New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen appeared to accuse British and Irish Lions counterpart Warren Gatland of attempting to "bully" referee Jaco Peyper ahead of Saturday's first Test in Auckland.

Andy Farrell would be "more than comfortable" if Peter O'Mahony captained the British and Irish Lions in Saturday's first Test against New Zealand.

The British & Irish Lions will have to smarten up at scrum time and focus on painting better pictures for referees following the frustrations in defeat to the Highlanders.

Eddie Jones has responded to Michael Cheika’s claim he has damaged his legacy in Australia by declaring opinions mean nothing to him.

World Rugby’s head of referees Alain Rolland can expect a busy inbox this morning when he logs on for work after another weekend of concerns about the standards of Test officiating.

Joe Schmidt believes the intervention of World Rugby referees’ chief Alain Rolland will help prevent a repeat of the controversies that marred Ireland’s rematch with New Zealand last weekend.

Ireland 9 New Zealand 21: Perhaps feeling battered, bruised and not a little hard done by is a sign Ireland have finally arrived on the world stage as a force to be reckoned with.

Less on the scoreboard than in Soldier Field maybe, but Saturday’s renewal between Ireland and New Zealand matched the drama of Chicago in pretty much every other way and even sprinkled a painful dose of controversial incidents along the way with it.

The key moment, talking point and key man from the clash at the Aviva.

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.

France 30 Italy 10

France 30 Italy 10