Northampton fullback Ben Foden seems nailed down for World Cup but first Saints have his full backing. The Independent on Sunday's Hugh Godwin writes.

"For now, it is all speculation and reflection. Foden, though possessing only six caps as something of a slow burner at the age of 25, has performed with such persuasive brio in his second coming as an international this year – he played one Test as a substitute at the start of the 2009 Six Nations – that a World Cup place 12 months from now appears nailed on.

"He speaks about the tournament being "11 internationals round the corner" with no thought that he might not make it. His try in the final Six Nations match in France last spring, and those by his clubmate Chris Ashton and Leicester's 20-year-old scrum-half Ben Youngs in the 21-20 defeat of Australia on the summer tour, have boosted England and their followers."

The directives given to referees should lead to a Premiership campaign of running rugby capturing the expressive mood of the times, according to Paul Rees in The Observer.

"The Indian summer that brightened September 2009 did not encourage ambition at the start of the last Premiership season. Teams were unnerved by refereeing interpretations at the breakdown that gave defenders more time to compete for the ball, so they resorted to kicking. Games became a series of punt returns, crowds booed and, eventually, a kick-it-out campaign prompted a more relaxed approach.

"Who dares sins became yesterday's motto. Leicester, who started the season with five tries in their opening eight league matches, and Saracens, whose outside backs managed six tries in their first 16 Premiership encounters, competed in arguably the most enterprising Premiership final to date, the boldness of Sarries suppressed at the last by the Tigers' insatiable drive for success.

"As the new season looms, referees have been given another breakdown directive. Defenders will now command attention but the evidence of the Tri-Nations suggests those who go off their feet or enter a ruck from the side will be the targets. Breakaways such as Richie McCaw and David Pocock, who arrive quickly after a tackle and generally remain off their knees, force turnovers and ensure attackers, are not guaranteed possession."

Nathan Sharpe will look to spoil Victor Matfield's day in Pretoria this afternoon © Getty Images

Dropped from the Wallabies by Robbie Deans two years ago, Nathan Sharpe has worked hard to get back to the stage where he aims to ruin Victor Matfield's 100th cap, according to Greg Growden at Rugby Heaven.

"Everyone needs a jolt now and then. Nathan Sharpe received his two years ago, and it transformed his international career.

"On Saturday night, the Wallabies' most experienced player will attempt to dampen the celebrations surrounding his opponent - Springboks second-rower Victor Matfield - who, on his home territory of Loftus Versfeld, will be running out for his 100th Test. Sharpe's aim is not only to undermine Matfield and the rest of the Springboks, but to provide the leadership required to make the Wallabies a viable Tri Nations and World Cup force again.

"That Sharpe is in a position to exert his influence on such a high-profile match is noteworthy given that, not so long ago, he was on the outer. Shortly after Robbie Deans took over as Wallabies coach in 2008, Sharpe was a casualty of cruising along for a little too long. He was cut from the Tri Nations squad, and he took it hard. A regular gig had been snatched away from him, and that devastated Sharpe for a time. However, to his credit, the 32-year-old took the hint, worked on his overall game and attitude, and within a few weeks was back in the squad - highly motivated. Since then, he has been a standout. This season, he might not have appreciated it at the time, but Sharpe believes the 2008 demotion was the stimulation he needed to revive his career."

The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley finds the Welsh clubs in bullish form ahead of the new Magners League season.

"Welcome to another season then, or as the Magners League perhaps ought to put it, ‘Benvenuto’. As the League enters its tenth year, expansion is the theme, the advent of two new Italian sides broadening the league’s Celtic remit. Cue more games (42 of them to be exact), more matches on free-to-air television, more travel, more expenses and more demands. More than ever before, it would seem, only the strongest will survive.

"There were signs last season that there has been a shifting of the sands anyway. The bookies, as they did a year ago, have established an elite quartet whom they place as firm favourites to reach the top four. Glasgow elbowed their way into that select group, but unlike a year ago, it is the two powerful Welsh regions, the Ospreys and the Cardiff Blues, rather than Leinster and Munster, who are hogging the silverware, courtesy of their respective Magners League and Amlin Challenge Cup successes.

"The Welsh, as is their wont, are not innately modest when it comes to their exploits on rugby fields, and the Cardiff coach Dai Young was quite chipper on their behalf earlier in the week. “I think the Welsh challenge will be a strong one. If you look around then all of us have improved our squads on last year. So I think we will be major challengers again.”

Wynne Gray pays tribute to Victor Matfield who wins his 100th cap this afternoon, in The New Zealand Herald.

"A few years ago, Victor Matfield joined the south of France brigade.

"He slipped off to Toulon where he lived in a magnificent seaside villa, played his rugby for the local team and enjoyed the wealthy trappings created by his sporting gifts. It was looming as a pleasant way to wind down his career. Yet tomorrow, Matfield will lead the Springboks out on to his favourite Loftus Versfeld arena in Pretoria, the third player to reach 100 tests for his country and hoping to be the first to celebrate the milestone with a victory.

"Matfield is 33 now and his powers may be dwindling but he is still a remarkable forward. He is the best lineout forward of the modern era, a man revered by rivals and teammates, a strategist who spends days poring through details, television footage and ideas about his kingdom. He could be the target, he could be the dummy leaper or a lifter. Matfield makes the calls on instinct and what he sees in front of him."

Writing in The Star, Jacques van der Westhuyzen believes the stakes are high this afternoon at Loftus and reckons it is all about conditioning for the Springboks.

"There is a general consensus Peter de Villiers' men played their "final" against the All Blacks last weekend and while the Boks gave a good account of themselves, their mammoth first half effort cost them in the latter stages. They were out on their feet after going toe-to-toe with the best attacking team in the competition, and a few minor errors finally allowed the All Blacks to sneak in at the death.

"The Boks were a beaten bunch - physically and mentally - and now they're being asked to reproduce that performance to prevent a fifth successive defeat in this year's Tri-Nations competition. The pressure is enormous, not only to snap the losing streak, but for many in the squad to ensure they have a future beyond next weekend, when they clash again with the Wallabies in Bloemfontein.

"Two further defeats could mean the end of De Villiers - and that may also mean the end of Smit and a few others. It was hardly surprising after last week's match that All Blacks coach Graham Henry praised his conditioning staff for getting the best out of the players. And if the Boks think the Wallabies will run out of puff simply because they're playing on the Highveld, at a venue where they've never won before, they'd be very wrong."

Performances for Cardiff, Wales and the Lions mean Martyn Williams has earned his testimonial © Getty Images

Martyn Williams is set to enjoy his testimonial this evening and writing in The Western Mail, Delme Parfitt pays tribute to the Wales openside.

"As unlikely as this may seem, there have been periods of Martyn Williams’ Wales career when he has had to be content with a substitute’s role. During one of these, under the reign of Steve Hansen, Williams, much to his chagrin, was compared to David Fairclough the old Liverpool striker famously christened “supersub” for his exploits off the bench in the Reds’ glory years of the late 1970s and early ’80s. Both had ginger hair, both usually changed the course of games after the coach gave them the nod to get stripped, both were no-frills fans’ favourites, appreciated for their willingness to spill blood and sweat in equal measure for the cause.

"Yet the Fairclough comparison could never truly get close to doing Williams justice. Instead, if you want to draw parallels with the Lions flanker and past Anfield players, try Kenny Dalglish – he wasn’t a bad No 7 either. People like Dalglish inhabit that upper echelon of players from these shores ever to have crossed the white line, footballing royalty if you like. Williams is the rugby equivalent, not just from a Welsh point of view either, but a British one too."

Writing in The Irish Independent, Hugh Farrelly expresses concern at the continuing injury woes for Ireland's Keith Earls.

"Earls cannot compete with the leviathans of the game. By normal standards, the Moyross man, at 5ft 11ins and 14 stone, is not small but, in rugby terms, he is slight and it makes him vulnerable, particularly as he is not a player to shirk from any physical challenge.

"With the load going through my body, the (groin) injury was bound to come," said Earls last month. "The physios are telling me that my body is not fully developed yet, my pelvis and core are still developing and my body is not quite strong enough yet for the workload I have been going through."

"There are plenty of examples of prodigiously talented players whose careers were bedevilled by injury. Ireland flanker Eric Miller won 48 caps between 1997 and 2005 and would have won many more -- including Test starts for the Lions -- but for consistent injury problems. Jonny Wilkinson was unavailable to play for England for 1,169 days after steering them to the World Cup in 2003 as he reeled from a succession of blows to his knee, arm, shoulder and kidney.

"It should be the fervent hope of everyone with a vested interest in Irish rugby that Earls' career does not continue to be characterised by time on the treatment table and that this gifted young player is afforded a sustained run of fitness. It starts with a scan on Monday."

Writing in The Telegraph, Brian Moore argues that Dr. Wendy Chapman should not lose her licence over her role in one of the biggest controversies in rugby history.

"Having revisited most of the media’s coverage of last year’s Bloodgate affair it is not an exaggeration to say that some of the comment bordered on the hysterical.

"It was an opportunity to deliver a good kicking to rugby and, seen in hindsight, the speed with which opprobrium poured forth is frankly distasteful.

"For some of the participants the matter is history, but not for one of the central, yet least willing, characters.

"The two-week hearing by the General Medical Council into the actions of Dr Wendy Chapman began on Monday; she has been suspended since news of the affair broke over a year ago, most of it without pay, and is recovering from breast cancer surgery."

Ahead of the new Magners League season, Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times talks to Aironi Rugby captain Josh Sole about the ambitious plans of the new Italian franchises.

"The biggest unknown quantity by far in the coming Magners League will be Aironi Rugby. Whereas Benetton Treviso have retained much of their old identity as one of the two new super franchises in Italian rugby, Aironi are much more of a new entity and have thus tapped into the rest of Italian rugby.

"The new club will be based in Viadana, in the region of Lombardy, and Viadana remain the largest shareholders in Aironi as well as being the bulk suppliers of the new squad.

