Asia, Russia and the Americas are taking a fresh look at sevens while promoters hope the short form of the game will be rugby's big-money equivalent of Twenty20 cricket. The Guardian's Rob Kitson reports.

"Not everyone likes sevens. For others, particularly in Asia and the Americas, it is a glimpse of the future. "We're all aware sevens could take over the world game," admitted John Kirwan, the former Japan coach in Hong Kong this week. In 25 years' time, he estimates, sevens will be where Twenty20 cricket currently is relative to the traditional Test format. "Sevens will be a global game, I have no doubt. It's just how we manage that process."

"Across the Pacific Ocean in the San Diego area of California, there are further signs of rugby's tectonic plates shifting. Among the athletes training with the country's elite at the dedicated US Olympic training centre in Chula Vista are 15 specialist men's sevens players and eight women, funded courtesy of sevens' recognition by the IOC. Once this year's London Olympics are over, they are likely to be joined by a number of other high-calibre "crossover" athletes lured by the possibility of a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. "Once we make it to the Olympics there's an opportunity to offer talented athletes another option," says Nigel Melville, the former England captain who is now chief executive of USA Rugby. "American footballers don't have quite the aerobic capacity that a rugby player does but among non-rugby athletes generally there's a lot of potential. Being part of the USOC is a huge step forward for us."

The New Zealand Herald carries an article which suggests that the bigger you are in international rugby - the more likely you are to be successful.

"Rugby fans who say the modern game is being dominated more and more by heftier iron pumping players can point to scientific evidence to back their case.

Teams with the tallest backs and heaviest forwards are the likeliest to win the Rugby World Cup, according to a study by French researchers published today.

Adrien Sedeaud of the Institute of Sports Biomedicine and Epidemiology in Paris collected data for the age, weight and height for 2,692 players who took part in World Cup matches between 1987 and 2007, and compared this with their team's performance."

Wayne Barnes has come in for criticism this week from Sale CEO Steve Diamond © Getty Images

Brian Ashton, writing in his column for the Independent, calls on referees to use common sense rather than abiding by the exact letter of the law.

"Most of the attention of rugby followers in recent days has been on Stuart Lancaster's initial selection decisions as interim England coach ahead of the Six Nations Championship and on the build-up to the decisive rounds of Heineken Cup pool games, the first batch of which take place this weekend. Both competitions are noted for the ferocity they generate, and it is a truism that in this kind of environment the mentally strong prevail.

In this connection, I find it interesting that the people who need to be as strong as anyone in the mind department – those charged with ensuring things run as smoothly as a dynamically chaotic game like rugby allows – rarely merit a mention when the big events are being previewed. Yet their decisions, the most significant of which inevitably decide the outcome, will be picked over and dissected, in real time and slow-motion replays, by studio analysts and armchair critics. In addition, they might well suffer abuse (mild in comparison to football, but abuse all the same) from the paying public, before being collared for less-than-polite talks with losing coaches keen to deflect attention from the poor performance of their teams. They will also find themselves castigated in the media if one of their law interpretations is deemed to be wrong."

Writing for the International Rugby Board, Ian Gilbert preview the year ahead.

"The European Nations Cup may not have the same kudos as Stade de France or Murrayfield on the opening weekend, but its profile is growing. The multi-tiered competitions resumes with the top division as Romania tackle Portugal and Ukraine host Georgia.

"Georgia will be out to show they are once again Europe’s best outside of the Six Nations by retaining the title, while Ukraine face an uphill battle to remain in Division 1A as teams battle for promotion and relegation in the other five tiers over the coming months.

"The race to be crowned Asia’s best is expected to begin in April with Japan once again favourites to win the HSBC Asian 5 Nations, their biggest challenge likely to again come from Hong Kong, winners of the Emirates Airline Cup of Nations in December.

"June will see the future stars of world rugby converge on Cape Town and Stellenbosch for the fifth edition of the IRB Junior World Championship, when the conundrum 11 teams try to solve is how to stop New Zealand keeping the trophy in their hands."

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Paul Ackford senses a whiff of optimism in the air as 2012 dawns.

"A new chief executive is soon to stride into Twickenham to repair an administratively dysfunctional Rugby Football Union. Rob Andrew is still there, ’tis true, but his wings have been clipped and he will have nothing to do with the senior team.

"Wales, with the bulk of their coaching group signed and sealed, are intent on making the most of a young side who will be better for their World Cup heartache. The appointment of the maverick Scott Johnson, who will join Andy Robinson as a ‘senior assistant’ at the end of the season, is evidence that Scotland are serious in their search to find an attacking edge, and Ireland, blessed with a formidable back row and a gifted outside-half in Jonathan Sexton, are intent on demonstrating that success does not begin and end with O’Driscoll, O’Connell and O’Gara.

"Transformation is also all the rage across the rest of the rugby world. Eddie Jones has been installed as Japan’s boss, replacing John Kirwan. France and Italy have shuffled their coaching decks, and for the first time in almost eight years the All Blacks will take to the field without Graham Henry calling the shots. Steve Hansen has the privilege of succeeding Henry and will face South Africa, who are highly likely to have a fresh man in charge too. There is even a new team to take account of in that part of the world, as Argentina wait to make their entrance to a four nations tournament for the first time later in the year. The times they are a-changing."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore reflects on the rugby year and ahead to 2012.

"New Zealand can be proud of the way it ran a high standard Rugby World Cup and the All Black’s win was deserved. Unfortunately, the financial return for the International Rugby Board means it cannot invest the amounts necessary to develop lower ranked nations over the next four years and further close the gap between them and higher ranked Unions.

"The consistent theme of the past year has been the tension between the rich and poor, the professional and the amateur, and without careful stewardship there is every chance that rugby will not make the right decisions for its long term good.

"At international level, the claim of former All Black coach Lauire Mains that as the No 1 in world rugby the Kiwis are entitled to a greater share of the profits from the World Cup is in nobody’s interests but New Zealand.

"A World Cup cannot and should not be run among a few existing top countries and that it is in the longer term interests of rugby to see several of the presently ranked second-tier teams emerge as contenders over the next few tournaments.

"If anything, the split of profits should be disproportionately spent on lower ranked countries to advance rugby in fledgling markets, ones that have the potential to grow and enrich the game in playing, spectating and monetary terms."

Afghanistan kicked off its first official rugby tournament last week, with organisers hoping the game will one day be as popular as buzkashi, a kind of polo played with the carcass of a headless goat. Iol.co.za reports.

"Cricket and football have already gained a strong following, and regional sporting success has offered a rare glimmer of hope in the war-wracked country.

"But enthusiasts believe Afghans, who have faced decades of conflict and hardship, are even better suited to the rough and tumble of the rugby field, which is more akin the national sport buzkashi, without the need for horses.

"Ten teams from four different provinces gathered in central Kabul for the sevens competition, the first since the Afghan Rugby Federation won affiliation from the Asian Rugby Football Union last month.

“It's becoming popular and soon it will replace cricket and football,” said Asad Ziar, the ARF's chief executive officer."

Rugby Heaven picks its best squad of 22 players from 2011. Not surprisingly, the world champions dominate selections.

"15. Israel Dagg (New Zealand). Displaced Mils Muliaina as New Zealand's - and the world's - best fullback. An attacking genius with a booming boot, Dagg's World Cup form was enough to displace Kurtley Beale.

"...7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand). Openside flanker may be the most competitive position in world rugby. Injury hampered McCaw and he was edged by David Pocock of Australia in straight No.7 play, but throw in leadership and big-match performances and the Kiwi captain gets the nod."

Former England centre Will Greenwood reveals his biggest moments of the rugby year in the Daily Telegraph.

Best kiss Les Kiss, Ireland v Australia

The Australian former rugby league player, who is now one of Ireland's coaches, turned the World Cup on its head with the ‘choke’ tackle and changed the tournament into a northern hemisphere v southern hemisphere match-up. Ireland had used the tactic before, but their perfect execution of the team tackle in this game is why rugby anoraks will keep watching it. Life is about being a pioneer, well done Les.

Will the scrum be an image of the past? © Getty Images

The Daily Telegraph's Mick Cleary looks at the growing debate over the scrum and argues that the IRB need to throw their weight behind the much-maligned aspect of the game.

"To those who say that the scrum needs to be downgraded or streamlined or depowered or given a spell in the naughty corner for repeated misdemeanours, many of us say ‘clear off and follow another sport’.

It’s best to make that clear before we set off looking to cure the ills of the scrummage, for there are any number of boneheads who will use the opportunity of a certain malaise with our dear friend, the tight scrum, to advocate outlawing it or reducing it to a neutered state, no better than a rugby league scrum which is essentially a restart mechanism.

Union’s scrum must never be seen in such a light, merely as a means of getting the game under way again. That’s called a kick-off or, at a stretch, a tap penalty, and even that requires a certain amount of nerve and sense of opportunism. A scrum is so much more than a coming together of 16 heavyweights just so that the backs can get to play with the ball."

Paul Ackford, writing for the Sunday Telegraph, looks back at his moments of the year.

"Match of the year: The Heineken Cup final between Leinster and Northampton. Sensational atmosphere, a dramatic fight-back by Leinster, and a stellar, 28-point match-winning effort from Jonny Sexton. What’s not to like?

Player of the year: All Black captain Richie McCaw. Better on one leg during the Rugby World Cup than most players on two.

2011 Hero: Martin Snedden. Not even a terrible earthquake prevented him from staging a magnificent World Cup."

New Zealand rugby officials voiced confidence on Wednesday that change is on the way despite the re-election of Frenchman Bernard Lapasset as International Rugby Board chairman. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew believes the closeness of the vote sent a strong message that change is necessary in the way the sport is run.

"During the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Tew threatened to pull the champion All Blacks from the next edition of the sport's global showpiece in 2015 unless there was a shake-up.

"He argued that IRB regulations surrounding participation in the World Cup led to combined losses for the major rugby unions of around STG35 ($A54.49) to STG40 million ($A62.28 million).

"Although he believed Beaumont was the best man to initiate a new era for rugby, Tew told Fairfax Media from Los Angeles he was confident Lapasset would address the issues."

The Guardian's Paul Rees reflects on Bill Beaumont's failed bid to become International Rugby Board chairman.

"The home unions suffered one of their worst days in the IRB's history and, for the first time in the professional era, supply neither the chairman nor vice-chairman. After failing to become chairman Beaumont stood as vice-chairman, the position he has held for the last four years. He had tried to cut a deal the night before with Lapasset but the Frenchman said he would not betray his running mate, South Africa's Oregan Hoskins.

"...While Beaumont will have support on the RFU's council there is a feeling that the union's second seat on the IRB – the other is held by John Spencer – should be given to the new chief executive, who may be appointed as soon as Wednesday. That would leave Beaumont adrift. He was elected to the executive because it was felt England, as hosts of the 2015 World Cup, should have a presence on it but it was assumed Spencer would fill the position."

In the New Zealand Herald, NZRU chief executive Steve Tew calls for change following Bernard Lapasset's re-election as IRB president.

"It wasn't the result Steve Tew wanted but the New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive says the closeness of Bernard Lapasset's re-election proves change is required at the International Rugby Board.

Frenchman Lapasset today retained his position as chairman of the IRB after he was voted in for another four-year team by 14 votes to 12 at its reconvened interim meeting in Los Angeles.

Tew and the NZRU board were backing Lapasset's opponent Bill Beaumont because they saw the Englishman as the man more likely to effect the changes they have been agitating for - most notably the way funds are raised and distributed by the global body."

The Guardian report that Bill Beaumont's bid to become International Rugby Board chairman has been dealt a blow.

"Bill Beaumont's bid to become the chairman of the International Rugby Board suffered a blow on Sunday when the Asian Rugby Union mandated its delegate to vote for the incumbent, Bernard Lapasset.

"The IRB council meets in Los Angeles on 12 December to decide the chairmanship, having failed to do so at a stormy gathering in Auckland last month when it was agreed to defer the decision to allow tempers to cool down.

"The successful candidate will need 14 votes. Asia's decision at a meeting in Laos to elect Japan's Koji Tokumasu as its delegate rather than the Beaumont‑supporting Trevor Gregory from Hong Kong leaves the current chairman with a potential majority."

Writing in The Scotsman, Tom English looks at the increasing concern for brain injuries in American Football and considers what rugby union can learn from their findings.

"Now, up to 500 athletes in America have committed to donate their brain upon death in an attempt to advance the research of the dangers of this condition to sportsmen competing in attritional competition. Many of the deceased National Football League (NFL) players lived out their post-professional years suffering memory loss, impaired judgment, severe headaches, aggression, depression and, in some cases, dementia – the classic symptoms of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Up until last year the NFL was in denial about the relevance of CTE to its game. Now? It is convinced of its dangers and is a huge, if belated, campaigning force to raise the awareness.

