Stephen Jones hopes that Harlequins' Twickenham experiment becomes a regular occurrence in the coming seasons in his Rolling Maul blog for the The Times

"Yes I know, I don’t want to talk about next Christmas either. Not until next Christmas, in fact. But I do want to say this: our rugby-watching Christmases may never be the same again. That is the conclusion after the Big Match, and every Guinness Premiership club, even as I write, will surely be scuttling to stage one of their own.

"The outcome could be massively advantageous for the promotion of the professional game in England, especially in new areas, and in any other of the home unions where clubs want to do a Harlequins.

"So much has been said about the match between Harlequins and Leicester and the occasion last Saturday, attended by 50,000 at Twickenham. It takes a fair bit for us cynical hacks to sit up and take notice, but I absolutely loved the whole thing, from the first firework to the shocking pink shirt of the last Quins replacement."

Peter Bills talks with Mike Catt inThe Independent about the dearth of skills in the modern game.

"That so-called professional players who train every day still cannot perfect the simple art of passing a ball accurately when on the move (off either hand) is an incredible indictment of some of the coaching the game has seen in recent years. This is hardly rocket science, the ability to time a pass and place the ball invitingly in front of the support runner so that his speed and momentum give him a chance of exploiting a gap or the uncertain tackle.

"Yet how often do we see this fault in English rugby? The answer is, every week; time and time again. Players hurl the ball anywhere, very often nowhere near the intended recipient of the pass. Undeniably, the passing of most international backs 30 years ago was technically superior to that of the modern day.

"It would be trite to suggest professionalism has not produced significant progress in many aspects of the game. Forwards in particular are far more comfortable with ball in hand and can run clever, intelligent lines in both possession and support play that would never have crossed the radar of their counterparts decades ago."

David Ferguson takes a look back at a mixed-bag of a year for the Scottish national team in The Scotsman.

"Style was the great conundrum for Scotland's international squad heading into 2008 and it has remained the case across the ten Test matches since.

"It was not a query over the need for blazers or suits, or the increasingly common casual, no-tie affair, but the more prosaic but pertinent concern over what style Scotland's rugby team could find to uncover tries.

"After the first three games of the year, in the RBS Six Nations Championship the issue of whether Scotland could score was becoming something of a side-issue to that of whether Scottish players had the wit to simply beat a man and break a defence."

The news that former England second row and police constable Wade Dooley is to become an RFU citing officer must surely be the most improbable case of 'poacher turned gamekeeper' of them all according to Brian Moore in the Daily Telegraph.

"If citing officers had existed in Dooley's day he would have spent about one third of his career suspended. Of course, this is an exaggeration, because he would have reined himself in – a bit, but not a lot. Big Wade; Big Dipper; Big and Daft, Wade had any number of nicknames, always containing the denominator – 'Big'. To some Dooley will be remembered as a thug, pure and simple and it is true he could hand it out; but he could also take it.

"...What many fail to consider, purposefully or otherwise, was Dooley's huge contribution to English rugby. As the present England team is discovering, somebody has to be content doing the hard, unseen and unglamorous work of hitting mauls and rucks, grappling and getting stuck in generally. For years Dooley did this for his team-mates; they knew it and valued it."

At the age of 36, All Black enforcer Brad Thorn is showing no signs of slowing down and is looking forward to the next chapter of an unconventional career that has taken in both rugby codes. Barry Waldron writes in the Independent on Sunday.

"The All Black jersey had always held a strong allure for Thorn, even though he spent most of his youth in Brisbane after his family relocated from Mosgiel (outside of Dunedin) where he was born, while he was young.

"He might have largely grown up as an Australian, but the dream of one day playing for the All Blacks went with him, and remained, even after his career took off in rugby league. It was the jersey, and not the size of the contract, that brought Thorn back to New Zealand in 2001."

Writing in The Times, David Walsh asks whether gouging is on the increase and speaks to former Ireland prop Reggie Corrigan about the time he, "felt two fingers reach into his eye socket ".

"“It was terrifying,” Corrigan says. “I had a contact lens ripped out of my eye and I genuinely thought I was going to lose sight in that eye when it happened. It is a really horrendous experience because you just feel the nails of two fingers going straight into your eye ball. You don’t believe it is actually happening and then it is over. It is literally a lunge, a grab, and a release. At that point you are blinded for a short period of time and I had no doubt whatsoever it was a deliberate act.

"“I had to go off, my cornea was scratched. There was the disciplinary hearing, the video showed the incident from about 10 different angles, you could see the hand going to the face but you couldn’t see the fingers plunge into the eye socket, which is the crucial bit. You had the referee’s report, the medical evidence, my evidence and the evidence of the other player. He got six weeks because the evidence wasn’t conclusive and I certainly felt, ‘Here was a guy getting away with it’.”"

Sébastien Chabal and Danny Cipriani have both reached crossroads in their careers - Eddie Butler compares the two in The Observer.

"Sébastien Chabal and Danny Cipriani are among the most recognisable people in rugby, but - well-exposed faces aside - they do not appear to have much in common. And they came no closer together on Boxing Day, when Sale met Wasps.

"One played, the other didn't; one continues his passionate, protracted farewell to the country he has taken by storm since 2004, while the other remains in limbo, out of form on the field and snared in contract negotiations about his future. If they are connected at this year's end by both being on the move in the next, they are going about their farewells in starkly contrasting ways."

Attendances are high, but some English clubs are struggling with debt. Either way, the game is ripe for change according to Michael Aylwin in The Observer.

"Of all the blows Bristol have taken in the professional era, losing ownership of their ground in 1998 was the most damaging. Ground ownership is repeatedly highlighted as the most crucial edge a rugby club can hold at the current stage of professionalism. As Gorvett puts it, such clubs can run their businesses 365 days a year; Bristol can run theirs for only 15 matchdays a year.

"Those clubs who own their stadium are the ones generally felt to enjoy the best prospects, regardless of how well they are doing on the pitch. They are Leicester and Northampton, the only two who make annual profits whichever way you dress things up; Gloucester and Harlequins, who make operational profits but have significant debt; and Worcester. Exeter, too, in the league below, own a site with considerable potential, and it may be a sign of things to come that there was another sell-out yesterday, when 7,500 watched their league game against the Cornish Pirates."

Stuart Barnes gets out his crystal ball and predicts what changes England manager Martin Johnson may make to his elite squad next week. Read his thoughts in the Sunday Times.

"Martin Johnson's greatest asset as a captain was the straightforward way he made decisions. Pulsating with common sense, he was never one for overly intellectualising the game. On the field there are limited scenarios. A side has to be in the right position to score points and the right position to stop others scoring. That was Johnson’s message as a skipper. Aided and abetted by several intelligent, experienced thinkers in the team, they made many of the calls that placed Johnson’s team in the areas of the field he wanted; with the right players and right thinkers itisstraightforward.

