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.

Up to 4.4 million of Britain’s workforce of 31million might skip work in the autumn to watch the Rugby World Cup, according to jobs website CV-Library.

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: 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: 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: 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: Prime Minister or pauper, there can be no difference in value between humans. When Boris Johnson was admitted to a London hospital on Monday the situation changed.

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.

The Rugby Football League made a loss of £327,000 in 2018, which it says was largely due to the low crowd for the Challenge Cup final.

St Helens have begun the search for a new head coach following confirmation that Justin Holbrook will join Gold Coast Titans at the end of the season.

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.

Brian McDermott could not hide his delight after Toronto completed their fairytale rise by winning promotion to Super League.

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.

King, a security consultant and club director, whose lifelong love look to pull off a huge upset against St Helens at Old Trafford, agreed to secure his family home against the cash-strapped club.

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.

MIKE KEEGAN AT OLD TRAFFORD: Salford Red Devils' incredible run to the Grand Final may have ended in defeat but it can inspire others and breathe life into Super League, believes Josh Jones.

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.

Toronto Wolfpack are closing in on the signing of the dual-code international, who played his last match for the All Blacks in the World Cup bronze medal win over Wales in Tokyo last Friday.

The 34-year-old will be officially unveiled at a press conference at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium next Thursday and join up with his new team-mates after a period of rest and recovery.

Great Britain suffered a third straight defeat on their tour of New Zealand after they were beaten 23-8 in Christchurch. The series whitewash increases the pressure on Wayne Bennett.

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.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUIGHES: Sportsmail has learned that pursuing the sale, brought to the table by chief executive Robert Elstone, was approved at a board meeting last week.

Australia will play Italy, Fiji and Scotland in Group B while New Zealand face Lebanon, Jamaica and Ireland in Group C. Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Wales and Cook Islands make up Group D.

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.

Sonny Bill Williams insists the magic will come after making a low-key return to rugby league in Toronto Wolfpack's 28-10 defeat by Castleford in their opening Super League match.

Super League clubs are threatening legal action against Catalan Dragons if there is a significant financial loss at their clubs following the signing of Isreal Folau. 

Super League clubs are set to confront Catalans Dragons officials at a board meeting this morning amid talk of a revolt over the French club's controversial signing of Israel Folau.

Super League clubs have voted to tighten up the rules to prevent further controversial additions to the competition following the Catalans Dragons' signing of Israel Folau.

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.

IAN HERBERT: Wakefield Trinity, where Folau's new club Catalans Dragons arrive this weekend, do not need to answer to anyone on diversity. Prop Keegan Hirst wondered how he would survive.

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.

IAN HERBERT AT STADE GILBERT BRUTUS, PERPIGNAN: In the back corridors of this place, they were insisting last night that the storm around him will quickly subside.

IAN HERBERT: It doesn't take a leap of imagination to see why Israel Folau felt he would find sanctuary at Perpignan, in the lee of the Pyrenees. His compatriot and team-mate James Maloney observed that.

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.