"Robert Cantu is wondering about rugby. He knows the sport, has played an active part in the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) medical conferences, has seen some games where the hits have been immense and is suspicious of what might lurk beneath the surface. Sure, American football is an entirely different game to rugby. Until recently the NFL allowed players to effectively use their helmeted head as a weapon against another player. Head-on-head collisions were commonplace in that sport whereas they never have been in rugby.

"And, yes, the research is at a very early stage, too early to extrapolate too much from what they’ve discovered. Also, rugby woke up to the dangers of concussion a while back. Or it likes to think it has anyway. The avoidance of head injuries is the number-one priority, says the IRB. “Is it relevant to our game at the moment? I’d question that, but we want to make the game as safe as possible,” says Martin Raftery, the recently appointed chief medical officer of rugby’s governing body. “There has been no recorded case of CTE in rugby and we’re always looking at this area.”

Rugby is in danger of muscling out the flair and skills that have made it such a great game, according to Hugo Porta. Reuters talk to Argentina's leading points scorer and former captain.

"We can't stop the evolution of the game, but we should at least try to preserve the essence of rugby. Nowadays it's a war of muscles. What is this?," he said ruefully, an imaginary ball tucked under his arm as he imitated the barging tactics of the modern game. I saw more blood and injured players during the World Cup than ever before."

"...Porta's passion for the game is such that he laments the hulking physical stature of the modern player. "Rugby's turning into a sport where the physical aspect prevails over talent," he said. "These days there's no room for talent. I lived another kind of rugby.

"In Argentina we have always had an affinity with the French, they produce players with flair like we have done. Nowadays, take [France centre] Aurelien Rougerie for example, put a black top on him then put him on the pitch and he would think he's an All Black."

Writing in The Guardian, Shaun Edwards believes that some countries gamble unecessarily on new coaching blood.

"Over four seasons you build up partnerships with your fellow coaches as well as the players and Wales were a pretty close unit going off to the World Cup and probably a lot better as coaches when we returned. As a club coach you do learn as you go, but the big infusions in my knowledge have come with the Lions in South Africa two years ago and working with Wales in New Zealand during the World Cup.

"I'd like to think that given the chance, I'd learn a lot more but that doesn't mean I'm angling for anyone's job or negotiating in public. I just think Henry is correct when he says that too many coaches will be losing their jobs because of the result rather than their ability and that some countries gamble unnecessarily on fresh blood when continued learning might be a better course.

"Henry was talking about Martin Johnson, but I'm sure the likes of Declan Kidney, Andy Robinson and Warren Gatland will be better coaches for their southern hemisphere experiences this time around.

"Whereas I'm not sure about the likes of Italy, for example, who seem to be throwing away the collected wisdom of Nick Mallett, rather than asking themselves whether their team came up to expectation or whether Italian rugby would continue to improve under the same management."

By enforcing the present laws and trying out some new ones, the game's governing body can help avoid some of the negative tactics that were prevalent at the recent World Cup, writes Gerry Thornley in the Irish Times.

"World Cups are landmarks. They are supposed to showcase the sport. By rights, they should constitute a four-yearly peak, showing off all that’s best about the game. And while the great global gathering just gone undoubtedly showcased New Zealand in all its glory, it cannot be said to have glorified rugby.

"The All Blacks and Wales were good to watch in the 2011 World Cup, and if you were absorbed by their progress, or indeed Ireland’s, there was plenty to enjoy. As noted previously, there were no classics a la the France-All Blacks knock-out clashes of 1999 and 2007, nor even the thrills and spills which the likes of Wales and Fiji provided four years ago when seeking space, offloading and running from everywhere, notably in their 38-34 nine-try feast.

"Instead, everybody appears to have mutated into something similar, with an overt emphasis on crash-test dummy rugby as players collide, with little space for the speedsters or the tricksters with dancing feet."

Chris Rattue, writing for the New Zealand Herald picks over the latest trend of 'tiredness' amongst the world's elite players.

"It's tiring hearing how tired our rugby players are.

The strain of wading through all the stories about exhausted footballers needing a break means there is barely enough energy left to digest the next story.

I was brought up on the legend of players busting a gut to be All Blacks, but the postscript to tests these days is akin to a fight for the top bunk with Camp Dad Graham Henry providing the ladder.

A four-game stretch rates as a life sentence and even the fearsome frontrower Owen Franks relishes a break in the name of recuperative weightlifting and eating."

The Guardian's rugby writers provide their views on exactly where the European nations stand prior to the World Cup.

"State of the nations: how Europe is shaping up for Rugby World Cup

From no-holds-barred trial matches to tough boot camps, the northern hemisphere sides are working tirelessly to peak at the right time."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue says some of the refereeing decisions during Fiji's defeat to New Zealand on Friday betrays a bias against the smaller Test-playing nations.

"The Fijians should have been hopping mad after getting belted by the All Blacks.

"Three All Black tries were open to question - not that there is much serious questioning when a Pacific Island country gets a raw deal against a rugby superpower.

"Fiji needed to make Dunedin a battleground by opening a PR war to change the subconscious thinking among referees. The whistlers are conditioned to believe certain teams are better than others and rule accordingly, in a sport where interpretation is nine-tenths of the law.

"Pacific Island teams are stereotyped as poorly disciplined, so penalties and yellow - or even red - cards against them are seen as supporting evidence rather than matters for debate.

Writing in the The New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray speaks to John Mayhew about putting together a strategy to alleviate injuries.

"Rugby needs a global season if officials are serious about player welfare, sports medicine expert John Mayhew believes.

"If administrators were genuinely concerned about players' health their decisions were contradicting those aims.

"A global season has to come in rugby, it is the answer but it is more difficult because it is much more an international code than rugby league," he said.

"The complexities of holding different competitions in a non-global season made it extremely difficult for rugby teams to be correctly conditioned."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills draws a line under the northern hemisphere season.

"Trouble is the countries of the Northern Hemisphere face their day of judgment in three months' time when the seventh World Cup begins in New Zealand.

"So, what state are the Six Nations sides really in? It depends which day and which mood you wish to discuss.

"Did we see the real Ireland in the demolition job on England which debunked the myth of a Red Rose Grand Slam at the end of the Six Nations in March?

"Commanding up front and at half-back, where Jonny Sexton has surely now nailed down the starting role at No 10, devastating in the back-row, where Jamie Heaslip and the rapidly emerging Sean O'Brien have made themselves indispensable to the cause, they squashed England's ambitions.

"It was the performance of champions, except that they weren't champions, because they had performed as dozily in their opening two games as a student who'd overslept, doing badly at a job interview.

"Italy should have beaten them in Rome, then an ordinary French team did beat them in Dublin. Scotland could have done so in Edinburgh. Rank indiscipline was the trouble in each case.

"Yet, the performance against England was of another team."

Eddie O'Sullivan's former side Ireland failed to deliver in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France © Getty Images

USA head coach Eddie O'Sullivan talks to the Daily Telegraph ahead of his side's Churchill Cup campaign.

"It’s four years ago now that Ireland players and management were talking confidently of a best ever World Cup performance in France and didn’t bat an eyelid when some critics suggest an appearance in the final might not be beyond them.

"And why not? The way they put England to the sword that year at Croke Park and hammered South Africa and Australia the previous autumn as Lansdowne Road suggested that an outstanding generation were ready to deliver on the very biggest stage. This was their moment.

"Everything seemed set fair but what transpired was a pretty dismal performance in the pool stages where they struggled horribly to defeat lowly Georgia and Namibia in Bordeaux and never remotely got to grips with Argentina and France at the Stade de France. Yes, it was the so-called Pool of Death but nobody expected Ireland to corpse like that."

Paul Rees of The Guardian argues that proposals to start the 2015 Rugby World Cup later and maximise income from tours show how short-sighted rugby is when it chases a buck.

"Another season comes to an end, except for those players required by England Saxons for the Churchill Cup this month and those who have interrupted their holidays to thrill a small crowd at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, when the Barbarians come calling. Anyone involved in the Churchill Cup who impresses enough to be named in England's larger World Cup squad will not get much of a break.

"The International Rugby Board recently hosted a Tier One-nation conference on the game's finances. Countries such as Australia pointed out how much they lost in World Cup years, because of a lack of incoming tours. The Australian Rugby Union wants World Cups to be pushed back a month, so they start in October. If that happens in 2015, when England will be the host, half the tournament will be staged after the clocks have gone back.

"Clubs in Britain, Ireland, France and Italy will then be without their leading players for three months, rather than two, making it more likely they will exert pressure on players below Tier One level to make themselves unavailable for the World Cup - devaluing the tournament.

"What do Australia care, just as there is never any mention of player welfare when means are explored to squeeze more money out of broadcasters, sponsors and spectators?"

Writingi n the New Zealand Herald, Mel Gunasekera reports how the game is growing in Sri Lanka.

"It's a long way off rugby's beaten track, but steamy, jungle-clad Sri Lanka is a little-known haven for the sport in Asia, with even school matches attracting television audiences of millions.

"In a country better known for its cricket, tea exports and bitter civil war, Sri Lanka has quietly nurtured a large playing population with an aspirational bent which makes rugby a daily feature on both the sport and society pages.

"President Mahinda Rajapakse, whose three sons play - including one who is a flanker for the national team - regularly attends games with his family, putting them firmly in the media and political spotlight.

"This year, Sri Lanka broke through into the elite Asian Five Nations tournament for the first time, raising hopes of further national successes."

Peter Bills continues the crusade against the current state of the scrum in The New Zealand Herald.

"You might think that a star player - say Daniel Carter - would make the most of the headlines at this year's Rugby World Cup. But I fear you would be wrong.

"I suspect that one single aspect of the game is likely to dominate the forthcoming World Cup: the scrum. Find me a game in the modern world which is not disfigured by a series of collapsed scrums. In Super 15, Heineken Cup, French Top 14, Magners League, Aviva Premiership or any other rugby competition anywhere in the world, this ludicrous scenario is enacted time and time again. It has become the No 1 stain on the game."

In the Scotsman, Allan Massie laments the loss of the traditional tackle.

"All changes in the laws of a sport have unintended consequences. The present tackle law and the International Rugby Board's directive concerning its interpretation were aimed at ensuring there should a contest at the breakdown while at the same time providing for quick release. On the whole it has worked quite satisfactorily to date, though no doubt defence-minded coaches are plotting ways of slowing up delivery. Yet one of the unintended consequences has been a change in the style of tackling

"For almost all the history of the game there was a "correct" way of tackling. Young players were taught to go hard and low. This classic low tackle is of course still employed: Chris Paterson gave a couple of perfect text-book tackles to save tries against England and Italy.

"Nevertheless, it's been falling out of favour in recent years. First we had the chest-high, front-on "big hit". Now we commonly have the "scrag", a player being pulled, or thrown, down by a "tackler" gripping his jersey."

In his weekly column in the Irish Independent, Tony Ward questions the thinking behind the International Rugby Board's (IRB) depowering of the scrum.

"The most sensible comment I have heard from any analyst in recent times came from former All Blacks hooking legend Sean Fitzpatrick when he was asked for his opinion on the unmitigated disaster area that is now the scrum.

"What once was an art form -- and for those central to it an endgame in itself -- has become a bugbear and a festering sore on the modern game.

"Even the most blinkered of props of my acquaintance are bored to tears by what passes as the re-invented scrum. For Fitzpatrick, the solution was simple and contained in his rhetorical question: "What was wrong with the scrum of old?"

Varying punishments for eye-gouging are baffling according to The Independent's Peter Bills.

"The disciplinary officer has the powers, as we have seen, to impose swingeing punishments for the worst offences. And even if he deems such an incident to be only in the range of moderately dangerous, what is termed a mid-range sanction, the recommended starting ban is 18 weeks.

"Thus, many eyebrows were raised this week when Cueto was convicted of such an assault but given only a nine-week suspension. That, most conveniently, ensures he will be available again for England’s World Cup warm-up matches in August.

"Now no-one is suggesting that anyone from Twickenham ‘got at’ the judge in this particular case, or indeed any other. I am sure that they are all honest, decent upstanding men only interested in fair play and applying the laws.

"Yet the Cueto case still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Afterwards, his apologists claimed that it was not a serious assault because the victim, ironically a player Cueto used to know well, did not make a formal written complaint."

Hugh Farrelly isn't a fan of the 'grandmother rule' in international rugby, and tells us as much in The Irish Independent.

"Grandad Farrelly was from Clare. He was born in Tulla in 1904 and we buried him there in 1989 after driving all the way down from the Dublin funeral mass with a Garda escort.

"Those motorcycle outriders were provided because Sean had been a Chief Superintendent and he always exuded that air of stern authority conducive to progress in the force. Outside work, his main passions were golf (he played off a three handicap), Bunny Carr's Quicksilver, and Boyne Valley Honey drizzled on to Flora-covered white bread.

