Leicester Tigers 37 Leinster 14, Welford Road

Ireland international Geordan Murphy will captain Leicester Tigers from full-back against Leinster in a pre-season friendly at Welford Road in Friday night.

NOW that the silverware has been distributed for a variety of tournaments all over Europe a period of quiet reflection and planning will commence for next season.

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

MARTIN JOHNSON is not the sort of man who indulges in mind-games, but yesterday he braced himself to face a wounded animal when Ireland head to Twickenham a week on Saturday.

England 30 Wales 17

Leicester 47 Viadana 8

Leicester 20 Clermont Auvergne 15

England 9 Australia 18

Leicester 22 South Africa 17

AUSTRALIA captain Rocky Elsom has warned the Wallabies to underestimate the new-look England side at their peril.

Steve Thompson will complete a remarkable international comeback when he starts for England against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.

Martin Johnson will name one of the most inexperienced England teams in memory to face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday – and that is despite the return of Jonny Wilkinson.

MARTIN JOHNSON finds himself in the rare position of being an England coach finalising his Test selection without having to fret over the fitness of Jonny Wilkinson.

LEICESTER boss Richard Cockerill watched the injury-ravaged Tigers earn a pulsating Heineken Cup draw with the Ospreys and hailed: “You can buy a team but you can’t buy spirit”.

Leicester 32 Ospreys 32

Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill recalls Alesana Tuilagi and Martin Castrogiovanni to the team for Saturday's Heineken Cup Final against Leinster at Murrayfield.

THE day of reckoning has finally arrived. After 14 seasons toiling largely at the business end of European rugby, Leinster have a golden opportunity to become the ninth side to win the Heineken Cup.

MARTIN CORRY would love one last hurrah to help Leicester clinch a momentous rugby double in the space of just nine days.

Ben Foden’s blistering form for Northampton has been rewarded with a call-up to the elite England squad.

Dan Carter admitted it felt like his “first day at school” as he led Perpignan to a 26-20 Heineken Cup victory over Leicester yesterday.

Danny Cipriani has been dropped from the England team to play New Zealand on Saturday.

England manager Martin Johnson appeared to provide an early glimpse into his thinking ahead of a demanding autumn Test campaign by making eight players available for EDF Energy Cup action this weekend.

England 17 Barbarians 14

Leicester 25 Leinster 9

TWICKENHAM is ready to witness its first volcanic eruption — and Wales could be the hapless victims.

England boss Brian Ashton has sprung a major surprise in his 32-man RBS 6 Nations squad by selecting former Bradford Bulls rugby league star Lesley Vainikolo.

Fabien Pelous hopes Leicester will feel the heat when they take on Toulouse in a crucial Heineken Cup clash tomorrow.

Leicester 39 Edinburgh 0

Leinster 22 Leicester Tigers 9

ARGENTINA’S World Cup star Felipe Contepomi is ready to launch another team towards tournament glory this weekend.

WITH a pack as tough and uncompromising as Leicester’s coming to town this weekend it may be some comfort to Leinster fans to know coach Michael Cheika believes the province’s current group of forwards is the best assembled during his time in charge.

Mark Cueto will replace the injured Josh Lewsey in England’s team to play South Africa in the World Cup final on Saturday.

Leicester centre Dan Hipkiss could today be handed a place in England’s World Cup final team – barely two months after making his Test debut.

BEN KAY could become a double world champion on Saturday night and he believes it would mean more to him than four years ago when England conquered the rugby planet.

BATH full-back Nick Abendanon has been called into England’s World Cup squad as a replacement for the injured Josh Lewsey.

ROB ANDREW admitted England had “rewritten the rules” after reaching the World Cup final despite three years of upheaval and just 10 months of dedicated planning.

England 14 France 9

JONNY WILKINSON has warned England they must shake off the loss of Andy Farrell and get on with the job of defeating Australia.

Andy Farrell has been recalled to the England side for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Australia at Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

England World Cup captain Phil Vickery has failed to reclaim a place in the starting line-up for Friday night's tournament eliminator against Tonga at Parc des Princes.

BRIAN ASHTON claims it would be “wrong to interpret” that Nick Easter has moved ahead of Lawrence Dallaglio in the battle for England’s World Cup number eight shirt.

England 62 Wales 5

GAVIN HENSON has been ruled out of the World Cup after failing to make the Wales squad for Saturday’s Test against England at Twickenham.