England have named Danny Cipriani and Nick Easter on the bench for Friday night’s RBS 6 Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff.

Wales boss Warren Gatland has sung the praises of England hooker Dylan Hartley — four years after questioning his temperament.

The Scots went to some trouble to make Richie McCaw feel at home at Murrayfield, unearthing evidence placing his ancestors from the same county as Robbie Burns, Bill Shankly and Robert the Bruce.

England 28 South Africa 31

USA: One is a building with bars. The other is a building with a bar. A very drunk woman apparently had trouble telling them apart and ended up in a southwestern Michigan jail cell-

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New Zealand 28 England 27

England slipped to a painful late defeat in their first Test against New Zealand knowing that a glorious opportunity to topple the world champions had eluded them.

ENGLAND 29 WALES 18

Three years is a long time in Test rugby and while Ireland’s last victory over England may have been memorable, the 2011 dateline on that day’s story consigns it firmly to the history section.

Ireland captain Paul O’Connell believes England still boast the strongest scrum in the RBS 6 Nations, even with a mini injury crisis at prop.

England have selected David Wilson at tighthead prop and named uncapped fly-half George Ford on the bench for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations match against Ireland.

It’s funny the things you remember.

The Bath playmaker has not been picked on the bench for either of England’s opening two Six Nations games but will be named as Owen Farrell’s understudy by Stuart Lancaster tomorrow.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Mike Ross left the field injured at Twickenham two years ago and England stormed to victory over a seriously pressurised Irish front row.

David Wilson will start Saturday’s crunch RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland after head coach Stuart Lancaster declared the Bath prop is now ready for his England return.

England will be out to “destroy” Ireland’s maul in order to derail Joe Schmidt’s Triple Crown tilt, according to hooker Rory Best.

England emerged comfortable 31-12 winners against Argentina at a subdued Twickenham, but another patchy performance in the QBE Internationals posed as many questions as answers.

Fathers who slaughter their families are making a “last-ditch” attempt to perform a masculine role, new research has said.

A majority of fathers who wipe out their families are not previously known to the police or mental health or drug services, according to a study.

After the dreadful shock a fortnight ago that 10-year-old Eoghan Chada and his five-year-old brother, Ruairi, had been found dead, came the question: Why?

Preliminary results of a post-mortem examination confirm that US country music star Mindy McCready’s death was suicide, authorities in Arkansas said today.

A memorial service for Mindy McCready will be held in Nashville.

Mindy McCready's ex-boyfriend is not "shocked" by her apparent suicide, and said she had been "fighting demons" for some time.

The British food safety watchdog has launched an investigation into how beef on sale in the UK and Ireland contained traces of horse and pig DNA.

There have been fresh claims about the standard of the police investigation into the murder of Michaela McAreavey as a man dubbed the prime suspect in her death has denied any involvement.

An ambitious project is underway to restore Ireland’s bog lands into a wetland paradise.

England’s interim head coach Stuart Lancaster will name at least eight uncapped players in his 22-man squad to face Scotland in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown.

APPLE Inc scored a narrow victory against Taiwan’s HTC Corp in a patent lawsuit over smartphone technology that will set the stage for more battles between rival makers in the fiercely competitive market.

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her husband are expecting a baby by a surrogate mother, her spokesman said.

England 67 Romania 3

HT England 34 Romania 3

THREE days before England should have been opening their Rugby World Cup campaign in Christchurch, Martin Johnson led a red rose delegation on a goodwill visit to the earthquake-torn city.

Matt Stevens’ return from the ignominy of a drugs ban continued today when he was confirmed in England’s 45-man Rugby World Cup training squad.

England manager Martin Johnson has made one change for Sunday’s Calcutta Cup game against Scotland, with Alex Corbisiero replacing the injured Andrew Sheridan at loose-head prop.

England manager Martin Johnson is still haunted by the memories of last year’s defeat to France in Paris – and he wants revenge.

Lewis Moody’s hopes of captaining England against France at Twickenham on Saturday have been wrecked by a recurrence of his knee injury.

ITALY coach Nick Mallett insists his men head to Twickenham convinced they can make history with a first victory over England.

London Irish prop Alex Corbisiero will make his Test debut in England’s RBS 6 Nations meeting with Italy tomorrow after Andrew Sheridan was ruled out with a back injury.

Louis Deacon has been recalled to the England squad for the RBS 6 Nations as a replacement for banned Gloucester lock Dave Attwood.

Johann Muller will captain Ulster for Saturday’s Heineken Cup game with Bath at Ravenhill (kick-off 1.30pm).

A Dublin drug addict has received an eight-year sentence with four suspended for a botched supermarket raid in which his accomplice was stabbed to death.

A Dublin man was sentenced to five years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today for the manslaughter of an armed supermarket raider in 2008.

England 26 Samoa 13