#Tom Curry

All being well, Courtney Lawes will become a centurion this Saturday at Suncorp Stadium by winning a 95th England cap to go with his five Tests for the British and Irish Lions. His pedigree is unquestioned and there is more for him to achieve. But it is a curiosity of the 33-year-old's fantastic career that his best position has remained a matter…

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…

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…

ENGLAND are in Paris as they look to deprive the French of a Grand Slam. Eddie Jones' men battled bravely against Ireland last week after having Charlie Ewels sent off 82 seconds into the match. However, they ultimately went down to a 32-15 defeat, leaving them out of the running for the Six Nations title. The French meanwhile have been in…

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,…

Ireland travel to Rome to face Italy in the Six Nations this weekend. This year's tournament has not gone to plan so far for Andy Farrell, with his side losing their opening two games against Wales and France. They face an Italian side who are also winless in the competition after defeats to France and England. Farrell has made seven changes to the…

Pieter-Steph du Toit says he was confident of victory in the last Rugby World Cup final after the first 10 minutes. In that opening spell in Yokohama two years ago, England's Owen Farrell chose to spin the ball wide from behind his own posts and team-mate Billy Vunipola, facing a fast-advancing South Africa defence, chucked a pass to ground deep in…

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…

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…

So what then are we to make of rugby's new world order? The northern powerhouse that swept aside its southern rivals over the course of an extraordinary Saturday has challenged some preconceived notions. Ireland celebrate their second Test win over New Zealand at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) An unprecedented…

Free rugby union tips, best bets and analysis for Saturday's Autumn Nations Cup matches. Channel 4 & Amazon Prime, 3pm Saturday England to win by one to 12 points 1pt 2-1 Betfair England coach Eddie Jones says he has picked "the strongest team possible for the most important game of our season," and his charges may be made to work against an…

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…

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…

Thirteen weeks on from the World Cup final England will walk out at the Stade de France on Feb 2 - here is the team I would pick to get the job done and start the 2020 Six Nation s with victory in Le Crunch in Paris. This is the first time in a long while I have had to think about this position. Saracens' issues, his brother's injury (Mako always…

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…

With each of the 15 players that make up a rugby team playing a vital part, we take a look at the roles they all play during a match ahead of Rugby's Greatest Championship getting underway. Loosehead prop Wears the No.1 jersey, stands to the left of the hooker at the scrum Plays a key role in helping a team get on top at scrum time Often involved…

As we draw near to the end of another year of international rugby, we are faced again with the question, who is the best player in the world? Rugby fans get into discussions like these armed with the stats but never seem to settle on the same answer. As we shift our focus to the ever-so-close France 2023 Rugby World Cup, we seek to find the top…

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's Tom Curry (centre) in action against Bristol Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's European Champions Cup games. BT Sport, 1pm Sunday Leinster to win by 31 to 40 points 1pt 3-1 bet365 Leinster are well rested, close to full strength and above all angry - no wonder bookmakers are expecting a 30-point rout. Opponents Montpellier…

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…