FORMER Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill believes a culture of failure within Scottish Rugby has led to the lack of young players being produced for the national team.
Two Saracens players - England captain Jamie George and talismanic lock Maro Itoje - are supposed to be the first recipients of hybrid deals, but these are yet to be fully finalised.
As the nation celebrates St George's Day, who tops the list as the best player ever to come from England? Mail Sport's ALEX BYWATER provides his own list for that claim...
Hopes of an autumn fixture between Wales and Georgia have been dashed due to player release issues with the countries now looking at a possible meeting in 2025.
CHRIS FOY: England scrum-half Raffi Quirke and his evolving brand of 'Hollywood brilliance' helped Sale fend off a dangerous Harlequins fightback on Sunday afternoon.
WORLD OF RUGBY - CHRIS FOY: 'I'll learn so many different things,' said the supreme All Blacks utility back. 'It will make me see the game differently and I'll bring the best bits back.'
Beale, 35, rolled back the years with an impressive performance for the Western Force to help his side secure an upset 37-15 win over the Crusaders in Perth.
INTERVIEW BY NIK SIMON: Steve Diamond is halfway through his 150-mile commute home from Kingston Park to Manchester when he takes the call. He does the drive twice a week,.
ALEX BYWATER AT TWICKENHAM: England stayed on course for a third straight Grand Slam and now only France in Bordeaux next Saturday stand between them and another clean sweep
It took a jury just two hours to reach its verdict, rejecting the woman's account Beale forced her to perform oral sex in a toilet cubicle at Bondi's Beach Road Hotel in December 2022
INTERVIEW BY ALEX BYWATER: Chinnor is an ambitious club on the up. Easter is the man in charge and is talking through his side's National One promotion success.
CHRIS FOY: Northampton have ignited the countdown to another blood-and-thunder East Midlands derby by rotating their squad for the sell-out clash with Leicester.
England players and their clubs are growing increasingly concerned by delays and doubts about the RFU's hybrid contract scheme, amid fears that it may be scaled back or even abandoned.
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Anyone with an interest in the competitiveness of international rugby in the northern hemisphere acknowledges the Six Nations should have promotion and relegation.
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter wants Premiership clubs to match the spending and ambition of Irish giants Leinster by developing their own 'Fortnum and Mason' recruitment policy.
England legend Steve Thompson has accused rugby administrators of 'flogging players until they fall apart' as he called for the government to act on promises to address the sport's concussion crisis.
Northampton Saints and Harlequins won't receive any additional financial revenue from European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) despite them making the Champions Cup's semi-finals.
Bath's Premiership title challenge has been dealt a savage blow as the West Country club fear Finn Russell may not play again this season due to a 'significant' groin injury.
Leinster have sealed a stunning transfer coup after announcing that All Black centre Jordie Barrett will join them in December, until the end of next season.
European rugby organisers will urge clubs to accept an urgent change to the tournaments format, to avoid a repeat of the selection controversy last weekend.
The Blues forward, 25, played two Super Rugby Pacific matches last month but will step aside for a short period while treatment for his illness continues.
WORLD OF RUGBY: Fin Baxter may look back on Saturday afternoon as the time when his life changed forever. The Harlequins prop conquered a monster and announced himself as England's next prop star.
STEPHEN DAVIES: While there was no doubting the Red Roses going forward as they ran in eight unanswered tries, coaches were left fending off questions over ill-discipline.
CHRIS FOY: This was a bonkers and brilliant quarter-final that went straight into Champions Cup folklore as Harlequins stunned Bordeaux in defiance of all pre-match expectations.
DAN BIGGAR: I've spent the last few days analysing Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack ahead of Saturday's match between my Toulon side and Toulouse in the Top 14.
DAN BIGGAR: In October 2021, I was part of a Northampton side which beat Worcester 66-10 in a Premiership clash at Franklin's Gardens. Fin Smith was my opposite number.
ALEX BYWATER: From Six Nations wooden spoons to financial and contractual misery and the ongoing fallout of a sexism and misogyny scandal, Wales' national game has suffered all manner of ills.
CHRIS FOY: The 29-year-old Bristol prop, who grew up in the city's tough Knowle West neighbourhood, has highlighted the need for greater diversity of opportunities in rugby.