"As for Viadana themselves in this brave new world of Italian rugby, they will no longer compete as a professional club. The senior and under-20 teams have merged with GranDucato Parma Rugby, and the club will continue as an independent at under-age level as well as one senior amateur team, thereby acting as a feeder for Parma and ultimately Aironi and the Italian national set-up."

Connacht wing Fionn Carr © Getty Images

Hugh Farrelly looks at Irish rugby's perennial problem, the continuing development of Connacht, in The Irish Independent.

"New season, same old problem: what do we do with Connacht? Black sheep, Cinderella province, Prodigal son -- the hackneyed descriptions have been constant companions for more than 10 years and seem destined to remain so, with optimism out west continuing to be rooted more in hope than expectation.

"Michael Bradley put in a seven-year shift as Connacht coach which did not receive the credit it deserved and his successor Eric Elwood is now getting to grips with the realities of a daunting challenge, with the on-pitch aspect kicking off against the Dragons at home on Saturday week.

"He expects to be without six front-liners through injury -- notably captain John Muldoon, who broke his arm on Ireland's summer tour -- and aside from No 8 Ezra Taylor, scrum-half Cillian Willis and a handful of promising All-Ireland League recruits, Elwood is working with the same raw materials that saw Connacht finish four points adrift at the bottom of the Magners League table last season."

Canterbury coach Rob Penney lets fly after his side's surprise ITM Cup defeat to Tasman in The Press.

" For the teams that make the final, the NPC is a 15-week competition.That demands a pretty robust campaign and I'd like to think we work our guys in a manner that allows them to be excited and refreshed by the end of each week.

"That's what was so disappointing about our performance against Tasman on Saturday. We had a really good, managed preparation but not only did the players let themselves down, first and foremost, but they let the wider group down too.

"That's the guys who couldn't play, the management and ultimately red-and-black country – the people that get in behind them and support them. That was a really un-Canterbury performance."

Zelim Nel throws the spotlight on the Springboks' conditioning as they prepare to face the Wallabies in The Cape Argus.

"The Wallabies are banking on superior conditioning to lift them to their first win on the Highveld in almost 50 years when they square up against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.

"Australia have never won in Pretoria and, in 37 matches played in South Africa, they have only beaten the Boks eight times. Six of those wins came at coastal venues, while the most recent Highveld victory - dating back to Johannesburg in 1963 - came three decades after Australia's first such win in Bloemfontein in 1933."

Chris Rattue has compiled a list of ways that New Zealand can win the Rugby World Cup in 2011 in The New Zealand Herald.

"The Tri-Nations trophy (does anyone actually know what this looks like?) is back in the cupboard, and all is well in Rugbyland.

"Next assignment. Eeeeek - the World Cup.Okay, so we're skipping a few things here, like another of those (yawn) magnificent trips to Europe, where the Scary Scots and Welsh Wizards lie in wait.

"Not that they need the help right now, but here are a few suggestions for the All Blacks to amp up the campaign to become world champs, and so put this nation out of a dreadful misery."

Premier Rugby's Mark McCafferty believes rugby is in good health © Getty Images

Robert Kitson is excited by the beginning of the new season - and by the apparent upturn in rugby's collective fortune - in The Guardian.

"If you happen to be abroad on holiday, consider extending your stay. The economy's stuffed, the weather forecast is rubbish, the Stig has been outed and that lovely Joey Barton has been treating us to his (alleged) Hitler-themed humour. Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson have jumped the shark as Match of the Day pundits and the authorities are even struggling to fill Lord's for Thursday's final Test. We can only hope Fifa's 2018 World Cup fact-finding delegation enjoy a pint of Boddingtons and don't study the papers too closely.

"So where is the good news in this cultural wasteland? Strangely there is some, although you will not have read a word about it lately. Step forward the newly upbeat sport of rugby union, all buffed and braced for the start of the domestic season next week. Speaking to a variety of influential figures, there is a rare sense of purpose and unity as the game enters its 16th year of professionalism. Maturity appears to have struck, in contrast to the adolescent off-field squabbling of yesteryear."

Spiro Zavos believes that the Wallabies can kick the Springboks while they are down this weekend in Bloemfontein in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Some New Zealand newspapers carried the remarkable photograph of Ma'a Nonu bursting through the Springboks defence to set up the All Blacks' last try in their thrilling 29-22 victory in Johannesburg. Remarkable because Nonu is running with one of his boots left in the despairing grasp of John Smit. There is a metaphor here. The Springboks were given the order of the boot by the All Blacks, who scored their first victory in Johannesburg since 1992, and their first ever Tri Nations win there.

"Despite the closeness of the scoreline and the fact that the All Blacks scored 12 points in the last five minutes of play, the home side was really thrashed all over the field. The Springboks scrum was under pressure most of the game, even though it won a penalty when Smit went up early. The famed lineout dominance has gone with penalties conceded for crooked throws and taking too long to throw in. The All Blacks missed five chances of scoring tries and scored three while the Springboks took their only chance which came from a couple of barging runs near the try line following a tap kick."

Richie McCaw celebrates his late try against South Africa © Getty Images

Gavin Rich is rapidly losing patience with the denial emanating from the Springbok camp after another defeat on Supersport.

"If the Springboks are going to be in with any chance of retaining the World Cup next year, the current trend of living in denial is going to have to be brought to an immediate halt.

"When the team was in Australasia, four yellow cards in three matches was not considered enough reason to believe the team had a discipline problem. The Boks lost all three matches overseas by double figure margins, and yet when the Springbok coach was asked about it, he never came out with any kind of comment suggesting he acknowledged that there was a problem much less had any idea of how to fix it.

“When I watch the game again on video I cannot understand how we lost”, was not confidence inspiring stuff.

"When the Boks returned home all we heard from the coach and his assistants was that there were small things that had gone wrong on tour and that no radical change of approach was necessary. All it required, or so they said, was a few minor adjustments and that it was complacency that had tripped the team up in the away matches against New Zealand and Australia."

Peter Bills hails the All Blacks' gameplan as the deciding factor in their Tri-Nations triumph in The Irish Independent.

"So, did the All Blacks get out of jail in Johannesburg? Behind for 77 minutes of a compelling Test match and at times smashed back by the Springboks' immense physicality and terrific defence, were they lucky to turn the game on its head with two tries in the last three minutes?

"Not in my book. This match wasn't won in front of 94,000 delirious South African fans who thought they had the old Kiwi skewered and on the braai midway through the second half when the Boks led 22-14.

"It was won last year in the northern hemisphere and earlier this year when the Tri Nations began. As someone once said, you triumphed the moment you decided to become someone."

Chris Rattue hails the performance of New Zealand after they wrapped up the Tri-Nations title in Soweto, and he wasn't at all impressed with the Springboks, in The New Zealand Herald.

"Rugby has rarely been better to watch, if ever, and this re-built All Black team is already among the best ever.

"The All Blacks were magnificent, nullifying South Africa's famed home advantage and finishing them off with two late tries that should rank high in any memory that can cope with the cluttered modern day test schedule. As for the Springboks, they are in even bigger trouble than we thought.

"If that's the best the world champs can come up with in a home colosseum while celebrating John Smit's century of tests, then they are indeed one large tank skidding out of control down one very steep hill."

Are the All Blacks in a class of their own? © Getty Images

Marc Hinton hails the All Blacks' Tri-Nations victory and their emergence as one of the great sides on stuff.co.nz.

" Does it get any better? The Springbok sweep is completed, but more to the point the All Blacks have shown in Soweto overnight that they are on course to go down as one of the great sides of this generation.

"Their 29-22 victory over the Springboks achieved all sorts of landmarks - their 10th Tri-Nations title in 15 years, their 14th straight test victory in a run that shows no sign of abating and, importantly, their third win in as many outings against the Boks in 2010.

"The horrors of 2009 are now not only avenged, they're a distant memory. The Springboks have been swept, now just the Australians await. Surely the wobbling Wallabies are just another statistic waiting to be hoovered up by this hungry side of Graham Henry's."

Iain Morrison predicts a difficult season for Glasgow Warriors in The Scotsman.

”The members of the press were given a guided tour of the Glasgow Warriors' swanky new training facilities last week. Sean Lineen's team are the principal tenants at Scotstoun Stadium, a venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where they have access to a high-tech weights room, an indoor running track, an artificial 3G pitch outdoors and another covered with the more traditional grass.

“It's an impressive place and the only hiccup on the day was an aging runner doing agonisingly slow laps of the brand new track and gasping as though his next step would be his last. Any allusions to the Warriors running out of puff may be all too appropriate.

“Last season was a good one. Glasgow reached the Magners League's inaugural play-offs and had the Celtic League disciplinary board boasted a backbone they would have had home advantage into the bargain. Instead the league officials docked points from the Ospreys this coming season for a misdemeanour committed last March.”

Kevin McCallum reflects on a cruel loss for Springbok legend John Smit in his 100th Test match in The Tribune.

"John Smit dropped to one knee exhausted and disbelieving as referee Nigel Owens blew the whistle to bring an end to a match that was so close to being the ultimate 100th anniversary party for the Springbok captain.

"A last-minute try by Israel Dagg gave the All Blacks a 29-22 win, wrapping up yet another Vodacom Tri-nations series win, but it was cruel on a Springbok team that had scrapped every inch of the way, fading in the last quarter.

"It was cruel on Smit, who has been an immense statesman for his country. Even his opposite number, Richie McCaw, who also scored a try a try three minutes from time to put the All Blacks level, felt it was harsh."

Adam Freier has an apology for the rugby league ranks, and a plea to leave Quade Cooper alone, in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Dear Mr Rugby League,

"First let me start by saying that we are extremely proud of rugby union's NRL recruits in the past five years, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and the recently retired Matty Rogers, who have all brought much colour and flair to the game of rugby.

"I have had the honour of playing with them all, and will one day be able to tell my kids so. They were all highly respected as well as very liked among the playing group and our rugby fans. Rugby league's loss was rugby's gain, without a doubt.

