EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: The RFU have informed rival unions in the southern hemisphere that they will not sign up for the proposed Nations League - meaning World Rugby's proposal is doomed.

McGrath, who is contracted to the Irish Rugby Football Union, has won 57 caps but has slipped behind provincial colleague Cian Healy in the loosehead pecking order.

Johnny Sexton has questioned the 'strange' negativity around Ireland's World Cup campaign, insisting Joe Schmidt's men are ready to peak for the All Blacks.

England will bottle the feeling of seeing Ireland win the Six Nations Grand Slam at Twickenham two years ago and use it this week, according to George Ford.

Conor Murray admits the father-son dynamic between the Farrells will be strange when Ireland face England on Sunday, but hopes his coach can provide crucial insights into his son's game.

MIKE BROWN: You always know when it's an Ireland Test week because the coaches put a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Johnny Sexton in the team dining room.

EXCLUSIVE BY OLIVER HOLT: There is a picture on the walls of the Lord Bagenal Inn that shows a group of men and women standing proudly in the main street beside a horse called Different Pace. 

New dates will now have to be sought for the four Classics, which are the 2,000 Guineas on May 4 and the 1,000 Guineas on May 5 at Newmarket, as well as the Oaks on June 5 and Derby on June 6.

Last year Newmarket-based trainer Haggas hatched a plan to target the Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Addeybb and the Group One Schweppes Sydney Cup with Young Rascal.

Hamilton debuted on August 6, 2015 and has gone on win 11 Tony Awards. And on Monday, the musical's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed that Disney will be bringing the play to the big screen.

The singer/actress is set to host and executive produce a new quarantine-themed cooking show for the streaming service. The yet-to-be titled project was ordered straight-to-series for a 10 episode run.

The two leaders clashed angrily in Mrs May's penultimate Prime Minister's questions on the day 60 Labour peers took out a full-page newspaper advert criticising Mr Corbyn.

Tony Blair refused to say three times whether he would vote for Labour at the next general election as the party continues to struggle with Brexit and allegations of anti-Semitism.

The Shadow Chancellor said he would be 'sending Jeremy Corbyn in a cab to Buckingham Palace', at an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Lord Mandelson (pictured) fires a broadside at Labour's 'statist' economic policies. He also launched a brutal attack on leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Both Mr Starmer and Ms Long-Bailey are at 3/1 to become leader if Mr Corbyn steps down as expected with Yvette Cooper in second position at 8/1, according to Ladbrokes.

She recently showed off her slimmed-down figure while promoting her latest film, Cats.

For a creative band, The Who haven't created much lately. This is their first new album since 2006, and only the second since 1982.

The polls suggest that women, even more than men, are dismayed at the state we're in. Gilmore addresses this, and has some fun too, with her uplifting folk-pop.

Carly Patterson, one of the most decorated gymnasts in United States Olympic history has revealed she will be skipping the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Games due to the threat of the Zika virus.

Imperial College London experts predict that the virus, which is rife in Brazil and other parts of South and Central America, will burn itself out in two to three years. However, it will strike again.

FEMA is using modified Air Force C-130 aircraft to spray chemicals in Houston and likely Florida to help control disease-carrying mosquitoes from breeding in the regions following recent storms.

On a crazy final day of the Euro 2016 group stage in France, teams from the British & Irish isles were left waiting until the very last moments to find out their last-16 fate in the tournament.

Lewandowski hasn't lit up Euro 2016 and will need to regain his form from qualifying if Poland are to have any chance of getting past Portugal on Thursday.

Everton and Napoli target Arkadiusz Milik will not be allowed to leave in this window, say his club Ajax. The Polish star is understood have agreed to stay at least until January.

Gareth Southgate's men are among the top seeds and will be in a five-team group while Wales and Scotland will join Germany in pot two and Northern Ireland and the Republic in pot three.

Experts have revealed their seven-day meal plan that will help to boost your immunity and ward off sickness - as coronavirus continues to sweep across the globe.

The couple will reportedly leave the 20,000-acre estate before the turkey is served to travel to the Middletons' £5million mansion in Berkshire then shoot on a country estate nearby.

According to Variety, sources close to the project claim that Universal will not be taking the biopic angle as it has already been covered to a degree by Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain

Birmingham are close to completing a deal to sign Dan Crowley from Willem II for a fee starting at £650,000. Crowley has blossomed during two-and-a-half years in Dutch football.

The magic of the FA Cup continues on Saturday through to Monday when the third-round ties take place. Sportsmail takes a look at the youngsters who could possibly catch the eye.

Odion Ighalo is likely to make his Manchester United debut when they play Chelsea on Monday and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping the striker makes as much impact as these loan stars.

The defector wrote a letter to the President on Wednesday urging that the US should impose heavy sanctions to preempt any nuclear flexing by Kim and consider fomenting a coup in North Korea.

US special representative Stephen Biegun told reporters in Seoul that the US had heard the North's 'hostile, negative and unnecessary' demands but would not work to the arbitrary deadline.

Jeffrey Lewis, an nuclear expert from California, has warned that Trump's volatile relationship with Kim Jong-un could plunge the world into a nuclear crisis if North Korea restarts testing nukes.

The 'Supreme Leader' of this impoverished country boards his beloved train by means of a ramp covered with a red carpet.

After securing the backing of MPs Boris Johnson is odds-on to become Britain's next Prime Minister. But he will have to juggle high expectations from all sides if he gets the keys to No. 10.

JACK DOYLE: The Cabinet Room in No 10 has two clocks. The more prominent one sits on a mantelpiece behind the Prime Minister's chair. The other was installed on the table opposite.

JACK DOYLE: With his bombastic battle-cry of 'Get Brexit Done', Boris Johnson left the conference stage to ecstatic applause. His first speech as PM was everything they hoped for.

Top intelligence agency officials will brief Republican lawmakers on Thursday on a confidential FBI source who acted as an informant on the Trump presidential campaign.

Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi will be allowed inside the top secret White House meeting on the 2016 election

RICHARD KAY: Exactly 20 years ago, Prince Charles was refining plans for Poundbury, his experimental new town in Dorset.

RICHARD KAY: For almost a week, Harry and Meghan have been dominating headlines in every corner of the world. Their astonishing decision to stand down from their duties and to leave...

RICHARD KAY: Prince Charles is 'drained' from the amount he spends on his sons. Bills he has splashed out on include the Sussex's home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

RICHARD KAY: Above all Harry's speech demonstrated how raw and how unpredictable the drama over his and Meghan's split from the royals really is.

The Paralympic table tennis star, 31, who participated in the competition series with professional dancer Janette Manrara for six weeks, spoke to The Sun

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's cabinet on Monday gave the green light for the state government to officially go after a bid for the Olympic and Paralympics Games in 2032.

Pisces 20 FEB-20 MARCH Your emotions and mind will work in unison this week.

The company, founded by Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas, will set up a branch at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park in the city's east.

A young 'wannabe' gangster found himself behind bars after calling police when his Melbourne home was raided by a gang of thugs hell bent on ripping off his drug stash.