"But as the January 1 deadline approaches for the naming of up to five replacements for his squad of record-breaking losers, he has an undoubted shortage of thinkers with him; perhaps on and off the field. This is a time for lateral thinking, not the persistent defence Johnson delivered in November."

One man bestrode English rugby this year and that man was Martin Johnson according to Paul Ackford in the Daily Telegraph.

"All told, it was quite an achievement because for the first part of 2008, as Brian Ashton was humiliated by a heartless employer, Martin Johnson dominated the rugby pages without uttering a word in public.

"Johnson's role in that sorry saga was blameless. Head-hunted by the RFU to rebuild England's stock after a successful but divisive World Cup, he maintained a dignified silence until the detail was sorted, at which point, on 18 April, he surfaced at Twickenham for his first press conference as England's team manager. For a bloke who had no experience in that role, he was very impressive. He said little of substance that day. There was nothing about the style or composition of his team, no detail on what constituted progress or improvement."

The Premiership strugglers, thrown a financial lifeline, must now beat the drop. Their coach tells Chris Hewett how in the Independent.

"There should have been something of the bleak midwinter about Bristol as Richard Hill, the head coach, and Joe El Abd, the captain, sat down to discuss their team's latest slide towards pauperism a few days ago.

"The Christmas traffic around the training ground on the north-western edge of the city – someone else's training ground, needless to say, for the Premiership's bottom club own nothing in the way of bricks, mortar or land – was hellish, and the weather was very nearly as miserable as the balance sheet. To cap it all, El Abd was contemplating three months of depressing inactivity, courtesy of a torn muscle in his left arm."

Peter Bills talks to Harlequins' Nick Evans as the former All Blacks star makes himself at home in the English Premiership. New Zealand Herald.

"It is a lifestyle to be envied. Nick Evans' journey to work each morning at Harlequins rugby club takes him on a 10 minute drive through Richmond Park. It is a journey through the fauna, flora and history of one of England's great parks. He calls it "a lovely way to go to work".

"Here, Evans can see deer grazing, as they have done for centuries. Richmond was one of royalty's great hunting parks. Indeed, King Henry VIII is said to have been out hawking in the park one day in 1536 when he heard the bells of nearby London pealing, telling of his wife Anne Boleyn's execution."

Writing in The Times, Mark Souster talks to Sale Sharks' man-mountain Sebastien Chabal about his imminent departure from the Premiership club.

"It is hard to think of a foreign player who has made more of an impact on English domestic rugby than Sébastien Chabal. Adored at Sale Sharks, his club, and admired widely, the No 8 has universal appeal and charisma. Crowds love his buccaneering style, opponents respect him, some no doubt fear him. Those who witnessed his destructive debut against Leicester in March 2004 will not have forgotten it.

"Chabal has continued in similar vein since. He is a big personality, so it is difficult to imagine that this time next year the 31-year-old with the wild beard and mane of black hair will be a mere memory. Chabal's appearance today against London Wasps marks the beginning of the end of his extraordinary stay in this country."

London Irish fans must have been very good boys and girls this year according to Will Greenwood who writes in the Daily Telegraph.

"Normally you only get a little bit of what you asked Father Christmas for – but all their Christmases came early. I never thought I would be writing about an Irish side being top of the table during the festive season.

"They were the ugly sisters to the would-be Cinderellas. I was certain that whenever one of the bigger clubs asked where Irish were, we would all reply: "Behind you!" So what happened? Well, Irish have won 10 games on the trot, and they have done so by putting in some fantastic performances and finding a great vein of consistency."

Peter Jackson highlights what he sees as the worrying inconsistency in the European disciplinary system using the case of Calvisano's Nicola Cattina as an example of the problem. Read his thoughts in the Daily Mail.

"Cattina's name does not ring any bells outside Italy despite his status as captain of the Junior Azzurri and, therefore, nobody would have been the least bit bothered about his sentence to the doghouse. He took his punishment on the chin, so to speak, and faced the consequences of losing his temper without a murmur of complaint when he had every reason to feel aggrieved.

"His fate highlights a flaw which ought to concern the fairminded, one which calls into serious question the consistent administering of justice, or rather the lack of it, as applied in the European rugby court. It is to the shame of the organisers that they have, however unwittingly, made a mockery of the old saying: You've done the crime, now you do the time."

Will rugby union witness another seismic split in 2009, this time between the northern and southern hemispheres? Peter Bills writes in the Independent.

"Australian Rugby Union Chief Executive John O’Neill might say some outrageous things at times, but the game is a fool if it fails to heed his words. O’Neill runs a sport surrounded by rivals – rugby league, Aussie Rules, basketball and swimming to mention just a few. Trying to make a quid or two among that sort of competition requires ingenuity, cunning and above all, a highly desirable product.

"Entertainment, in case you forgot, became an essential requirement of rugby union the minute this sport opted to take the professional road. It meant it was entering the entertainment business and it needs to do just that, entertain."

Chris Jones talks to Harlequins and England scrum-half Danny Care and discovers his path to the top of the oval ball game. Read his story in the Evening Standard.

"Manchester United can take credit for solving England's scrum-half problem after they helped to convince Danny Care his sporting future lay in rugby union, not professional football.

"Care, the Harlequins No9, was a hugely-frustrated 15-year-old in 2002 sitting on the bench in Sheffield Wednesday colours as they took on the most famous club in the world. He was desperate to prove the academy manager was wrong to tell him he was too small to become a professional with the round ball . . . but the chance never came."

Stephen Jones gets worked up ahead of 2009's crown jewel, the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, in his Rolling Maul blog for The Times.

"Frankly, in Lions year the rest fades into insignificance. The RBS Six Nations will obviously be fantastic but the chief value this year will lay for me in any evidence offered that we have 33 giants to take on and beat the Springboks in their backyard – which was not obvious during the autumn internationals.

"And between the recent launch of the glamorous red tops and the time that the first ball is kicked at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, in the first match of the tour in late May, there will be endless debate, which is half the fun of the whole thing. By the time Ian McGeechan names his tour party and later, his Test team, both will already have been selected around two million times, by you, me, and everyone; and in every clubhouse, stadium terrace and bar in the land. What could be better?"

Writing on rugbyheaven.co.nz. Duncan Johnstone is pleased to see the Junior All Blacks returning to the Pacific Nations Cup.

"Common sense has prevailed with the Junior All Blacks getting preference again over New Zealand Maori as the No 2 side in our national game's order of merit. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for the Maori side in New Zealand rugby as they have shown with some outstanding performances down the years and their strong contributions in many areas.

"But that shouldn't come at the expense of the All Blacks and that's exactly what happened this year when the Maori side replaced the Junior All Blacks for the IRB's Pacific Nations tournament.

"The All Blacks coaches, facing a season of rebuilding following a mass exodus after last year's World Cup, were severely limited in their options in the heart of the season."

