Tadhg Furlong might not have done Leinster any favours when he opened Mako Vunipola’s eyes to what it takes to be a true, world-class prop, on the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

Stuart Lancaster needs no introduction to the dangers Leinster will be facing when they go toe-to-toe with Saracens in Saturday’s heavyweight Heineken Champions Cup final.

Ever get that feeling that the stars are aligning for some special purpose?

Owen Farrell might have been a leading candidate for a few sleepless nights recently but he is determined not to lose out on his eight hours of shut-eye over the challenge facing Saracens this afternoon

Milestones and long-awaited comebacks feature aplenty in the Saracens team picked by Mark McCall, who makes 10 changes from the side which lost at Bristol Bears last week.

Saracens captain Brad Barritt has rejected claims his side will be intimidated by Munster’s travelling army of fans when the teams meet in Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final in Coventry.

Saracens captain Brad Barritt is facing a race against time to be fit for the Champions Cup semi-final against Munster on April 20.

There was a time when the stinginess of the Scottish Rugby Union knew no bounds, when players were given one pair of socks per year and instructions to hand them back with the rest of the kit at the end of the season, writes Peter Jackson.

Mark McCall looked back with pride on Saracens’ two-year reign as European titleholders but admitted his side’s grip on the Champions Cup was dislodged by a better Leinster team.

Over the past few years, on their way to two Champions Cup triumphs, Saracens have been faced with a number of daunting away trips.

IT is with good reason that Saracens winger Sean Maitland has started calling his captain Brad Barritt ‘The Terminator’.

Few games present themselves on a canvas decorated with such broad and simplistic brush strokes as Sunday’s meeting between Leinster and Saracens.

Moments that mattered. Turning points. Key plays. We love the drama of a game decided by a spark of magic or, failing that, a blooper. 

Should we expect anything special from a team that started the Champions Cup campaign as 50-1 outsiders to upset a Saracens side widely regarded as one of the best club sides in the world?

For a small town, Enniskillen has given birth to more than its share of international sportsmen, amongst them Olympic gold medal sprinter Robert Kerr, champion heavyweight boxer Gordon Ferris and ex-Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern.

Owen Farrell provided the creativity as Saracens stormed into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup with a 33-17 victory over Ulster that guarantees home advantage in the next round.

Eddie Jones is yet to name his first England captain but insists he will pick his “best player” for the role.

Eddie Jones looks set to select a sprinkling of uncapped talent and leave out some established names when his first England elite player squad is announced today.

England 13 Australia 33: Having been in the World Cup for just 15 days, England are now set to enter a month-long period of reviews, damning indictments and calls for heads to roll.

Stuart Lancaster has accepted his entire England tenure could rest on tomorrow night’s decisive World Cup clash with Australia.

From shortly before 8pm tonight the streets from Camden to Carmarthen will be deserted.

The pressures on England at this World Cup can hardly be over-egged. Their status as hosts, as founding fathers of the game, and as the country with both the greatest playing resources and finances, guaranteed a level of scrutiny and sense of expectation that was only heightened by their placement in Pool A alongside Wales and Australia.

Warren Gatland wants rugby to “do the talking” when he sends his Wales team into a World Cup showdown against host nation England tomorrow night.

The omens approaching Wales’ team hotel yesterday weren’t promising.

England have encountered the first major injury problems of their World Cup campaign after it was revealed that Jonathan Joseph and Ben Morgan are doubts for Saturday’s pivotal clash with Wales.

England have selected Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph as their centre pairing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game against Ireland at Twickenham.

For all the trials and tribulations Joe Schmidt experienced in narrowing his World Cup squad down to the requisite 31, at least we have a good idea who will be in his starting XV.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster will stand or fall on the decision to drop Danny Cipriani from his final squad of 31 for the World Cup, which will be announced today.

Stuart Lancaster admitted England were comprehensively beaten in a 25-20 defeat to France that has set alarm bells ringing just one match before the World Cup begins.

England have selected Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph as their centres for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up against France in Paris. 

Stuart Lancaster insists Owen Farrell must excel during the World Cup warm-up matches if he is displace George Ford as England’s fly-half.

England will go into a World Cup campaign on home soil without star centre Manu Tuilagi after he pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a police officer.

France star Wesley Fofana scored the game’s solitary try just after half-time as French heavyweights Clermont prevailed 13-9 against Saracens to reach their second European final in three seasons.

England will use ‘template’ of Wales game to curb Aviva fervour.

England appear to have stumbled on the missing ingredient of a cutting edge that has eluded them for years.

England’s preparations for the RBS 6 Nations continued to unravel with the news Owen Farrell will miss the entire Championship because of a knee injury.