Gregor Townsend insists Scotland can recover from their World Cup heartache - but knows they must learn from the mistakes that cost them in Japan.

Greig Laidlaw has admitted he has a decision to make over whether to prolong his Scotland career. The scrum-half's last World Cup ended in agonising defeat to Japan on Sunday.

Scottish rugby fans were left truly stunned after it was revealed that the SRU chief executive more than doubled his salary from £455,000 to £933,000. The news comes prior to the Six Nations kick-off.

New Scotland captain Stuart Hogg is to seek out national icon Gavin Hastings for last-minute advice on how to lead the team from full-back in the Six Nations opener against Ireland.

The headlines will have made painful reading for Stuart Hogg yesterday after his costly howler in Dublin, but I thought he fronted up well afterwards and stayed focused during the game.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has backed captain Stuart Hogg to bounce back from his horror miss against Ireland and lead the team with confidence against England next week.

Eddie Jones has made five changes to his England team for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland with Willi Heinz coming in for Ben Youngs at scrum-half.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY AMITAI WINEHOUSE: Henry Slade is not worried. Sure, he might be a distance from England's Six Nations campaign right now but he's convinced they'll bounce back.

It was fitting that on a wild day in Edinburgh, England won back the Calcutta Cup thanks to a decisive intervention of Ellis Genge. He typified the spirit of defiance which propelled his side to victory.

Townsend has warned exile Russell that he will have to make the same 'sacrifices' as every other Scotland player - or be banished from his squad for the duration of the Six Nations.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I try not to be overly partisan in my columns because I love good rugby and admire top-quality play from all teams, but I hope Scotland record a thumping win over Italy.

EXCLUSIVE: A Scottish Women's Rugby player being treated for coronavirus spent days training near to Team GB Olympians at their base in Loughborough before she was diagnosed.

Scottish Rugby Union chiefs have set aside £500,000 to help clubs struggling in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak after suspending the domestic season until at least March 29.

The PFA Player of the Year ended last season with no opponent completing a dribble past him in a staggering 64 matches. Liverpool centre back has lifted the lid on what has helped him.

De Jong completed a big-money £65million move to the Spanish giants from Ajax in January and he will be officially unveiled as a Barcelona player on Friday.

After Liverpool wished him happy birthday on Twitter, the club's supporters inevitably took to social media to sing his praises after quickly becoming a fan favourite on Merseyside.

De Ligt became the most sought after youngster in the world after a huge breakthrough season with Ajax, and he has attracted heavy interest from the likes of Juventus and Barcelona.

During the latest episode of BT Sport's 'What I Wore' series, Van Persie was asked to talk about the iconic moments from his career as he worked his way through the shirts he donned during his career.

Holland boss Ronald Koeman has backed wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt to cement himself firmly in the starting XI of Italian giants Juventus.

October 13, 1976. Best's career was on the wane. He had turned 30 that summer and come back from his first stint in the US with Los Angeles Aztecs.

Ronald Koeman has once again reiterated his desire to take over as Barcelona manager following Euro 2020 after it emerged this month that he is free to leave his Holland contract after the tournament ends.

Despite being just 17-years-old, Liverpool starlet Ki-jana Hoever is making heads turn weekly. On the brink of U17 World Cup glory with Holland, Sportsmail takes a look at the 'new Van Dijk.'

Ruud Gullit (right) treated football fans to a throwback photo of himself posing with fellow Holland legends Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard (left).

When Ronald Koeman was shown the door at Goodison Park back in October 2017, it was difficult to imagine a route back to the top for the Dutchman, but now he is a Barcelona candidate.

Holland midfielder Gini Wijnaldum backed up his powerful words on racism in football this week, by leading by example for his national team and making a visual statement.

Ronald Koeman has revealed he rejected the chance to manage Lionel Messi and Co at Barcelona in order to focus on his job as Holland's head coach.

Ronald Koeman's Barcelona exit clause has been delayed until 2021 after the postponement of the European Championships this summer.

Ronald Koeman was one of the many candidates Barcelona had on their shortlist to replace Ernesto Valverde, but he said he was reluctant to leave the Netherlands so close to Euro 2020.

Barcelona had high hopes for Frenkie de Jong after winning the race to sign him last summer for £65million, but the 22-year-old has so far failed to live up to expectation at the Camp Nou.

Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku has sent a message of support to former manager Ronald Koeman after he underwent a heart procedure in Amsterdam. 

These celebrity lookalikes are so convincing, they've turned it into a full -time career - including a Prince Harry double who has flown business class to China to attend a billionaire's birthday party.

Ed Sheeran recently made headlines by expanding his £3.7m (AUD $6.5m) 'mini-village' in his hometown of Suffolk by buying the home of a fourth neighbour.

The cheeky phrase used by Jamie and Rebekah Vardy,  'chat s***, get banged', has been used in a new song by Rapper Stormzy with Ed Sheeran. 

Taking to Instagram, Ed, 28, thanked his fans for their support and said he will 'never forget' the Divide tour.

The singer, 28, arrived to the Eagle N Tun on New Canal Street, Birmingham, to film his latest collaboration with grime artists Jaykae and Aitch.

The singer, 28, was joined by rap stars Jaykae and Aitch for the video and a stuntman while he rode around on a quad bike for the shoot.

A limited edition Heinz tomato ketchup designed by Ed Sheeran has become the priciest sauce ever, after it sold at auction for £1,500.

Grammy Award-winning singer Ed Sheeran, 28, has lodged plans to erect a 6.5ft tall fence and gates around his Suffolk estate to ensure his privacy which his neighbours have described as 'unsightly'.

Suffolk's Chantry Park is the venue for a series of gigs by the Shape Of You hitmaker.

The singer-songwriter, 28, who has performed more than 250 shows during his two-year tour, delighted more than 40,000 music lovers at the venue with a medley of his latest tracks.

'I have social anxiety,' said Ed Sheeran, 28, who will finish his 893-day tour tomorrow after playing four nights in Ipswich in his home county of Suffolk.

Ed Sheeran closed out his massive Divide world tour on Monday in Suffolk, England. The 28-year-old delivered 255 concerts over two-and-a-half years across six continent, earning around $775.6m.

The Shape Of You hitmaker, 28, is said to be taking a short hiatus from music in order to spend time with his wife Cherry Seaborn, who he married in December 2018.

Ed Sheeran's manager has revealed that the Shape Of You singer asks him whether he can do the James Bond theme song every day.

They're expected to tie the knot in a lavish ceremony at a stately home in Yorkshire on Saturday, in front of a host of celebrity pals.

The award-winning musician, 28, appeared elated as he watched Ipswich Town win 2-1 against Tottenham's Under 21s in the EFL Trophy at the Portman Road Stadium on Tuesday.

She carved a name for herself as one of the famous Jackson siblings.

Ed Sheeran has been making the most of his time off from music, as he reveals he has branched out into painting and opened a new pub with his manager.

Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch took a rare night off from parenting duties as they headed to Ed Sheeran's launch of his new bar Bertie Blossoms on Sunday.

Ed Sheeran, 28, put on an animated display during the match which saw the Ipswich Town fan's side win 4-0 against Gillingham on Tuesday.