NIK SIMON AT MURRAYFIELD: England could not dodge the storm but they at least averted the crisis on Saturday afternoon - thanks to a late try from Ellis Genge.

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.

The veteran fly-half's kicking was exemplary as he added the extras to tries from Jacques Vermeulen and Stuart Hogg as well as slotting over four penalties.

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.

ROB ROBERTSON IN ROME: Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend believes the pressure has been lifted after his side 'zeroed' Italy in an emphatic Six Nations win in the Italian capital.

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.

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.

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.

De Toekomst training complex in Amsterdam was like a scene from Armageddon as Ajax fans let their players know what the fixture means to them while there were similar scenes in Rotterdam.

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 and Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum says he would walk from the pitch were he to be targeted with racial abuse, just as Ahmad Mendes Moreira was recently in a Dutch second division tie.

Former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew takes the reigns at the Dutch outfit with the club struggling in 17th in the league having been thumped 6-1 by Ajax at the weekend.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Don't we ever learn? The marquee events, the marquee players, don't care about our wish for a northern powerhouse and FIFA will be no different.

Ireland striker Parrott is a loan target for a number of clubs in England but Pardew has now entered the hunt and believes the 17 year-old can help fire second-bottom Den Haag to safety.

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.

Dutch top-flight club FC Utrecht are preparing for legal action to fight the Royal Netherlands Football Association's decision to cancel the remainder of the league season.

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

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. 

The Grammy winner, 28, who is currently on his Divide tour in Hannover, Germany, took to Instagram on Friday to share the devastating news with fans.

It marks the latest addition to Sheeran's housing empire in Framlingham, Suffolk, which has ballooned in size after the pop star, 28, snapped up four of the surrounding properties.

Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn were enjoying a rare date night in London together on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old chart-topping musician was up in the air by fellow Game Of Thrones star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson in a video recently posted by the strongman.

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'.

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 has found himself in another court battle in which he is being accused of 'stealing' material for his songs.

The teenager, from Portsmouth, has created her own 'smile' bracelets to generate funds for cancer sufferers, and she was thrilled after Sheeran asked to wear one for his entire set.

She's the Melbourne weather presenter so popular with male viewers that one devoted fan even had her face tattooed on his chest. 

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.

Ed Sheeran's harmonica and model of his head have received visits from people all the way from Chicago - to the St Elizabeth Hospice shop in Suffolk, after he donated 300 items.

The singer, 32, and her art dealer beau, 27, will apparently host an array of their famous pals at the stunning country estate, including Princess Eugenie, Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora.

A Big Top has been erected in a Suffolk field ahead of Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn's 'festival-style' wedding celebration, nine months after they tied the knot shortly before Christmas last year.

A British vlogger, who hit headlines when her parody of Ed Sheeran's Shape of You racked up 20 million views in just a few weeks in 2017, has shared a hilarious rap about being 30.

Ed Sheeran was celebrating the launch of his new venture alongside a host of his friends, throwing an epic party on Sunday night at his new bar Bertie Blossoms.

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.

Accounts released today show his UK company, Ed Sheeran Ltd, made a gross profit of £23,770,262, equating to £65,124 a day.

The building, reduced in size after a failed bid to build a chapel last year, would be set north of Sheeran's home in Framlingham, Suffolk. The plans were submitted by his father-in-law.

The singer, 28, asked a member of his team to drop off the shoes at the St Elizabeth Hospice shop in Framlingham, Suffolk, which is close to where he grew up and still lives with now-wife Cherry Seaborn.

Ed Sheeran's extensive collection of body art has been branded 's**t' by his tattoo artist who revealed he has lost clients as a result of his work on the popstar.

Prince Harry has teased a surprise project with Ed Sheeran on Instagram, which shows a glimpse inside a modest home, though it is unclear whether it is Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle.

Prince Harry, 35, and Ed Sheeran, 28, have teamed up for a video for World Mental Health Day. The clip was shared to the Sussex Royal Instagram account and filmed at Eugenie's Ivy Cottage.

Prince Harry, 35, was all smiles as he arrived at a school in Nottingham to mark World mental Health Day. He first visited Nottingham Academy in November 2017 with wife, Meghan Markle, 38.

The Duke of Sussex and Ed Sheeran have shared a sneak peek inside Princess Eugenie's Ivy cottage home at Kensington Palace, after she loaned it to them for filming.