#Joe Heyes

With Steve Borthwick set to announce his chosen 36-man squad on Monday morning, former England number eight and ex-Worcester Warriors defence coach Nick Easter spends a morning playing selector, with balance and Premiership form at the top of his thinking. "Borthwick's first England side is obviously a key selection," Easter said. "The simple truth…

Richard Wigglesworth has made seven changes as Leicester look to bounce back from recent Premiership defeats and continue their successful European campaign at Clermont. The Tigers suffered heavy losses to Newcastle and Sale in their last two league outings. But Leicester beat Ospreys and Clermont in the Heineken Champions Cup before Wigglesworth…

Bath Rugby tighthead prop Will Stuart will start his fourth consecutive Test for England as the club's only representative in the matchday 23 to face Australia in the series decider at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. Bath's giant wing Joe Cokanasiga misses out on selection while Northampton captain Lewis Ludlam replaces the concussed Sam…

Of the 26 titles handed out over the course of the Heineken Champions Cup, 13 of them sit in the bottom half of this season's quarter-final draw. The last eight of this years competition is interestingly split. One one side of the draw you have Racing 92, Sale Sharks, La Rochelle and Montpellier - new money and new challengers. On the bottom half…

Given the short timescale England have to turn around their Barbarian mauling into lessons learned for both selection and tactics, Eddie Jones is likely to go with a team of tried and trusted but with a little seasoning from a couple of the more effective players from last weekend's match. Courtney Lawes is his biggest headache; Lawes professes he…

Following a 23-17 victory for Leicester Tigers over the Ospreys in their Champions Cup fixture, here's our five takeaways from the match at Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday. This was an outstanding win by a particularly inexperienced but youthful Tigers side playing away against the Ospreys boasting some seven Test Lions and something north of 700…

England head coach Eddie Jones has selected his England team to play Japan in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday. The Aussies' side lost 30-29 to Argentina last Sunday, a sixth defeat in ten matches this year. "We've worked hard this week to improve on last week's performance. We've taken a good look at our preparation and we are happy with our…

England men U20s head coach Steve Bates has named his 28-player squad for the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina (4-22 June). The group includes nine players who have appeared in the tournament before - including several from Gallagher Premiership Rugby - with props Joe Heyes, Marcus Street, lock Joel Kpoku, backrow forwards Josh…

Japan came close to besting the All Blacks, and now they face another world powerhouse in England in a litmus test of their improvement. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling coverage from 2:15am (AEDT). England coach Eddie Jones made five changes from the team beaten by Argentina last week. Leicester's Guy Porter, formerly of Sydney Uni, comes…

England are out to put their disappointing defeat to Argentina behind them when they host Japan on Saturday. Having lost 30-29 to the Pumas last weekend, they'll need to show a significant reaction after a below-par performance from many of Eddie Jones' key performers, and will need to be very wary about the threat posed by his former side. Japan's…

Joe Heyes returns from England duty to start for Leicester Tigers against Bath on Saturday afternoon (3pm). The 22-year-old tighthead prop was released from Eddie Jones' squad having not featured in the first two rounds of the Six Nations, while Ollie Chessum, George Ford, Ellis Genge, Freddie Steward and Ben Youngs were retained. Heyes' cover…

We were treated to a stunning spectacle of rugby last weekend which saw all four Southern Hemisphere nations take the chocolates, while France was the only team from up north to collect a win. With several series on the line can England, Ireland or Wales fight their way to victory in Game 2? Read on for all the line-ups and key team news as it…

After the logistical omnishambles of the pool stage foreshadowed the intriguing introduction of two-legged ties in the last 16, we have a compelling line-up of Champions Cup quarter-finals. Headlining it is a meeting between Leicester Tigers and Leinster. For a number of reasons, this clash already feels like a European classic in the making. Given…