"In short -- aside from shared DNA -- we had nothing in common, least of all a handed-down affiliation to Clare."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills reveals why former Munster centre Jean de Villiers believes Ireland are the best equipped side from the northern hemisphere to adapt to rugby's new laws.

"We're talking rugby, Jean de Villiers and I - both the northern and southern hemisphere versions - and trying to analyse how far ahead the south may be in terms of the new law interpretations.

"But really, the reality is bearing down on us from above. It is called the sun and today, here at the training ground of the Cape Town-based Super 15 franchise the Western Stormers, at Belville in the northern suburbs, it is 30C.

"Three days later, when the Stormers run out at 5.0 for their match against the Cheetahs, the temperature at kick-off is 34C. The ground is like a rock, baked hard after what has been an excessively hot and windy South African summer in the Cape.

"Mind you, what follows is pure 'Ireland versus England' from the 1960s. The Stormers win 21-15, seven penalty goals to five. Not a try in sight. So how does the former Munster centre regard the debate over northern versus southern hemisphere in the year of the Rugby World Cup?

"He comes up with a highly positive viewpoint. 'Obviously at the moment, with it still being dry over here, the game is a bit quicker and you need to adapt to it much faster. But some of the rugby I've seen in the Six Nations and the Heineken Cup has been fantastic as well. So they are adapting in the northern hemisphere, but it takes a while to do that.'"

Japan coach John Kirwan wants to bring back Christian Loamanu for his World Cup squad even though the winger has received a lifetime ban for drug use. The New Zealand Herald reports.

"Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) chairman Noburo Mashimo told reporters Kirwan wanted to reinstate the Tongan-born Loamanu but admitted there would be problems with the move.

"Loamanu, 24, won 16 caps for the Brave Blossoms and played at the 2007 World Cup, but was sacked from Japan Top League side Toshiba Brave Lupus in February 2009 and banned by the JRFU after two doping test specimens revealed traces of cannabis.

"Mashimo told Japanese media: "It will be difficult to bring him (Loamanu) back after the decision has already been made on this case. However, we'd better listen to what the head coach would say and see how much he needs the player."

"Mashimo added that he had advised Kirwan, the All Black legend who became Japan coach months before the 2007 World Cup in France, to state his case at the union's executive meeting in March."

Veteran Aussie rugby commentator Gordon Bray turns up on our screens this year as the face of Six Nations rugby in the southern hemisphere - he talks to the New Zealand Herald's Chris Rattue.

Has Robbie Deans fallen short or is a long-term plan coming together? "Most definitely the latter ... we've become very competitive against New Zealand and should be reaching the desired level at the right time. In that sense he's done an outstanding job. He's learnt about the Australian character and invested in young guys and encouraged them to do their own thing."

The South African coach Peter de Villiers does his own thing, but is that good for the Springboks? "I haven't had a lot to do with him but he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve. He has a lot more knowledge than he is given credit for. But his selections are erratic and his press conferences are all over the place. South Africa's victory against England at Twickenham saved his bacon - but I'm not convinced that was the best outcome for South Africa."

"Do you like the new Super Rugby format? "South Africa has been greatly disadvantaged in the past because of the travel involved. And it should encourage tribal rivalries, something the competition has lacked a bit. The Melbourne Rebels, with their coach Rod Macqueen back in the frame, could be a surprise package. They have a lot of journeymen but Macqueen picks players who can really forge a culture. I've seen him turn average players into very, very good players particularly when he started with the Brumbies. He will produce something special over the next few years."

Daily Telegraph columnist Brian Moore re-enters the debate over scrum in the modern game.

"At one penalty won by Leicester, Castrogiovanni twisted Thomas so far round the Welshman almost ended up staring at the face of his hooker and captain Matthew Rees. This occurred with the Irish referee only two yards away after he had come round to the non put-in side of the scrum to see what was going on.

"Given we are repeatedly told that the engage sequence is supposed to be for referees to check distance, body angles, binding etc (so much so they allegedly cannot watch the straightness of the put-in), it is bewildering Rolland did not see this blatant illegality and penalise it. Still, Rolland should not worry — enforcing the laws of rugby appears to be only one of the assessment criteria for refereeing at elite level and not a very important one at that.

"Belatedly, it is dawning on the IRB that what some of us have been saying for nigh on five years is correct — the scrum is important and retains popular support from fans who do not want its defenestration, in whole or part. However, as managed by elite referees and the IRB, the scrum is a constant source of frustration; it is boring and very possibly dangerous."

Peter Bills weighs in with more on the current state of international refereeing in The Irish Independent.

"A thoroughly positive story with which to end the old year and send us racing into World Cup year. The IRB have decided to put an end to the process of Buggins' turn, which has made the world of refereeing so alarmingly unpredictable.

"In 2011, we will see an elite group emerge among world rugby's officials. The tradition has been to spread the load, to give as many referees as possible exposure on the highest stages, like the Tri Nations and the Six Nations. But the results of this have been too erratic. The mistakes made by officials such as Mark Lawrence of South Africa this year have been so glaring, that they have had an influence on the outcome of Test matches."

Peter Bills delivers a 'sobering assessment' of northern hemisphere rugby following the latest Heineken Cup battles in The Independent.

"Italy’s South African-born coach Nick Mallett recently spelled out the harsh facts of world rugby life to a failing northern hemisphere.

"Mallett’s strong views came after a November Test series of southern hemisphere supremacy that has left the northern hemisphere countries covered by a blanket of gloom, not to mention snow.

“Even your international teams would struggle to beat the top four or five sides in Super 15 rugby” Mallett told me. “There are far too many average games in northern hemisphere rugby. Even in competitions like the Heineken Cup, the French Top 14, the English Premiership and the Celtic League, you can lower your guard in any of those games."

The abiding memory of the recent autumn internationals was not the excellence of the rugby but the great swathes of empty seats in every direction. The Scotsman's Iain Morrison reports.

"There are both general reasons and country or club-specific excuses behind the dip in crowd numbers. In Ireland it was a crazy ticketing scheme that alienated fans at a time of drastic belt-tightening. In Wales they haven't won a match in their last seven outings. Meanwhile, the Scottish public have never really bought into professional rugby and Edinburgh Rugby also angered a section of their fans by withdrawing their bar facilities.

"But there are other universal reasons that turn off the fans and chief amongst them is the proliferation of matches, especially at international level, although talk in England about expanding to a 14-team Premiership should have alarm bells ringing.

"Ireland, Wales and England all insist on playing four rather than three autumn Tests so elbowing their way into what should be a club weekend and money is at the nub of it. The RFU pays for additional access to its players by splitting the receipts from the fourth Test with the Premiership clubs while Wales and Ireland both have debt to pay down thanks to their new stadiums. Only Scotland have resisted the fourth Test but that is due to the obvious lack of demand more than any noble restraint."

The Independent's Peter Bills believes the International Rugby Board should be praised for punishing sub-standard refereeing.

"Some of the game’s authorities may still appear mired in the 19th century, but for the referees, the reality of a modern day professional sport has arrived with a rude shock.

"Take the South African refereeing duo, Marius Jonker and Mark Lawrence who took charge of internationals in the recently completed autumn Test series. Both have been axed from the world referees’ panel for the 6 Nations Championship in the New Year.

"The duo, heavily criticised for poor performances in the November Tests, have not even been chosen as assistant referees for the 15-match programme starting in February.

"Fellow South African officials Craig Joubert and Jonathan Kaplan are included, Joubert’s two games against one for Kaplan confirming him as that country’s top referee heading into World Cup year.

"...But for the South Africans Lawrence and Jonker, there is only the reality that they have been left out in the cold. And their chances of officiating at the World Cup have clearly been damaged."

Wynne Gray believes he has ten ideas which could change the game of rugby for the better © Getty Images

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray gives his thoughts on how the International Rugby Board (IRB) might go about changing the face of the game.

"1. Speak up, ref

"Mike up the match officials, then we will know what they are ruling instead of them waving their arms about as though they are controlling aircraft docking or passengers at train stations.

"It seems absurd that millions can sit in their lounges or clubrooms and get a good idea on referees' decisions through television, while those who fork out the dosh and go to watch games live, have to bung earplugs in to try to catch, often without any great success, those same rulings.

"We've got modern stadiums; wire them up so we can hear what referees are telling the players."

Peter Bills believes that November's Test schedule underlined the south's dominance over the north in The Independent.

"Britain, Ireland and northern France was blanketed by snow this morning. By contrast, the southern hemisphere basks in warm sunshine and that cosy sense of world rugby supremacy. The seasons and years come and go, but nothing much changes...

"In London, we thought we’d spied an early spring a couple of weeks ago when England beat Australia. But normal service was resumed in the November internationals at the weekend when the South Africans beat up Martin Johnson’s men to record a victory so much more imposing than a 21-11 score line suggests.

"Indeed, all over the northern hemisphere through this month of November, rugby’s world order has re-asserted itself. The southern hemisphere rules, OK? And there’s no disputing it."

Peter Bills believes that the south can again claim to be streets ahead of the north in The New Zealand Herald.

"The All Blacks might have been several notches below their best and Wales might have shown considerable courage. Yet it's hard to argue with a five tries to one score line. Fact is, Wales's players are just not used to playing with the same intensity, precision of execution and powerful physicality that the New Zealanders bring to all their games.

"It is even tougher to dispute the Wallabies' whopping 59-16 annihilation of the French on a bitter night in Paris. The French simply do not know how to play this new, attacking game. The country whose rugby men once gave the world such pleasure with their ball handling skills, invention and intelligence, now have only physical might to offer."

Writing for the Sunday Telegraph, Brendan Gallagher reports on Wales latest defeat at the hands of the All Blacks.

"New Zealand, not always at their best but clinical and ruthless when it counted, completed their third northern hemisphere Grand Slam since 2005 against a Wales side that gave it everything but still came up well short. That’s 24 consecutive defeats now against the All Blacks, a horrible statistic for a rugby nation that once considered themselves the equal of Saturday's opponents.

"...Dan Carter, enduring a poor half with four missed kicks at goal, did locate the target with a beautifully struck effort from 49 metres to pass Jonny Wilkinson’s previous world record mark of 1,178 Test points.

"It says everything you need to know about the All Blacks team ethic and focus on the job in hand that not a single New Zealand player went to congratulate him on such a landmark achievement."

Martin Johnson's England side were scuppered by brute force of Springbok forwards and early injuries to key players Croft and Flood.The Independent on Sunday's Hugh Godwin reports.

"A couple of escalators outside Twickenham seized up a few minutes before kick-off and England suffered a similar breakdown in their upward progression. South Africa's muscularly indomitable Springboks blew the composure of Lewis Moody's side to smithereens, and but for Ben Foden's late interception there might have been a few boos welling in HQ's voiceboxes. This was South Africa's seventh straight win over England.

"The 10-point defeat replicated England's first result of the autumn, against the All Blacks, to create sobering bookends either side of the wins over Australia and Samoa. It was the last chance to get one up on the southern hemisphere heavyweights before the World Cup; the eight matches England have before the global set-to in New Zealand next September will be against Six Nations opposition.

"England were fragile, undermined by forces of physics as familiar to Martin Johnson as Isaac Newton. Whereas the Australians had played fast and loose, encouraging the English second rows, Courtney Lawes and Tom Palmer, into exciting dynamism, the South Africans stifled all that at source. The world champions were missing nine top-line players and had blown their Grand Slam bid in Scotland but they showed no fear at close quarters and handled England expertly out wide. Schalk Burger, John Smit and Heinrich Brussow were among the absentees; still their pack was strong enough to make monkeys of anyone who thought this would be a walk in the safari park for England."

The Springboks showed no mercy at Twickenham but England still have good grounds for optimism according to The Observer's Paul Hayward.

"Softened up by this imperious muscularity, England fell to a 21-11 scoreline that was rendered more respectable by Ben Foden's late breakaway try. Tom Croft and Toby Flood were wiped out before half‑time. Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes soon followed them to the spectator seats. South Africa were in primal mode. Not dirty, just merciless, man‑on‑man. Instinct must have told them England had grown giddy on their new expansive style and needed to learn about subjugation.

"From this, much gloom will follow. The more pessimistic analysts will say England tricked us with that conquest of the Wallabies. They will talk of soft centres and old flaws. Many recruits have walked the path from early praise to damnation since 2007. Will this lot join them? Not if there is to be justice and logic in the end-of-term report on a side who displayed ambition against the All Blacks and Australia and great fortitude against the South Africa of Victor Matfield and Pierre Spies, before the barricades splintered with tries by Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo. Too many penalties were conceded, too many mistakes made, but through the fog of disappointment you look for evidence that a new team are emerging – and there has been plenty of that over the past four weeks."