Davind Hands runs the rule over the current Premiership standings, giving pass marks to some and saying "must try harder" to others in The Times.

"The head coaches of London Irish and Gloucester respectively were in complete agreement on Saturday: titles, Toby Booth and Dean Ryan chorused, are not won on a day in December. But Booth added the rider: “We expect other teams to come late but it's easier to maintain momentum from where we are.”

"Coming late in the Guinness Premiership is something of which London Wasps, champions four times in the past six seasons, have made a speciality. At the same stage last season, with nine games played, Wasps were eighth in the table, 17 points off the pace set by Gloucester at the top; now they are eighth in the table, 16 points behind London Irish, so Booth's cautionary remark is wise.

"Irish are the fundamental change in the Premiership table. Gloucester, Bath, Sale Sharks, Leicester and Harlequins were all in the top half a year ago and are there now but the exiles have taken the place occupied then by Saracens and with far greater conviction."

The New Zealand Maori have gone, the Australian provincial championship has gone and now European clubs are sweating. Gregor Paul details how the downturn is hitting rugby in the New Zealand Herald.

"Hovering in the background is the bigger worry that all this bad news is descending just months before the Sanzar alliance begins negotiations with News Corporation about extending broadcast rights.

"Not that it's much of a consolation but the Southern Hemisphere can perhaps find solace that their plight is not as bad as their colleagues in the north."

Writing in The Observer, Eddie Butler believes the Blues have shown that adventure need not be abandoned in the face of ELVs.

"The Blues are in the grip of expansion fever, which contrasts not only with the prevailing economic climate, but also with their own instincts. Long known as Cardiff Athletic Club and based firmly in the heart of the city, they rather sat on their throne and grew old. On the field the style was adventurous; off the field Cardiff were conservative.

"Generally unloved outside the city limits, they attracted more abuse when they became a stand-alone region in the great shake-up of professional rugby in Wales, orchestrated by David Moffett. Cardiff hadn't done much to merit being treated as a special case. Soon, however, the stand-alone Blues will be going to a new home. Not the Millennium next door, but a ground-share at the brand new 27,000-seat Cardiff City Stadium, down towards the docks on the south side of the city. This is a genuine capital venture."

Stuart Barnes weighs in on the impact of the global credit crunch on the English game in his latest column for the Sunday Times

"Here we go again. The monopolists may have been quiet for a while but with a scent of blood emanating from Bristol and Newcastle the `chatter’ as Harlequins Chief Executive, Mark Evans, described it, has started all over again. It was as recently as July 1st this year that Premier Rugby and the RFU signed a deal, a part of which agreed that a twelve team league with promotion and relegation would be in place for an eight year period.

"The financial downturn has given some of the predatory clubs an opportunity to take another bite at their smaller competitors and in the process swallow the concept of opportunity for all clubs. How cruel that the excesses of our financial system would be emulated by a few men who long to secure their own fortunes at the expense of all others."

Saracens boss Eddie Jones takes a look at the financial situation down-under, and hopes for the support of the Sarries' faithful in the Independent.

"In Australia, the New South Wales Waratahs are facing a shortfall of A$500,000 [£227,640] in sponsorship – an unwelcome development that has already cost people their jobs. In Queensland, money has been tight for years, so this downturn will hit the Reds really badly. In Perth, the big investment from a mining company that allowed Western Force to sign up the likes of Matt Giteau, Nathan Sharpe and Drew Mitchell is fast drying up, due to a drop-off in trade with China. It's tough out there, wherever you look.

"It will be interesting to see how the downturn affects crowds. Premiership attendances have been holding up well and I confidently expect Saracens' hard-core support, which I'd estimate at between 6,000 and 8,000, to follow us through thick and thin. Their passion never fails to amaze me: the other night, while I was doing a radio show, someone sent through a four-page email on team selection, going through the team position by position and telling me the changes I should make! It's people in the next category – those who enjoy their rugby but pick and choose their matches quite carefully – who will determine whether we move forward or stand still."

Tony Ward joins the debate on the ELVs and although he is in favour of the process he is not sure if everyone is committed to the cause. Read his thoughts in the Irish Independent.

"Unfortunately, at this mid-point in the season, I concede the knock-on impact has been dire. It is the beauty of the trial process that we quickly get to see what works and what doesn't. So while the maul is still some way akin in excitement to watching paint dry, it is a necessary evil which must remain.

"The alternative is what we are now witnessing week in, week out, whereby less bodies committed at the breakdown represents increased traffic across the park. Welcome to the world of aerial ping-pong."

Allan Massie wastes no time in passing judgement on Edinburgh's and Glasgow's Heineken Cup campaigns. Read his thoughts in The Scotsman.

"So another Heineken Cup campaign is effectively over for Edinburgh and Glasgow, even though there remain two matches to be played. It's disappointing of course, but one has to accept that our two pro teams are at a significant disadvantage. In one sense Edinburgh are unique: the only club in the competition to field a match squad all 22 of whose members are eligible to play for the country in which the club is based. Many approve of this.

"With only two teams and no prospect of a third, we are trapped in a vicious circle. Import foreigners and promising home players are sidelined. Play without them and we are at a disadvantage. There is no quick way out. Certainly, in the present climate, there is little chance of significant investment from beyond the game."

Using his Guardian blog as a launching pad, Shaun Edwards dishes out some advice from the world of rugby league to those Premiership clubs fretting the cut in the salary cap.

"Rugby has never been a level playing field. Even before the game went professional clubs like Leicester and Northampton always had a strong fan base and with that came financial clout. When the millionaire benefactors arrived that powerbase widened. However, a salary cap was needed to stop the worst excesses and it is even more necessary now.

"If the professional side of the game is to remain vibrant there must be tighter control over the clubs with deep pockets otherwise the powerful will just hoover up the cream of the available talent.

"With rumours whipping around the game about the possible demise of some clubs, there are suggestions that the salary cap of £4.2m should be reduced to £3.5m. If that is what's needed, then fine, bring it in, but it has to be policed. I'm not pointing fingers, but you don't have to be a financial whiz to figure out that the recruiting done by some clubs is either out of kilter with the current cap or they have discovered a way of defying financial gravity."

Writing in the The New Zealand Herald, Daniel Gilhooly reviews a successful year for the All Blacks and their talismanic skipper Richie McCaw.

"McCaw's playing influence is enormous - he won 26 of the 28 games he played at all levels in 2008 - but his leadership has also grown.

"Both elements were missing in the last-minute 28-30 loss to the Springboks at Carisbrook, ending New Zealand's world record 30-test winning run on home soil. Two weeks later the Wallabies enjoyed a thumping 34-19 win in Sydney, an emphatic result that prompted a rousing "told you so" from Robbie Deans' supporters.

