#Manu Tuilagi

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…

French Top14 league leaders Toulouse travel to Manchester England to tackle a high-flying Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium. Sale will be looking to exact revenge on their visitors following a rather humbling 45 - 19 loss in round two at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Having open their campaign with a 39 - 0 drubbing of Irish side Ulster, Sale's loss in…

The RFU are set to give head coach Steve Borthwick the go-ahead to name a New England captain for the 2023 Six Nations. The new boss spent seven years as predecessor Eddie Jones' right-hand man for both Japan and England before becoming director of rugby at Leicester Tigers. He prefers to keep a low profile, which could make some aspects of the…

After an epic game of rugby, the team with their head in their hands was not the one most people were expecting. It is not often that you see the All Blacks upset at the end of the game, but when England bring your world cup winning streak to an end it is no surprise to see a few tears. After winning their last 18 world cup matches they were…

England face their day with destiny as they take on South Africa with the title of being world champions on the line England are the bookmakers' favourites heading into the Rugby World Cup Final. South Africa stand in England's way of their second-ever world title - and already have a victory over the Red Rose in this fixture. Back in 2007, they…

Steve Diamond and Worcester Warriors could be galvanised by their off-field issues Will Steve Diamond be able to work his magic at Worcester this season despite the problems surrounding the club? The 54-year-old starts his first full campaign in charge of the Warriors and will be looking to build on an encouraging end to last year, but with no…

Manu Tuilagi's return should give Sale Sharks a boost Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Sale v Leicester in the Premiership on Friday. BT Sport 1, 7.45pm Friday Sale to win by one to 12 points 1pt 7-5 bet365 Leicester kicked off the Richard Wigglesworth era with a home win against Gloucester in their first outing under their new coach,…

Despite the World Cup drawing to a close many southern hemisphere stars who lit up the tournament will be staying on European shores. The French Top 14 and England's Aviva Premiership are set to be flooded with household names, with many looking for a well-paid swan-song to end a glittering career. Here are some of the best names staying on the…

We're down to the last eight in the Heineken Champions Cup as the great and good of European rugby do battle for a place in the May 28 showpiece in Marseille. With another intoxicating weekend of knockout drama in store, we preview every game from the quarter-finals, with all four matches available to watch exclusively live on BT Sport. Read on for…

While the 2020 Six Nations has only just got underway, we are already braced for one of its most hot-tempered clashes - Scotland versus England. The Auld Enemies will once again do battle for Calcutta Cup as they each try to recover from losing starts to this year's competition, the first of a new four-year World Cup cycle. As with all Six Nations…

ULSTER take on Sale Sharks in their opening game of this year's Champions Cup. Ulster come into the game off the back of a demoralising defeat to provincial rivals Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. Despite leading by 19 points and having a man advantage, Ulster capitulated and ended up losing by nine points. Sale are in impressive form and…

The match, which takes place at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh, will start at 1645 GMT on Saturday February 8 and will be screened live on BBC. Scotland team: Hogg; Maitland, Jones, Johnson, Kinghorn; Hastings, Price; Sutherland, Brown, Fagerson, Cummings, Gray, Ritchie, Watson, Bradbury. Replacements: McInally, Dell, Berghan, Toolis, Haining, Horne,…

Harlequins captain Alex Dombrandt Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's European Champions Cup games Northampton+5 2pts 8-11 Boyles Sale+14 1pt 10-11 Boyles Alex Dombrandt to score a try 1pt 10-3 Coral, Ladbrokes Paddy Power are giving away free bets to new and existing customers, and all you need is an account. . Sky Bet are…

Eddie Jones might have said this week that they don't look at the bookies after their outstanding semi-final win against New Zealand - but he surely can't have resisted a cheeky peek at the odds, which see his side as clear odds-on favourites to win a first Webb Ellis trophy since 2003. The England coach masterminded one of the most complete…

Eddie Jones has been keen to manage expectations and play down England's tag as favourites to win the 2020 Six Nations, pointing to how sides have "deteriorated" after playing in a World Cup final, but the state of the teams around England suggest he should be quietly confident. England were some way ahead the other northern-hemisphere sides in…

The ninth Rugby World Cup gets underway on Friday in the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, taking place in Asia for the first time as the Japanese hosts - still best known for delivering the biggest shock in the sport's history by beating South Africa in 2015 - look to inspire a nation where interest in rugby is growing at a rate of knots, albeit in a…

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…

Next weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby's treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign. Sportsmail's panel of experts - columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy - debate the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this Saturday and will feature what is set to be a titanic clash between two fierce rivals at Twickenham. It will be the first home match of the tournament for Eddie Jones' side who are looking to build on their 33-0 demolition job in Rome while Wales are riding a wave of confidence following a 20-17 victory…

South Africa's Autumn International Series 27-13 demolition of England on Saturday at Twickenham was a brutal reality check for English rugby. England were completely dominated in every department. To further compound what was one of the worst displays by an England rugby team in many a year, the Springboks were down to 14 men going into the final…

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…

Every November, there's talk about how nations from the northern hemisphere finally are ready to dethrone their counterparts from southern hemisphere in the best test rugby has to offer. That chat is amplified every four years during the November test tours prior to a World Cup. In the past, it remained just that - talk. Wishful thinking. Delusions…

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…

The Champions Cup gets under way this weekend, with the competition continuing with the format it adopted last year due to Covid. In this format, there are 24 teams in the competition split into two pools. Each team plays two sides, home and away, from their side of the draw. The top 16 sides, eight from each pool, will progress into the round of…

Sale survived Bristol's second-half comeback and Arron Reed's 33rd-minute red card to make the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the third time. The visitors made light of Reed's dismissal for a high hit to race into a 24-3 lead early in the second half. Bristol reeled in the visitors via tries from Harry Thacker, Luke Morahan and Joe Joyce, but…

The 2022 Six Nations looms in four weeks time. Six storylines are apparent. Five are about the rugby. Take your pick. Parity is the new rarity Five of the teams are capable of winning the tournament. Three (France, England, and Ireland) seem able to win a Grand Slam. Whilst France is the clear favourite of the bookmakers, courtesy of a dream draw…

Last year's Six Nations was the perfect illustration of just how tight the tournament is and how fine the margins are. Winners Wales were sent off 16-1 shots after a poor 2020 campaign, 6-5 favourites England finished fifth, while the three teams who finished between the pair ended up with identical records of three wins and two defeats. Of the ten…

Competition: Gallagher Premiership Date and kick-off time: Friday, September 9, 2022, 7.45pm Venue: AJ Bell Stadium Weather forecast: 18c, showers Live coverage: PRTV Live Referee: Tom Foley Sale Sharks: L James; Roebuck, S James, Tuilagi, O'Flaherty; R du Preez, Warr; McIntyre, van der Merwe, Schonert; Wiese, Postlethwaite; JL du Preez, B Curry…