SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I was not surprised in the slightest at Scotland turning over France because they are a good and improving side. France are still a long way from the finished article.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: My gut instinct was to call a halt to this year's Championship but the Six Nations committee are determined to bring it to a conclusion so let's respect that.

Rhys Carre has gone from plump to Wales' new trump card in the pack in the space of a year after he had no contract at Cardiff Blues this time last season and weighed 21-stone.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I've never really reflected on the 1980 Grand Slam - you move on quickly in life and sport - and it has caught me by surprise that the 40th anniversary is upon us.

Maro Itoje has had a one-year loan move to French side Racing 92 blocked by Premiership Rugby clubs after Saracens relegation from the English topflight.

NIK SIMON'S GAIN LINE: Sale Sharks are waiting in the wings if England star Jonny May does not sign a new contract with Leicester Tigers. The former Gloucester winger has reached a stand-off.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The decision to bring the curtain down on Premiership rugby for five weeks and postponing European competitions only delays an inevitable shutdown.

EXCLUSIVE: Saracens might be saved from Premiership relegation in a doomsday scenario where a clutch of clubs go bust due to a lack of income during the coronavirus chaos.

Grassroots teams have urged the RFU to delve into their deep pockets to save ailing clubs, after the Union cancelled the rugby season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The RFU fear they will lose up to £50m in revenue during the coronavirus pandemic without the use of their prize asset, Twickenham stadium.

Marland Yarde is set to be offered a new contract by Sale after his rehabilitation work with Danny Welbeck paid off. The England winger was out of action for a year with an horrific knee injury.

England international Billy Vunipola insists he is 'definitely staying' at Saracens and hopes to help the crisis-hit club secure an immediate return to the Gallagher Premiership.

England lock George Kruis has admitted his frustration at seeing possibly his last Six Nations derailed but insists rugby players have not got it as bad as Olympic athletes.

Eddie Jones has agreed to a pay cut 'in excess of 25 per cent' as part of the RFU's attempts to off-set the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which has led to a shut-down of the rugby season.

Billly Vunipola has ended speculation about his future by confirming that he will stay at Saracens next season, despite their demotion to the Championship.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY WILL KELLEHER: For players like Richard Wigglesworth nearing the end of their contracts, lockdown life has left them in limbo over what happens next.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: England prop Joe Marler is considering quitting rugby with immediate effect. The 29-year-old is understood to have become disillusioned with the sport.

When Luke Doherty took himself to a retreat in the mountains to learn about Buddhism, little did he know his techniques would be used to help guide rugby players through the stresses of a pandemic.

England and Exeter wing Jack Nowell's season has been put on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving him and thousands of his colleagues at a loose end waiting for the season to restart.

Richard Parks knows a thing or two about self-isolation and is probably the least concerned of anyone about the prospect of closing his front door to the rest of the world for the next few months.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY WILL KELLEHER: Life in the lockdown is exacting enough for everyone - but not many have as many balls to juggle as Gareth Steenson.

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: Bill Beaumont has warned rugby's global community that 'everyone will suffer' in the fall-out from the coronavirus shutdown, called for unity and more state help.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Premiership Rugby are considering staging a summer play-off series to determine this season's champions and raise money for beleaguered clubs.

CHRIS FOY: There has been a polarised response to the news that Eddie Jones will remain England's head coach until the 2023 World Cup. Many people are delighted. Others are aghast.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The England legend has been answering all of your questions, ranging from the serious to the funny, on subjects such sport obsession and how to drop players.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: These are difficult times for all sports but I believe such moments create a time for organisations to demonstrate they are in touch with the world around them.

In a Bristol team which contains Charles Piutau and Steven Luatua and will soon add Kyle Sinckler and Semi Radradra, it takes a lot to be described as one of the Bears' 'signings of the season.'

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY NIK SIMON: World Rugby has found itself at a revolutionary crossroads after Agustin Pichot launched a late bid to challenge Bill Beaumont in the presidential elections.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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.