Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll will captain the British and Irish Lions in Wednesday’s clash against Western Force in Perth.

British & Irish Lions 50 Barbarians 8

British & Irish Lions 59 Barbarians RFC 8

Ireland lock Paul O’Connell will captain the British and Irish Lions in Saturday’s tour opener against the Barbarians at Hong Kong Stadium.

Saracens 12 Toulon 24

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall put English rugby’s European failure down to the gulf in the salary cap between the Aviva Premiership and the rest.

Saracens rugby director Mark McCall is hoping his side can push on from the quarter-finals and become one of Europe’s elite clubs.

There is nothing like a thorough drubbing to focus the mind of a coach and the truly dismal nature of this Ireland performance in London on Saturday will require Declan Kidney to be deep in thought for most of the next couple of months before he sees his players again.

David Strettle has returned to the England team for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations finale against Ireland in place of Charlie Sharples after recovering from a sternum injury.

England captain Chris Robshaw and full-back Ben Foden last night endorsed Stuart Lancaster’s bid to become the team’s full-time coach after a remarkable RBS 6 Nations triumph over France.

Ben Foden will always be indebted to France coach Philippe Saint-Andre for spotting his potential as an international full-back.

Superstitious Wales skipper Sam Warburton has banned himself from talking about the Grand Slam his World Cup semi-finalists are now favourites to achieve next month.

Owen Farrell will start at fly-half for England in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations game against Wales after Charlie Hodgson failed to recover from a finger injury.

The 20-year-old landed four penalties and a tough conversion, following Charlie Hodgson’s second charge-down try in as many weeks, as England rallied from 15-6 down to claim their second win of the championship.

The temperatures in Rome may have plummeted but England captain Chris Robshaw has warned Italy his men will be prepared to fight fire with fire in today’s RBS 6 Nations clash.

Chris Robshaw will captain an unchanged England team into Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Stuart Lancaster confirmed he has applied for the full-time England coach’s job after joining his players in shedding blood in a physical Calcutta Cup win over Scotland on Saturday.

Owen Farrell, Brad Barritt and Phil Dowson will make their Test debuts in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland as part of a new-look and inexperienced England team.

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.

MARTIN JOHNSON believes any one of seven teams can win the Rugby World Cup — and he places England right at the heart of the pack.

Toby Flood will start at inside centre alongside fly-half Jonny Wilkinson in England’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France.

MARTIN JOHNSON has demanded England treat tomorrow’s showdown with Scotland as a winner-takes-all battle for Rugby World Cup survival.

Delon Armitage will start on the left wing for England in place of Mark Cueto in Saturday’s decisive Rugby World Cup Pool B showdown with Scotland.

ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson insists he would not start locking his team in their hotel following reports about a night out in Queenstown.

Lewis Moody has returned from injury to captain an England team featuring nine changes for Sunday’s Rugby World Cup appointment against Georgia.

ARGENTINA hooker Mario Ledesma believes England are under-estimating the Pumas ahead of today’s Rugby World Cup clash in Dunedin.

England’s back row resources have been stretched before they even depart for the World Cup after Tom Wood was forced to pull out of tomorrow’s final warm-up international against Ireland.

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

TOBY FLOOD steps into the number 10 limelight vacated by Danny Cipriani at Twickenham on Saturday determined to make some publicity of his own.

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.

BUTCH JAMES insists Bath will learn from their last-gasp Heineken Cup defeat away to Toulouse yesterday.

Steve Borthwick will captain England on their New Zealand tour next month.

Danny Cipriani will make his first Test start when England tackle RBS 6 Nations Championship opponents Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Sale Sharks scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth will make his first England start in the RBS 6 Nations Championship clash against France next Saturday.

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

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.

ANDY FARRELL will epitomise the “direct approach” England intend adopting to muscle Australia out of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final at Stade Velodrome.

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

ENGLAND coach Brian Ashton has “total confidence” in his players to keep alive their World Cup dream tonight and book a knockout clash against Australia.

FLY-HALF Jonny Wilkinson has called for “an enormously committed” England display in tonight’s World Cup eliminator against Tonga.

MARTIN CORRY will lead England into their most important Test match since the 2003 World Cup final on Friday night, claiming: “Captaincy is not something I strive for.”

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.

MARTIN CORRY has declared England’s record World Cup defeat against South Africa must not be a “a terminal hammer blow” for the struggling Webb Ellis Trophy holders.

MARTIN CORRY claims England will “draw strength from adversity” when they go into battle as huge World Cup underdogs against South Africa tonight.