Will England's Courtney Lawes rise to the challenge of South Africa's Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha? © Getty Images

The Daily Telegraph's Will Greenwood believes England's Courtney Lawes and Tom Palmer face a big test against their Springbok counterparts Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield.

"Brad Thorn, of New Zealand, has been pushing hard for the title of rugby enforcer over the past 18 months, but if you asked me who I would fear the most, it is still Botha.

"I once compared his partner in crime, Matfield, to Lee van Cleef. He strolls into town, ready to do what must be done, confident that the opposition will blink first.

"A basketball athlete with the leap of a bucking bronco and the hands of a centre. Old hands, Botha and Matfield have seen it all and done it better than pretty much anyone. Today, however, the old hands will come up against a young partnership who have shown their steel in the past couple of matches.

"England have Tom Palmer and Courtney Lawes in their second row and they have added a new dimension to the England team. Dynamic, powerful, athletic, nasty, with some pretty tasty hands of their own."

As the international season winds up, the Sydney Morning Herald's Greg Growden rates the top competitors before next year's World Cup in New Zealand.

"Strengths: The All Blacks are the most complete team going around, and boast two crucial elements - the world's No.1 openside flanker in Richie McCaw and five-eighth in Daniel Carter. Every World Cup winner has a great No.10, and Carter is in that category. McCaw is also the smartest captain going around. As shown this season, they have the varied game plans to overcome most conditions and oppositions. The Wallabies did beat them once this year, but most times finished deep in their shadow.

"Weaknesses: They have a terrible habit of falling apart at World Cup time. There is also the pressure of performing at home, because the expectations among the New Zealand community are enormous. As they have worked so hard on getting a consistent, settled line-up, they could struggle if injuries hit their attack. The All Blacks must work out where to put Sonny Bill Williams, because if he appears in the wrong spot, the balance could be badly affected.

"What needs to be fixed: Not much.

"Where they have gone in rankings in a year: Remained first.

"Prediction: World Cup victors."

Brian Moore criticises the game's referees for allowing scrummaging to descend into farce in The Daily Telegraph.

"It used to be that what happened was of general import only when one pack destroyed the other giving a psychological and sometimes numerical advantage from penalties extracted from hapless opponents.

"The talk of a game within a game was apposite and sometimes front rows on the losing team really did come off the field inwardly satisfied that they had won the real war.

"This is the case no longer; there are no dark arts any more, it is just pushing and poor refereeing."

Alasdair Reid talks to Samoa's Seilala Mapusua about the continued lack of support from tier one nations for the Pacific islands in The Daily Telegraph.

"So distorted have the values of rugby become, so driven by the avaricious financial demands of the sport's so-called major nations, that Mapusua and his fellow islanders have consistently been denied the chance to play worthwhile games in front of their own people.

"New Zealand, disgracefully, have never played in Samoa. Nor have Australia. The Antipodean superpowers have exploited the rich playing resources of the tiny Pacific island group there, but they have never returned the favour by actually pitching up and playing a Test match there.

"The Celtic nations have a better – though not much better – record, but the last tier one Test side to play in Samoa was Ireland in 2003."

New Zealand legend Jonah Lomu believes next year's Rugby World Cup in his homeland could be the closest yet. Sport24 reports.

"Lomu was in Florence to publicise his rugby camps and took time out from entertaining budding young rugby players to look ahead to next year's global showpiece.

"And despite being a veteran of 185 points in 63 matches for the All Blacks, he wasn't prepared to tip them for glory, even on home soil.

"Honestly this World Cup's probably the most open that there can be, you just have to look at the teams that got knocked over at the weekend," he said. "The All Blacks got knocked over by Australia and then you look at England who knocked over Australia itself, so it's anybody's ball game."

The next Rugby World Cup will be won with attacking rugby according to Guardian columnist Shaun Edwards.

"After Australia in 1999, England in 2003 and the 2007 South Africans won with their pressure games, the next winners will buck the trend by scoring more tries than anyone else. It won't be laugh-and-giggle rugby, there will be plenty of tight games, but halfway through the autumn internationals I'm convinced the kind of rugby we first saw in the Tri-Nations will be the dominant force in New Zealand next year.

"Why did it take so long for the penny to drop? Well, we've all seen South Seas bubbles before. This time, however, it looks as though referees as well as players are committed and in the balance of risk and reward, the scales have tipped the way of the attackers."

New Zealand pack down in training ahead of this clash with Ireland in Dublin © Getty Images

The scrum re-set has been a huge problem in this autumn's internationals but IRB referees' chief Paddy O'Brien insists the blight on the game is being reduced thanks to their often-criticised engagement sequence. The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley reports.

"As he reiterated last week, O’Brien is keen for the referees to ensure strict application of the crouch, touch, pause, engage sequence at the scrum, and backs up his edicts with statistical evidence to show that this has reduced the number of collapsed and reset scrums.

“The 2010 Tri-Nations saw a 40 per cent decrease in the number of scrum resets compared to the 2010 June tier one Tests, so this area of the game is improving. The coaches have all expressed their support of the referee leading the crouch, touch, pause, engage scrum sequence and the sanctioning of players who fail to follow the calling of the engagement procedure, particularly early engagement. The message to the referees is clear. We require greater consistency at the elite level and compliance is critical in this key area of the game,” said O’Brien.

"Interestingly, the IRB game analysis also highlights that the 2010 Tri-Nations saw a 50 per cent reduction in scrum collapses compared to the 2010 Six Nations, despite some refereeing crossover between the hemispheres, although perhaps this supports the view that Southern Hemisphere referees apply the scrum engagement sequence more deliberately."

Writing in The Independent, former England coach Brian Ashton is impressed by the Wallabies' endeavour but thinks they will come up short against his former charges.

"Which brings me to today's Twickenham visitors, the Wallabies, who continue to fly in the face of orthodoxy and accepted rugby logic in producing some breathtaking attacking play while spending much of their lives under the cosh at the scrum, which has been regarded since time immemorial as the foundation stone of the game. The Australians were completely stuffed in this area by Wales last weekend, just as they had been by England in Perth back in June. (They won that one, as well.) How the hell do they manage it? The explanation is simple, even if the act itself is supremely demanding. They have committed themselves body and soul to playing dynamic rugby, imbued with a sense of attacking purpose, irrespective of what they may or may not achieve at the set piece.

The Will Genia-Quade Cooper-Matt Giteau triangle is at the heart of what they do, and I can't help admiring the variation, the flexibility and the subtlety these exceptional players bring to the game. Add to this the X-factor contribution of a full-back like Kurtley Beale and a wing like James O'Connor, and you begin to understand why the Wallabies feel they can win any match with 30-40 per cent of the ball. It is as though they have set their face against the twin gods of rugby: the god of quality possession and the god of territorial dominance. You have to credit them for their boldness.

In Cardiff, Cooper was again the orchestrator-in-chief, playing his own version of hide and seek, sitting behind the attacking line before appearing quite suddenly in the firing line with all guns loaded. Through this unique approach to positional play, he has been able to develop his general "game sense". For instance, his decision-making when it comes to kicking – when, where and how – has become an important factor in keeping the Wallabies on the front foot even when they're on the back foot at scrum time.

Having said all this, I take England to beat the Aussies this afternoon. Surely, the tourists cannot continue to defy belief, to fly in the face of all tradition, to keep on pulling rugby rabbits out of the hat by winning major Test matches while losing the set-piece contest hands down, conceding territory at every turn and shipping penalties by the dozen? Can they?"

Dan Carter - the only modern great? © Getty Images

Peter Bills mourns the death of the northern hemisphere's fly-half production line in The Irish Independent.

"Riverdance? Forget it. If you wanted to see real footwork, magical stepping and great movement, all you had to do was peruse the rugby fields of the world over the last 50 years and enjoy a long list of world-class out-halves.

"Consider some of the candidates for a lead role: Jack Kyle and Cliff Morgan from the 1950s; Scotland's Gordon Waddell from the 1960s, Mike Gibson, Barry John and Phil Bennett from the 1970s, Jonathan Davies in the 1980s...

"But alas, there is no current vintage of northern hemisphere players worthy of inclusion in such a list. Some think it a mystery as to why. For sure, one southern hemisphere out-half justifies inclusion in such an esteemed list. Dan Carter of New Zealand is a supreme talent: calm, authoritative and a shrewd, visionary reader of the play. Australian Quade Cooper is a one-off, a dynamic attacker but not quite yet the all-round performer that Carter is."

Former Wallaby Matt Burke runs the rule over Wales ahead of Australia's visit to the Millenium Stadium, on Rugby Heaven.

"This Welsh team has gone through a revival under coach Warren Gatland. About a decade ago, the Welsh were considered a team against which you might improve your stats. Yet a change of direction, some say inspired by Scott Johnson, means this team passes the ball more than any other, allowing continuity of play.

"The result of the ball being kept in play is more tries. More tries means winning more games. This is not limited to the backs, either. The forwards have focused on providing the link between a dying ball and keeping it alive. Success quickly followed with Six Nations glory. Wales were no longer the team that ''just turned up''. The strength of the Welsh team will be their ability to play quick rugby; that is speed of ball movement, speed of recycling the ball, speed of players and speed of defence. Such speed puts other teams under pressure. It is a high risk-reward scenario but can be pretty to watch."

The Irish Examiner's Barry Coughlan caught up with Jean de Villiers and found the Springbok still has feelings for an old flame.

"With a grin, de Villiers said: "I’ll certainly be wearing the South African jersey and that’s uppermost in my mind, but if I manage to get a big hit on any of the Leinster guys, I might just put it down to getting some revenge in for Munster too."

"He admitted that Munster and Limerick had tugged at his heart-strings before he made the decision to go back and fight for his World Cup place with the Springboks. "Look, Munster is now a part of my life beyond rugby. I don’t regret a single minute, I made a huge number of friends, so did my wife Rachel and she’s over here now and staying on after I get back home; honestly, you don’t walk away from Munster and just forget.

"It really was a very tough decision; people won’t understand how hard it was. If I arrived in Ireland and hated everything, didn’t enjoy the team I was playing in and didn’t enjoy the culture then it would have been an easy decision but this was totally different and totally special. Yes, there was the temptation to stay another year, but I wanted to play in the upcoming World Cup. Had I waited, it would probably have been too late and too big a risk."

Will Greenwood reflects on his experiences of facing the All Blacks © Getty Images

"Want an insight into the mind of an All Black? They don’t swap shirts at the end of games. Or at least they didn’t when I was playing. It was almost as if they were saying that their whole lives had been about getting a black shirt, why the hell would they want a white one? They have a mindset that is unique. It’s what sets them apart. They don’t do physical pain. I was laughed at in the tunnel when I twisted my knee and was on crutches in 2002. When I got winded earlier in the same match, they walked past and said all manner of things about my manliness, none of it pleasant."

"John Mitchell, the former England forwards coach and the first Kiwi I really spent time with, used to have a favourite phrase when talking about the contact area: “Let the dogs see the rabbit.” He loved it. It was physical confrontation, doing the tough jobs. It was what he was about, the rugby DNA that runs through the national side from their first tour of the British Isles to the team England face today."

"I could have watched the quite staggering game of rugby between New Zealand and Australia in Hong Kong last Saturday 100 times. I know the forwards will tell me that one team can’t scrummage, Australia, and the other can’t win a line-out, New Zealand, but oh my goodness. Pace, intensity and lung-busting desire. The game was a frightening gauntlet thrown down to all the players in the northern hemisphere."

Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan questions the Springboks' abilities in his Irish Independent column.

"The Springboks need a big-game win on this tour and that probably equates to victory either at the Aviva or against England at Twickenham. They are probably even more vulnerable than when shot down in the freezing fog of Croke Park a year ago, not -- mind -- that they aren't capable of hitting the ground with all guns blazing today.

"I just question whether those guns possess their customary firepower. Life, clearly, isn't all sweetness and light in the camp after finishing bottom of the Tri Nations pile with one win out of six and conceding an average of 30 points in each game. Marry that to the depleted nature of the squad they have brought to these shores and it has to translate into a big opportunity for Ireland.

"The Tri Nations highlighted massive concentration issues for the Boks. They blew a 'dead rubber' match against New Zealand with a 12-point turnaround in the closing five minutes and then messed up trying to run down the clock with 30 seconds remaining in the game with Australia at Bloemfontein. This was light years removed from the cold efficiency that defined the Springboks' mastery of the Lions in 2009, a series in which they had the luxury of resting front-line players for the third and, already redundant, final Test. Historically, confidence has never been an issue for South African rugby, but events of the last six months can't but have left little deposits of worry."

The Guardian's Paul Hayward looks ahead to the Twickenham clash between England and New Zealand and says it is time for Martin Johnson's project to deliver.

