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.

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.

Against a background of economic meltdown and the life-and-death battle against this damned virus, the plight of Harry and Meghan pales into insignificance.

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

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.

Great Britain suffered a third straight defeat on their tour of New Zealand after they were beaten 23-8 in Christchurch. The series whitewash increases the pressure on Wayne Bennett.

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.

Around 75 demonstrators, including ex-servicemen and women, bumped shoulders at the park at Trafalgar Train Station in West Gippsland, Victoria on Saturday, demanding an end to lockdown.

Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland has rewritten the goalscoring handbook since arriving on the scene with Red Bull Salzburg and has now revealed the secrets behind his success.

Swiss shoppers were returning to garden centres and hair salons today (pictured here in Villeneuve) as the army prepares to hand out a million masks a day to shops and businesses.

She's a Record of the Year and Album of the year nominee for the upcoming Grammy's for her album, Truth Hurts. And on Thursday, the 31-year-old singer headed off to the happiest place on earth.

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.

Love Island Australia will not be filmed locally this year, Channel Nine has confirmed.

WILL KELLEHER IN OTSU: Warren Gatland sent out a rallying cry to Wales ahead of their upcoming match against Fiji - win the World Cup pool and we will be mentally stronger.

After wins against Georgia and Australia Wales are flying with Fiji and Uruguay to come. Wales have only gone unbeaten once in a World Cup Pool stage - back in 1987 when they ended third.

Eoghan Murphy is set to enter the Love Island Australia villa in Fiji on Monday night.

Love Island Australia intruder Eoghan Murphy, 24, caused chaos during Monday night's premiere episode.

Love Island Australia's second season premiered on Channel Nine on Monday night. 

A group of genetically-blessed singletons arrived at the Love Island Australia villa in Fiji on Monday.

Joker in the pack James Davies told Warren Gatland it was high time he was handed a start at seven after he was picked for Wales' World Cup team to face Fiji. The 28-year-old will play his first match.

The happy news comes after Hyland spent Sunday with her fiancé, 35, in the emergency room. She posted a black-and-white selfie to her story from the hospital bed, captioned: 'ER but make it fashion.'

As the Love Island contestants settle into their villa in tropical Fiji, it seems the real drama is taking place back in Australia.

WILL KELLEHER AT THE OITA STADIUM: Wales almost saw history repeat on them at the World Cup as they so nearly lost to a Fiji side at times playing rugby from the heavens in their Pool D clash.

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.

The cast of Love Island Australia regularly soak up the sunshine by lounging around the Fijian villa in their swimwear.

Love Island Australia star Vanessa Sierra's secret past as a topless waitress has been exposed as she competes on the reality TV show in Fiji.

Sophie Monk has made no secret of the fact she wants to marry her boyfriend Joshua Gross and start a family as soon as possible.

Love Island Australia host Sophie Monk is making the most of her time in Fiji with boyfriend Joshua Gross.  But on Sunday, Love Island narrator Eoghan McDermott cheekily interrupted the couples.

For weeks, Married At First Sight's Jessika Power has been dropping hints that she will appear on Love Island Australia as an 'intruder'. 

She's the Love Island host known to set pulses racing wherever she goes. 

She admitted to having a 'connection' with Sam Withers before his elimination on Love Island Australia.

She reunited with her Love Island Australia co-star Sam Withers in Adelaide this week, after they came close to having a fling in Fiji while filming the show.

She was eliminated from Love Island Australia last week, after the other contestants accused her of 'playing a game'.

Sophie Monk (pictured with boyfriend Joshua Gross) was noticeably absent from Tuesday's elimination, leaving fans of the show baffled.

A recently resurfaced 2014 music video for Hilltop Hoods song Cosby Sweater shows Love Island's Anna McEvoy (right) almost looking like a different person to her current appearance (left).

Sophie Monk was a no-show during the elimination on Wednesday's episode of Love Island Australia.