MY worst fears have been realised.

TWO groups of death, two middle of the road and two soft pools for the top seeded teams.

Wasps have announced the signing of wing Richard Haughton from their Guinness Premiership rivals Saracens.

LEWIS MOODY believes Leicester’s Guinness Premiership title-winning stars can inspire England to a successful tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Leicester 33 Saracens 27

Worcester have appointed former England scrum-half Richard Hill as head coach on a two-year contract.

MAGNERS LEAGUE: English referee Chris White will take charge of the Magners League Grand Final between Leinster and Ospreys on Saturday week (6.30pm).

LONDON IRISH: Head coach Toby Booth has signed a new three-year contract at the Guinness Premiership club London Irish.

MARTIN JOHNSON fired a warning to Australia that England will head Down Under next month with the strongest touring team since he lifted the Rugby World Cup on their shores in 2003.

CARDIFF Blues are preparing for a Munster backlash when the defeated Heineken Cup semi-finalists arrive in Wales for Sunday’s vital Magners League tie.

Wasps 15 Cardiff Blues 18

IN different circumstances, the groin injury that has kept Paul O’Connell out of action for the past month and seriously threatens his participation in next week’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz might well have been calamitous for Munster’s prospects both in Europe and in the Magners League.

SANZAR have ruled out the possibility of a ’Battle of the Hemispheres’ competition, despite admitting “liking the concept”.

IF THE recent Six Nations defeat to Scotland has taught us anything, it’s that despite all the heroics and accumulation of trophies last season, Irish rugby has no divine right to silverware.

WITH four Top 14 sides in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, this is shaping up to be the ‘Year of the French’ and it’s a surge sourced by economics off the pitch as much as élan or elbow grease on it.

AS A tactic to impress the Twickenham hierarchy, sending your entire team out to get drunk together on Sunday night is an unusual one, even for Jim Mallinder.

BEFORE Northampton Saints travelled to Thomond Park to play Munster in January Dylan Hartley, their captain, talked about the image he had in his mind of Paul O’Connell leading out a side of giants, breathing fire and using every trick in the book to win the game before the first whistle had even been blown.

MUNSTER skipper Paul O’Connell has revealed his three-week injury lay-off has left him feeling refreshed ahead of Saturday’s clash with Guinness Premiership’s form team Northampton Saints.

Premier Rugby have stepped into the bitter, escalating row between Guinness Premiership title rivals Northampton and Saracens over prop Soane Tonga’uhia.

FRANCE wing Julien Malzieu has urged his team-mates to attack from the word go against Italy on Sunday, insisting Les Bleus “do not have the right” to lose their penultimate RBS 6 Nations clash.

England flanker Lewis Moody will leave Leicester in the summer after signing a three-year deal with Guinness Premiership rivals Bath.

Bath-bound Mark McMillan today retained the Glasgow captaincy for tomorrow night’s Magners League clash at Connacht.

Cardiff Blues lock Deiniol Jones and hooker Gareth Williams have been forced to withdraw from Wales’ RBS 6 Nations squad through injury.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland looks set to name Sale scrum-half Dwayne Peel in his matchday 22 for the RBS 6 Nations showdown with France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.

GEORDAN MURPHY has, as expected, been drafted into the Ireland squad to replace Rob Kearney ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with England.

ROB KEARNEY’S enforced absence through injury has opened the door for Geordan Murphy to make a dramatic return to Ireland colours for tomorrow week’s Six Nations encounter against England in Twickenham.

Warren Gatland could summon two of Wales’ 2008 Grand Slam stars for the RBS 6 Nations appointment with title favourites France next week.

DANNY Cipriani has withdrawn from the England Saxons squad ahead of Sunday’s game against Ireland A after suffering a family bereavement.

London Irish defence coach Dave Ellis has extended his contract with the club until the end of the 2010/11 season.

THE return of Marcus Horan and Rory Best to international competition at the Recreation Ground, Bath, on Sunday (2pm) is a timely boost to Ireland’s hopes of another successful RBS Six Nations Championship.

FOR the Munster players saying their farewells at Thomond Park last Friday night, the scene was reminiscent of classmates leaving boarding school at the end of term. There were handshakes all around as a 12th successive Heineken Cup quarter-final slot was secured.

England have received an encouraging fitness bulletin on flanker James Haskell ahead of next weekend’s RBS 6 Nations opener against Wales at Twickenham.

Leicester and the Ospreys were today both awaiting an official European Rugby Cup response over a 16th player blunder involving Wales and Lions full-back Lee Byrne.

DYLAN HARTLEY doesn’t seem like the sort of man who read fairytales as a child, yet listening to him talk about Munster and their record at Thomond Park you can’t help but think of him and his Northampton Saints team-mates as St George, being sent in to the wilderness to slay the dragon.

ALAN GAFFNEY isn’t the type to beat his chest and deliver a piercing war cry, but the quietly-spoken Australian does admit that Leinster will be looking for some payback in Twickenham tomorrow.

STADE FRANCAIS are set to appeal the massive 70-week ban handed down to prop David Attoub after he was found guilty of gouging Ulster and Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during a Heineken Cup match in December.

LONDON IRISH head coach Toby Booth has warned Leinster that his side are never more dangerous than when they are backed into a corner.

London Irish prop Clarke Dermody has signed a new two-year deal which will keep him at the Madejski Stadium until June 2012.

Toulouse 33 Harlequins 21

Scarlets 31 London Irish 22

FORGOTTEN England fly-half Charlie Hodgson has reappeared on Martin Johnson’s selection radar – and Cardiff Blues could find out why today.

SCOTLAND prop Moray Low has signed a two-year contract extension with Glasgow Warriors, handing the Magners League leaders a major boost ahead of tonight’s Heineken Cup clash with Newport Gwent Dragons at Firhill.

Martin Johnson was bullish about England's RBS 6 Nations title chances after naming a new-look squad that includes rugby league converts Shontayne Hape and Chris Ashton.

DANNY CIPRIANI is rewarded for his “continued improvement” on the comeback trail by starting at fly-half when Wasps tackle their fellow Guinness Premiership heavyweights Leicester today.