Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs are set to return to England's starting XV for Sunday's pivotal Six Nations showdown with Ireland at Twickenham. Jonathan Joseph and Willi Heinz will make way.

Matt Dawson believes that England need to find their own answer to France's scrum-half Antoine Dupont as they begin building towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France

Courtney Lawes makes his 84th appearance for England in their Six Nations clash against Ireland at Twickenham but looks like he has been in a dust-up already.

Recalled Ireland lock Devin Toner fears an English backlash on Sunday at Twickenham after the hosts' stuttering Six Nations start.

The former Countdown host, 59, announced to listeners that she was stuck in the tiny elevator in Cardiff's Angel Hotel with six people - including Welsh rugby legend Ian Gough, on Saturday.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England have taken Ireland to the cleaners twice in the past 12 months, but only one of those victories counted for a bean and that was in Dublin 12 months ago.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I was expecting a torrid dogfight against an Ireland team with their tails up and nothing to lose. But what transpired was a strong and disciplined England performance.

The 24-year-old winger, who was the top try-scorer at the recent World Cup with seven, suffered a nasty ankle injury in the 65th minute against France. He will now have surgery.

The deadly epidemic has swept through northern parts of Italy, and in a bid to prevent the disease reaching their shores, the Irish government have taken the step to postpone the game on March 7.

Officials at the RFU and the Italian Rugby Federation have expressed confidence that Eddie Jones’ side will be able to finish their campaign as planned at the Stadio Olimpico on March 14. 

Anthony Watson has yet to make an appearance in the Championship because of a calf problem but his presence in the group attending a three-day camp in Oxford points to his improving fitness.

Premiership Rugby could end up in a standoff with the Six Nations over the release of players for Tests affected by Coronavirus.

With the virus continuing to spread across the continent, threatening a host of major sporting events, UEFA have accepted that 'football must follow the orders of the individual countries'.

George Kruis knows he has a crucial decision to make in the next few weeks - stay at Saracens and remain in contention for England selection or accept a lucrative offer from Japan.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: It's been a strange old Six Nations campaign for England, not convincing by any means, yet it could still easily result in them winning the 2020 Championship.

The match, to be staged in Rome's Stadio Olimpico, was thought to be under serious threat after the rapid spreading of the virus. But Six Nations chiefs say they expect the fixture to go ahead.

EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: England's World Cup winning captain Johnson shoots down the prospect of Sky Sports taking over the Six Nations broadcast rights in an instant.

Mako Vunipola has been cleared to train with Saracens despite being stood down by England due to fears surrounding the coronavirus. 

England are coming to terms with the premature end to their Six Nations campaign but Ford admitted the postponement of matches is insignificant in context of the coronavirus crisis.

England flanker Ben Earl has extended his Saracens stay until 2023 but will spend next season on loan at Bristol.

The couple were seen in the stands during the Guinness Six Nations match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium this afternoon.

NIK SIMON AT TWICKENHAM: To be continued. England's Six Nations hopes are still alive but, like any good cliff-hanger, no one quite knows what will happen next.

Eddie Jones launched a scathing attack on the decision to send off Manu Tuilagi for a high tackle during England's 33-30 Six Nations victory against Wales at Twickenham. 

Player's union chief executive Damian Hopley has urged rugby authorities to apply 'common sense' to the process of re-scheduling matches postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Fans have flocked in their droves to the few sporting events on show this Saturday as punters head to Uttoxeter racing while football fans go to non-League games amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Without the state-of-the-art medical equipment he is used to at Leicester Tigers and the England camp, Jonny May has installed a hyperbaric chamber at his home to help him bounce back from injury.

Tyrrell Hatton is hoping to rekindle an old flame in the 148th Open Championship after admitting he has struggled for motivation since his successful Ryder Cup debut.

Terry McPhillips has resigned from his position as Blackpool manager. McPhillips took over as permanent manager in September 2018 having had a successful spell as caretaker.

Rob Cross held off a stirring fightback from Michael Smith to win the Betfred World Matchplay title at Blackpool's Winter Gardens on Sunday night.

Mansfield have suspended midfielders Dion Donohue and Jacob Mellis following an alleged serious breach of club discipline.Neither player was included in the matchday squad in Saturday's win at Carlisle.

IAN HERBERT AT THE GLOBE ARENA: In Morecambe, they have grown accustomed to making the best of relatively little. West End seems like an ironic commentary.

The former Celtic and Aston Villa striker had been talking to Southend United about becoming part of their management team with Henrik Larsson and Johan Mjallby until Johnson pulled out.

Tommy Johnson has joined Blackpool's recruitment staff in a move which led to the collapse last week of Southend's bid to appoint Henrik Larsson as manager at Roots Hall.

Tottenham host Middlesbrough in a bid to reach the FA Cup fourth round after being held to a 1-1 draw in their initial third round meeting.

Wycombe have paid tribute to supporter Mark Bird, who has died after suffering a heart attack before Tuesday's home game against Blackpool.

Legendary Blackburn Rovers coach Tony Parkes broke down in tears during a revealing interview with his daughter about his struggles with Alzheimers.   

Blackpool have sacked manager Simon Grayson after a dreadful run of just one win in 12 games. The League One club were fourth in December but are now down in 15th.

JACK GAUGHAN AT THE HIGHBURY STADIUM: Neil Critchley started coaching at Crewe's academy in his teens but taking charge of his first Blackpool fixture did not figure in the grand plan.

MATT BARLOW: When football last ground to a halt back in 1939, Cyril Lawrence was a teenager on the verge of a breakthrough into the Blackpool first team.

The 27-year-old pop star's single, which debuted at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, beat the previous record held by Adele's Hello which snagged 27 million for its first day in October 2015.

Mel B was spotted kissing celebrity hairstylist Gary Madatyan at a VMAs after party in West Hollywood, DailyMail.com can reveal. Madatyan is an avid supporter of charities aiding abused women.

Josh Peck and Drake Bell have officially smoothed things over. The former Drake & Josh co-stars had a falling out back in June, when Josh failed to invite his 31-year-old friend to his wedding.

The musician, 37, discussed her daughter's reaction to her moment in the spotlight during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday.

MTV Video Music Awards are reported to have upped the amount of security at the event in case Nicki Minaj and Safaree Samuels confront each other during their appearance at the awards.

Rita Ora rocked leopard print for her VMA Kickoff Concert performance with surprise guest Liam Payne on Sunday night in New York.

The 2018 MTV Video Music Awards will take place Monday at New York's Radio City Hall. The show will feature a slew of performances including a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16.

Their whirlwind romance and June engagement made tongues wag. And they were the talk of the town once again on Monday when they made their first ever red carpet appearance as a couple.

Jennifer Lopez's Video Vanguard performance set pulses racing before she took to the stage to gush over her twins and call her beau Alex Rodriguez her 'twin soul' at the 2018 VMA Awards.

The MTV Video Music Awards has always been a show where stars can show off their creative style when it comes to fashion. And Amber Rose did just that as she hit the carpet in a devil costume.

Logic turned the VMAs stage into a protest against Trump's immigration policy on Monday, including dozens of families wearing 'We Are All Human Beings' shirts in his performance.