England 25 Wales 21: Eddie Jones has calmed England’s Six Nations title celebrations because an even greater prize is within reach as he targets a precious Grand Slam.

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.

England head coach Eddie Jones has accused Wales of scrummaging “terribly illegally” as the build-up to tomorrow’s RBS 6 Nations title showdown between the arch-rivals finally ignited.

Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw risked re-living the Dark Blues’ painful World Cup exit by watching a re-run of the controversial defeat to Australia — but instead came away with a new sense of hope.

For two whole years, the hard times never seemed to leave Steve Hansen alone – none harder than a wintry weekend in Dublin 13 years ago.

Welshman Nigel Owens has been appointed to referee Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham, with Ireland’s John Lacey taking charge of the bronze medal match between South Africa and Argentina.

Michael Cheika is just 80 minutes away from completing the coaching miracle of the professional era after guiding Australia to the World Cup final last night.

Football referee Urs Meier understands what under-pressure South African rugby referee Craig Joubert is going through. After all, he had to go into hiding away from his family for 10 days and had security guards protecting his workplace after a decision that cost England in Euro 2004.

IF you are still feeling sick after Ireland’s massively disappointing exit from the World Cup, put yourself in the shoes of the long-suffering Scottish players and supporters for a brief second.

Despite many claiming that the World Rugby statement about Craig Joubert’s decision at the weekend is unprecedented, it is not the case.

Scotland are reeling from the injustice of being denied a place in the World Cup semi-finals by Craig Joubert after the South African referee awarded Australia an incorrect last-gasp penalty.

Samoa 5 Japan 26: Japan coach Eddie Jones believes his players have put the pride back in Japanese rugby regardless of whether they qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals.

Italy prop Michele Rizzo has warned that the Azzurri must pay less heed to how referees perceive their scrummaging and simply concentrate on the basics for which they have long been renowned when they face Ireland in Pool D at London’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

France 32 Italy 10: There were just four minutes to go on Saturday night when Frederic Michalak’s number came up.

It doesn’t seem so long since Simon Zebo was struggling for a first audition under Joe Schmidt, but the Munster man’s worth to the national cause continues to expand with the head coach giving him the nod to start again at full-back against England tomorrow.

The strength of the England side awaiting Ireland this Saturday at Twickenham was enough to quickly get any minds wandering post-World Cup squad selection back on track and focused on the size of the challenge ahead.

Before the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks did an exercise with control circles called The Attention Seeker. Two circles were drawn on a white board, one titled ‘Can Control’ and another titled ‘Can’t Control’.

Welshman Nigel Owens, regarded by many pundits as the world’s leading rugby union referee, has been appointed to oversee Ireland’s crucial Rugby World Cup Pool D clash with France.

Gordon D’Arcy hasn’t given up on making Ireland’s World Cup squad later this year.

“In that last 10 or 15 minutes we had some very, very tired players and sometimes you need something to just prop you up a bit and keep you going.”

James Haskell insists Ireland "got away with a lot" in England’s 19-9 Six Nations defeat at the Aviva Stadium but can only admire the champions’ canny approach.

Robbie Henshaw saw that it was on. When Craig Joubert raised his arm to signify a potential penalty for Ireland just outside England’s 22, Henshaw’s mind backtracked to the countless hours spent in Carton House preparing for just such a situation with his scrum-half.

Ireland 19 England 9

Ireland v England

England’s full-back Mike Brown is almost certain to miss Sunday’s pivotal Six Nations clash in Dublin as he has still not recovered from a head injury suffered against Italy.

I know nothing. I really don’t. 130 tests later, if you haven’t it all figured you’re dumb, writes Ronan O'Gara. 

Australia 28 New Zealand 29

When the chips were down in Paris, England’s dinner-suited players found themselves cast in the role of hapless bystanders among the pilgrims in downtown Rome, near the Vatican.

Disappointing yes, but not the end of the world.

Croke Park, February 28, 2009: A headless English half-back charges an Irish prop between the shoulder blades.

The tactical breakdown of today’s Twickenham showdown

France 30 Italy 10

France 30 Italy 10

How the two teams square off

Three games, 12 tries. And none conceded by Ireland.

Ireland 28 Scotland 6

Irish referee Alain Rolland’s final international before retirement will be a repeat of the infamous 2011 World Cup semi-final between Wales and France when he controversially sent off Sam Warburton.