England put one foot in the World Cup quarter-finals but not before they were caught up in yet more controversy, this time over the match balls. Johnson's side crushed Romania.

Follow all the World Cup action as England and Scotland clash at Eden Park in Auckland. It's crunch time for both of these sides as one of them will be leaving the tournament.

Sportsmail brings you all the news as England go for a place in the World Cup semi-finals at the expense of France at Auckland's Eden Park.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I am a glass half-full person and 11 months out from the final stages of the World Cup there was a lot to like in that England performance.

CHRIS FOY: England are showing no sign of gaining ground on rugby’s leading nations after their 12th loss to South Africa in a row. Here are the pressing issues that need to be sorted out quick smart…

Sam Burgess will make his grand entrance into a whole new ball-game on Friday night, having realised in recent weeks that he faces a monumental task in crossing the rugby divide.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I cannot wait to see Sam Burgess play for Bath, I’m sure he has everything to succeed in union and all England rugby fans should be grateful to Bath for bringing him into the sport.

Nick Easter has urged England to create a 'destructive force' by pairing Steffon Armitage with captain Chris Robshaw for their assault on this year's World Cup.

England No 8 Ben Morgan is set to see a specialist next week in the latest phase of his recovery from a broken leg. He is now destined to miss England's entire RBS 6 Nations campaign.

CHRIS FOY: Never mind the World Cup connotations. For now, the bigger picture can remain out of focus, in the background. Friday night it is all about Wales versus England.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: As an England ‘fan’, I’m still buzzing about that win over Wales, while the coach in me is trying not to get too carried away. However, that the result was huge leap forward.

EXCLUSIVE: Once he had come round after emergency surgery, Ben Morgan asked the surgeon two pressing questions; would he ever play again and could he make it back in time for the World Cup?

England head coach Stuart Lancaster believes the 'fantastic potential' of Henry Slade will drive his challenge for a place in the 2015 rugby World Cup squad.

WORLD OF RUGBY: Brilliance is not enough in these days of forensic professionalism. In another era, Nick Abendanon would have lit up Test rugby, but he no longer fits the mould.

Ticket sales for the Rugby World Cup are close to hitting the 2million mark with 130 days remaining before England kick off against Fiji.. Sportsmail understands 1.9m out of 2.3m have been sold.

Former England star Jason Robinson believes that Stuart Lancaster should adhere to current selection policy for next week's World Cup training squad announcement.

RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie believes the sport is in a better place to capitalise on a Rugby World Cup boom than it was in 2003 when Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal created a surge in interest.

Martin Johnson has waded into the debate about England’s refusal to pick players based overseas with an emphatic endorsement of the RFU policy which has divided opinion.

Dylan Hartley’s World Cup dream is over after the hooker was axed from Stuart Lancaster’s England squad and told he cannot be trusted to keep his cool in the high-stakes matches.

England's James Graham has become the first active player to pledge his brain to science upon his death to aid research into concussion.

The Rugby Football League made a loss of £327,000 in 2018, which it says was largely due to the low crowd for the Challenge Cup final.

INTERVIEW BY MIKE KEEGAN: With his chiselled jaw, bulging biceps and St Helens polo shirt, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook looks every inch the rugby league player.

MIKE KEEGAN AT WEMBLEY: Warrington Wolves have won the Challenge Cup after overcoming the odds to defeat favourites St Helens in a competitive final at Wembley Stadium.

South Sydney Rabbitohs said on Wednesday that their captain Sam Burgess has been forced to quit the sport due to a chronic left shoulder injury, ending one of rugby league's greatest careers.

Australia will play Italy, Fiji and Scotland in Group B while New Zealand face Lebanon, Jamaica and Ireland in Group C. Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Wales and Cook Islands make up Group D.

Wane left Wigan after guiding his hometown team to a third Grand Final at the end of the 2018 season and has spent the last year working as high performance coach for the Scottish Rugby Union.

Another group of suspected migrants have been intercepted by Border Force officers in Kent today as the huge increase in crossings since lockdown was imposed continues.

A staggering 545 chartered planes entered the UK since lockdown began on March 23, helped by the country's open border policy (file photo).

NIK SIMON IN KOBE: As one of 10 changes to Jones' side, Cokanasiga will live out his dream at the Kobe Misaki Stadium, just four years after being a mascot dressed up as a Fijian warrior.

Magistrate Rodney Higgins who is in his late 60's proposed to his girlfriend Ashleigh Petrie, 23, last month but the romance has sparked controversy within Victorian courts.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England will make any numerical advantage count and Owen Farrell will not endure another middling kicking afternoon like he did against Argentina.

CHRIS FOY IN TOKYO: Joe Cokanasiga has been nominated for World Rugby's Breakthrough Player of the Year award -at the end of what has been a personally frustrating World Cup.

Jackson Garlick appeared on The Bachelorette in part to seek revenge against a former friend, a new report has claimed. 

Angelina Jolie has spoken about how she was in a 'dark and difficult place' over the past two years after splitting from her husband Brad Pitt.

GAME has today confirmed it intends to close 40 stores throughout the UK. Notice has been served at sites in Derby, Norwich Chapelfield, Lakeside, Bexleyheath and Carmarthen.

Scotland centre Sam Johnson has ramped up the tensions between the two teams by revealing his childhood in Australia taught him that 'no one likes England'.

Scotland lock Jonny Gray has been ruled out of the remainder of the Guinness Six Nations through injury. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed the 57-times capped forward had suffered a hand injury.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. The English Game, penned by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, is set in 1879 and focuses on the first full-time professional players.

New Zealand took a break from preparations for Saturday's Test match with England to try their hand at an F1 pit stop. They visited McLaren's headquarters and changed the tyres on an F1 car.

Toronto Wolfpack are eyeing a move for England star Manu Tuilagi in a cross-code deal. The ambitious Super League side are already closing in on a deal for Sonny Bill Williams.

DANIEL MATTHEWS AT THE EMIRATES: Sonny Bill Williams has revealed he began plotting his record move to Toronto Wolfpack the day after the All Blacks' defeat by England.

Hogg said he would be 'very annoyed' if one of his Scotland team-mates was so quick to move on from their own exit at this year's showpiece in Japan.

Jarrod Woodgate debuted his new bleach blonde hair on Friday.

A peak audience of 8.87million tuned in to BBC One to watch Djokovic's Wimbledon victory over Federer compared to the 8m who saw England's World Cup win unfold on Channel 4 and Sky.

England's Cricket World Cup final win (left) got Sportsmail thinking about the greatest and most dramatic sporting finals with Liverpool in Istanbul and England's 1966 World Cup win (inset) debated.

Bolton Wanderers could lose prized asset Luca Connell for as little as £240,000 if the teenage star, who can play in defence or midfield, decides to move to a team outside of England.

The 38-year-old, who retired from playing in 2018, is said to be one of multiple players prepared to join Dutch businessman Rob Jansen in a project to takeover an EFL side.

Sam Allardyce wants to return to management but only at a club that has ambitions of success in the Premier League. He has been out of work since leaving Everton at the end of the 2017-18 season.

American sprinter Justin Gatlin finished the season undefeated in all of his 18 races with a 9.83 seconds 100 metre win at the IAAF world challenge meeting in Rieti on Sunday.

Sprinter Justin Gatlin ran into a new row on Tuesday when he flew home on the eve of the Beijing World Challenge, claiming organisers told him they did not want him competing.