jones has responded to Michael Cheika’s claim he has damaged his legacy in Australia by declaring opinions mean nothing to him.

Jerry Flannery enjoyed an outstanding career as a hooker with UCC, Shannon, Galwegians, Connacht, Munster, and Ireland, and completed his Masters in Sports Performance when he received a welcome call from an old friend and team mate.

France 21 England 31: George Ford insists England’s Grand Slam triumph is merely the beginning for a team blessed with “endless potential”.

Wales prop Tomas Francis has received an eight-week ban for making contact with the “eye or eye area” of England forward Dan Cole in last Saturday’s Six Nations game at Twickenham.

England edged to the brink of a first RBS 6 Nations title for five years with a 25-21 victory over Wales but were forced to survive a late fightback that evoked memories of the final-quarter collapse against their old rival at last autumn's World Cup.

France are playing catch-up on Europe’s best sides, according to second row Yoann Maestri.

Munster head coach Anthony Foley believes the province has to stand up and fight its corner against inconsistent decision-making by referees.

If you’re a beleaguered fan of Munster or Leinster, pining for the glory days when knockout rugby in European competition could be taken for granted at the turn of the year, then you’re in good company.

Anthony Foley will today begin the process of gathering his forces and focusing on the daunting task of overturning the home defeat to Leicester Tigers with a campaign-saving victory at Welford Road this Sunday.

IF Ulster’s amazing 38-0 demolition of Toulouse on Friday night suggested talk of the demise of the Irish provinces in Europe is a bit premature, the performances of Munster and Leinster only served to open the debate once again.

Major sporting events can do strange things to people. Days blur into weeks and weeks into months and before you know it you are cocooned in a bubble outside of which almost everything else takes on a strangely abstract meaning

However one-sided this World Cup match-up between Ireland and Canada appears there will be plenty to occupy Joe Schmidt’s thoughts during today’s Pool D opening encounter.

England have recalled lock Courtney Lawes and full-back Mike Brown for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland.

Ronan O’Gara says Ireland could have kicked a lot more against England, and chose not to.