"Crusaders legend and new Australian coach Deans, they said, should never have been passed over for Henry's job. A stung All Blacks delivered the perfect response a week later in Auckland, with McCaw's return and a renewed emphasis on kicking dealing a 39-10 reversal on the Wallabies."

Chris Rattue mourns the loss of former All Blacks prop John Drake, of one of the great and good of the game, in The New Zealand Herald.

"As an Auckland and All Black prop, he had been a quiet revolutionary. He had a touch more flair than the ordinary tighthead of the day, yet among that 1987 lineup he was a bulwark in playing contribution and personality rather than a flamboyant star.

"Drake was marginally ahead of a time he had no intention of being part of as player. He quietly drifted out of the game in his late 20s, after just eight momentous tests. This in itself hinted at a maverick personality - to give away the black jersey was certainly not the norm.

"I never quite got from him why he quit the game early, but suspect that he knew he had reached a pinnacle and - being rather worldly-wise and not rugby obsessed - wanted to get on with life."

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mick Cleary predicts financial trouble ahead as the gulf grows between European rugby's rich and poor.

"The upside of professional rugby looks buoyant. A full house of 77,000 at the Stade de France last weekend, Harlequins set fair for a 50,000 capacity crowd at Twickenham for their Dec 27 league game against Leicester, and sold out signs at various Premiership grounds.

"Rugby to be the new soccer? I doubt it. Scratch that shiny surface and things are not so wholesome. True, the big-hitters, such as Perpignan, Stade Francais or Leicester and, coming up on the rails, Quins, have either got high-rollers bankrolling them or have solid foundations. The name of their game is a mix of consolidation and expansion.

"But what of the likes of Newcastle or Bristol, clubs scrapping away to keep themselves on sound commercial footings? It's easy to get drawn to the headline attendance figures. The turnstiles aren't clicking all over the land. Wasps attracted only 7,596 for their important Heineken Cup game against Edinburgh; Glasgow, lively and potent the previous weekend, a paltry 3,306 for their return fixture against Bath. The Scottish regions rarely break the 5,000 barrier."

Mick Cleary was amongst those packed into the Stade Aime Giral to watch Dan Carter's impressive Perpignan debut. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he believes there was value for money on show.

"Big money, great value. Dan Carter's debut for Perpignan produced a packed stadium, joyous hearts and a few nervous flutters as Leicester rallied in the final stages, but ultimately the points were in the bag and the slenderest of lifelines beckoned in the Heineken Cup.

A decent afternoon's work for Carter: 16 points and a Man of the Match award. In these times of devaluation, Carter's worth, even at £30,000 per match, shines brightly. He did miss two straightforward shots at goal either side of half-time, but hey, no one expects him to walk on water just yet. The All Blacks fly-half even managed to survive a tip tackle from Harry Ellis. And Ellis somehow survived without getting a yellow card."

Simon Barnes admits to being one of those blown away by the finish to Harlequins' epic Heineken Cup clash with Stade Francais. Read his latest piece in The Times.

"Here's a strange truth about sport: any match you see, any bit of sport you attend or catch on television, may just turn out to be greatest piece of sport you have ever seen in your life. You just don't know.

"I can't claim that my weekend was based around the Harlequins v Stade Français Heineken Cup tie, but I'm glad I stumbled across it. It was a great contest in vile weather - rugby, like Formula One, changes its nature entirely when the rain comes - and a finish that defied belief."

As Martin Johnson absorbs the lessons given to his England team in the autumn internationals, former international Brian Moore insists he must stick to his specified role and not interfere in coaching. Read his thoughts in the Daily Telegraph.

"If there is still vagueness in England's management and coaching structure it is a scandal. Johnson was contracted as a manager and just a manager; as such, I, and others, endorsed this gamble even though he had no experience.

"If he is having a hand in the coaching, other than the odd observation, all bets are off. He has enough to do given the perilous waters in which he now sails, without having to man the oars. Furthermore, if he is giving influential assistance, how will he be able to disassociate this when he assesses his coaches?"

The Daily Telegraph breaks down how Perpignan's Dan Carter could justify his first hefty pay cheque - he is on a reported £30,000 per week deal.

"Perpignan’s bean counters may use a different method, but this is how fly-half Dan Carter could have earned his crust on debut on Sunday:

4 penalty goals at £2,000 a piece to seal a great home win for Perpignan - £8,000

2 conversions at £1,500 each to add the icing £3,000

7 tackles at £1,000 each to show he’s not just a good-looking bloke - £7,000

19 passes at around £400 each to free up the hard-running backline - £7,600

15 kicks at £400 each to keep the home side on the front foot - £6,000

1 clean break at £400 ... this boy can kick and run - £400

3 high takes at £200 to keep Leicester at bay - £600

But deductions of £2,600 for two missed penalty kicks, two knock-ons and two missed tackles.

Total earnings £30,000"

Writing in the Cape Argus, Gavin Rich makes some bold predictions for the year ahead.

"And so time to engage those nostril hairs and look ahead at 2009. It's going to be a good year in the Super 14, with one of the Sharks, Stormers or Bulls winning the competition, and two of those three making the semi-finals. I think it will be the Stormers and Sharks.

"The Boks will easily beat the British Lions, but the wake-up call will come when they face the teams that really matter, New Zealand and Australia, in the Tri-Nations, where they will unfortunately struggle again and a lot of the people who were getting positive are suddenly going to realise we are back at square one."

This once-great club's recent form has prompted serious questions but to think they are doomed would be fanciful according to Eddie Butler writing in the Observer.

"When the losing run reached double figures, the questions piled up. Once upon a time, Llanelli had marched to the edge of a Heineken Cup wonderland, losing by late penalties in two semi-finals - to Northampton, 31-28, in 2000, and to Leicester, 13-12, in 2002 - and earned the right to be treated as a special case.

"Victory over the All Blacks in 1972 gave weight to the cause. At the mere mention of Carwyn (Carwyn James, coach of the 1971 Lions and architect of the golden age of Llanelli in the 70s) or Grav (Ray Gravell, centre during that period and keeper of the faith in the eras that followed), lips quiver. Stradey Park, home of Llanelli RFC, was not a ground, but a shrine, the pH balance of its soil altered by the scattered ashes of so many departed fans."

Paul Ackford was amongst those to witness Harlequins' dramatic victory over Stade Francais at the Twickenham Stoop. Read his thoughts in the Sunday Telegraph.

"Not quite the razzmatazz of last week. No eagles, no frilly knickers from the Can Can girls and, by my reckoning, about 64,000 fewer spectators, but a sensational game nevertheless because Harlequins finally prevailed deep into injury time after taking the ball through 29 phases. The upshot is that Quins now have virtually booked their passage into the quarter-finals of this competition.

"It was a magnificent achievement to come off the ropes as they did. Nick Evans, Quins’ All Black outside half, landed the final, all-important drop goal. He’ll probably be given the freedom of Twickenham."

