Former All Blacks centre Aaron Mauger believes the European Champions Cup is now the “most prestigious competition” in club rugby.

Saracens wing Chris Ashton’s hopes of an England recall in the opening exchanges of this season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship are in the balance.

18-year-old cancer patient Jake Bailey was told by his doctors that he wouldn’t be able to attend his school’s prize giving ceremony as he lay in his hospital bed, it was advice he felt he had to ignore.