"But, in a timely statement as Julia and Tony battle in the polls, I would like to express to you, in recruiting your NRL stars: ''I am sorry.''

Sean Fitzpatrick maintains that the All Blacks and Springboks need each other, despite the recent SANZAR wrangling, in The New Zealand Herald.

"My response to the Springboks pulling out of Sanzar is - don't do it. The All Blacks and the Springboks need each other, perhaps more than either would like to admit.

"In my view, it's still the best rivalry in world rugby. I have magical memories from my youth of sitting in front of the TV with my family in the dead of night, tingling with excitement at the prospect of watching the All Blacks take on the auld enemy.

"My heroes the All Blacks, playing South Africa on the TV in the wee small hours of the morning - pure rugby heaven for a young lad. Playing the Boks has always been the ultimate challenge for any All Black and that remains the case. Playing them in New Zealand is a tough proposition, but fronting up in South Africa is another level altogether."

Peter de Villiers has much to ponder ahead of this afternoon's clash with the All Blacks © Getty Images

The Springboks must adapt their game if they are to keep their place at the top table according to The New Zealand Herald's Mike Greenaway.

"Compounding the Boks' problems has been the removal of the two key proponents of their kicking game, the excellent halfback Fourie du Preez (injury) and fullback Francois Steyn (moved to France), while injury has also denied them their brilliant ball-stealing flanker, Heinrich Brussow.

"The loss of those players aside, a year out from a World Cup, it is a big ask to reinvent your playing style. And while the Boks maintain their suit must be cut according to their cloth, the evolving application of the laws has put a spin on matters and there is an argument that the Boks are burying their heads in the sand. Another analogy is that it is difficult to teach old dogs new tricks.

"The core of the Springbok team is around 30. They have won a World Cup and two Tri-Nations titles and beaten the Lions, and now, in the twilight of their careers they are supposed to change the way they play? It is not going to happen."

The Western Mail's Carolyn Hitt speaks to Wales international Gemma Hallett about her reasons for playing rugby.

"Welsh women’s rugby international Gemma Hallett took up the game because of her grandmother. The Pontypridd-born lock relishes family stories of her “nan screaming and yelling at the television, too nervous to sit, too anxious to stand still during the halcyon days of the ’70s. I grew up determined to make my nan proud of my own rugby exploits,” she says.

"When Gemma’s nan was shouting at men in sideboards she couldn’t have dreamed her granddaughter would be part of a Welsh rugby team playing in the World Cup that kicked off yesterday. Welsh women did actually play rugby in the 1970s but there was no formal infrastructure until the formation of the Women’s Rugby Football Union in 1983. The union looked after women’s rugby in all four home nations, which then consisted of just 12 teams."

The Irish Independent's Peter Bills reckons Springbok coach Peter de Villiers will be feeling the heat in Soweto this afternoon.

"As one newspaper headline this week put it 'the wind of revolt' is blowing around South African rugby. No one is more determined to fan those flames than the All Blacks.

"You would need a psychologist, not a rugby observer, to dissect the meaning of all these disparate elements. New Zealand have won all four of their Tri Nations matches this season and stand just a single point away from regaining the trophy from South Africa's grasp. Even defeat, by seven points or less, or the scoring of four tries in a loss, would be sufficient to send the trophy back to New Zealand with the All Blacks tomorrow.

"But these revived New Zealanders are not thinking about a defeat. With a full wind in their sails, which they hope will blow them all the way to the World Cup in 13 months' time, Graham Henry's All Blacks have played some sublime rugby. Confidence, like their try scoring, is at lofty levels."

Paul O'Connell spoke to The Irish Examiner's Charlie Mulqueen about his long road to recovery from his groin infection.

"The Munster and Lions captain has been sidelined since March due to a mysterious bone infection in the groin area that defied the best efforts of the medics to diagnose and treat. The problem was eventually identified and thus began a lengthy treatment process which kept O’Connell wrapped in cotton wool for much of the summer. But over the last five weeks the Limerick man has made huge strides, to the delight of provincial and national management and fans alike. Understandably after a season of setbacks, he isn’t announcing return dates just yet.

"O’Connell said: "Once we got rid of the infection, things started improving. I have a scan every two weeks and it shows the bone healing. Once the bone heals, I can get back doing most stuff. But then I have to get a pre-season into me.

"I’ve been back doing weights now for five weeks. Prior to that I’d been on antibiotics for a long time and wasn’t able to do that. It’s nice to be back training again even if I’m not doing all the stuff on the pitch that the lads are doing. It’s nice to be working hard in the gym, you feel like you’re earning your wages!

"I’m off all the treatment now but I’ve tried to avoid setting targets for my return. The injury is so unusual that I could make great gains but all of a sudden things could slow down. The improvements over the last two or three weeks have been good and I hope that continues. But I have no doubt there are going to be one or two hiccups along the way. It’s frustrating enough as it is without targeting a game and missing it."

With Springbok captain John Smit set to make his 100th appearance in Test rugby in Saturday's Tri-Nations clash with the All Blacks, Peter Bills of the New Zealand Herald takes time out to pay tribute to the veteran hooker.

"They're warriors, truly special men, these front row forwards. And few in recent times have been greater, more dedicated battlers than John Smit, captain of South Africa who plays his 100th test when he faces the All Blacks in Johannesburg tomorrow.

"The hooker is the focal point of the pack. He leads the charge of bodies. These days there are, on average, 20 scrums in a match. In times gone by there were far more. Then there are the daily practice sessions where these men hone their technique.

"Perhaps 100 scrums or more in a week? If a season lasts more than 40 weeks, and they play up to 30 games in that time - you can do the sums."

England's Emily Scarratt is set to be one of the face of the Women's Rugby World Cup © Getty Images

As the Women's Rugby World Cup makes its live television debut, England's centre tells The Independent's Robin Scott-Elliot about life in a man's game.

"Emily Scarratt had an easy morning yesterday, a late breakfast with her flatmates followed by some welcome downtime. But it could do nothing to still the excitement bubbling around the compact apartment she shares with a couple of her team-mates.

"We have been looking forward to this all summer," says Scarratt, a 20-year-old who juggles her studies with being one of the world's most promising female rugby players. "I am so excited about what could happen."

"On Tuesday Scarratt and the other 25 members of the England women's squad moved into their temporary home for – if everything goes according to plan – just under three weeks. They are occupying a block in the Surrey Sports Park on the edge of Guildford. Next door are the Canadians and the next one along holds the US. All 12 teams competing for the World Cup, from the All Blacks to Kazakhstan, are based in what is usually student accommodation; a far cry from what their male counterparts are used to when they gather to contest the game's greatest prize."

Paul O'Connell will again captain Munster for the coming season but is unlikely to be back on the playing field until December. The Irish Times Ian Bransfield reports.

"The 30-year-old lock has been sidelined since picking up a groin infection last March, and though able to participate in light training, he admits he is almost certain to miss out on Munster’s opening Heineken Cup exchanges as well as Ireland’s autumn international series.

"O’Connell was in Limerick yesterday as Toyota announced the extension of their partnership with Munster, a deal worth €5.75 million over the next three years.

"And the Limerickman has resigned himself to spending another three months on the sidelines. “I’ll be setting my sights around December, and anything else would be a bonus,” said O’Connell. “I went back running 10 days ago, and I’ve had no problems. I need to go about 12 weeks from when I stopped the antibiotics and get back into the heavy stuff, so I’m about eight and a half weeks into that now. It’s flying along at the moment. It was really slow at the start, but it’s getting quicker now and going very well.”

There have been mixed reactions to the SRU's agreement to pursue a new league split for the next two seasons, the The Scotsman's David Ferguson reports.

"Currie's Ally Donaldson admitted this week that he would like to see it go further into end-of-season play-offs among the top four, like virtually every major rugby competition nationwide, and he has strong backing from coaches across Premier One. But where in the past decisions over changes to the season or league structures were invariably debated and decided upon by club administrators, the significant difference this time around is that the change has come from the coaching brains.

"Some club administrators have proven themselves great revolutionaries and forward-thinkers, but too many others found it easier to stifle progress because it did not suit their club at that time. Hence, the great impasse in trying to move club rugby in Scotland forward."

Gavin Henson could be ready for a stunning move across the Severn Bridge to revive his rugby career, the Western Mail reports.

"Sources in London say the double Grand Slam-winning centre is wanted by one of the leading clubs in England. Wasps and Harlequins could be amongst the Aviva Premiership giants interested in landing the box-office star of the Welsh game. But others could also be put on alert after Henson recently revealed he might need a new challenge away from the Ospreys.

"Henson has not played for the star-studded Welsh region since limping off injured in an EDF Cup semi-final defeat against Gloucester in March 2009 and the 28-year-old has not been included as a squad member on their website for the 2010-11 season.

"It is understood the Ospreys are aware bosses at a giant of the English game are trailing Henson, but point out he has still a year to go on his contract at the Liberty Stadium. Asked about Henson’s future yesterday, Ospreys elite performance director Andrew Hore maintained that if the player returned to action it would have to be with them."

One difference between the men's and women's Rugby World Cups is that New Zealand do well in the latter, according the Guardian's Paul Rees.

"The Black Ferns are overwhelming favourites to win this year's tournament, which starts in Guildford tomorrow, even though they have played a mere six matches since winning the trophy in 2006.

"The All Blacks have won the men's World Cup only once, in 1987, but the Black Ferns are looking for a fourth successive triumph. Their main rivals are England, beaten finalists in the last two tournaments who at Twickenham last season became the first side to defeat New Zealand for nine years.

"The women's game is amateur and players have to make sacrifices. The England captain, Catherine Spencer, who was born on the same day as Jonny Wilkinson, gave up her job as an office manager at a sport centre near Bristol to concentrate on the World Cup. "We call them choices rather than sacrifices," Spencer says. "It is what we choose to be the best players we can be. If that means not having a social life and having to wake up early to get the training in, that is what we will do."

