Iain Henderson follows in Paul O'Connell's footsteps as he captains Ireland against Italy and he now appreciates the Munster man's 'desire and love' for the game of rugby.

The Brazil international went under the knife on Wednesday after experiencing irritation following a more serious operation to treat an injury suffered at the World Cup.

This will be Andy Farrell's fifth consecutive World Cup stretching back to a first involvement as a player with England in 2007 and he has initiated a more relaxed team environment from day one while embracing chaos where Joe Schmidt craved order.

Kane - Tottenham and England's all-time record goalscorer - has been heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions this summer and Bayern have already had two bids knocked back in their efforts to land the striker.

Maybe, contrary to promises, we were outbelieved. 

Halfpenny will reach three figures for Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up game against England at the Principality Stadium.

Curry sustained the injury in training this week and will be sidelined for up to a fortnight

The 25-year-old France international has signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

What he’s done is oversee Division 1B League success and a first All-Ireland senior final appearance in 78 years.

The head coach has gone with a mix of youth and experience on the back of a six-week pre-season that has been hailed by both players and management.

This was a party to celebrate the watershed of World Cup qualification rather than the one point and one goals they accrued from the tournament.

Ireland’s women after exiting their very first World Cup finals after just three games.

The first game of the season can be a cocktail of rust and brain fog but Andy Farrell made the point yesterday that the squad has been together for six weeks rather than just the five pitch sessions they get before a Six Nations.

'As you know, I just roll with it anyway. What can I do about it? It is what it is. I think it was drawn out a little bit, if you pushed me a little bit, but the outcome was going to be the same anyway. So, we move on.' 

When the width of a post saved the current squad in injury time against Portugal on Tuesday, the shock of a near exit created something akin to paralysis among Carli Lloyd and her fellow observers.

The world No 72-ranked Moroccans scored through Anissa Lahmari’s rebound after a saved penalty at the end of the first half, but their passage was only secured after South Korea held two-time champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in the other Group H match.

Alex Popp’s header at the close of the first half cancelled out Cho So-hyun’s early strike but with Morocco taking all three points against Colombia, only a win would stop Colombia and Morocco progressing and Germany crashing out.

While speculation surrounding Kane continues to grow, Tottenham have accelerated their search for new defenders.

Smith is preferred for the first of four Summer Nations Series matches ahead of Owen Farrell and George Ford, both of whom started the Gallagher Premiership final on May 27.

England’s record goalscorer at under-21 level is likely to lead the line for the Gunners when the campaign gets under way after fellow forward Gabriel Jesus was ruled out.