Saracens' case for their defence fell at La Defense as the besieged Barnet bashers were battered by Racing 92. The reigning Champions Cup holders took their biggest continental loss in two years.

Hogg said he would be 'very annoyed' if one of his Scotland team-mates was so quick to move on from their own exit at this year's showpiece in Japan.

Exeter Chiefs are desperate for their 'normal' squad to solve the European puzzle this year, having added Border piece Stuart Hogg. The 27-year-old Hawick-born full-back faces his old club.

Tommy Seymour is the second player to retire from international rugby in the past seven days. Seymour has announced his decision on the heels of former Scotland captain John Barclay quitting. 

The 34-year-old Clermont scrum-half skippered the side in 39 out of his 76 international appearances, more times than any other player, and is Scotland's second-highest point scorer with 714.

Scottish rugby fans were left truly stunned after it was revealed that the SRU chief executive more than doubled his salary from £455,000 to £933,000. The news comes prior to the Six Nations kick-off.

Finn Russell was dropped from Scotland's Six Nations opener after refusing to stop drinking at the team's hotel bar and then skipping training the following morning.

New Scotland captain Stuart Hogg is to seek out national icon Gavin Hastings for last-minute advice on how to lead the team from full-back in the Six Nations opener against Ireland.

The headlines will have made painful reading for Stuart Hogg yesterday after his costly howler in Dublin, but I thought he fronted up well afterwards and stayed focused during the game.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has backed captain Stuart Hogg to bounce back from his horror miss against Ireland and lead the team with confidence against England next week.

Finn Russell will be absent again when Scotland play England in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations Championship at Murrayfield.

Every morning at Pennyhill Park, Eddie Jones walks past a table in the hotel lobby offering free fruit and a collection of daily newspapers. On Tuesday they did not make for pleasant reading.

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS FOY: England are talking about Scottish dirty tricks again, ahead of their trip to Murrayfield, but John Barclay has dismissed what he considers to be familiar 'whinging'.

The Edinburgh flanker missed last week's Six Nations opener with Ireland in Dublin due to a thigh strain and his recall to Gregor Townsend's team is the only change from that defeat.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has warned his players not to let their emotions get the better of them in Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown.

Thursday at Murrayfield. Greig Laidlaw looks at an empty arena. It is tempting to chronicle his career in a series of kicks, but the deserted grass surrounded by stands holds a comforting familiarity.

NIK SIMON IN EDINBURGH - Sam Underhill admits the pressure is on as England walk into the eye of a storm in Saturday's clash with Scotland.

Eddie Jones has made five changes to his England team for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland with Willi Heinz coming in for Ben Youngs at scrum-half.

OLIVER HOLT AT MURRAYFIELD - The trees outside Murrayfield swayed in the gale and empty plastic coffee cups scattered. Storm Ciara was brewing, but Owen Farrell remained unfazed.

All those training sessions when Steve Borthwick brings a bucket filled with slippery, soapy water paid off on Saturday night. England overcame foul weather to beat Scotland.

England captain Owen Farrell revealed the conditions the team's suffered at Murrayfield yesterday were some of the worst of his Test career.

Gregor Townsend has absolved Stuart Hogg from blame despite the Scotland skipper making his second costly mistake in as many Guinness Six Nations games.

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.

MARTIN SAMUEL AT MURRAYFIELD - It was at a certain moment, following England's dogged win over Scotland in torrid conditions, that the game's observers received enlightenment.

Officials are investigating ugly scenes at Murrayfield on Saturday where Neil Craig, a member of England's backroom staff, was struck on the head by a plastic beer bottle.

It was fitting that on a wild day in Edinburgh, England won back the Calcutta Cup thanks to a decisive intervention of Ellis Genge. He typified the spirit of defiance which propelled his side to victory.

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.

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.

Russell will not feature in the remaining games, against France on Sunday and Wales in Cardiff on March 14, as it is feared his arrival would detract from preparations for two games only six days apart.

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.

United States take on Netherlands for ultimate glory in the Women's World Cup final in France today. Sportsmail will provide you live updates as it happens from the Lyon Olympic Stadium.

After Liverpool wished him happy birthday on Twitter, the club's supporters inevitably took to social media to sing his praises after quickly becoming a fan favourite on Merseyside.

De Ligt became the most sought after youngster in the world after a huge breakthrough season with Ajax, and he has attracted heavy interest from the likes of Juventus and Barcelona.

Ajax have announced their star defender Matthijs De Ligt has been left out of their squad for their summer tour to Austria pending 'a possible transfer'.

Maurizio Sarri views Matthijs de Ligt as a key part of a three-man defensive wall at Juventus this season. The Dutch centre back is nearing the completion of his £63million transfer.

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.

The 35-year-old had been playing for Al-Gharafa in Qatar but images of him attending Utrecht's clash against VVV-Venlo caused a stir after they showed him to be carrying a few extra pounds.

Holland boss Ronald Koeman has backed wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt to cement himself firmly in the starting XI of Italian giants Juventus.

The Dutch, managed by Bert Van Marwijk in 2010, were defeated in the final by Spain following an extra-time winner by midfield maestro Andres Iniesta in South Africa.

October 13, 1976. Best's career was on the wane. He had turned 30 that summer and come back from his first stint in the US with Los Angeles Aztecs.

Georginio Wijnaldum admits Holland's recent absence from major tournaments has been 'painful' as they look set to end that exodus at Euro 2020 next summer.

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.

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.

Dutch footballer Memphis Depay has hit out at racist fans after yet another foul incident caused a football game between FC Den Bosch and Excelsior to be stopped on Sunday.

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.

Holland midfielder Gini Wijnaldum backed up his powerful words on racism in football this week, by leading by example for his national team and making a visual statement.