The club game in Europe could match international rugby for spectacle, class and pulling power in remaining pool rounds according to Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.

"The club game in Europe could match international rugby in terms of spectacle, class and pulling power in the remaining pool rounds and knockout stages of the Heineken Cup. Last week’s news of big television contracts for club rugby, both in England and pan-European in the Heineken Cup, was good enough but the extraordinary action of this weekend suggests the international game will soon be looking to its laurels.

"...Who are favourites at present? Munster have had a mediocre campaign by their standards, although they remain the betting favourites alongside Toulouse. Ospreys and Cardiff give Wales an outside chance at least of a rare finalist. And will Harlequins lead the English challenge? Nothing is decided, except the burgeoning fascination of this glorious tournament itself."

Robert Kitson joins the media scrum surrounding All Blacks star Dan Carter as he prepares to make his Perpignan debut in their Heineken Cup clash with Leicester Tigers. Read his report from the front line in the Guardian

"There were eight camera crews wedged into the cramped away dressing room at the Stade Aimé Giral yesterday, plus half a dozen photographers and a leather-jacketed scrum of reporters loitering at the back. After about 20 minutes they finally got what they wanted: a few words in French from the lips of the world's most expensive rugby player. "Je suis Dan," whispered Dan Carter, rather unnecessarily. If he ever gets round to ordering a meal entirely in Catalan, the story will lead the local news bulletins for days.

"Such is the surreal new life of the highest-profile étranger in European club rugby. Carter may have represented his native Canterbury for years but the most daunting crusade of his life began in Roussillon this week, beneath the snow-capped Pyrénées where the Cathars once ruled. Can any player, even the best fly-half on earth, be worth £35,000 a match?"

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Steve Deane gazes into his crystal ball as the 1,000 day countdown to RWC'11 kicks off.

"Much attention is being lavished upon the number 1000 - the days until the next Rugby World Cup. And a lot of thought is being given to the tournament's other big numbers: the millions of dollars to be spent and then hopefully recouped; the hundreds of thousands of spectators the games will draw; the tens of thousands of asparagus rolls to be consumed during corporate hospitality binges.

"But the numbers that really matter are 15 and one. The first represents the players who will be tasked with restoring this country's national rugby pride, the second the monkey they'll be desperately trying to prise from their backs."

Writing in The Scotsman, David Ferguson believes the Lions have got the right man in charge of next summer's tour to South Africa.

"The searing pace and silky deft sidestep might have gone, but the moustache provides a swift reminder of the Gerald Davies held in high esteem still by rugby supporters around the globe.

"When the British and Irish Lions committee went in search of men to restore the battered lustre of the Lions ethos, after a demoralising 2005 tour to New Zealand that provoked arguments over the worth of the side in the modern game, Davies was a popular first starting point."

Chris Hewett touches on a bit of Lions history in his introduction to an interview with rising Welsh star Andy Powell. They chat about the giant No.8's rise to the top and his hopes for the Lions. Read the full piece in the Independent.

"Throw a British and Irish Lions party in any far-flung corner of the world and two things are guaranteed: the river of beer will run dry long before kicking-out time – no one who participated in the celebrated drinkathon in Johannesburg at the end of the great feel-good tour of Springbok country in 1997 ever forgot it, once they found a way of remembering it – and the talk will eventually turn to half-backs of the Welsh variety. Morgan and Watkins, John and Bennett, Edwards and Williams, Holmes and Howley –when it comes to hero worship, Nos 9 and 10 have the field to themselves. If the No 8 contingent feel a little hard done by, who can blame them?"

In his Rolling Maul blog forThe Times, Stephen Jones has more than a little sympathy for the French sides in the Heineken Cup.

"If I were a French rugby club I would seriously consider whether it is worth contesting the rest of the Heineken Cup. The odds are so stacked against them that the concept of fair play has been lost.

"One old Harlequins grandee took me to task yesterday for saying that Harlequins were outrageously fortunate to be awarded at least half the points of their famous win over Stade Francais in Paris last weekend. I had to gently point out that if I were Quins, and the beneficiary of such largesse, I’d stop complaining about the messenger and take the win and move on.

"But for goodness sake, don’t let anyone tell you that Stade Francais were not crucified by officialdom, because they were. Or that both Biarritz, who lost to Cardiff, and Perpignan, who lost at Leicester, had anything but the worst of the refereeing, and a total lack of what they were due from officials in this so-called professional sport. French rugby is always stuffed by refereeing. It is one of the first laws of the sport. Sad, but true."

Jonny Wilkinson has gone from tortured soul to enlightened being with help from mentor Steve Black. Simon Turnbull chats to his long-time personal coach, mentor and close friend in the Independent.

"Black is responsible for transforming Wilkinson from a highly-strung individual consumed by an addiction to success and a fear that anything but a slavish work ethic would send him plummeting down the precipice of failure – a tortured soul who now confesses: "My perspective on life at the time of the 2003 Rugby World Cup robbed me of my ability to enjoy the moment." That numbing negativity is explored in the pages of Tackling My Life, the book Wilkinson has written with Black. But so is the positive outlook on life and rugby that the outside-half has found with the help of Black, his long-time personal coach, mentor and close friend."

The first two Lions tours of South Africa – 1891 and 1896 – were nothing if not uneventful and effectively set the template for everything that has followed. Money was the driving force. Brendan Gallagher goes down memory lane in the Daily Telegraph.

"The 1891 tourists, however, were a true blue amateur mix of English Cambridge types and craggy Scotsman, not least their captain W E McLagen, who won 26 caps for Scotland. Against spirited but limited opposition, they won all 20 matches – the only Lions team in history to boast a perfect record – and comfortably won the three unofficial Tests.

"R L Aston, a huge 6ft 3in, 15 stone centre, was the star with 30 tries, a record that still stands. The toughest opposition were generally considered to be Griqualand West – who lost 3-0 – and by way of reward the Lions presented the Griquas with the Currie Cup, a superb trophy donated by the Lions patron Sir Donald Currie for that exact purpose. It soon became the trophy for South Africa's premier domestic competition."

The cult of feedback and questionnaires is killing sporting instinct and individualism and in danger of dragging outstanding young players into the pack of mediocrity according to Ed Smith. Read his thoughts in the Daily Telegraph

"You've just finished the biggest game of your life. Still wearing the scars of battle, now imagine that instead of a pat on the back and an encouraging word, you're given a form to fill in, demanding you evaluate your own and your colleagues' performances."

"...Professionalism has made people obsessed with evidence of endeavour. To some professionals, justifying their jobs can become as important as being good at them. Hence the obsession with those 'achievements' – hours logged, sessions completed, commitments 'signed off' on – which look good on headed notepaper and can be shown off at meetings. But does anyone ask if they are actually working?"