"The emasculation of England's greatest captain since Bobby Moore has been a painful running theme in the country's troubles since the losing World Cup final appearance of 2007: itself a mirage, in the sense that Brian Ashton's team reached that Paris climax through sheer brute stubbornness before returning to disorder.

"Johnson, who has been more media-friendly of late (he still hates questions about his own emotional processes or how he might have "changed as a person"), leads the way to a quiet corner at the team's plush Pennyhill Park base in Surrey and delivers a statement more powerful than it might sound: "You've probably got a narrower focus now on who you know you want to have around."

"A straight-talker turned diplomat, Johnson confirms England's open secret. Finally these are his men, this is his team, with no room for dilettantes or one-cap wonders. The sifting has been long and awkward and sometimes embarrassing. But now Johnson feels empowered to say: "What you need is a group of players who are the England team – and we haven't had that for a long time. We've had so many players in and out. You need to know who the England squad are. We're getting that way now.""

Will the All Blacks bounce back to winning ways against England? © Getty Images

Contrasting fortunes in their respective last tests will be key motivational drivers for the All Blacks and England this Sunday, so writes the New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul.

"In a quirk of fate, Australia are the team both New Zealand and England last encountered, with the former receiving a sharp reminder about the need for focus and intensity and the latter believing their victory in Sydney five months ago to be the start of something special.

The All Blacks, with 15 consecutive wins before that defeat in Hong Kong, have already shrugged off the demons. They have identified where they went wrong and most of their problems are fixable.

Defeat has brought an edge to training this week, put some competitive tension back in the squad and earned an extra half-hour of hard work on Tuesday under the watchful eye of Graham Henry.

The All Blacks appear to have drawn a similar amount of intelligence from England's last encounter. Despite England having barely a 40 per cent win ratio under manager Martin Johnson, there is a sense of them having turned a corner."

How apt that on a day when Britain was drenched with rain, the Wallabies were reminded the great rugby divide between southern hemisphere adventure and northern hemisphere attrition still exists, so writes the Sydney Morning Herald's Greg Growden.

"After the early week enthusiasm for the International Rugby Board report on this year's Tri Nations, which showed the tournament had enlivened the game through fast, expressive ball-in-hand play, the naysayers from the north produced their usual moaning over whether it was truly Test rugby.

The statistics show the number of tries in the Tri Nations nearly doubled in a year, the number of passes increased by 35 per cent, the kicks out of hand dropped dramatically and the average ball-in-play time increased by 2½ minutes a Test. The figures didn't impress those northerners who have a stronger passion for defence-oriented dogfights dominated by rolling mauls, territorial kicking, an emphasis on the set piece and repeated attempts to slow the ball down at the breakdown. It is not a recipe for spectator satisfaction.

As the British press aptly put it, England defence coach Mike Ford was reading from rugby's Old Testament when he reacted to Tri Nations statistics by complaining: ''There were three games in the Tri Nations that produced an average of 77 points and that, for me, isn't Test rugby.''

With less than a year to go until New Zealand 2011, Shaun Edwards offers his take on the world's 10 best teams. Check out his thoughts in The Guardian.

"Cast your minds back a year to some advice about what you might do with any spare fiver you had knocking about. Back then you could have got Australia at 10-1 to win the World Cup. Today it's 4-1. That win in Hong Kong last weekend might not have knocked the All Blacks off the top spot in the world rankings organised by the international board, or with the bookies, but I bet it set alarm bells ringing in Wellington and Auckland because while Australia always seem to go to World Cups nearing peak form, New Zealand have a habit of leaving their best behind.

"... New Zealand - World ranking 1 World Cup odds 8-11

Racing favourites and rightly so. After 15 successive wins you shouldn't suffer too heavily because the side you've beaten 10 times on the bounce edges a game you should have won. That said, Hong Kong and the Australia victory once again highlighted the All Blacks' reliance on Dan Carter and Richie McCaw. With Carter off the pitch, they shipped 12 points in 13 minutes and with memories of 2007, Cardiff and France still fresh in the memory, the whole of New Zealand will be praying that their fly-half and the captain both stay fit."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills hints that referee Romain Poite could be a firework waiting to go off when England play New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday.

"England’s worry centres around their fear that Poite, like so many French referees this season, will allow many of the old tricks and skulduggery at the breakdown. Justifiably, they point to the chaos on show at most of the French Top 14 matches this season where players have been able to get away with either killing or slowing down the ball at the breakdown, or even diving over the top in many cases without sanction.

"Watching French club rugby this season has been like finding yourself in a time capsule. Did the game really change? Were new law interpretations really brought in to improve and speed up the play? Did not the All Blacks in particular, but also Australia, play some dazzling, attacking rugby in this year’s Tri-Nations under law interpretations in which almost instant re-cycling of the loose ball at the breakdown was paramount? If you have watched much French rugby, you will have concluded that all the above was a mere dream, an illusion, a fantasy."

Australia's players celebrate their dramatic victory over the All Blacks in Hong Kong © Getty Images

Mick Cleary of the Daily Telegraph argues that rugby's new zeitgeist is, 'Bold is in, caution is out.'

"Wimps will not prosper. Teams who sit back, play the percentages and wait for mistakes will be left in the slipstream of the turbocharged southern superpowers. That was the clear message coming from Hong Kong on Saturday as the Wallabies managed to pockmark the armour of the seemingly dent-proof All Blacks.

"It may have taken a nerveless conversion from baby-faced Australian wing James O’Connor, the last act of a breathless game, to seal the 26-24 win but it was as if he had landed his boot in New Zealand’s nether regions so deflating was the outcome for Kiwis the world over.

"Australia deserved their moment of exultation (their first victory against the All Blacks in 11 Tests) for the simple reason that they refused to wither and fade. They came, and they came again, chancing their arm with slick, fast and often unstructured rugby."

In his column in the Irish Independent, former Ireland fly-half Tony Ward argues that while the Springboks are beatable, Australia and New Zealand could cause the northern hemisphere's finest all sorts of problems this month.

"Judging by Saturday's pulsating clash between Australia and New Zealand in Hong Kong, the northern hemisphere teams are in for a rough ride in the coming weeks.

"If the Wallabies and the All Blacks can repeat the unshackled, incessant attacking rugby they produced in the Far East, then they are going to be extremely tough for any European side to live with.

"Much will depend on a consistent standard of refereeing but, if Alain Rolland's performance last Saturday is to be the yardstick, then we are in for a fascinating pre-World Cup clash of the hemispheres over the next few weeks."

Australia's James O'Connor dives over to score a crucial score in Hong Kong © Getty Images

Australia's victory over New Zealand in Hong Kong was a good thing on many levels according to the New Zealand Herald's Chris Rattue.

"Rugby as a whole needed this result. More specifically, battling Aussie rugby was crying out for victory. A loss will even do the All Blacks good, giving them renewed vigour and desperation, plus a clearer picture of where they are straying if these coaches are capable of a little humility.

Those of us who have extolled the brilliance of Robbie Deans' coaching will feel vindicated again after periods of doubt.

Blame for the defeat lies firmly with Graham Henry, who may end up sinking through a belief he can walk on water."

After Australia’s stunning win against New Zealand in Hong Kong on Saturday, how worried should Wales be about facing the Wallabies this Saturday? The Western Mail's Delme Parfiff writes.

"Leaf through some sections of the self-congratulatory Australian press yesterday and you’d be forgiven for concluding Wales may as well not bother turning up at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

"If you did happen to go online and read any of it, the easiest assumption to make was that, as the Wallabies were always going to pose an almighty threat anyway, now, after their 26-24 defeat of New Zealand in Hong Kong at the weekend, surely it’s a mere damage limitation exercise for Warren Gatland’s troops in five days time.

"Well, if you have arrived at that thought, you are wrong."

Australia's win over the All Blacks made the northern nations' task in the autumn internationals look much, much harder. The Guardian's Rob Kitson writes.

"The trouble with southern-hemisphere teams is that they never stand still. England's rugby players awoke on Saturday morning feeling pretty good about themselves after a productive week's training, cautiously optimistic about what might lie ahead. And now? Let's just say that Australia's breathless 26-24 victory over New Zealand in Hong Kong has not so much raised the bar as pole-vaulted the autumn visitors into a different league.

It was less the result that will bother Martin Johnson as the nature of the game. The All Blacks never need a second invitation to pile into the old country, although the loss of their 15-Test unbeaten record will certainly sting a bit. Australia also have every incentive to stick it to the Poms on Saturday week. No, it was the pace and intensity of the contest which will have struck Johnson straight between those famous brows. If both touring sides keep that up at Twickenham, it could be a chastening fortnight.

This is not to say that England – or Wales, Scotland and Ireland – should abandon all hope and prepare for ritual floggings over the next month. There is every reason to believe that the English, in particular, are in better shape than 12 months ago. The November weather and softer pitches are also a frequent leveller. But what was evident in Hong Kong is that the Wallabies and the All Blacks are committed to making a bold statement, 10 months out from the World Cup. Get it right now, Graham Henry and Robbie Deans are urging, and the benefits will be felt throughout 2011."

Eddie Butler ponders the respective hopes of the Home Unions prior to the arrival of the southern hemisphere's superpowers in The Observer.

"There used to be a digital display at London's Paddington station showing the size of the US national debt. Dollars rose by the fistful, by the nano-second, although I presume the bankers would have reassured us that the numbers that mattered, the trillions owed, moved more slowly. Hell, what did they know?

"The display has vanished, presumably because they ran out of space. It would have been interesting to see platforms 1, 2 and 3, with services to Penzance, Bristol Temple Meads and Swansea, elbowed aside by the General Motors bail-out.

"Still, as one counter stops running up debt, another ticks down time. As the November internationals approach, we are reminded that the 2011 Rugby World Cup clock is now running, with just over 10 months to go before the tournament opens in Auckland. And the question grows more pressing: is anybody in the northern hemisphere in any position to challenge the southern?"

In his regular column in The Independent, former England boss Brian Ashton looks ahead to the autumnal Tests.

"Now we are just about done with the Octoberfest – or, in Saracens' case, the Oktoberfest – we can look towards the November Test-fest and ask ourselves the usual question: is it meaningful, or meaningless?

"A lot has been said and written just recently about the ever-increasing volume of international rugby, and depending on where you sit, cross-hemisphere matches between teams at the start of their season and opponents at the end of theirs are either full of importance or empty of significance.

"This much is certain: many of the finest players in the world will be in these islands over the next four weeks or so, and if they bring the best of their ambition with them, we stand a fighting chance of witnessing something memorable."

The Northern Hemisphere rugby nations are resigned to playing catch-up with New Zealand in terms of high-level performance, according to former England coach Brian Ashton - he talks to the New Zealand Herald's Peter Bills.

"Ashton admits he is yet to be convinced by the efforts of many of the Northern Hemisphere players to match the fast, flowing, penetrative style of rugby New Zealand employed in the Tri-Nations this year to capitalise on the new law interpretations.

"The laws have just caught up with what New Zealand were doing a year or two ago. They are two years ahead of most other countries although Australia possibly has the potential to produce the same type of game. The game New Zealand are playing is quicker, with less errors. The ball is in play far more than in this part of the world.

"Ultimately, it is the last 20 minutes of a game that gives the New Zealanders such an advantage. That is when they can blow you away, as they have shown many times particularly in Johannesburg in the Tri-Nations this year."

Peter Bills believes that the refereeing of the November Tests will go a long way to deciding the future of the game in The Irish Independent.

"The future of rugby union worldwide as a game worth playing and watching rests in the hands of a group of spindly men in funny-coloured shirts with a large whistle stuffed into their tonsils.

"Like 'em or loathe 'em, referees hold the key to whether this game is going to slip back to the sort of slow, dreary stalemate of the past in which cheating was endemic, or flourish in the style New Zealand produced in this year's Tri Nations.

"We are privileged; we have seen the future of what could again be an absolutely magnificent game. It was demonstrated primarily in New Zealand's early matches in the Tri Nations and it was devastating rugby, played at high pace with skills to match."

Writing following a trip to Asia for an HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Long Lunch, The Telegraph's Brian Moore reveals some interesting facts from outside rugby's comfortable top tier.

"By 2016, 80 per cent of the planet's population aged 20 and under will live in the Asia, including the Indian subcontinent.

"...If you ran a global business and 80 per cent of your future market was similarly situated, where would your concentration be in terms of development? Thus far the geographical spread of IRB funding has committed relatively little to this region and this must change if the IRB believes – as opposed to saying it believes – in globalising the game.

"This would also repay the debt owed to the Asian nations whose votes were decisive in admitting rugby into the Olympics, a progression that gives opportunities for growing rugby for which other sports would kill.

"What also has to change is the access to the four major world tournaments: the Six Nations, Tri-Nations, Pacific Nations Cup and the Nations Cup. It is in gaining access by guaranteed promotion to such competitions that Asian countries can attract more sponsorship and develop rugby without IRB money."

