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.

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.

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.

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: 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

South Sydney Rabbitohs said on Wednesday that their captain Sam Burgess has been forced to quit the sport due to a chronic left shoulder injury, ending one of rugby league's greatest careers.

Great Britain's underwhelming tour of the southern hemisphere came to a humiliating end when they were condemned to a 28-10 defeat by Papua New Guinea.

History will be made this Sunday when the Toronto Wolfpack become the first ever North American club to play in the top flight of a British sports league. We have everything you need to know about them.

Chris Hill was shown a red card and Sam Powell was taken off on a stretcher as Wigan won a bruising opener to the Super League campaign on Thursday night.

Wane left Wigan after guiding his hometown team to a third Grand Final at the end of the 2018 season and has spent the last year working as high performance coach for the Scottish Rugby Union.

Clubs on Wednesday voted to give themselves ‘greater authority’ to stop similar contentious moves following outrage at the French side’s move for the former Wallaby. 

Rugby league clubs have been bizarrely prevented from defending their commitment to diversity, following instructions by Super League not to discuss the controversial signing of Israel Folau.

MARTIN SAMUEL CHIEF SPORTSWRITER - Rugby League claims to have an 'enviable track record' when it comes to equality, diversity and inclusion. Except fundamentalist Christians, it seems.

The disgraced cross-code star has already proved the most contentious signing in the competition's 25-year history after joining the Dragons on a one-year deal.

Leeds Rhinos coach Richard Agar watched his side hammer Super League new boys Toronto Wolfpack 66-12 to keep them rooted to the foot of the table but tipped them to avoid relegation.

Rugby league fans turned out in their numbers as Salford came from 14-2 down to stun Betfred Super League leaders Wigan 18-14 in a dramatic finish at the AJ Bell Stadium.

The 12 Super League clubs broke away from the RFL midway through 2018 in a bid to increase revenues with the current television deal with Sky up for renewal next year.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thruman including fight time, date, location and channel plus tickets, stats, odds and more.

Sportsmail provide you with everything you need to know for Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thruman including fight time, date, location and channel plus tickets, stats, odds and more.

Khan, who has just come off a £7million payday after beating Billy Dib last week, revealed at a press conference at his gym that the blockbuster fight will take place in Saudi Arabia, according to talkSPORT.

Manny Pacquiao takes on the Keith Thurman tonight for US viewers whilst UK viewers will have to wait until very early morning on Sunday. Sportsmail provide you with all you need to know for the fight.

Danny Garcia's impressive win over Ivan Redkach was marred by a bizarre incident in which the Ukrainian bit the former world champion deep into the fight in New York on Saturday night.

Heard, 33, met New York model Milos Drago, 25, through mutual friends seven weeks ago at a restaurant in New York, a source told The Mail on Sunday.