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.

England have been forced to ditch Manu Tuilagi from their World Cup plans after he pushed two female police officers in the chest as they tried to arrest him for grabbing a taxi driver's throat.

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.

Up to 4.4 million of Britain’s workforce of 31million might skip work in the autumn to watch the Rugby World Cup, according to jobs website CV-Library.

SARAH VINE: When I saw the picture posted online by Sky News sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao of her son's bedroom, I couldn't resist a wry smile.

SARAH VINE: It was a diary I'd started back in 2003, a few days after my daughter was born, an attempt to put down on paper the powerful emotions I was feeling...

Sarah Vine: The death of Caroline Flack is truly a tragedy. A talented young woman who nevertheless felt so worthless and unloved, so scared and hopeless, she decided to take her own life.

SARAH VINE: Like all skilled abusers he knew how to exploit the ambiguity of the situation to his advantage. He set out deliberately to manipulate and confuse their emotions.

SARAH VINE: Fiona Bruce is almost unique among her generation of high-profile female presenters in that she has never - so she says - succumbed to the temptation of Botox.

SARAH VINE: My initial reaction was no - are you mad? Why would I want to have my face yanked around by the surgical equivalent of barbed wire?

Dolly Parton, 74, is threatening to pose for the cover of Playboy Magazine - more than four decades since she last graced its pages. Sex and the older woman is officially a phenomenon.

SARAH VINE: We Brexiteers, especially those of us who inhabit urban areas, are used to life in social Siberia. So I think I'll be pretty well equipped to handle it.

SARAH VINE: This is not a generation of doddery, grey-haired retirees, content to potter away their pensions in the back garden: These are people living life to the full. In many cases, their best life.

SARAH VINE: Elderly people who live on their own have nowhere to go for human contact. And it seems, for some, isolation is far more gruesome than the prospect of catching the virus itself.

SARAH VINE: Scenes of the healthy and ablebodied riding roughshod over the old and frail make me question whether we have what it takes to face this crisis.

SARAH VINE:Anyone who can corral 30 sullen, hormonal horrors into a classroom and get them to sit still, let alone absorb any information, has my utmost respect...

SARAH VINE: I want to be among that number. To feel that, in whatever small way, I made a difference and maybe even helped save lives. After all, it's the least I can do...

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.

SARAH VINE: Prime Minister or pauper, there can be no difference in value between humans. When Boris Johnson was admitted to a London hospital on Monday the situation changed.

SARAH VINE: The fact that the Prime Minister rose miraculously from his sickbed on Easter Sunday might have felt rather too much like the work of an overimaginative spin doctor.

SARAH VINE: We may not be fully conscious of it yet, but lockdown is, in many respects, one giant, unprecedented social experiment. No one has any real idea how it will influence the economy...

SARAH VINE: First of all: how are you both? I know no one ever asks, so I thought it best just to check. After all, it must be so hard for you, stuck in Los Angeles in rented accommodation.

SARAH VINE: Sunday was a very sad day for us. The mother of a dear friend passed away in hospital from Covid-19.

With each day that passes, we learn a little bit more about the nature of this ghastly virus. Statistics show that obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for Covid-19.

Fijian cross-code winger Ratu Naulago left his homeland to join the British military as a teenager before earning a one-year contract at Hull after a successful trial back in February.

The Black and Whites were left without any substitutes to use during their clash with Hull KR and the back rower took matters into his own hands - quite literally.

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.

St Helens have begun the search for a new head coach following confirmation that Justin Holbrook will join Gold Coast Titans at the end of the season.

Blake Austin gave Warrington a major injury scare just three weeks before the Challenge Cup final as an ugly encounter saw clashes between rivals fans.

The RFL and Super League say they are 'appalled' after the game between Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves ended in brawls on the pitch and in the stands.

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.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTSWRITER: In September 2017, former Leigh Centurions director Andy Mazey, announced that he would be Swinton's new chairman. From then, changes were afoot.

The league leaders, refreshed by a first weekend off of the year, produced arguably their best performance, running in seven tries to two on Friday night.

Brian McDermott could not hide his delight after Toronto completed their fairytale rise by winning promotion to Super League.

The Canadian outfit are on the lookout for big-name signings following their promotion from the Championship and intend to follow up on their initial approach once his Rugby World Cup is over.

King, a security consultant and club director, whose lifelong love look to pull off a huge upset against St Helens at Old Trafford, agreed to secure his family home against the cash-strapped club.

St Helens won the Super League Grand final with a dominant 23-6 victory over Salford Red Devils at Old Trafford on Saturday. Tries from Mark Percival, Zeba Taia and Morgan Knowles sealed an impressive win.

MIKE KEEGAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Salford Red Devils' incredible run to the Grand Final may have ended in defeat but it can inspire others and breathe life into Super League, believes Josh Jones.