Are financial issues in danger of over-shadowing next year's Rugby World Cup? © Getty Images

Hard-line restrictions imposed by the IRB to keep the Rugby World Cup 'on message' make you wonder if the event is worth it, according to The Guardian's Paul Rees.

"The International Rugby Board will make a substantial profit: the more it makes, the more individual unions will receive, from big to small. It is one reason why the Rugby Football Union plans to clamp down on the commercial and media activities of the England players during the tournament.

"Players will be banned from using social networking sites as long as England are involved in the tournament. No making twits of themselves on Twitter or having to face punishment for a Facebook faux pas. And no newspaper columns, which would not be much of a loss given that they are already carefully censored.

"The ostensible reason for the crackdown is that the RFU does not want a repeat of some episodes in cricket in the summer when players, led by Kevin Pietersen, found that free speech cost. Remarks posted in the heat of the moment generated headlines and fines."

The Bill McLaren Foundation is launching a new fundraising venture by putting up for sale freshly-printed copies of the commentator's world-famous crib sheets. The Scotsman's David Ferguson reports.

"The BBC commentator and journalist, who died at the beginning of this year, put together a giant sheet of information for every game that he commentated upon. The charts he used latterly were supplied by a Hawick printer after McLaren discovered them in use locally, and starting with the blank paper he would fill in over 1,000 facts and figures around the players and officials involved in the forthcoming game.

"He started receiving requests for copies before and after he retired and found that these became sought-after collector's items and agreed to them being copied for the benefit of charity. A number were made for the Scottish charity Hearts & Balls, which helps to support seriously-injured rugby players, and some have attracted several thousand pounds on their own in other charity auctions across Europe and the southern hemisphere."

Teams should be able to respond to this challenge as they see fit © Getty Images

Gregor Paul argues that teams should be able to respond to the haka in whatever way they choose at next year's World Cup, writing in The New Zealand Herald.

"All teams facing the haka and other pre-match challenges next year will not be allowed to encroach closer than 10 metres. If they do, as the Wallaroos discovered at the recent Women's Worlds Cup, they will be fined. Absolute tosh. Teams should be free to receive the haka how they like.

"If they want to stand on halfway, or slowly advance, or turn their backs, or return to the changing rooms while it's going on, then let them. The haka is a welcome and established part of test rugby. Most players who have faced it say they loved it and in truth it often feels as if opponents get more out if it than the All Blacks. Long may it continue. But the world should not be forced into some kind of cultural servitude. To dictate how teams must behave affords the All Blacks reverential status, as if they are the only nation with any ingrained heritage or meaningful tradition.

"It also removes the prospect of unexpected drama. Who could forget the way the boggle-eyed Willie Anderson angrily advanced his Irish side into the All Blacks' faces in 1989? Anderson and Shelford ending up nose to nose - unforgettable; brilliant. England's Richard Cockerill did much the same in 1998, impeding Norm Hewitt to spark a rivalry that ended in those two scrapping in the back of a taxi later that night."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills addresses the issue of player release ahead of the new season.

"The international game is booming; the style produced by New Zealand in particular in recent months, the finest advertisement possible for the old game.

"In Europe, a new season begins this weekend and hopes are high. With a World Cup now just 12 months away, immense challenges face both players and coaches. Even in these financially stressed times, sponsors continue to beat a path to rugby's door. It is a wonder to behold.

"And yet trouble looms in the field of player availability. The International Rugby Board's desire to sanction more and more international matches, sometimes regardless of hitherto agreed 'windows' in the year's playing calendar, threatens to cause huge trouble."

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."

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?"

The Independent's Peter Bills believes the latest international clashes did little to suggest that a northern hemisphere side will challenge for the 2011 Rugby World Cup crown.

"But come the World Cup next year, who in their right mind believes any of the northern hemisphere nations has a serious chance of winning the trophy? It has been that way in five of the six World Cups to date.

"It won't change, in my view, until the game changes significantly in the northern hemisphere. That means coaches taking a far less dictatorial approach, and allowing players the freedom to make decisions for themselves based on what is in front of them, not what has been agreed six days or six weeks earlier on the training ground. Too many present day coaches have created a squad of pre-programmed robots, not rugby players with a brain to think and find solutions to difficulties they encounter on the field.

"But unless the northern hemisphere countries embrace this faster, more open, attacking style of play on a regular basis, especially now that the new law interpretations have come in, they will continue to come up woefully short whenever they play the top southern hemisphere sides. And there is little evidence of that happening at the present time."

The Irish Independent's Hugh Farrelly is worried by the IRB's latest hints of meddling with the game's laws.

"The 3.0am text is the technological equivalent of a desire that, in the old days, used to be reflected through the medium of lobbing pebbles at your target's bedroom window.

"And, in keeping with this general theme, we have the text the IRB sent out a week ago under the headline: "World's Top Coaches Buy In To Global Application Of Law".

"This low-key offering referred to a gathering in London involving various IRB representatives and senior coaches from all the major rugby playing nations including the head men of all the Six Nations teams."

Fiji has too many wingers to choose from for its one-off Test against the Wallabies next week - including Rupeni Caucaunibuca - according to the Sydney Morning Herald's Greg Growden.

"During a break in training yesterday, [coach Sam] Domoni told the Herald: ''We had 10 wingers turn up the other day.''

"They included Caucaunibuca, 30 on the day of the Test, who has decided to come out of international retirement because he wants to represent Fiji at next year's World Cup. Caucaunibuca, whose career has been interrupted by a long list of disciplinary problems and a three-month ban in 2007 after testing positive for cannabis, scored 13 tries from 25 games for Agen in France this season and said when joining the Fijian squad in Suva last week that he wanted to make amends.

"There has even been suggestions the reformed character, who credits ''the Almighty for reopening the door'', wants to play at five-eighth. ''Many things had been said about me,'' Caucau said. ''Most of them negative but I would like to right the wrong. I get to be the centre of criticism. I want to prove my critics wrong.''

Writing in The Guardian, Paul Rees argues that the demands on players are only going to increase as the professional game develops.

"A year ago, the Lions were preparing to leave for their tour to South Africa. The season is not yet over for many players who went on that trip, with two European finals being staged this weekend followed next week by the play-off finals in the Premiership and the Magners League. And then come the summer tours.

"In the past year, surveys in England and Australia into player injuries indicate that doctors and surgeons are concerned that the growing physical demands on players, especially in training, are taking an increasingly telling toll. The International Rugby Board has been active in this area, but by increasing the number of matches on end of season tours it is ignoring the message of its own sermon in the dash for cash."

As scrum after scrum is reset, experts agree that the rules regarding scrums and 'the hit' are complex and unworkable as teams try to gain advantage. Lives could be at risk. Paul Ackford writes in the Sunday Telegraph.

"Phil Keith-Roach, who was responsible for England’s scrummage during their successful 2003 World Cup campaign and who now coaches Sale, believes that the problem of collapsed scrums at the elite level is now so serious that “lives are at risk” unless the International Rugby Board acts swiftly to address the dangers.

"Collapsed scrums, euphemistically and inaccurately labelled resets, have blighted a number of recent matches, including England’s encounter with Scotland, where it took nearly three minutes before the ball was back in play at one scrum because of the number of collapses. But Keith-Roach’s concerns go far beyond a distorted and tedious spectacle.

“The IRB are diabolical,” he said. “They say they are interested in player welfare but I think they are putting people’s lives at risk. If we continue to have unnecessary forces on engagement someone is going to break their neck. The doctors who operated on Trevor Woodman and Phil Vickery [the props who started for England in the final of the 2003 World Cup] say that you can build all the musculature you like in the gym but you cannot increase the strength of the disc. They also tell you that an ordinary person can break a neck by having 100kg hit them at an inappropriate angle. Well, something like 1,000kg goes through a tighthead at scrum time. It’s only got to go marginally wrong and something terrible happens.”

The Reds' Quade Cooper is one of those to have caught the eye in the early rounds of the Super 14 © Getty Images

The news this week that the northern hemisphere, like its southern hemisphere rivals, will have to learn to adapt to the new law interpretations in the 16 months leading up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, presents rugby in this part of the world with its greatest challenge for years, according to Peter Bills in the Irish Independent.

"IRB Referee Coordinator Paddy O'Brien confirmed that the zero tolerance of southern hemisphere referees in the Super 14 this year, regarding four critical areas, will be gradually implemented north of the equator. It is thrilling news for all those involved in the game in this part of the world.

"...As I wrote last year, all that is required is for referees to crack down on the players laying all over the loose ball, sealing it off and denying the opposition rapidly recycled second-phase possession. A healthy dose of yellow cards has backed up the strict interpretation in the Super 14 and, hey presto, we have seen some real rugby with the focus increasingly turned towards attack. I believe that, with this new interpretation of the existing law, the influence of breakaway forwards will, in time, be considerably diluted. For me, this is a huge bonus for the game."

Writing in The Independent former England boss Brian Ashton stresses the importance of the individual in the modern game.

"There is no 'I' in 'teams'." Most of us who have been involved in coaching or management for any length of time are familiar with this well-worn phrase, which, given the frequency with which it is heard, might more accurately be called a mantra.

"Like many snippets of home-spun sporting philosophy, it attempts to capture the essence of a basic truth: in this case, that the significance of the individual in a team game is as nothing compared to the importance of the collective. And like many of these one-liners, it misses the point.

"Just ask Warren Gatland about the influence of individuals, their thought processes and their decision-making. I'd be very interested to know the Wales coach's private view on Alun Wyn Jones and his visit to the sin bin during last week's Six Nations scrap with England (although I can probably work it out for myself)."

Chris Rattue isn't convinced by the latest SANZAR edict on the tackle area in The New Zealand Herald.

"A new season, a new rule and, believe it or not, some hope. There may be new life in dear old rugby yet ...

"First, the bad news. Rugby rules are made to be broken. A game that was, mythically speaking, invented by breaking the most important rule of another sport has never broken the habit of a lifetime. Cheating and rugby go hand in hand, like Colin Meads and a bloody heavy fencepost.

"The 2010 rugby season, which kicked off at the weekend with Super 14 trial matches, has unveiled yet another vital rule change, this one involving the tackle area. As it turns out, what we will get is a new interpretation of the old rule, the old interpretation having been - according to a leading referee - incorrect anyway."

Should there be yet more law changes? © Getty Images

Eddie Butler is happy with rugby's 'smallish lot' as calls for expansion continue in the wake of Brendan Venter's latest attack on the laws in The Guardian.

"With the solemnity of a vicar who has just found out his daughter is a porn star, the Rugby Football Union have levelled charges against Brendan Venter. The coach of Saracens had said that David Rose's second-half refereeing performance in the game against Leicester did not have much in common with his first.

"These are not matters to take lightly, but Richard Cockerill, the coach of Leicester fresh back on matchday duty after serving a ban for roundly abusing a match official, mush have had a chuckle. And double-checked that he had kept his lips sealed on the day in question.

"Rugby union is a wonderfully complicated game, which answers the question posed by Robert Kitson about the future size of the sport. Can it ever challenge football? No, it's too difficult to work out what's going on.

"There's nothing wrong with that, but complexity shrinks its global appeal. And if, in the name of expansion and simplicity, you start tampering with the laws, then you'll create something that isn't rugby union."

Rugby must settle on a vision of its future or suffer the consequences, writes Robert Kitson in The Guardian.

"A burning question for a new decade: what sort of sport does rugby union want to become? Is it simply content to remain football's imperfect cousin? Or is there a genuine will, by the time 2020 ticks around, to shed the ugly duckling feathers which still cling so stubbornly to the professional ideal? Assuming people crave the latter option, several things are going to have to change.

"First and foremost, the global rugby family needs to set aside petty differences and take a broader perspective. In truth, the problem has never really been geographical. Rugby's tribe, for the most part, divides on sub-Darwinian lines: are you a forward or a back? One loves the biff, the other the open spaces. Both camps, however, share a relish for the camaraderie, the humour, the on-field edge and the mutual respect between opponents and, on a good day, officials. If any of those essential components disappear completely, the sport is on the road to nowhere in particular.

"Which is why the first few months of 2010 are so vital. What sort of rational professional sport can expect to attract a new raft of followers with the following smorgasbord of delights: vicious rows about incomprehensible law interpretations, pompous statements from the Rugby Football Union castigating coaches for stating the obvious, ongoing eye-gouging cases, endless dreary kicking, umpteen injury bulletins, sub-standard stadium facilities and serious financial problems in both hemispheres."

Brian Moore again asks where rucking went - and why it hasn't returned - in The Daily Telegraph.