Muddled refereeing punishes the robust Gallic approach and leaves players the world over confused according to Paul rees writing in the Guardian

"French clubs have never been in love with the Heineken Cup, or the H Cup as government legislation there forces them to call it. Their national league, long and drawn-out as it is, comes first and second for most, with Europe an often unwelcome diversion.

"In the early years of the Heineken Cup, French sides found refereeing tolerance thresholds much lower than they were used to. Brawls ended up in bans and malpractice such as gouging cost some players their careers. It helped convince Bernard Laporte, the France coach from 1999 to 2007, that to succeed on the European and world stage the French needed to become disciplined. It did not come easily, or quickly."

Eddie Butler writes in the Guardian about the decline of one of England's most successful backs, Josh Lewsey, at a time when his limitations finally appear to have caught up with him.

"There was a new demand placed on the modern player: to think of space, not contact. And Josh Lewsey never really appreciated this new emphasis. He played almost a full part in England's amazing journey to the World Cup final in 2007 – he scored a try against France in the semi-final but pulled a hamstring and missed the final — but this was a campaign based on a throwback strategy. This was England at their most defiantly limited in a tournament condensed into a caution that suited such an approach.

"It's not clear why somebody so free of spirit — he went climbing in the Himalayas in the summer of 2006 without telling Wasps, whom he was sure would have forbidden such an adventure – struggled to expand his repertoire. Perhaps the lust for contact was too strong in a notoriously determined character.

"Perhaps it was just age. When the legs start to go, as they surely do after a full decade at the very top of the game, perhaps you just don't make it into the gaps that young pretenders, like Delon Armitage, can hit.

"You end up hitting bodies instead, or Danny Cipriani in training. At the end of a career of admirable defiance come the moments of frustration. Sometimes you have to know that since you can't move on in rugby, you have to move on into something else. Or up something else. If the Himalayas begin to shake, it's probably because Josh Lewsey has just tackled them."

Robert Kitson muses in The Guardian about the financial plight and lack of resources soon to face many British clubs.

"Can it [rugby] afford to end up like soccer where a wealthy elite dominate Europe and the rest scrape a living any way they can? This polarisation of resources and player movement is happening at Test level, too, with the consequent knock-on effects in terms of the competitiveness of certain nations. How can Edinburgh, or Calvisano, hope to compete with Stade Francais? And if they can't, what does that do for the Heineken Cup's collective appeal? The loyal title sponsors have just signed up for another four seasons, which will extend their backing to a remarkable 18 years. It will be interesting to see whether the existing 24-team format remains unchanged. Many more results like Ospreys 68-8 Treviso and pressure is bound to increase. My guess is that the structure will have to be amended in the not-too-distant future to reflect the harsher financial climate.

"You can also bet that talk of a franchise system in England will resurface. That way, as in the NFL or AFL, the health of the tournament or league becomes the priority. Clubs will still have to provide financial guarantees but their health will become a collective issue. A draft system? It might just suit the RFU to have young English players spread out more evenly across the country instead of kicking in their heels at the academies of the better-resourced clubs.

"It could be argued that London Irish, currently top of the Premiership table, are flying the flag for smaller teams. In some respects they are but along the way they have had to mothball their reserve team. Is that progress? I tend to agree with Eddie Jones that an age-group competition — say U-23 with six over-age players permitted in the 22 — would develop English youth more effectively than endless stints on the replacements' bench."

Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care describes how he felt after a moment of madness in the dying moments of his side's historic Heineken Cup victory over Stade Francais. A penalty to Quins on their own line appeared to have given them victory but Care's premature celebrating saw it reversed - luckily for Care and Quins they were able to hold on for the win. Check out his latest diary entry at ITV.com

"I didn't say a word to the referee, but I did shout in Juan Leguizamon's general direction. The whistle had gone, I knew the clock was up so I thought we’d won the game. Which I suppose at that stage we had! It was just sheer relief, I was really happy - and they’d been giving us a bit of stick too.

"After that, in the last two minutes with Stade camped on our line, I've never been so scared in my life. I'd never have forgiven myself if they'd have scored but thankfully we held out. And I said sorry to all the boys afterwards."

Chris Hewett became the latest to round on the unfortunate Perpignan full-back Philip Burger in The Independent, before espousing the merits of Leicester's granite tight-head Julian White.

"If Stade Français had the cancan girls – more a distraction than an inspiration, judging by the Parisians' performance at the weekend – Perpignan had the lingerie. Philip Burger, a South African seven-a-side specialist from Pretoria who may not be the toughest full-back ever raised in Springbok country, took the field at Welford Road in a pair of the nattiest black tights, thereby attracting the attention of 17,000 wolf-whistling Midlanders who made it their business to put him off his stroke. Predictably, the poor petal suffered the torments of hell, for which the home side were duly thankful.

"Leicester tend not to go in for this sort of stuff: whoever supplies their match-day kit, it isn't Ann Summers. Julian White in gloves and frilly knickers? Please. When it comes to added extras, the tighthead prop from Devon restricts himself to a pair of contact lenses – perhaps not an absolute necessity for an individual who spends his working life in the darkened recesses of the scrum, but who's arguing? Unlike Burger, the former England front-rower commanded respect. He was, to borrow a striking phrase from one of the travelling Frenchmen, "the king of the field".

"How England could use him at the moment. Deep in his 36th year, White is significantly less mobile than he was at 26 (even at his quickest, he was no threat to Usain Bolt) and he turned away from international rugby some 18 months ago by opting out of the World Cup squad, apparently to spend more time on his farm. All the same, he would have spared the national team some blushes at Twickenham just recently. The red-rose forwards would hardly have been shunted off their own ball by sundry Wallabies and All Blacks had the strongest scrummager in Europe been anchoring the operation."

Former Wallabies boss John Connolly offers his thoughts on the impact of overseas starts in the European game. Like All Blacks coach Graham Henry he believes it is having a detrimental effect. Read his thoughts in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"New Zealand coach Graham Henry made a very good point when he was critical of the northern hemisphere for allowing a huge number of southern hemisphere recruits to play in their competition.

"There's no doubt this tour has brought the issue to a head. There's a lack of development in France and England. Private owners of clubs are looking at short-term results and there's not enough done to foster local talent in France's top 14 or the English premiership. This tour has rammed home these problems because of the dominance of the southern hemisphere."

Stephen Jones meets Welsh star Lee Byrne after the fullback cemented his Lions chances with a string of eye-catching performances last month. Check out the interview in the Sunday Times.

"Byrne has the full armoury. He has a siege-gun boot; one swing from Byrne, by no means a giant, can take play 80 metres away. He is a magnificent footballer and defender and, more to the point, a brilliant attacker.