Referee Craig Joubert shows Australia's Drew Mitchell a red card in this year's Tri-Nations © Getty Images

Statistics from the first five games of this year's Tri-Nations competition show a difference in the ratio of penalties per yellow card. The New Zealand Herald reports.

"It's official.

"The All Blacks are treated differently by referees from either of their Tri-Nations opponents.

"The statistics from the first five games of this year's competition show a staggering difference in the ratio of penalties per yellow card. Suspicions are rife in South African rugby that the All Blacks get a special deal, are favoured whether subconsciously or consciously by referees.

"Now, the figures seem to prove the point. South Africa are the most regularly penalised, conceding six penalties per yellow card. The Australians' figure is remarkably similar - just seven a card.

"But by the same calculations, the New Zealand tally is incredible. Official figures show they incur 43 penalties a yellow card, more than seven times the figure of the Springboks."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills heaps praise on Springboks hooker John Smit on the eve of his 100th Test cap.

"On YouTube there is a short sequence where New Zealand's giant 1.95m, 115kg lock-forward Brad Thorn catches the ball and starts to run forward. In the blink of an eye, this huge man is suddenly hurled backwards. Springbok captain and hooker John Smit has hit him so hard in a tackle most of the air in the two men's lungs has been sucked out by the impact.

"Smit, who has been playing top-class rugby since the last years of the last century, has subjected his body to gruelling physical torture. Hence our respect for a man who, this Saturday in Johannesburg, will win his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, 74 as captain, which is a world record.

"Smit becomes just the second South African to win 100 caps after Percy Montgomery. But the latter was a full-back, far removed from the constant physical excesses of Smit's role. Never in the course of those 100 caps has he taken a backward step. The punishment he has willingly inflicted upon his body is unimaginable to most human beings."

Leinster under Josef Schmidt is an appreciably different environment to that of the previous coach, Michael Cheika, according to the Irish Times.

"New Zealander Schmidt will begin his reign on Friday night at Donnybrook with a friendly against Wasps. He has named a relatively youthful squad bolstered by a couple of marquee names returning from injury in Luke Fitzgerald and Seán O’Brien, amongst others, but even for those now just training and not playing the coach has already made a positive impression.

Jennings elaborated on one aspect. “I think Michael (Cheika) was quite an intense character, who worked very, very hard and nearly ran the place like a business: he had a business background and that’s the way he was, whereas Joe is probably a bit calmer from first impressions.

“In talking to Isa (Nacewa, who Schmidt coached at Auckland Blues) he just massively loves the game more than everything else and that comes across in training when he’s running around the whole time, reffing games and playing games."

Springboks vice-captain Victor Matfield has accused the All Blacks of dodgy tactics ahead of Saturday's Tri-Nations rugby test in Soweto. The Sydney Morning Herald's David Long reports.

"In South Africa's first media conference of any substance Matfield accused the All Blacks of jumping the gun at lineouts.

The 98-test veteran believes in the two tests against the All Blacks this year, the ball was thrown into the lineout too soon and he has put the onus on Welsh referee Nigel Owens to stamp out this practice.

"It's one area where we would like to put them under pressure. If we can just get them to form the lineout and don't throw it quickly in," Matfield said.

"Firstly it's our aim to stop them throwing it in without us getting there.

"If we can get that hopefully we can put some pressure on their lineout."

It's a tactic that hasn't been mentioned before but it's obviously something the Springboks have spent time looking at over their three weeks of down time."

The Australian Rugby Union has intensified its campaign to retain Quade Cooper, the Sydney Morning Herald's Greg Growden writes.

"[ARU chief executive] John O'Neill and ARU contract negotiator Peter Friend met Cooper and his manager, Richard Colreavy, for an hour at the ARU offices in St Leonards. At the meeting, the ARU presented its case to Cooper as to why it wants him to ignore an offer from NRL club Parramatta, worth $850,000 a season, and instead become a focal point of the Wallabies' World Cup campaign next year.

"The ARU is considering increasing its base offer - which before Test match payments is about $360,000 a season - following Cooper's request that he be offered a similar contract to Australian rugby's highest-paid player, Matt Giteau, whose annual salary is understood to be in the vicinity of $700,000 to $800,000."

The Welsh Rugby Union is close to resurrecting the Wales A team as a stepping stone towards full international level. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"WRU boss Roger Lewis revealed the money is in the kitty to bring back the country’s second string. The 'A' side, which had won European Grand Slams, was controversially scrapped by then WRU group chief executive David Moffett in January 2003 on cost-cutting grounds.

"It was one of a number of swingeing cuts, including redundancies, made by the then cash-strapped organisation in an effort to bring spending under control.

"But the WRU is today on a firmer financial footing, having increased its revenue streams and reduced its multi-million pound debt significantly. Lewis said talks are taking place with Wales coach Warren Gatland and development chief Joe Lydon about bringing Wales A back into being."

Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper is the subject of a tug-of-war between the rugby codes © Getty Images

Writing in The Age, Spiro Zavos insists it's time for star No.10 Quade Cooper to tackle nagging issue and commit to the Australian rugby union cause.

"It used to be called the Jonah Lomu ploy. Now it has become the Quade Cooper ploy. Rugby league clubs having a bad trot would announce that they were negotiating with Lomu to play for them. Season ticket sales would pick up, allowing the embattled chief executive to survive for another season. To his credit, Lomu would vigorously deny any interest in switching codes, a reaction that eventually killed off further stunts. For the past few days I have been waiting for Cooper to do the same thing about the offer from Parramatta.

"It's all very well blaming managers for setting up a bidding war between the codes. Cooper has been the recipient of a huge monetary investment from the ARU. With a World Cup coming up, he owes rugby an unequivocal statement that his loyalty to the Wallabies jersey is set in concrete for next season. There has been a great deal of talk about how Cooper's passing game would glitter on a rugby league field as it has for the Reds and the Wallabies this season. And this is right. But league, essentially, is a tackling game. The player with one of the worst tackling records in the Super 14 this season was … Quade Cooper."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Grey thinks that South African should think long and hard before considering cutting their ties with their southern hemsiphere cousins.

"You wonder what P Divvy thinks about Saru's idea, as espoused by Marais, that South Africa will bail out of Super rugby. Where will they go? Will they be content to stay with the Currie Cup and tests matches?

"Heading north seems unlikely. A Seven Nations series would dilute some of the emotional content in that series, while the Heineken Cup, Guinness Premiership, Magner's League, Top 14, the West Harrogate Workingman's championship or the Brass Monkey's Cup are congested enough already.

"Besides, what would P Divvy make of referees in that part of the globe having a regular influence on South African sides? Goodness knows, but anyone who comes out with comments like: "I'm a God-given talent, I'm the best I can ever be. So what you think doesn't bother me. I know what I am and I don't give a damn," has got to be good for the opposition."

South Africa's conditioning coach Neels Liebel says he has facts to show northern hemisphere rugby was slower than the game played in the southern hemisphere. The Irish Times reports.

"Liebel said the new global positioning system (GPS) the Springboks are using to track the movement of players during games and training had proved those based in Europe were behind the pace of locally-based internationals.

Coach de Villiers has fielded five European-based players this season - props CJ van der Linde (formerly of Leinster) and BJ Botha (Ulster), number eight Joe van Niekerk (Toulon), fullback Francois Steyn (Racing Metro) and outhalf Butch James (Bath).

"This GPS system allows us to do very close monitoring of the players, the distance they run, the pace they are running, and for guys like BJ and CJ, their clubs are also on the system and they have sent us all their data," Liebel said.

"From all this we have seen the players from overseas are playing at about half the intensity of the Super 14 in terms of the speed they play at. It's a slower game there and players from there struggle to keep up with the pace."

The Springboks are not fat, unfit and slow. And the team’s captain, John Smit, does not weigh more than in previous years. That's the message coming out of the Boks' camp according to Sport 24's JJ Harmse.

"Smit and the rest of the team are playing with 16% more intensity than was the case when the season kicked off against Wales a little over two months ago.

"That was the reaction on Monday from Bok conditioning coach Neels Liebel to recent criticism about the team’s fitness levels and conditioning. He said there was a plan in place to ensure that senior Boks still have enough gas in the tank when next year’s World Cup is played in New Zealand.

“The players are monitored on a daily basis. We acquired new conditioning equipment this year that works with satellite navigation and it shows us exactly how much players run and when they need to be rested. It is being done scientifically and it’s not a matter of guessing. We have a plan and are sticking to it,” Liebel said in a swipe at critics such as sports scientist Professor Tim Noakes."

The professional players clubs have chosen to augment their squads this season were revealed by the SRU yesterday and again the 'draft' has shown coaches to be shrewd in their estimation of which leading lights might be available, The Scotsman's David Ferguson writes.

"Melrose coach Craig Chalmers has signed up two of Edinburgh's stand-offs, Phil Godman and Alex Blair, the former Edinburgh Accies youngster who has joined Edinburgh full-time and who worked under Chalmers with the Scotland under-20s last season. The Greenyards coach is hopeful that Blair may be available this term as he vies with Godman, his brother David and fellow teenager Gregor Hunter for the Edinburgh No10 jersey, and that he can continue to develop the young talent.

"There was a mix among clubs keen to draft 'their own' players such as Selkirk in snapping up Lee Jones and Watsonians taking Stuart McInally, and simply studying who they believed would be available, hence Stirling County claiming Melrose's new Edinburgh centre James King and Heriot's drafting former West of Scotland lock Rob Harley. Coaches also looked at the opportunity to have leading lights such as Chris Paterson (Hawick) and Alex Grove and Netani Talei (both Selkirk) perhaps unavailable to play but available for some coaching or club ambassadorial work."

Wales coach WarrenGatland has arrived back in Wales to find WRU boss Roger Lewis insisting he won’t be a pre-World Cup fall guy. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"Wales have a dismal record of firing coaches in the build-up to World Cups – and Gatland’s team face a demanding schedule ahead of the 2011 tournament in New Zealand.