"First of all let us be exact about what I mean by rucking. Many people I spoke to remember the injuries JPR Williams and Phil de Glanville suffered during rucks, but their lacerations were not caused by rucking but by illegal stamping/raking above the neck. What I mean by rucking is the removal of prone players on the wrong side of the ball by the backward use of the foot; not stamping and not contact with the knee and ankle joints.

"The further I got into my quest and the more people I talked to the stranger the whole experience became. It seems that this subject has produced a bizarre amnesia in even the most informed observers. Nobody from the lowest casual watcher to the very highest qualified international player or coach was prepared to be absolute in their proffered answer as to the precise point at which rucking was outlawed.

"There must be a point at which the practice of removing illegally obstructive players with the foot was condemned, but I cannot find it and nobody has been able to help. I remember being at a meeting when the IRB referee manager, Paddy O'Brien, stated that handling the ball in a ruck was to be allowed "because it in fact legalised what was going on anyway" – ignoring the fact that it only happened because referees were failing to do their job."

Simon Barnes has lost patience with rugby, power-crazed referees and preventative refereeing in The Times.

"A new year, and soon enough rugby union will swing into prominence as the Six Nations Championship begins. Now place your hand on your heart and tell me: do you understand the laws of this bloody game? When the referee blows for an infringement, do you know what he is blowing for before you are told?

"This is not a question that divides serious rugby buffs from the rest. Nor is it a question that divides rugby professionals from the rest. It is not one that divides the players on the field from the rest, or even the player doing the infringing from the rest. It is a question that separates the referee from every other individual on the planet.

"What happens in rugby? A player takes the ball, moves forward a little and gets tackled. A whole load of players then roll about on the ground. Pheep! The referee gives a penalty. It is a judgment that appears to have very little relevance to what is happening. I used to think this was just me and my silly ignorance. But it’s not. It’s a fundamental problem with the game."

Eddie Butler is looking to England for answers in the seemingly endless debate on the state of the game in The Observer.

”At the start of the decade that has just ended, England were the worry. And so it is that rugby, as played in and by England, sets the agenda for the new age. Wales have had their two Grand Slams in the noughties and Ireland are the force of the moment, but where we go from here depends on England.

“Ten years ago, the question was posed - with barely disguised mockery - of Clive Woodward: 'Can you ever win the Grand Slam?' Wales, Scotland and Ireland, at various stages of the Six Nations around the turn of the millennium, were in the process of making the England coach's job an ordeal as much as a pleasure.

“His answer, delivered in 2003, was an emphatic 'yes', which was the source of the concern. England trounced Ireland in 2003 to take the Slam and then travelled to New Zealand andAustralia, in the summer before the World Cup, to deliver a style that left everyone scratching their heads. Now that England had finally mobilised their rugby forces, would anyone be able to live with them?”

Tony Ward has hopes for the New Year, calling for some changes to the way the game is played in The Irish Independent.

"With the greatest year in our rugby history just ended, wouldn't it be lovely to assume everything in the rugby garden was rosy? However, just for a minute, let's leave aside the Grand Slam, Six Nations, Triple Crown, Heineken Cup and Magners League triumphs and take a look instead at the things that continue to irk. And, no, we won't even mention the crisis the club game is facing.

"As the game is fundamentally about primary possession, let us start with the set- piece.The line-out, to be fair, is in pretty good nick. Watch old footage on TG4's Rugbai Gold or ESPN Classic and, if nothing else, it brings home the awful mess the line-out once was. Now it is clear and well organised.

"Yes, I accept possession goes largely to the throwing side, but that is as it should be and, to the best of my playing knowledge and sadly fading memory, is generally how it always was. Why else had we hookers, second-rows and the odd back or front-row forward, whether off the top or on the peel, in secret conclave working that pre-match Da Vinci Code.

The IRB should be praised for getting rugby into the Olympics but condemned for the huge blunders over experimental laws, writes Brian Moore in the Daily Telegraph.

"This will be seen as the year in which rugby was forced to look inward and begin the process of considering where 15 years of professionalism have led the game and where we might be heading unless consideration is given to the game's eventual goals.

"It has been a curious year, in which we have seen improvements and setbacks in equal measure. We have seen some organisations take important strides forward and others, sometimes those specifically tasked with running the game, act in a way which could not have been better designed to harm rugby and its wider image. We have seen rugby's unique ability to act decisively in face of some problems and yet remain inert over others of equal import."

	All Blacks coach Graham Henry let his players have it at half-time in Christchurch © Getty Images

"Best Meltdown - Graham Henry's half-time rant in Christchurch after the All Blacks produced the worst 40 minutes in living memory against Italy. Captain Mils Muliaina says his experience was vital - he knew to get behind Henry and not be in the coach's eyeline.

"Second best Meltdown - Jimmy Cowan was a stroppy so-and-so when he captained the Highlanders against the Blues. He let referee Stu Dickinson frustrate him - easily done, but still, best not to let it show - and then the halfback snapped. He followed through late on Jimmy Gopperth (who tumbled magnificently) and Dickinson, with some glee, brandished the red card."

Tony Ward reopens the rolling subs debate in The Irish Independent.

"Spare a thought for our rugby-playing elite this cold St Stephen's Day. Much like the way it is with football across the water, high-profile rugby matches are now central to the Festive season. The professional fraternity here have embraced it seamlessly and it is now part and parcel of what they do.

"Local derbies whet the appetite and this afternoon Thomond Park and the RDS will be heaving with atmosphere.

"Rugby union has come a long way in its relatively short professional life. It still has much catching up to do given the head start rugby league and football have had. Like everybody else, I look forward to the 'inter-provincial segment' of the Magners League season. The intensity of the rivalry naturally adds to the level of appeal but it is box office rugby with a warning.

"Far be it for me to be a killjoy, but I genuinely worry for the welfare of our players. The record of the IRFU in protecting its centrally contracted employees stands tall; certainly when compared to the French and English ruling bodies, who at best share responsibility with their constituent clubs. Is it any wonder so few Irish venture abroad?"

	Dean Richards was cast into the rugby wilderness earlier this year for his role in 'Bloodgate' © Getty Images

"To see men like Richards stoop to such depths to win a match was one of the saddest sights of '09. But is it just a game of rugby anymore? No. Jobs, salaries, marriages, mortgages and families now depend upon the outcome of some of these games. Is it any wonder base human instincts have invaded what was once a sport renowned for its decency, behaviour and courtesy?

"...Rugby has been appalled by these and similar acts this year. Decent people have not been drawn to the game by eye gougers, drug cheats, liars or the foul-mouthed. Thank God these incidents are still a huge minority within the game -- yet just one of them is one too many."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills picks out some of his favourite moments from the past 12 months.

"2009 has been some year for rugby union.

“Ireland won their first Grand Slam for 61 years, South Africa their first Tri-Nations title since 2004. In doing so, the Springboks beat their greatest rivals, the New Zealand All Blacks, three times in a single season.

“The Lions chose the wrong captain and lost the Test series in South Africa. But the year ended with New Zealand again reminding us of their terrific power and quality in demolishing France in Marseille.

“So before you all disappear into a wine or beer bottle or whatever your favourite tipple might be at Christmas, here is this column's (albeit, slightly tongue-in-cheek) highlights of the rugby year.”

Peter Bills reviews a mixed 2009 in The New Zealand Herald.

"Everywhere you looked in 2009, rugby seemed to have problems. The South Africans' reputation was stained by Schalk Burger's eye-gouging on Luke Fitzgerald during a physically brutal Lions tour; the All Blacks lost three times to the Springboks and in New Zealand calls for Graham Henry to be sacked were loud and long.

"Across the Tasman, another Kiwi, Robbie Deans, coaching the Australians, suffered the ignominy of seeing his men lose five of their six Tri-Nations matches. Then they pitched up in Edinburgh and lost to Scotland.

"In Europe, the French got hammered by England, 34-10 at Twickenham, but life was far from rosy for the English. The northern autumn brought defeats by Australia and New Zealand and a realisation for manager Martin Johnson that English rugby's love affair with him was fast ending.

"The English punters' disbelief at the path professional rugby was taking in England was exacerbated by the notorious "Bloodgate" affair at the London Harlequins' club. The ghosts of those crusty old colonels and their batmen who once epitomised the club and its support must have been groaning in their graves as it became clear that, under director of rugby Dean Richards' direction, one of the Quins players, wing Tom Williams, had used a fake blood capsule to make a phoney substitution late in the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster."

The Independent risks the wrath of fans everywhere by listing their top 50 players in the world.

”Once again the IRB's choice doesn't take the No.1 slot in our list. Richie McCaw has had a good year, but not outstanding by his high benchmark. Outstanding is certainly something you can say of the 12 months Brian O'Driscoll has had.

“The Irish captain sits in pole position after leading - sometimes dragging - Ireland to their first Grand Slam since 1948, lifting the Heineken Cup at last with Leinster and having an outstanding tour with the luckless 2009 British and Irish Lions. He still had enough in the tank to play a key role in Ireland's impressive Autumn series as well.

“There are some who have slipped from view - Shane Williams and John Smit to name just two to miss out this year - who fall foul of a loss of form and the emergence of other shining talents such as Tommy Bowe and Schalk Brits.”

The IRB is expected to announce an in-depth overhaul of its judicial and citing systems next year according to Mark Souster in The Times.

"Rugby’s world governing body was moved to act and review its procedures in the wake of the lenient sentences handed out to Schalk Burger and Sergio Parisse this summer. Both were banned for only eight weeks when the minimum suspension should have been 12 weeks.

"The IRB is committed to ensuring consistency of sanctions worldwide via a more streamlined and proactive system. Exact details on the new policy are still being worked on and will require ratification by its full council next May, but one key component is expected to be a law that would enable the board to appeal against punishments it considers to be inadequate. At present only players can appeal if they believe a penalty is too onerous."

With the international season now over, the New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul picks his World XV.

"This was Brian O'Driscoll's year and it was a surprise he was not named IRB Player of the Year. He led Ireland to a Grand Slam and Leinster to their first Heineken Cup. He formed a deadly partnership with Jamie Roberts during the British Lions tour and then scored in the dying seconds to snatch a draw with Australia on his 100th test appearance. Not as quick as he used to be - but stronger, smarter and full of tricks.

"...Once Carter was restored to full health, there was only ever going to be one choice for this berth. Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson have aspirations to be as good - but they just don't deliver the same quality as Carter, nor do they match him for consistency. He nailed the winning penalty in Sydney on his Test return, defended brilliantly throughout the end-of-year tour and was sensational against France where his running game returned to top form."

	All Blacks coach Graham Henry is worried about the future of the game © Getty Images

"I do worry about the future. We used to have six coaching co-ordinators in Auckland. They each had responsibility for a number of schools and clubs in their area. They were knowledgeable people and they would get the message to the coaches. We were in good shape in those days. It was an amateur game. All the money wasn't channelled into paying the players, it was channelled into development. Now it's all going on wages and there is no education. Not one of those six is left now. Not one."

For a man whose default position sits somewhere between reserved and non-committal, Henry becomes almost evangelical at this point. He feels the game is in a mess and that swift remedial action is essential.

"They have to do something to improve the spectacle. The trouble is, countries are not going to agree on changes which won't complement their style of play. I think you have to get a group of people together who are all respected in the game and ask them to come up with solutions, and we'll play that game, whatever it is. I'd like to see one point for a drop goal, one point for a penalty and the ability to make a mark in other areas of the field."

Negative thinking is at the root of rugby’s woes but some teams are fighting back according to Stuart Barnes in the Sunday Times.

"The try-count and the quality of rugby in the Tri-Nations, that annual benchmark of international excellence, have plummeted. Coaches worldwide have suffered from a state somewhere between mass hypnosis and hysteria. Even the All Blacks, with their fearsome firepower behind the scrum, followed the trend of obsessive kicking and awaited the other side’s errors instead of utilising their lightning back line.

"But last week there was more than a chink of light. A bloody great hole was blown in the theory that the current laws alone have killed the game. New Zealand cut France to pieces with surgical precision and Matt Giteau carved holes in Wales and the reputation of their defensive guru, Shaun Edwards."

In a comparison of 1971 and 2009 Lions tours, conducted in conjunction with ESPNScrum, the Independent on Sunday reveals rugby is now a collision sport for muscular hulks.

"The extraordinary transformation from the stamina-based rugby of the game's amateur era to the physically combative version served up by today's professionals is illustrated by The Independent on Sunday today in a unique comparison between this year's Lions tour and the trip to New Zealand in 1971.

"The desperate plea for change made by Lions doctor James Robson at the end of the tour to South Africa in July, when the Scotsman warned that players were getting too big and muscular for their own good, is borne out by our exclusive statistical and subjective analysis. By comparing key indicators between the Second Test of the 1971 tour in Christchurch and the Second Test in Pretoria in 2009, the anecdotal theory that rugby has become a collision sport for muscular hulks is revealed as hard fact."