"Yet the regal stride of Byrne’s career is a recent phenomenon. He has had a superb couple of seasons, but he is 28, not 22. He had always been a good player. He was discovered at Bridgend Athletic, played for Tondu, squeezed into a development contract with Llanelli and then joined the Ospreys"

The sparks flew when England manager Martin Johnson was confronted by rugby correspondent Paul Ackford about England's three heavy defeats in the autumn internationals at Twickenham. Check out their amazing exchange in the Sunday Telegraph

"I've been cross for weeks. Three bad defeats, England's powder-puff scrummaging, the persistent indiscipline, the apparent lack of significant progress in virtually every area, and all this on the back of a new manager who has had the longest time with any group of England players outside of World Cups.

"It was enough to make the blood boil. So, when the invitation arrived to debrief the sorry saga with team manager Martin Johnson, and Rob Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby, I jumped at the chance. What followed wasn't necessarily the most cogent analysis but it was heartfelt, and it goes a long way to showing the current state of mind in the England camp."

Eddie Butler offers an insight into Andy Powell's rise to fame. Read his thoughts on Welsh rugby's man of the moment in the Observer.

"One of the sensations of the November series was the Wales No 8 Andy Powell. For years, the 27-year-old was a source of initial pleasure for his various employers - he spent time at Llanelli, Leicester, Béziers and Newport Gwent Dragons before landing at the Cardiff Blues - but it never took him long to provoke praise less fulsome. He could always charge, but in the head he lowered for just that there seemed little else going on.

"Frustrated by his inconsistency, his loss of the ball in inevitable contact and his refusal to look up and around, clubs let him go. Even the Blues toyed with the idea of releasing him. It is to the credit of David Young, the Blues coach who has had to endure many seasons of criticism for the failures of his team on big days, that he persevered with Powell. And that the penny finally dropped. Powell is astonishingly light on his feet for one so large. So he can skip out of the tackles he once courted and he tries to pass out of them, too."

On the occasion of the Heineken Cup clash between Stade Francais and Harlequins at the 80,000 capacity Stade de France and Quins' Premiership clash with Leicester at Twickenham later this month, Chris Hewitt offers a special report on the booming club game. Read his thoughts in the Independent

"There is a new numbers game in town – or, to be more precise, in two cities. Before this month is behind us, events in Paris and London will prove that union at club level is booming in inverse proportion to fortunes in the Test arena.

"...Meanwhile, the game's so-called "custodians" – the council members of the Rugby Football Union and their peers in Wales and Scotland, Ireland and France, New Zealand and South Africa and Australia – look on in amazement and, increasingly, alarm. As the two major domestic leagues in world rugby, the English Premiership and French Top 14, move onwards and upwards, they fear a decisive shift in the balance of power, away from the international game."

Historic Hawick rugby club has severe problems according to David Ferguson. Writing in the Scotsman he insists there are concerns that the town that has bred more rugby internationalists than any other is dangerously papering over cracks.

"But there remains concern in the middle ground that the current malaise goes further than passion; that the leadership at Mansfield Park is not able to drive the club forward, and the warring between clubs, against a backdrop of falling numbers, is the root of the decline. Hawick has suffered like most clubs with more sporting choices, increasing technological distractions and the loss of the appeal of internationalists playing locally to aspiring players and supporters, and an exodus of talent to the central belt shop window – an inevitable result of the SRU's decision to shut the Borders."

Stephen Jones opens up both barrels on the England hierarchy's requests for eternal patience in his Rolling Maul blog for the Times

"It may be a comment on media-driven conceptions and lack of endless patience, but it is life, it is real and it has to be dealt with. While England are in this ruinous cycle of not fronting up to each and every game, while they are still harping about the future, all their coaches and hierarchy are a step closer to the chop with every defeat.

"Sad maybe, but true. If they play as abysmally in the Six Nations as they have these past four weeks, the pressure on Andrew and the coaching group will become intolerable. Out they go, in come another lot, bleating as did the previous two regimes about what a bad hand they have been dealt and why patience would be a virtue.

"If England fans have a clue what is going on, then I haven't met any. The usual bleat comes out about England being a young side with few caps. Fine, for goodness sake, pick a team with more caps and more nous then. The bleat comes out about the Guinness Premiership, and that it should be better at producing players. Andrew had the cheek to point to the RFU academy system and said that the Premiership clubs should take up the baton now that the academy has produced James Haskell and Danny Cipriani.

"Rubbish. The pair have been brought through a hard school by Wasps, by Ian McGeechan and Shaun Edwards. The system run by the RFU produces gym monkeys. If only some of the academy "products" to whom I have spoken felt able to tell Andrew exactly what they thought of the English "system", he would very quickly become disabused."

Peter Jackson, writing in the Daily Mail, sets the scene for Saturday's colourful match-up between Stade Francais and Harlequins at the Stade de France.

"They will borrow a troupe of cancan girls from the Moulin Rouge just to ensure the biggest show in Paris on Saturday goes with an extra kick. Stade Francais have done it again, transforming an almost routine European Cup pool match into a huge event by hiring the largest stadium in France for the tie against Harlequins and selling every one of the 78,000 tickets.

"The sheer size of the crowd and the breadth of the pre-match entertainment, from medieval jousting to a flight of captive eagles, will do more than reaffirm the Parisian club’s colourful president, Max Guazzini, as the sport’s supreme pioneer of pizzazz. A match sold out on prices as low as £4, backed by a seductive marketing poster featuring Big Ben and Excalibur, will reinforce Quins’ ambition to show Mad Max that they are not simply about winning the game on the field."

Yet another spin on the All Blacks' exit from RWC'07 - this time Will Greenwood, writing in the Daily Telegraph, heaps praise on Nick Evans ahead of Harlequins latest venture into Europe.

"There are various theories about when exactly the All Blacks lost the last World Cup. Everyone watching them against France will have a view on when the New Zealanders finally cracked on that remarkable October night in Cardiff 2007. I bet I disagree with every single one of you. Some will point to Luke McAlister's long-range dropped-goal attempt and the way it landed miles short and wide in the dying seconds. For others it will be the forward pass that led to Yannick Jauzion's try, or McAlister's time in the sin bin. The majority, I am sure, will point to the moment Dan Carter trudged off injured.

"They were important events, but not the turning point. For me, the moment that the All Blacks lost and the 22 South African players I was watching with in their team hotel in Marseilles realised that they had all but won the World Cup without even touching a rugby ball, was when a rather lanky looking bloke with scraggy hair pulled up lame and headed for the stands. A virtual unknown on these shores, he was injured not long after replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Carter. The man in question? Nick Evans. His long-term job has been understudy to Dan the Man, but his talent, and I am happy to state this for the record, is not too far behind the great man's."

In an interview with the BBC, openly gay referee Nigel Owens speaks details the fear he felt before taking the decision and how being gay drove him to attempt suicide as a young man.

"I was a person that I did not want to be - that's what got me down. I wanted a normal way of life, to get married and have children and stuff like that. Looking back now I could have [told parents and friends] - when I did they were all great about it - but it was in an era when it was a difficult thing to be.

"It got me down so much that I just could not cope anymore. I thought there was only one way out of this and that's foolishly what I tried to do. I got up early in the morning - left the house - left a note for my parents - and I walked and walked for ages. I landed up trying to take an overdose."

Peter Bills talks to the harshly-treated ex-England coach Brian Ashton in The Independent, and sees just how difficult his exit from the England set-up became.

"Ashton emerged with his reputation intact, his head held high. Even today, partly because he still has a role as a consultant with the RFU, he refuses to castigate those who became his executioners. Not all those painted as villains were guilty, he hastens to add.

"But whatever the motives of a few, Ashton survived the painful experience for the same reason he has emerged from many tough times in his life. He attributes that ability to move on, to shrug and be philosophical, to his up-bringing and the values instilled in him by his parents all those years ago in Lancashire.

'"They were tough times, we never had much at all," he says. "But the values my parents taught me are something I have kept all my life. I am not a person motivated by greed or money, by jealousy or bitterness. For me, life is too short for all those things."

Paul Rees, writing in the Guardian, offers his assessment of England's performances in the November internationals.

"England have never been renowned for free spirits and last month only served to show the difficulty facing Martin Johnson and his coaching team in trying to wean the men in white away from a rigidly structured game to one that encourages players to make decisions based on what they see in front of them. There were moments against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand when opportunity beckoned for England only for a wrong call or an unforced error to be made. Inexperience was highlighted as a factor, but so too was the unnatural element, to many, of what was being attempted.

"The spirit of adventure will not be enough for England. Only when they start reacting to what is unfolding in front of them without waiting for a water-bottle carrier to come on to the field bearing instructions or the half-time team-talk will they find salvation. And they can use a certain New Zealand centre as their inspiration after Ma'a left a scattering of defenders across Europe nonu-plussed."

Writing in the Telegraph, Brendan Gallagher delves back into the archives for a look at the 1908 Olympic rugby final, commemorated by the Barbarians v Australia clash at Wembley, and finds that while the result wasn't favourable for Cornwall, a good time was had by all.

"The Cornish, with no realistic prospect of victory and with such limited notice, understandably decided to make the London trip a gala occasion, a reward for their previous efforts. The travelling squad – or those in the far west – met at Penzance station on Sunday October 25 to catch the 8.25am 'London Flyer' to Paddington.

"Spirits were sky high and when they pulled into Plymouth to meet the remainder of the party it was decided to adjourn to the Royal Hotel for a not entirely teetotal lunch. The Cornish party eventually pulled into Paddington at 8.15pm and went off in search of wine, women and song.

"With no great enthusiasm they dragged themselves off to a dank White City Stadium where, already missing a couple of key players - notably their British Lions forward and star of the country final that year F S Jackson – they encountered a pumped-up Aussie side who administered the mother of all thrashings, winning 32-3 and outscoring their opponents six tries to one."

Chris Rattue warns New Zealand not to get carried away with their recent successes - read his thoughts in the New Zealand herald

"Trust the faint-hearted and faintly ridiculous in this rugby land to turn the All Blacks 2008 campaign into something that it wasn't and obliterate the disasters of 2007 in the process. Hold firm, you frantic lot, and don't let the standards drop.

"No sooner had the All Blacks dispensed with the sinking rose of England, and in some cases even before they had taken on Borthwick's Bumblers, than redemption was being bestowed upon Graham Henry with scant regard for the facts of the World Cup shambles. If climbing the world's highest peak had been as easy as winning the Hillary Shield, then Sir Edmund would have needed no more than a picnic lunch and a pair of sturdy sandshoes to haul himself into history."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills worries about the lack of options available to the 2009 Lions coaching staff following the autumn internationals.

"No-one much from Ireland or England has thrust up their hands in this autumn Test series. Likewise Scotland, scrum half Mike Blair excepted. For sure, a few Welshmen have – indeed, you can see the shape of a possible Lions Test team already emerging and Welshmen could well feature prominently.

"Lee Byrne at full-back, Shane Williams on one wing, the shrewd Tom Shanklin perhaps in midfield; maybe Stephen Jones or James Hook at outside half. Up front, Gethin Jenkins could be loose head prop, Ryan Jones, Martyn Williams and Andy Powell possible back row men.

"But with Scotland nowhere and England rebuilding this winter, I fear the Lions selectors are going to be worryingly short of real world class for this tour. You’d envisage Irishmen like Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Geordan Murphy, David Wallace and maybe Jerry Flannery finding a place somewhere. Perhaps, too, Luke Fitzgerald.

"But does this likely Lions Test side equate with 1971 – C.M.H. Gibson, Edwards and John, JPR, Gerald Davies and Duckham – or 1974, when JPR, Edwards, Bennett, McBride, JJ Williams, Cotton, Brown, Slattery, Uttley and Mervyn Davies toured? Not remotely so, in my book.

"It seems that unless something remarkable happens in the Six Nations, the Lions will fly out next May as rank underdogs against world champions South Africa, with all their experience and proven quality."

Sydney Morning Herald columnist Spiro Zavos was not impressed by England's ill-disciplined display against the All Blacks - read his thoughts on his own blog at theroar.com

"The performance of England against the All Blacks at Twickenham was one of the most disgraceful and cynical I’ve had the misfortune to watch.

"England were fearful of a hiding of Springbks proportions at the hands of the NZers who were chasing a Grand Slam. So they tried to ensure that as little rugby as possible could be played, and to test the referee to penalise them continually while he endured the pent-up, stupid wrath of the home crowd."

As the dust settles on their autumn campaign, Matt Lloyd refelects on how far Wales have come in the last 12 months. Read his thoughts in the Independent.

"In the wake of this telling victory over Australia, it is hard to believe that today marks only the first anniversary of Warren Gatland's reign in Wales.

"The turmoil of the shambolic World Cup in France, which paved the way for Gatland's appointment, appears a lifetime ago amid the jubilant scenes in Cardiff. Yet it has taken Gatland just 12 months to whip Wales into arguably the most complete team in the northern hemisphere and the biggest threat to the southern hemisphere."

Writing in The Times, Simon Barnes delivers his verdict on another disappointing day for England at Twickenham.

"We see it time and again in rugby matches: the minnows can hold out for the first half, and even for 20 minutes of the second half — but then the house falls down. Strength, speed, superior technique, better planning, deeper experience, greater resolve and higher expectation take their inevitable toll. Thus it was that England, a mere 12-6 down as the hour approached, painfully, deservedly, conceded another 20 unanswered points before the game was done.

"You don’t get away with anything in rugby. In the sport — particularly at the highest level of the game — you are doomed to finish the 80 minutes standing before the world exactly as you are. On Saturday, England showed that they are as far off the pace of elite international rugby as they are from Alpha Centauri. They were shown in this light by an All Blacks side slipping below their best after a long and brilliant tour, in which the kicker, Dan Carter, for once couldn’t hit a barn from the inside."