"But Lewis expects Wales to do well in the autumn against the southern hemisphere super-powers and also shine in the Six Nations tournament that follows.

“Will Warren coach Wales at the next World Cup?” said Lewis. “Am I a betting man? You bet. You have got to put a judgement on it. I’m confident the results we will achieve in the autumn and in the Six Nations will not make this question relevant at all.”

The Springboks have had little to cheer about in 2010 © Getty Images

Gavin Rich ponders the step up in class shown by New Zealand's players this season, and the flat performances of their Springbok counterparts on Supersport.

"If anyone was trying to justify the all-pervading depression that fell on many South African rugby followers at the end of the away leg of the Tri-Nations, All Black coach Graham Henry summed up why they were feeling that when he arrived in the country at the weekend.

“It has been going well so far, because there was a feeling in New Zealand after the Super 14 final that we would not be able to match the Springboks,” said Henry.

"Yes, and that was only two and a half months ago. Henry's words are a reminder that the South African expectations were not based on false hope and were completely justified. This was not a year when the Springboks should have been so emphatically outplayed away from home."

Chris Rattue can't tear his eyes away from the 'Sonny Bill Show' as the former Toulon centre gears up for his Canterbury bow in The New Zealand Herald.

"The Sonny Bill Williams show should kick off in earnest this week and this unique rugby extravaganza continues to gather pace.

"Canterbury play Tasman in Nelson on Saturday afternoon - the early bets will be on Williams making an appearance in the second half. Williams got the royal treatment from the Sky commentators on Friday night, even though he didn't actually appear for Canterbury against North Harbour because of a "tight hamstring".

"Unavailable yes, but certainly not forgotten. Not since "Bring Back Buck" entered the language has an absent friend been so present. Williams won frequent mentions in association with the blockbusting Canterbury centre Robbie Fruean who was actually playing, and playing rather well."

Greg Growden believes that Wallabies boss Robbie Deans is struggling against the weight of history as he looks to inpire a victory on the high veldt in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"When the Wallabies return to training today, they will probably insist they are not scarred by their nine-Test losing streak to the All Blacks and will revive their winning form by defeating the South Africans on the Highveld for the first time since 1963.

"This is an admirable chest-beating venture aimed at buoying the troops, but one that is sounding somewhat hollow. Player injuries and unavailabilities aside, the losses are mounting up and the Wallabies are hardly the flavour of the month.

"There is justifiable concern the Wallabies are struggling to overcome a losers' mentality, and if it is not addressed within the next year, the 2011 World Cup campaign could be as agonising as this season has been so far."

Are the Wallabies lacking in confidence? © Getty Images

Former Wallabies hooker Adam Freier wonder where the confidence has gone from Australian rugby in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The Wallabies are in a temper trap of frustration. They have played and trained their hearts out, but something is missing, and success evades them.

"Recently Mark Ella told me he was struggling to understand why this Wallabies crop wasn't playing exciting rugby. He and his brothers played the same way for Matraville High as they would for Alan Jones and the Wallabies in the 1980s.

"Where is the confidence?" Mark said with high eyebrows.Ironically enough, as if the great man heard the question being asked, David Campese enters the conversation. Love him or loathe him, Campo is the most honest and confident bloke I have ever met. I love the guy. His mindset on anything and everything he believes in is exceptional. It is not arrogance, but a proven confidence."

Richard Loe believes that a few All Black barbs have found their mark in recent weeks as they prepare for a Soweto showdown with the Springboks in The Herald on Sunday.

"The All Blacks have been clever in their build-up to next weekend's test match against the Boks in Soweto - and they need to be.

"The Boks will come at them very hard in front of 90,000 fans.The All Blacks in the two tests in New Zealand didn't just surprise the Springboks, they shattered the image of them being the best team in the world, put a question mark next to the future of many players and will have made them question their whole approach to the game, only a year or so out from the World Cup.

"Their response will be physical, committed and almost desperate. But will it be enough? After the first test in New Zealand, most of us thought (I certainly did) the Boks would come back hard in the second test."

Paul Ackford evaluates England manager Martin Johnson's claims that his side can compete with the best this season in The Sunday Telegraph.

"New campaign, different game, improved squad, better prospects. That was the message emerging from Martin Johnson this week as he paraded his England squad for their annual public Twickenham workout.

"You have to hand it to the man. He sure talks a good game. Each time Johnson sits down and outlines the general and specific challenges facing his men over the next series of matches, you find yourself nodding in agreement.

"His analysis is invariably concise and blunt. "The ruck is everything," he said at one point. "However many line-outs, scrums and restarts you get, there are 80 or 90 rucks in a match, and you want quick ball from those. That's it. That's the game."

Has Israel Dagg's Crusaders move made New Zealand rugby lopsided? © Getty Images

Tony Smith believes that the Crusaders' selection pull, in the wake of Israel Dagg's defection, could spell problems for New Zealand rugby in The Press.

"Has the New Zealand Rugby Union opened a can of worms with its Super 15 selection policy, and are the Crusaders getting greedy?

"Most franchises would count themselves lucky to have Sonny Bill Williams' signature. But now the Crusaders have poached exciting young All Blacks back Israel Dagg and are also flirting with the Highlanders' All Black backrower Adam Thomson.

"A Super rugby player has effectively become a stateless person. Dagg hails from Hawke's Bay and continues to play national provincial championship rugby for the Magpies. Yet he got his Super rugby break with the Highlanders and is now headed to the Crusaders to join Magpies mate Zac Guildford, last year's capture from Hurricanes country."

Wynne Gray predicts a potent atmosphere as the All Blacks take on the Springboks in Soweto next weekend in The New Zealand Herald.

"The Springboks against the All Blacks in Soweto. The nerves churn and the blood rises just imagining the atmosphere next Sunday if more than 94,000 cram into the National Stadium to watch the old rivals.

"One of our satellite sports is baiting South Africans, but one thing we should never do is chip them about the way they support their national teams. They do atmosphere as well as any rugby nation round the globe.

"Next week that may rise to a new level as the Springboks arrive for the first of their three Tri-Nations tests at home with revered captain John Smit set for his 100th Springbok cap."

Stuart Bathgate chats to new Edinburgh chief Craig Docherty - the man who flattened Buck Shelford - in The Scotsman.

”There have been times in the recent past when senior figures in Scottish rugby have been charged with being too deferential towards anything and anyone emanating from New Zealand. Such an accusation, however, could hardly be levelled at new Edinburgh Rugby chief executive Craig Docherty.

“Indeed, it might even be suggested that, when Scotland's Autumn Test against the All Blacks comes around, our players could learn a lot from the healthy disrespect shown by Docherty when he came face to face with the Kiwis some years ago. A chartered accountant, he was living and working in Hong Kong, and won selection for the national team at both seven-a-side and 15s. Playing in the Hong Kong Sevens against a New Zealand team which included such stars as Wayne 'Buck' Shelford and Zinzan Brooke, Docherty knew his own side were outclassed, but gamely kept competing until the end.

“Too gamely, says the version of the tale which has gained acceptance in some of the capital's clubhouses. According to that, Docherty simply barged into Shelford after the latter had scored a try.”

Tatafu Polota-Nau - helping out at home © Getty Images

Greg Growden, in his latest Ruck and Maul, salutes a man of the people, Wallabies hooker Tatfu Polota-Nau, in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"here are many weeks to go in the rugby season but we have already found our player of the year. Come on down Tatafu Polota-Nau. You can't be beaten.

"But, we hear you say … ''What are you talking about? He is not even playing.'' True, but Tatafu nonetheless gets our award for the incredible amount of work he is putting in to ensure his club, Parramatta, gets back on track.

"While the Wallabies certainly miss him, with the Test hooker still to recover from several major injuries, he is devoting an enormous amount of time helping out at the Two Blues - a club which a few months ago was under threat of being dumped by the NSW Rugby Union from the Sydney first-grade premiership."

Dylan Cleaver takes a look at the recent upturn in fortunes for Counties Manukau in The New Zealand Herald.

"It says much about Counties Manukau's commitment to promoting young talent in the region that two of their most impressive players have a combined age that barely exceeds their most celebrated player's.

"Halfback August Pulu, 20, and fullback Tim Nanai-Williams, 21, have provided the impetus that has propelled Counties to the top of the ITM Cup table and gives them real hope of an upset in tomorrow's Ranfurly Shield challenge against Southland.

"Granted, it is early days and there is every chance they could come unstuck by season's end, but at the moment it is good times in the Franklin district."

France boss Marc Lievremont may struggle for new recruits this season © Getty Images

Peter Bills previews the start of the new Top 14 season and looks at the selection problems facing France coach Marc Lievremont in The Irish Independent.

"Down on the beaches beside the Mediterranean or on the Atlantic coast, bikinis still rule the day. The summer sun shines down and no one is thinking of winter.

"Yet tomorrow evening, not halfway through August, the 2010-11 French rugby season begins. We can be sure it will start in a pool of sweat with players' faces as red as lobsters.

"To alleviate the traditional high temperatures of August in the south of France -- the heartland of French rugby -- most matches will not begin until 8.0 at night. A cool beer or two at a pavement cafe in the town at Castres, a glass beside the port at Toulon or a cafe noir overlooking the Atlantic at Biarritz ... then off to the rugby. It is certainly an alluring prospect."

Rupert Guinness gets the thoughts of former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones and Reds boss Ewen McKenzie about the Springboks' woes in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has warned against writing off the world champion Springboks despite their Tri Nations form slump.

"And Reds coach and former World Cup-winning Wallabies prop Ewen McKenzie says the extent of the Springboks' ills won't be known until after they face New Zealand in Johannesburg next Saturday.

"The Springboks lost their first three away Tri Nations Tests - 32-12 and 31-17 to the All Blacks in New Zealand and 30-13 to Australia in Brisbane on July 24. Jones believes their decline is temporary and that they are more focused on the World Cup next year."

Wynne Gray calls for Peter De Villiers, and his now famous outbursts, to remain in place throught to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in The New Zealand Herald.

"The squeaky helium tones of Peter de Villiers will not be back in town until next year, as long as he makes the World Cup cut. In the meantime, though, his vocal gems are sure to bounce around the globe as other nations marvel at some of his sayings and wonder about his coaching connection to the Springboks.

"Let's hope he stays in charge to the end of next year because without him, the Boks would be a much more dangerous beast.

"This week, old P Divvy escaped the wrath of Sanzar when he was cleared of misconduct for comments implying some sort of conspiracy between referees to bolster interest in the 2011 World Cup. A South African judicial official ruled that he had not breached the code of conduct."

Pat McCutcheon has his eyes on the prize © Getty Images

Rupert Guinness talks to Aussie Sevens star Pat McCutcheon about bringing home gold at the Commonwealth Games in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"For Australian Sevens rugby captain Pat McCutcheon all the talk about infrastructure at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi falling apart is the least of his worries.

"McCutcheon has been following Games developments while the Australian squad has been preparing for a tilt at a medal in the October 11-12 tournament in Delhi. Of all the Commonwealth Games sports, Sevens rugby might rely least on facilities.

''I have been reading the papers and seeing that the roof has fallen in at the pool and things like that … but all we need is a square pitch with a bit of grass on it,'' McCutcheon said yesterday. ''I think we have trained and played on a lot of goat tracks here in Australia … so I think we should be right with it. We are used to it.''

Marc Hinton takes a look at the latest in a growing line of refereeing errors as Tony Woodcock is let off the hook in stuff.co.nz.

"Hell, even I'm embarrassed now by the dream ride being afforded the All Blacks. Maybe the wildly eccentric Peter de Villiers actually has a point.

"Call off the judicial Rottweilers! Goodness knows Graham Henry's men don't need any help beating their rivals, the form they're in this year, and the confidence and efficiency they're playing with.

"But they certainly got some on Saturday night from otherwise exemplary South African referee Jonathan Kaplan in Bledisloe II in Christchurch."

Kurtley Beale breaks clear of Dan Carter to score © Getty Images

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Wallaby fullback Kurtley Beale tells of his eternal gratitude for some sage advice on education.

"As Kurtley Beale sped across the All Blacks line to score Australia's only try in the seventh minute of the Christchurch Bledisloe Cup Test on Saturday night, he knew it was far too early to start believing an upset victory was on the cards. Good thing too, considering Australia lost 20-10.

"But as the fullback sucked in the big ones after his 70-metre dash he allowed himself a few seconds to share the moment - in spirit - with the greatest inspiration in his life.

"That was with his grandfather Raymond, who died three years ago. As soon as Beale put the ball to the Christchurch ground, the former bricklayer was the first person he thought of and privately thanked for giving him the steering in a life that has made him a Wallabies regular."

In an article in The Australian, both John Connolly and Tim Horan tell Wayne Smith that the the under-fire Matt Giteau deserves to be cut a little slack.

"Matt Giteau is frequently compared to dual World Cup winner Tim Horan.

"But former Australia coach John Connolly believes the embattled Wallabies playmaker also is entitled to the same lenient judgment Horan received as a five-eighth.

"And so too does Horan.

"Horan enjoyed one of the most successful careers in Australian rugby history, with 60 wins and a draw from his 80 Tests. But there is a vast discrepancy between his record as a centre - 53 wins from 69 Tests - to what he achieved when forced to fill in at five-eighth. Then his winning rate dropped to 55 per cent, with just five wins from nine Tests. His two other Tests were on the wing.

"No one was critical of Horan for not mastering the playmaking role and Connolly, who coached both players at the height of their careers, insists Giteau deserves similar latitude."

Writing on Rugby Heaven, Spiro Zavos argues that some commentators have gotten carried away by Australia's performance against the All Blacks in Christchurch.

"George Bernard Shaw said that he welcomed every new book on the play Hamlet because the world was one book nearer to an explanation of what the play is about.

"This aphorism came to mind this weekend when I read how the Wallabies took enough comfort from their decisive 20-10 loss to the All Blacks to be convinced that sooner rather than later they will beat them. "Sooner or later" makes more sense right now. The "sooner rather than later" theory seems tied to the notion that getting close, in terms of points, means that a victory must be close.

"This idea of a coming inevitable victory is buttressed by an unhelpful obsession by some of our rugby experts with the so-called illegalities in the game of Richie McCaw. It was noticeable that the All Blacks and McCaw contested far fewer rucks and mauls than the Wallabies with their hands. More generally they tried to counter-ruck by driving the Wallabies off the ball. The tactic worked to the extent that the Wallabies had difficulty getting fast ball from the 110 rucks they set up. Moreover, the Wallabies were able to get only three turnovers from the 70 All Blacks rucks and mauls. The All Blacks forced five turnovers."

In his column in the Sydney Morning Herald , former Wallaby John Eales puts Australia's Tri-Nations defeat by New Zealand in perspective.

"In many ways Saturday's Bledisloe Cup went according to plan with a much better performance from the Wallabies in Christchurch and a result that went the All Blacks' way.

"The Wallabies were gallant in defeat but, no matter how much pride they recovered after a lacklustre performance in Melbourne one week ago, the fact is they continue to come second to an All Black side that refuses to give them an inch.

"The Wallabies had the greater run of play for much of the game, dominating possession, making the New Zealanders defend for much of the match but, as usual, the All Blacks were up to the task.

"Unfortunately, much of the Wallabies' attack, especially in the first half, was sideways even though they controlled the football and didn't allow the All Blacks' defence to fluster them."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Mark Ella gives his thoughts on Saturday's Tri-Nations clash between New Zealand and Australia.

"In many ways Saturday's Bledisloe Cup went according to plan with a much better performance from the Wallabies in Christchurch and a result that went the All Blacks' way.

"The Wallabies were gallant in defeat but, no matter how much pride they recovered after a lacklustre performance in Melbourne one week ago, the fact is they continue to come second to an All Black side that refuses to give them an inch.

"The Wallabies had the greater run of play for much of the game, dominating possession, making the New Zealanders defend for much of the match but, as usual, the All Blacks were up to the task.

"Unfortunately, much of the Wallabies' attack, especially in the first half, was sideways even though they controlled the football and didn't allow the All Blacks' defence to fluster them."

Greg Growden of Rugby Heaven looks forward to next year's World Cup in New Zealand.

"Remember the classic ship scene from the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera when everyone pours into Otis B Driftwood's stateroom?

As the three Marx Brothers are surrounded by manicurists, ship engineers and finally waiters carrying plates of food, Groucho exclaims: ''Is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?''

"That moment was re-enacted on Saturday night in Christchurch. But this time it wasn't funny. All week we'd been hearing about how the Christchurch Test was being used as a guinea pig for next year's World Cup tournament to see whether the local facilities could cope with a major international event. The Wallabies travelled via Auckland to check if the Customs facilities would be efficient enough for the visiting teams.

"Good to hear, as the Auckland arrivals area can be a debacle. Sure, New Zealanders are proud they are a wool nation, but it doesn't mean tourists have to be herded into a sheep pen. If you can get through the baggage area in less than half an hour, think yourself lucky. And then you have to confront the nightmare of travelling into Auckland where a highway suddenly dissolves into a one-lane suburban street, prompting delays and further frustration.

"Can't wait for World Cup finals time in Auckland, especially as the locals are already whingeing that getting to and from Eden Park is as easy as escaping Alcatraz."

In an interview with The Independent, former British & Irish Lions captain Gareth Thomas talks about homosexuality and how he's happier than ever since 'coming out'.

"It takes a lot to stop Gareth Thomas smiling these days. From the moment the 6ft 3in Welsh rugby legend walks into the room, his Cheshire cat grin seems to be permanently propping up his ears. In December, the 36-year-old became the first professional rugby player to come out as gay.

"I'm beaming. I'm constantly beaming," he admits, flashing a toothy grin, reconstructed after rugby took away his real incisors. "I always thought the world was a horrible place and that justified me lying. But what I found is the world isn't a dark place... The truth has set me free."

Sonny Bill Williams in action for Belfast in Christchurch © Getty Images

Writing in the Sunday Herald, Richard Loe reports on Sonny Bill Williams' comeptitive debut in New Zealand.

"They were hanging out of the trees, you couldn't find a parking spot at Sheldon Park and they were lined up seven or eight deep on the sidelines - but, in the end, all you could really say about Sonny Bill Williams' rugby debut in New Zealand was that he's finally had a game.

"The Belfast and Lincoln University club sides seemed a bit overawed by the attention. They'd normally get 100-200 people on a good day. There were thousands yesterday.

"While the standard of rugby wasn't up to much, Sonny Bill scored a solo try from second five-eighth and you can see why the All Black selectors are interested in him.

"He looked the part in Belfast colours - green and gold, right down to the gold boots - and on the evidence of what little ball he got, he looked the part in a rugby sense too."

The All Blacks shed their cloak of invincibility last night yet continued on their winning way, the Sunday Herald's Gregor Paul reports on New Zealand's latest victory over Australia.

"They had to work for it. They had to sweat, remind the nation that appearances have been deceptive this season - test rugby is a tough business.

"The high-octane rugby was still on view, the desire to run and cut loose always evident, but some of the grunt, some of the smash work wasn't.

"Also on view was genuine Wallaby resistance. They had most of the ball. They had plenty of territory and they had plenty of passion.

"They just couldn't find the right holes to run through. Their ball retention was excellent - their direction not so. No one can expect to beat the All Blacks with such lateral work."

The All Blacks secured the Bledisloe Coup but not the Tri Nations Cup - not yet, at least - after they tackled a resurgent Wallabies to a standstill at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.The Australian's Wayne Smith reports.

"New Zealand might have scored two tries to one, but they all came within the first 14 minutes of the match and thereafter defence ruled, the All Blacks' defence in particular.

"With flanker David Pocock yet again turning in an awesome performance, playing the last quarter with one arm virtually dangling by his side, the vastly improved Wallabies dominated possession throughout but rarely looked capable of breaching the solid black wall.

"How the Wallabies cried out for the individual line-breaking ability of suspended five-eighth Quade Cooper but, for those who are prepared to sacrifice all for World Cup success, it might be no bad thing to limit how much exposure the All Blacks are given to the Reds magician."

Centre Juan de Jongh must be part of the the Springboks line-up as they plot their redemption according to Sport24's Rob Houwing.

"Never mind just select him, Juan de Jongh may well have earned the right to be pencilled in as first-choice centre for the Springboks’ Vodacom Tri-Nations Test against New Zealand at Soweto in a fortnight.

"Certainly he looks the right stuff as a freshening presence for the Boks as they begin the journey to redemption after a shocking away leg of the competition.

"With the squad for the home Tests expected to be announced on Sunday, De Jongh could not have chosen a better time to remind the national brains trust of his potential as he starred in Western Province’s 50-3 battering of Griquas in their supposed Absa Currie Cup stronghold of Kimberley on Saturday."

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Greg Growden believes the performance of flanker David Pocock was a major plus for Australia despite suffering their latest Bledisloe Cup reverse against New Zealand.

"He was bashed. He was belted. He stood up to it.

"He was everywhere last night. And after the Test match where the Bledisloe Cup was again being paraded to a surprisingly subdued Kiwi crowd, all many New Zealanders wanted to do was talk about a special Australian player.

"As the All Blacks went on their lap of honour, former All Black second-rower Ian Jones was on the New Zealand television screens, raving about the Wallaby openside flanker David Pocock.

"Jones said Pocock was a definite future Wallaby skipper, believing he had the poise to lead this young team with authority.

Jones is not alone in that view, with several in powerful positions at the Australian Rugby Union thinking similarly, looking upon Pocock and Will Genia as the men to lead this Wallaby side out of the mire."

Jonathan Thomas looks set to get his wish by being employed in the same position by both club and country this season. The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt reports.

"During Wales’ summer tour of New Zealand, the 58-times capped forward spoke of his frustration at having to fill one role for the Ospreys and another for the national team.

"He played virtually all of his regional rugby last season in the second row, yet was mainly utilised on the blindside flank by Wales coach Warren Gatland. Thomas’ concern was that having to switch from one role to another was working against him and he made a plea for the Ospreys and Wales to sit down and reach a joint decision on his positional future.

"Now it looks as though he might be about to get his way. Ospreys coach Sean Holley has dropped a clear hint that the 27-year-old Grand Slam winner will be employed largely in his Welsh back-row role this season.

"With lock Ian Evans back to full fitness and veteran back rower Filo Tiatia having retired, Thomas can expect to figure in the breakaway department over the coming months.The chances of that happening are increased further by the fact young back-row forward Tom Smith faces some four months on the sidelines through injury."

The Independent on Suinday's Emily Duggan talks to Gareth Thomas about his life since his decision to come out as gay.

"It takes a lot to stop Gareth Thomas smiling these days. From the moment the 6ft 3in Welsh rugby legend walks into the room, his Cheshire cat grin seems to be permanently propping up his ears. In December, the 36-year-old became the first professional rugby player to come out as gay.

"I'm beaming. I'm constantly beaming," he admits, flashing a toothy grin, reconstructed after rugby took away his real incisors. "I always thought the world was a horrible place and that justified me lying. But what I found is the world isn't a dark place... The truth has set me free."

"Unlike the Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens, who came out in 2007 ahead of the World Cup, Thomas chose to come out after he had retired as the captain of Wales and his career in rugby union was almost over. But his coach and team-mates knew the truth years before. "They were great. That was the start of realising that the people who I thought might boot me out actually closed ranks with me."

In his column in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray mocks Peter de Villiers before issuing a reminder to card-happy referees that rugby is a man's game.

"A crackdown on thuggery is fine. Those who have watched some of the antics of men like Bakkies Botha cannot condone their actions.

"But the game has become too sanitised at test level.

"People go on about setting examples for children but international rugby is not a game for kids. It is brutal, it is played on the edge, sometimes tempers fray.

"If a couple of blokes square off and throw a couple of punches, so what. They will sort it out. They don't need the ref to send them to the naughty chair."

In light of a recent spate of yellow cards in Tri-Nations games, the New Zealand Herald is calling for rule changes aimed at ensuring that games remain 15 versus 15 for as long as possible.

"The All Blacks are on fire and from the New Zealand viewpoint, test match rugby is as sexy as it has been in living memory. Some of that is down to a conspiracy by referees to eliminate illegal play. Their hardline attitude in the Tri-Nations competition so far has allowed an enterprising team to seize chances at pace and dazzle the crowds.

"At the same time, though, their hard line is threatening to undermine this test renaissance by over-zealously removing players from the field for non-violent indiscretions.

"The referees are damned if they do and damned if they don't. To insist on a free-flowing, high-pace game the whistleblowers must insist on penalising professional fouls.

"But penalising is the operative word. Not banishing to the sinbin for 10 minutes or out for the rest of a game. Since when did throwing a ball away or pushing someone to avoid a collision really amount to an offence warranting anything other than a penalty to the other side?"

Writing on Rugby Heaven, Marc Hinton details Sonny Bill Williams' first outing for New Zealand club side Belfast.

"They showed him the love, and Sonny Bill Williams lapped it up as he made his long-awaited debut on the rugby fields of New Zealand this afternoon.

"Close to 4000 people packed leafy Sheldon Park in suburban Christchurch to watch New Zealand rugby's big-name signing make his first appearance on the New Zealand scene.

"And they were not disappointed as the one-time star of the NRL put in a classy sort of 49 minutes, capped by a go-ahead second-half try, and helped inspire his Belfast club to a 22-7 victory over Lincoln University in the Christchurch club competition."

Frowns all around: Are the Aussies heading for a crisis? © Getty Images

Peter Bills airs his concerns for Australian rugby, not only on the pitch but off it, in The Irish Independent.

"Without wishing to put too fine a point on it – something the Aussies never like doing – a brutal fact has to be recorded: Australian rugby is in the soup.

"It has nothing to do with last weekend’s defeat for the Wallabies at the hands of the all-conquering All Blacks. Fact is, they are likely to get another belting when they meet again in the Tri Nations/Bledisloe Cup match in Christchurch on Saturday.

"If the Wallabies lose this weekend, it will be a ninth successive loss to the All Blacks, their fiercest rivals. Yet not even that stark, sorry statistic represents the depth of Australian rugby’s travails.

"A marketing survey recently released in Sydney revealed that Australian Rugby Union’s (ARU) share of the sporting market has nearly halved in six years despite spending an alarming AUS$23m on the game. It has slipped to a perilous 13.7pc of the sporting interest market and is only the fourth most watched sport in the country."

Wallabies legend Mark Ella believes that Robbie Deans must develop combinations in his backline if he is to counter the All Blacks in The New Zealand Herald.

"So far in this season's Tri-Nations matches it has been noticeable that the senior players within the All Blacks group have been in outstanding form and the likes of McCaw, Kieran Read, Keven Mealamu, Brad Thorn, Tony Woodcock and Mils Muliaina are getting better with age.

"The one aspect of the game that is worrying from an Australian perspective is the lack of combination within the Wallabies backline.

"The Wallabies have a team of utility players who, apart from halfback Will Genia, are too accustomed at playing in different positions week in week out."

Greg Growden's Ruck & Maul offers up a few tasty morsels in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Wherever you go in Christchurch, there is a constant reminder that New Zealanders are apparently better than Australians. The 21-point win in Melbourne has made the Kiwis very cocky. R&M was drawn to a new book that takes Aussie bashing to extremes. Titled New Zealand 50 Australia 0, it chronicles 50 Kiwi sporting victories over their supposedly much-battered trans-Tasman rivals.

"It explains on the back cover that it is ''unashamedly, the most one-sided and biased sports book in New Zealand publishing history''. Relive such glorious moments as when the 1914 All Blacks belted Australia 17-0 at the Gabba, after being promoted as ''the greatest footballers on earth''.

Another fine mess: Drew Mitchell gets his marching orders © Getty Images

Brenden Nel wades into the refereeing debate, and calls for greater consistency at the top, on Supersport.

"Consistency. It is a wonderful word. One too often misinterpreted by referees across the world when it comes to this wonderful game.It is all you can ask for from a referee because, as they always remind us, they are only human.

"It is something now we need desperately from the International Rugby Board’s boss Paddy O’Brien when it comes to refereeing standards across the world. This week’s swift and harsh punishment for touch judge Cobus Wessels may have been welcomed after the fact by Australia, but to us here in South Africa it only served to highlight the gross lop-sided action by the IRB bosses when it came to refereeing indiscretions.

"But before we get into that, let me state this clearly. This is not an attack on referees. They are some of the best people in rugby, fit with sharp minds and who constantly bear the brunt of a losing team as the blame for everything that goes wrong."

New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan shows his disgust at the conduct of All Blacks fans at last weekend's Bledisloe Cup Test in The New Zealand Herald.

"I was lucky enough to be in Melbourne last week.I have spent quite a lot of time there in the past and it is a city I really like, in part because of its great sporting culture.

"My recent trip was to meet with Cricket Australia, with our discussions centred on resolving the ICC vice-president nomination as well as preliminary planning for our co-hosting of the Cricket World Cup in 2015.

"I was very fortunate to be invited to attend both the All Black test match against the Wallabies at Etihad Stadium and an AFL game at the MCG (between Collingwood and Carlton) while I was there."

Simon Poidevin believes that the Wallabies must achieve absolute perfection to beat the All Blacks this weekend in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The Wallabies received a brutal reminder against the All Blacks last weekend – give the best side in the world, in any sport, the sort of “free kicks” they gave the Kiwis and the consequences are not pretty.

"Australia made too many mistakes with kick restarts not up to scratch, turnovers at the breakdown, a charge down and other associated errors. The All Blacks, at full throttle, took advantage.

