The 56-year-old finished after the Rugby World Cup and was succeeded by his fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac, who will take charge of Wales for the first time against Gatland's Barbarians.

CHRIS FOY'S WORLD OF RUGBY: At the end of a World Cup season, players will try to muster some energy for matches in the Southern Hemisphere at a time when they should be lying on a beach.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY CHRIS FOY: It turns out that balancing on a rock perched above the waves of the Mediterranean, is not Shaun Edwards' natural habitat.

WILL KELLEHER AT AVIVA STADIUM: Wayne Pivac rued 'unacceptable' errors made by Wales in their first Six Nations defeat since 2018 as they lost 24-17 in Dublin to Ireland.

EXCLUSIVE: The Six Nations are facing a battle to win support from clubs and players for an expanded tournament featuring South Africa.

SPECIAL REPORT BY WILL KELLEHER: No player has run out in a Test match at Wales' Principality Stadium having been born after the ground was built. Rees-Zammit could change that fact.

If on Saturday the tide has turned against Wales, the French are flooding through in attack and causing chaos it will be the old men of the sea who guide those in red to calmer waters.

The 21-13 defeat killed off English hopes of a Grand Slam, before Warren Gatland rubbed salt in the wounds by questioning their big-game ability.

Alun Wyn Jones moved to ease fears that Dan Biggar is not fit for Wales' trip to Twickenham by saying he will play against England on Saturday despite suffering a knee injury for Northampton.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has revealed that 'two or three' of his squad have tested positive for coronavirus. The pandemic saw the Six Nations brought to a halt before it could finish.

EXCLUSIVE BY WILL KELLEHER: Wayne Pivac's side were due to play Japan in Shizuoka on June 27 before jetting down to New Zealand for a two-Test series shortly afterwards.

Many investors will be cheered no end by last week's overwhelming Conservative victory. The 'Boris bounce' has already boosted a £100,000 nest-egg invested in the FTSE 100 by some £5,400.

What is the point of saving? That's the question we posed after it emerged that National Savings and Investments is to slash interest rates for millions of savers from May.

For many of us feeling cut off from loved ones, technology has proved to be a lifeline, but we must beware.

NASSER HUSSAIN: How good is Steve Smith? You'd have to say he's up there with the all-time greats. The point of sending someone out of the door is to get runs, not to look pretty.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT OLD TRAFFORD: Steve Smith accused England of playing into his hands after he continued to punish their bowling with a magnificent 211 in Manchester.

CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Steve Smith was still there. Turning our summer to autumn in the September chill. Taking away the Ashes. Infecting the glorious memories of the World Cup final.

England are on the verge of surrendering the Ashes after slumping to 18 for two on Saturday but coach Trevor Bayliss was still clinging to the belief that 'anything is possible'.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Australia retain the Ashes and in truth they have been the better team. They planned well in advance and got their attack spot on.

Steve Smith said retaining the Ashes in England was one to tick off his bucket list after Australia beat their traditional rivals by 185 runs to win the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Sportsmail's Lawrence Booth assesses the performances of both sets of players after Australia got the better of England in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Some time around 2012, an internet movie geek unearthed what was quickly tagged the worst death scene in cinema history.

Steve Smith was already the pantomime villain for England fans but he has riled them even more following Australia's celebrations after they retained the Ashes on Sunday.

Joe Root's failed to lead England to Ashes glory for a second time and some are questioning if he really is the best man to lead an overhaul of the under-performing Test side.

Brian Mullins' mother and daughter wanted to honor his free-spirited nature after he died of a heart attack in March. So they cremated him and put his ashes in a bottle to send him on one last adventure.

Kevin Pietersen has branded England's Ashes cult hero Jack Leach a 'laughing stock' and claims the spinner could have done more to prevent Australia retaining the urn.

After Australia beat England on Sunday, the team returned to the pitch after sunset for some raucous champagne celebrations.

Failing to return the Ashes has led to Joe Root's position being discussed, particularly given his batting performances have been somewhat inconsistent.

Former captain Steve Smith who won the Ashes for Australia has opened up about the sandpaper scandal saying there was a time when he thought he wouldn't play again for the country.

Steve Smith's glorious Ashes has raised calls from some fans and pundits for his restoration to the Australia captaincy but incumbent Tim Paine has no plans to hand over the reins quietly.

His time in charge is destined to be remembered for a phenomenal improvement in white-ball cricket, capped off by this summer's World Cup win at Lord's.

Yvonne Cannings, 60, from Lancashire said her close friend and former employee June Watson was 'worse than heartless', after she was left relying on food parcels following the £225K theft.

LAWRENCE BOOTH AT THE OVAL: Jofra Archer picked up the second six-wicket haul of his fledging Test career as England gave themselves hope of squaring the Ashes on a dramatic day at The Oval.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Finally I have an answer to my question. How do you get Steve Smith out? A straight one from Chris Woakes. Simple.

Real estate agent Emma McCarthy, 27, shared a photo with the smiling spin bowler captioned: 'Keeping the urn, so proud of you.' Steve Smith was seen sharing a kiss with wife Dani Willis.

Donald Butler's daughter Nicolle, 27, had recently passed away, with family staying nearby in Tampa, Florida, for the funeral when his truck disappeared with his daughter's urn inside.

Steve Smith assured Jack Leach in the aftermath of the final Test that he was not poking fun at him when he donned glasses to celebrate Australia's Ashes triumph.

After playing an angel and God himself, where else can you go? To the Dark Ages - that's where Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi are headed next in season two of TBS's Miracle Workers.

With another year's end came another installment of SPOTY, as England cricket star Ben Stokes picked up the honour. Sportsmail went behind the scenes to capture the special moments on reel.

A new documentary on the Australian cricket team has captured the moment when the worst was feared for Steve Smith after he was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer in last year's Ashes series.

Stokes was due to be playing with Smith this month for the Rajasthan Royals but the IPL has been postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Donald Trump on Friday said he did not order the death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani to start a war but to 'stop a war.'

Evan Rachel Wood and a Washington Post journalist received massive backlash on Sunday. The actress branded Kobe Bryant a rapist just hours after his helicopter crash death in a California.

Washington Post Newspaper Guild members defended Felicia Sonmez, saying the reporter needs protection for tweeting about rape allegations once made against Kobe Bryant.

Alastair Stewart - who was the longest serving male newsreader in the country - has stepped down after a 44-year career in television, admitting he made a 'misjudgement which I regret'.

Gloucester player Danny Cipriani, 32, dated Flack, 40, (together in April) for just eight weeks last year, with the ITV presenter ending their romance because she saw 'no long term future'.

The 27-year-old, who works as an orthopaedic clinical nurse specialist, revealed that she took the test after losing the ability to taste and smell, while a cough and fever are listed as the main symptoms.

The Love Island star took to Instagram on Wednesday as she discussed losing her sense of taste and smell, and revealed she's also experienced sleep disturbance.

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington saw his side's dreadful away record continue but lauded the performance of rookie Corry Evans.

Journalist Nick Ames provides his first-hand account of the chaotic scenes which led to the abandonment of the Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania.