The four Welsh regions are banking on their £40m share of the proposed deal helping them to balance their books and to help them become more competitive on the field.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: A four-day voting window opens on Monday and a handful of members remain undecided in what is expected to be the closest ballot battle in rugby's history.

CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: English rugby needs to adopt a central contract system as the game addresses the financial problems which have been exposed by this lockdown.

Premiership Rugby is facing a huge drop in the value of its broadcasting rights because it failed to agree a new deal with either BT Sport or Sky before the coronavirus crisis.

England stars could lose up to THREE stone in muscle during the coronavirus lockdown and it could take them a month to get back to a safe level to play, claims a top physio. 

There is increasing optimism that action could resume in the United Kingdom and across Europe in the coming weeks as lockdown restrictions are cautiously relaxed.

Genge insists his proposed organisation would complement rather than rival the Rugby Players' Association, which represents more than 1200 past and present players

Pichot has vowed to jolt World Rugby out of 'copy and paste mode' if he manages to unseat chairman Sir Bill Beaumont, with online video game Fortnite an unlikely pillar of his plan.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: The World Rugby elections were rocked last week by allegations of homophobia and discrimination against Fiji Rugby Union chairman Francis Kean.

The Welsh Rugby Union publicly threw their weight behind Sir Bill Beaumont (left) today, backing him to retain his role as World Rugby chairman and beat rival Agustin Pichot.

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: The Premiership appeared to stand alone on Thursday night as the only league in world rugby still seeking to complete this coronavirus-disrupted season.

A player exodus from Britain to Japan is in prospect, after former England fly-half Freddie Burns announced a move to the Far East and other high-profile names are set to follow him.

England fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean believes the introduction of Sale Sharks to the Tyrrell's Premier 15s can help elevate the women's game to the next level.

Sir Bill Beaumont will discover on Saturday if, as expected, he has been elected to continue as World Rugby chairman for another four years - after the result announcement was brought forward.

The 68-year-old fought off a challenge from his vice-chairman Agustin Pichot and will stay at the head of the governing body for the next four years.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: When Bill Beaumont clocks back on Monday morning, it would be worth remembering that, although the official tally says 28-23, he actually won by only one vote.

After Mike Brown and Joe Marchant told the Mail on Sunday last week that the game was boring, and in need of serious surgery we canvassed opinion from top figures in the game.

Sir Bill Beaumont will prioritise rearranging July's Covid-19 hit Tests after narrowly beating Agustin Pichot in the elections for World Rugby chairman.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: There is outcry over the game's governance, smaller nations are sick of being treated like second-class citizens and this crisis is threatening financial meltdown.

CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: The Nations League concept is back on the table as a means of galvanising international rugby, but if it is going to make a difference, it can't be half-hearted.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: New World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte has pleaded with Agustin Pichot not to walk away from the sport after his 28-23 election defeat.

The British sportswear company will take over the manufacturing rights from Canterbury in September. As reported in October, Umbro outbid adidas to agree a partnership worth more than £5m a season. 

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Pichot will give up his council seat and take up no further roles having become frustrated with the lack of progress in the game.

The National Lottery has announced £355million of funding to over 1,300 elite athletes across the four year Olympiad ahead of Rio 2016.

I’ve grown up learning about the right stuff to eat. The good stuff. Two pool sessions a day, weights and land training means that I know exactly how many calories I need to eat to keep on top of my game.

ROAD TO RIO 2016: British diver Chris Mears, who won a gold Commonwealth medal in the synchronised 3m springboard event with Jack Laugher in Glasgow, talks about his success.

British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson is back in training after recovering from the freak foot injury which saw her miss this summer's Commonwealth Games.

It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had such a lengthy setback and it’s been really hard being off my bike, particularly as my family are such keen cyclists.

MAX WHITLOCK: To return home from the World Championships in Nanning in China with a silver medal was fantastic. Competing out there was a great experience.

I’m so happy to be leading Great Britain at the World Gymnastics Championships next month! 

Katarina Johnson-Thompson explains the pain of missing out on the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, but says best is yet to come.

England’s Max Whitlock is targeting success across the board in Glasgow but, if all goes to plan, he will have to compete on five straight days this week.

ROAD TO RIO 2016: I’ve just finished my first year playing abroad. I left Sheffield Steelers to join Amiab Albacete in Spain and it was awesome! The basketball is totally different and, because it’s a semi-professional league, you are there just to play.

Jessica Ennis, one of the great icons of the London games, forged her medal success in the heart of the steel city. Now, another young man hopes to join such illustrious company.

My training sessions in Manchester have been intense since my last blog, but now I'm beginning to taper off so I'm fresh for the World Championships in Colombia in a month's time.

SAM CUNNINGHAM: Remember the famous song by The Specials about doing Too Much Too Young? The same could, perhaps, be said for 18-year-old Paralympian Sally Brown.

ADAM GEMILI: I met Jamal Edwards, the founder of SB.TV, recently when we both visited my old college to talk to the students there and he said something that really stuck with me.

SALLY BROWN: It has been a difficult year for me. In January my feet started giving me problems again. I wasn't even able to train.

It's been a crazy few months since I last checked in on my Road to Rio. The Commonwealth Games were incredible but after a brilliant summer off, I'm already looking forward to the 2016 Olympics.

It's pretty crazy for me to be nominated for Sports Personality of the Year award. I found out when my management company rang me but it didn't really sink in until the official announcement.

The road to success for athletes is rarely a straightforward one. especially in the case of Paralympic sprinter Sally Brown, who is aiming for glory in Rio despite an injury-ravaged three years.

Adam Gemili, Max Whitlock and Sally Brown look frightened as they are are asked to show their artistic side with a handful of charcoal and a plethora of paints.

HARRY BROWN: I’ve been at home in Halifax in West Yorkshire for Christmas, which is a rare two weeks in the UK for me.

HARRY BROWN: Having missed out on London 2012, the European Championships will be my first senior major on home soil, so I’m very excited by it.

With silver at the 2014 World Championships, two medals in the European Championships and my five medals in the Commonwealth Games, what more could I ask for?

CHRIS MEARS: I’ve just got back from a training camp in Rio and it was amazing. Despite all of the things you hear about the favelas and the dangerous side of things, it had such a good vibe.

We’ve just got back from a training camp in South Africa and that was a really good experience. It was hot – about 35C every day – so it was really warm and great for training.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson can’t wait to compete at the European Indoor Championships in Prague. But for multi-eventers, packing your suitcase to go abroad can be a bit of an ordeal.

BECKY JAMES - ROAD TO RIO: I’ve been out injured for a whole year now, but I’m finally on the verge of a return to regular training. It’ll be such a relief after such a long time out.

ADAM GEMILI - ROAD TO RIO: I see Usain Bolt on the circuit and he’s always good fun. He likes to make jokes of me! Bolt gave me some great advice to really enjoy athletics and have fun with it.