"When the Wallabies blundered they were punished, usually with points on the scoreboard for the All Blacks. The message then for this weekend is simple: if the Wallabies are to win then for every second of the 80 minutes they must be committed and focussed on perfection."

Can Soccer City inspire the Springboks? © Getty Images

Brenden Nel calls for the Springboks to build some momentum and restore some pride between now and the end of the season on Supersport.

" Now that the Springboks can do absolutely nothing to stop the All Blacks from winning back the Tri-Nations title, it is time rather to turn our attentions to restoring pride in the national jersey and creating some momentum ahead of next year’s World Cup.

"The next three home Tri-Nations games will be crucial for the Springboks, not only because they are on home soil, but because it will test the reaction of a management team currently under pressure to come up with a counter to not only the All Black supremacy, but their own playing woes on the field.

"You don’t have to be an expert to expect the Boks to do well in these three test matches. They are, by far, a different animal at home, and all three tests are at altitude, with the Wallabies having a very poor record, having not won at altitude since 1992."

Chris Rattue joins the chorus of dissenting voices following Drew Mitchell's sending off against the All Blacks in The New Zealand Herald.

"Thank you, YouTube. Finally, we get to see what Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell was yellow-carded for in the Melbourne test. It turns out to be the phantom tackle.

"The initial Fox Sports-provided pictures broadcast by Sky in New Zealand didn't show the incident but a clip on the internet answers the riddle. The verdict: rugby is stark raving bonkers to send blokes off in test matches for such innocuous incidents.

"The Wallaby pack may be soft, but the game is getting even softer. Mitchell perhaps got what he deserved - under the dubious current rules - when he prevented Conrad Smith from taking a quick lineout throw later on and was red-carded for a second yellow card offence."

Toby Robson takes a look at the contrasting body language shown by the All Blacks and Wallabies in training on Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Body language experts weren't needed in Christchurch yesterday.

"Five days before kick-off, two contrasting practice runs unfolded as the All Blacks and the Wallabies began preparations in earnest for their Bledisloe Cup rematch.

"At AMI Stadium the mood was light. Even the most carefree passes stuck as the All Blacks backs went through their counter-attack drills at the match venue. Players and coaches wore the relaxed, self-assured smiles of a team on a 12-Test winning streak and with fresh memories of a 49-28 drubbing of their trans-Tasman neighbours."

Tana Umaga takes on the Otago defence © Getty Images

Dylan Cleaver is happy to eat humble pie following Tana Umaga's successful return to New Zealand rugby with Countie Manukau in The New Zealand Herald.

"Tipping results in a public forum is a bit like a pub quiz. You give it the fist pump when you get one right, but mutter an exasperated, "Of course, if I'd thought about it a bit longer," when you've wrongly nominated the Matterhorn as the tallest mountain in the Alps.

"So let it be known that in last week's Super Sport, Southland, Wellington and Auckland all got the fist-pump treatment. A few didn't, most glaringly Counties Manukau versus Otago.

"Unless Counties can get their hands on the ball they will lose heavily ... Otago by 8," was the gist of it. Actual result, Counties 29, Otago 13."

David Ferguson is pleased to see the return of Chris Paterson to the Scotland squad and also a trimming down with the World Cup in mind in The Scotsman.

"This time 12 months ago Andy Robinson was naming his first training squad since being appointed to take over from Frank Hadden, bringing together his first management team and laying down the more abstract principles and beliefs on how he wanted to shape the international squad.

"He will return to the training base of St Andrews next week with players heading there from various parts of Scotland and flying in from other parts of the UK, Ireland and France with a new cushion of comfort from the first year of his charge beneath them. Autumn victories over Fiji and Australia and a historic run of three consecutive wins away from home, in Ireland and Argentina, book-ended a period of ten matches in which Robinson's team began to spark promise in a new era."

Spiro Zavos ponders Robbie Deans' legacy in New Zealand rugby as he looks to plot their downfall as coach of Australia in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Hoist by his own petard. Wallabies coach Robbie Deans endured the acute pain on Saturday night during the Bledisloe Cup Test at Melbourne of seeing several players he developed into stars when he coached the Crusaders destroy his team. But would the Franks brothers, Brad Thorn, Richie McCaw, Kieran Read or Daniel Carter have been the great players they have become if they had been developed by Australian Super rugby coaches? They might not have.

"Deans cleverly played Thorn as a second-rower, rather than as a loose forward. And in doing so he maintained the Crusaders' tactic (now standard practice around the world, except in some Australian sides) of having a scrummaging, hard-yards second-rower (Todd Blackadder before Thorn) to complement a taller, jumping partner. Deans, though, spent hours getting Thorn's jumping right by practising with him, having Thorn catch an old boot. On Saturday night Thorn won his one lineout throw and made important passes in both of Cory Jane's tries.

"When Carter first came into the Crusaders squad, Deans asked him what his goals were for the season. "To take Mehrts' [Andrew Mehrtens's] place," he replied. "Good answer," Deans told him. A common sight at the end of the Crusaders' practices was Deans teaching Carter all the tricks of how to kick a rugby ball."

Are the All Blacks peaking too early again? © Getty Images

Peter Bills revisits an age-old question in The Irish Independent; are the All Blacks peaking too early?

"This was not the perfect All Blacks performance and, besides, we won't know its true value until the World Cup next year. After all, Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire lifetime.

"But as an indicator of what is possible if your philosophy focuses on attack over defence, if your mindset is to free the ball and run it as often as possible and you have the skill set to complete that task, this latest demonstration of what the game is capable of now that the law interpretations have been tweaked, was more than adequate.

"A harvest of seven tries at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium on Saturday means that the All Blacks have now scored 15 tries in three Tri-Nations matches this season and conceded just five."

Greg Growden shudders at the thought of Robbie Deans' most recent press conference in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"If you thought watching the Wallabies surrender to the All Blacks for the eighth time in a row was excruciating, it was nothing compared to what occurred afterwards.

"The media conference was like having bamboo applied under the fingernails. This painful occasion again showed how personal the pursuit of the Bledisloe Cup can become.

"Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was blinded by the spotlight. The obvious question revolved around how negative the reaction in New Zealand would have been if the All Blacks had just lost to Australia eight times in a row - and whether he was feeling similar pressure. ''Of course. It's part of the territory,'' Deans said, trying to keep cool."

Chris Rattue rubbishes the efforts of Robbie Deans' Wallabies and bigs up the achievements of the All Blacks in The New Zealand Herald.

"The All Blacks will be the best side by streets at the World Cup next year. It won't even be close.

"Whether they win the trophy or not is another matter. If the World Cup was a championship, no team would touch them. As the Webb Ellis Cup is decided by sudden-death games, anything is possible, as everybody knows.

"Graham Henry's new-look side is so far ahead of the pack that the Bledisloe Cup game in Christchurch this week is in danger of turning into a massacre, with the Awful Aussies ripe for a hiding. The problem for Australia isn't skill. The problem is a lack of muscle power and heart."

Keven Mealamu has been in fine form for the All Blacks © Getty Images

Duncan Johnstone salutes Keven Mealamu after another stand-out performance from the All Blacks hooker on stuff.co.nz.

"Keven Mealamu is demanding the All Blacks keep their feet on the ground and with his nuggety frame that shouldn't be too difficult for the in-form hooker.

"Mealamu was one of the stars of New Zealand's 49-28 thrashing of the Wallabies in Melbourne last night.He made some big yards up the middle of the paddock with his low-trajectory running game and put in some big hits with another busy effort on defence.

"The All Blacks know they are just a win away from retaining the Bledisloe Cup when they meet Australia in Christchurch next Saturday and judging by Mealamu's attitude they are determined to get the business done - with a dash of style that has characterised their impressive season."

David Ferguson talks to Glasgow chief executive Kenny Baillie about life at the sharp end in rugby in The Scotsman.

"If it were Manchester United or even Rangers, there might be some merit, but when it is a rugby team competing as the under-funded minnows of a league now involving three richer rugby nations, folly would seem an under-statement.

"Throw in the fact that this 34-year-old Glaswegian walked away from a lucrative career in software production, a rare business that continues to toss about annual salaries well into six figures like confetti, and which for Baillie involved office stops across America, Hong Kong and the middle east, the move shifts into the incredulous.

"But Baillie could not appear happier, making himself at home in Glasgow Warriors' new Scotstoun base out in the leafy west end. But why? The simple explanation is that Baillie never lost his passion for rugby and it finally reeled him back in; an ambition seared within him to see his native city being lauded as a rugby giant being ignited again."

Greg Growden calls for the All Blacks to be handed the Tri-Nations trophy after another dominant display against the Wallabies in Melbourne in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Give the All Blacks the Tri Nations trophy, right now. It is all over. The next month or so is just sheer theatrics. And while we're at it, why not call off the Christchurch and Sydney Bledisloe Cup Test matches!

"It's high time the Australian Rugby Union did long-suffering Wallabies fans a favour, because they have been subjected too long to unnecessary agony, dejection and disbelief as one Australian line-up after another has been put through the sausage machine, and turned into little boys by the All Black master butchers.

"It's eight Tri Nations defeats in a row - and drawing close to the worst sequence ever when Australia lost nine in a row to New Zealand between 1936-47. This is a debacle, even prompting All Blacks coach Graham Henry to say if he was in a situation of eight straight losses he would feel ''sad''."

All Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick was impressed by Graham Henry's men once again as they routed the Wallabies, and doesn't buy in to their 'chokers' tag, in The New Zealand Herald.

"This was another very good All Blacks performance. What was especially pleasing was that it was a continuation of what they did in the first two tests against the Springboks.

"The Wallabies posed different problems to South Africa and that was illustrated in the first two minutes when Matt Giteau picked out a mis-match in the All Blacks defence and set James O'Connor up for a great early opportunity.

"But the All Blacks withstood the pressure throughout and maintained their accuracy and intensity. They played smart rugby. People have been saying New Zealand are peaking too early again and we are going down the same road we do every time before a World Cup. But I don't buy into that at all. At the moment they are playing smarter, better rugby than anyone else."