Multi-million pound losses are expected among the Home Nations if the autumn internationals cannot go ahead due to coronavirus - which could send rugby into financial meltdown.

Bill Beaumont or Agustin Pichot, the rivals standing next month to lead World Rugby, must be shocked into a drastic overhaul of the game following the coronavirus pandemic. 

Steve Borthwick will become Leicester's new head coach on July 1, as current boss Geordan Murphy moves to become director of rugby. 

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: Vunipola is glad Jones will continue to provoke trepidation and inspiration among players because he believes the Australian can lead them to World Cup glory.

The Scottish Rugby Union this week proposed reductions ranging from 10 to 25 per cent over a five-month period for all players earning more than £50,000 in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Exeter coach Rob Baxter could finish the season with a new-look team if the Premiership resumes in summer. Standard contracts run until June 30, when many players will transfer to new clubs.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Professional rugby's financial vulnerability has been cruelly exposed and, frankly, it has always been built on shifting sands.

The English league champions confirmed last night they had taken advantage of the government's furlough scheme - meaning all their players' wages are now part-funded by the state.

EXCLUSIVE BY WILL KELLEHER AND NIK SIMON: The Premiership' s £7million salary cap could be reduced to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Picked as a Six Nations 'apprentice' in January, complete with the customary asterisk to mark his status, Alex Mitchell is Eddie Jones' latest England project.

JACK NOWELL: The England international has remained busy building lego sets, taking on a pro gamer and keeping himself fit and healthy in week five of his lockdown due to coronavirus.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Sir Bill Beaumont says he 'still alive and kicking' as he revealed his manifesto to be re-elected as World Rugby chairman after Sir Clive Woodward backed Agustin Pichot.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Bill Beaumont and challenger Agustin Pichot are in the final week of their election campaign to become chairman of World Rugby. 

For Premiership chief executives during the coronavirus pandemic it is not so much that the management text-book has been thrown out the window.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Sir Bill Beaumont's attempt to win re-election as World Rugby chairman has been thrown into further chaos after the governing body received a damning letter.

Sir Bill Beaumont's campaign to be re-elected as World Rugby chairman was on a knife-edge on Tuesday night, after one of his leading supporters was dramatically ousted by the Fijian Rugby Union.

Ben Foden is supposed to be taking part in his second and final season of Major League Rugby on behalf of New York. However the season has been suspended due to the coronavirus.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I wonder if all those voting for the chairmanship of World Rugby on Sunday realise the great gift and opportunity they have - or what a pivotal moment for the game this is.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Naiyaravoro is the first player to pledge his future to Fiji if a controversial rule allowing players to switch allegiance goes through.

World Rugby have stated intentions to reschedule coronavirus-hit Tests for October, despite those weekends already being set aside for club rugby and the EPCR claim clubs have been overlooked.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Leicester Tigers face claims of unlawful deduction of wages after cutting players' pay without their consent. 

Leicester Tigers captain Tom Youngs has confirmed players are still in dispute with the club over pay cuts.

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: Bill Beaumont has turned to ex-Lions team-mates to 'keep Wales and Ireland on track' in the World Rugby chairman election.

CHRIS FOY: Not since the dawn of professionalism has rugby faced such a momentous episode in its history. From Saturday until Thursday, voting around the world will decide direction of sport.

COMMENT BY MARTIN SAMUEL: It's known as the Brawn Drain. The depressingly predictable exit of the best rugby talent from the Pacific Islands to the biggest, richest nations.

The four Welsh regions are banking on their £40m share of the proposed deal helping them to balance their books and to help them become more competitive on the field.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: A four-day voting window opens on Monday and a handful of members remain undecided in what is expected to be the closest ballot battle in rugby's history.

CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: English rugby needs to adopt a central contract system as the game addresses the financial problems which have been exposed by this lockdown.

Premiership Rugby is facing a huge drop in the value of its broadcasting rights because it failed to agree a new deal with either BT Sport or Sky before the coronavirus crisis.

England stars could lose up to THREE stone in muscle during the coronavirus lockdown and it could take them a month to get back to a safe level to play, claims a top physio. 

There is increasing optimism that action could resume in the United Kingdom and across Europe in the coming weeks as lockdown restrictions are cautiously relaxed.

Genge insists his proposed organisation would complement rather than rival the Rugby Players' Association, which represents more than 1200 past and present players

Pichot has vowed to jolt World Rugby out of 'copy and paste mode' if he manages to unseat chairman Sir Bill Beaumont, with online video game Fortnite an unlikely pillar of his plan.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: The World Rugby elections were rocked last week by allegations of homophobia and discrimination against Fiji Rugby Union chairman Francis Kean.

The Welsh Rugby Union publicly threw their weight behind Sir Bill Beaumont (left) today, backing him to retain his role as World Rugby chairman and beat rival Agustin Pichot.

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: The Premiership appeared to stand alone on Thursday night as the only league in world rugby still seeking to complete this coronavirus-disrupted season.

A player exodus from Britain to Japan is in prospect, after former England fly-half Freddie Burns announced a move to the Far East and other high-profile names are set to follow him.

England fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean believes the introduction of Sale Sharks to the Tyrrell's Premier 15s can help elevate the women's game to the next level.

Sir Bill Beaumont will discover on Saturday if, as expected, he has been elected to continue as World Rugby chairman for another four years - after the result announcement was brought forward.

The 68-year-old fought off a challenge from his vice-chairman Agustin Pichot and will stay at the head of the governing body for the next four years.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: When Bill Beaumont clocks back on Monday morning, it would be worth remembering that, although the official tally says 28-23, he actually won by only one vote.

After Mike Brown and Joe Marchant told the Mail on Sunday last week that the game was boring, and in need of serious surgery we canvassed opinion from top figures in the game.

Sir Bill Beaumont will prioritise rearranging July's Covid-19 hit Tests after narrowly beating Agustin Pichot in the elections for World Rugby chairman.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: There is outcry over the game's governance, smaller nations are sick of being treated like second-class citizens and this crisis is threatening financial meltdown.

CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: The Nations League concept is back on the table as a means of galvanising international rugby, but if it is going to make a difference, it can't be half-hearted.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: New World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte has pleaded with Agustin Pichot not to walk away from the sport after his 28-23 election defeat.

The British sportswear company will take over the manufacturing rights from Canterbury in September. As reported in October, Umbro outbid adidas to agree a partnership worth more than £5m a season. 

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Pichot will give up his council seat and take up no further roles having become frustrated with the lack of progress in the game.

Princess Beatrice, 31, donned a black dress which featured flower pattern detail as she arrived at Centrepoint's 50th Anniversary Gala at the Roundhouse in Camden yesterday.

Rita Ora put on a very quirky style display as she arrived at Hits Radio Live in Birmingham on Saturday wearing a mask.