Paul Rees speculates as to what the IRB can do with the repeated calls for changes to the laws of the game in The Guardian.

"Another year, another review panel to recommend law changes. The nervous breakdown strategy adopted by sides in response to a directive to referees to give more latitude to defenders after a tackle has prompted the International Rugby Board to look at ways of encouraging teams to attack, although any changes will not be implemented until after the 2011 World Cup unless there are medical grounds for quicker reform.

"The IRB will set up a panel early next year to review the state of the game, conscious that a problem with the experimental law variation process was that it was largely southern-hemisphere inspired and gained only the support of Scotland in Europe. This time the IRB wants a consensual approach, even if that increases the danger of nothing happening.

"Australia and New Zealand on the weekend showed that the try is not yet an endangered species in international rugby, but the four the Wallabies scored in Cardiff all started when Wales had the ball. The All Blacks under Graham Henry, until this year, had been the masters at exploiting turnover possession but they became more conservative after running at South Africa turned them into roadkill."

Brian Moore, writing in The Daily Telegraph, reviews the contrasting fortunes of the northern hemisphere sides during the November Tests.

“Ireland can claim a place on the short list of great teams of the past 40 years if their young talent is capable of continuing their country's long-awaited ascension. The necessary traits of producing a minimum standard of performance, closing out games and winning when not playing well are rarely attained and only time will tell if Ireland have finally mastered these things. Nevertheless, their win against South Africa shows that all they have to do now is take the final step.

“Welsh supporters should face the possibility that their team's up-cycle has ended and that rebuilding is needed. When coach Warren Gatland is reduced to referring to Australia's kicking something is wrong. Wales had injuries before and during the game, but if fans are honest they know that their side have not played with fluidity for some time. They did not look like breaking the Australian defence, their pack misses Adam Jones disproportionately and the back row is not balanced.

“Whether the necessary changes can been made without losing further ground depends on the claimed depth of talent being real and correct and consistent selection.”

In his unique style, Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones presents his verdict on the international rugby action this November.

"The rugby was dull...Is there anything in sport as stunningly boring as a slow ruck ball, slowing even further when inserted into another mini-ruck three yards laterally across the field? When the ball finally emerges, great news. The saps in the original ruck have all got back to their feet — just in time for another mini-ruck. Pass me the remote control, the World Paint-Drying championships are on the other side.

"Jonny’s back, but he’s no ringmaster any more...Can Jonny, the icon, still inspire a rugby team with his play, or these days is he relying simply on aura and goalkicking? How wonderful that he negotiated all three games, and how cruel it would be to lay at his door all the frailties and embarrassments of England as an attacking force."

The flame bearers for the game need to encourage a meaningful contest for possession at the scrum and after the tackle, according to Eddie Butler in The Observer.

"It was the terrible autumn of rain-drenched rugby, when it was gloomily confirmed that what had been eating into the domestic games of the European countries was now a worldwide pandemic. On two brief Heineken Cup weekends in October there had been a glimmer of hope, that cross-border competition might somehow create a resistance. But no, the rot has spread to all corners.

"It is a sneaky menace, for it strikes on two fronts: the scrum and the breakdown. It only needs to infect the line-out and we shall remember, remember this month of November as the twilight of union and the dawn of global rugby league. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with league. Love it to bits. But the bearers of the flame of rugby union are charged with offering a sport for all shapes and sizes, and that specifically includes a meaningful contest for possession at the scrum and after the tackle."

Rugby is enduring a sudden and unpleasant spell of navel-gazing on a variety of topics according to Gerald Davies in The Times.

"What would have happened had New Zealand not manoeuvred themselves towards failure in the quarter-finals of the 2007 tournament? In the seasons preceding that autumn, they marched to a wonderful tune, playing a mesmerising rugby no one could match for inventiveness and speed of thought. They were the only team to defy an issue that others complained about: that the pitch was no longer wide enough for the “modern” game and caused clutter in midfield.

"New Zealand kicked the ball often, but it is not what we remember of their play. It is Carter, Muliaina, Rokocoko, Mauger, Howlett and so on that rest in the memory. After the 2007 quarter-final defeat by France, the All Blacks’ way never caught on. Kicking became the preferred strategy."

Saturday will show that World Cup aspirations are only as strong as a side's reserves, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"Remember the inquests after the autumn internationals a year ago? South Africa and New Zealand had cut swathes through European rugby and Wales were the only side to land a blow on a southern hemisphere opponent, Australia. Fast forward a year and things don't look so bad. Fast forward another 12 months and who knows?

"France, Wales, Ireland and Scotland all approach their final games of the autumn this weekend with an eye on the future, not looking over their shoulders. France, having beaten the world champions, South Africa, take on New Zealand, now ranked No1 in the world again. Ireland have the chance of making it a grim autumn for the Springboks, and Wales look to repeat that win of a year ago."

Dylan Cleaver evaluates the ills of the world game, with particular sympathy for Sitveni Sivivatu, in The New Zealand Herald.

"It is not just the All Blacks' season in the dock at Marseille on Sunday morning, the game itself is facing an increasingly hostile jury.

"With the professional rugby season now spanning 10 months, we can no longer use the Shakespearean cliche of this being the winter of our discontent, but perhaps we can turn to Dickens and refer to rugby stadia in 2009 having largely been bleak houses. (Bleak in the major centres at least. Rugby seems to have undergone a rebirth of sorts in the provinces, so the obvious thing to do is cut four of them off at the knees - but that is a whole other story.)

"If you need a poster-child for rugby's ills, consider this: Sitiveni Sivivatu has received rave reviews in the past few weeks, not because of his scintillating running but because of the improvement in his kicking game and kick receipt. Ah, the romance of modern rugby."

Mick Cleary has five points that he thinks will right rugby's rapidly sinking ship in The Daily Telegraph.

"The handling code has become anything but, with only 22 tries scored in 23 recent Test matches. The try count across the annual autumn Test series has dwindled from an average of seven per game in 2007 to a measly 2.86 this year.

"Figures from the domestic leagues are no more encouraging. The try count in the Guinness Premiership has nose-dived, from an average of 4.12 tries per game last year to just 2.63 this season. Only five attacking bonus points, for a side scoring four tries in a game, have been awarded in 48 Premiership matches.

"Dull, stodgy, boring, risk-free – it is the motif of the season. The shop window is soiled, and the game is in danger of selling shoddy goods. So, what's to be done?"

Rugby has some answers to deliver on the entertainment debate, writes Owen Slot in The Times.

"Rugby union as entertainment? Traditionalists hold a deep-seated mistrust of their game crossing the line between sport and entertainment. Though, unfortunately for them, the professionalising of the game, by definition, requires rugby to be a public entertainment. There is no getting away from it.

"This has led to the current media debate. The grey, largely unentertaining series of autumn internationals in Europe has us all rushing for the lawbook, which seems to change every week anyway, to see how it can be further tinkered with to produce more entertainment. And those in the southern hemisphere do not know whether to laugh or cry.

"They, in the south, have been calling for change for years. Their game has sought to accentuate the product as an entertainment – and they have been criticised for it up here. So it is, of course, with a big told-you-so that they have been enjoying watching the north come to terms with the idea that we might have got it wrong."

	Dan Carter and onny Wilkinson previously clashed during the Lions' tour to New Zealand in 2005 © Getty Images

"Each player in his fashion exerts an all-embracing influence on his team. They do so nowadays not only in the manner of their expert play but increasingly by the mere talk of their presence, which is at once inspiring and debilitating. Their inclusion encourages bravura in others and a puffing of the chest, their absence brings in its place a brittle mood of a team’s only half-belief. This lack of conviction has been less for the All Blacks, while, with his six-year absence, Wilkinson has been a ghostly presence at almost every feast since 2003, a reminder of what might have been for England. His return has been a long time coming.

"Accomplished and distinguished as they are, each has travelled a different path to their present heights. If one is loyal more to technique than to instinct, the other manifests more of a natural “feel” above solid practice, while neither influence, whether of nature or nurture, is totally absent from either supreme performer. Simply, the balance varies."

On the evidence of the autumn international matches so far, the great game of rugby union is in a mess. So writes Gwyn Jones in the Western Mail.

"The blame has been laid at the feet of the coaches for being too dictatorial and for demanding such negativity from their teams.

"The finger has also been pointed at the players for their inability to “play with their heads up” and make bold, but correct, decisions. There may be some element of truth in these arguments but on the whole they miss the point. The reason that teams kick so much is because that is the most likely way to win matches."

Brian Moore believes that the IRB must wade in once again to clear up the laws of the game in The Daily Telegraph.

"Safety concerns and the issue of unattractive rugby have both been raised in this paper and elsewhere, because they are now matters which are causing real concern and are widely acknowledged as important. They are not artificial worries, and evidence is widely available to support such apprehension.

"In considering any change let us rid ourselves of the macho notion that rugby is a man’s game and if we want to make it safer we might as well take up ballet dancing. By its nature rugby is a sport of violent collisions and much of the enjoyment derived from playing it comes from that. There will be enough red-blooded contact for any reasonable person when the dangerous and unnecessary practices that have crept into the game are removed.

"High and borderline-high tackles need to be outlawed. How will rugby be poorer if these potentially injurious acts are stopped? A tackler has full discretion as to how he tackles; he is perfectly able to drive an attacker backwards by hitting well below the neck, so why condone tackling that flirts with the possibility of causing damage if it is slightly mistimed or ill-aimed?"

Shaun Edwards's offers a tactical breakdown of England v Argentina in the Guardian.

"Forget the tactical nuances, Argentina are in town and the big men love nothing better than throwing their weight around – actually weight and a fair bit of technical know-how when it comes to scrum time.

While England have struggled to find a front row the three Argentinians, Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma and Martín Scelzo, have been together for some time. They know their business and on days like today when rain is forecast can be match winners. In short, an awful lot is going to depend on England's tight-head and anchor, Duncan Bell. If he goes backwards, the link between backs and forwards at the scrum breaks down."

Writing in The Times, David Hands analyses the issues to be addressed by a medical conference in London.

"A conference starting today at Lensbury, in Teddington, southwest London, will begin the process of discovering whether the game has become too dangerous for its own good.

"Medical experts from every one of rugby’s leading countries are involved in the two-day session towards the end of a year that has brought accusations that players have become too big, that referees are ignoring significant aspects of play that lead to injuries and that the demands made on leading players have become far too great."

Writing in The Times, Gerald Davies says the time has come for the game to embrace a mid-season break.

"Whereas, of course, the 10 to 12-week off-season break in the summer is an important recuperative period, it should not be solely at the expense of other breaks. The timing of short breaks for players during the season, and the management of those individual players’ breaks to help the body and mind to rest, is a justifiable aim. During the Lions’ ten-match, seven-week tour last summer, the collaboration between Ian McGeechan, his coaching team and the medical staff ensured the right balance of on-field commitments for the players.

"This relationship was beneficial to everyone. Only two players appeared in six matches, all the others made appearances in five games or fewer. Time off was critical and it helped substantially. Nevertheless, there were serious injuries."

The Times' David Hands talks to referee Nigel Owens ahead of another busy run of high-profile games for arguably the world's most-respected official.

"There is some distance between Twickenham and Bancyddraenen Mountain to the east of Carmarthen. There is, quite literally in this case, a lifetime between refereeing an international sporting occasion tomorrow in front of more than 75,000 people and a man driven by the depths of depression to attempt to take his own life.

"It is an indication of the regard in which Nigel Owens is held that not only will he handle England’s game against Argentina this weekend but he has also been awarded the plum fixture of this month. He will referee the match at Croke Park on November 28 between Ireland and South Africa that not only brings together the holders of the grand slam and the world champions but is also redolent of the outstanding three-match series last summer between the Springboks and the Lions, who were so heavily influenced by Ireland players."

The sport as a spectacle is suffering as the world's two best Test sides resort to the boot, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"So does running rugby pay? Obviously not for the second-best team in the world and not for a man who is arguably the best fly-half currently playing. But look elsewhere and you discover that the best team in the world, South Africa, kick even more frequently.

Why? Well one reason is that both sides do it well. Last Saturday, when the All Blacks were under pressure in the first half, Carter twice found touch nearly 60 metres downfield and the Springboks have probably the best kick/chase game around. Marry a brilliant lineout with the ability of their backs to behave like siege guns and you have quite a Test-winning tool.

However, with the game as it now stands, even less gifted kicking sides are mugs if they don't follow suit. Some call it patience, others say it's merely playing the odds, which have been stacked against running rugby."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore praises the ball skills and general tactical appreciation of southern hemisphere players opposed to their northern rivals.

"Apart from one aberrant 15-minute period when Australia’s backs were strangely imprecise, the standard of delivery by both the Aussie and Kiwi backs was sharp. Contrast this with the often laboured passing of the Welsh and especially the English backs. Not only was it sometimes ponderous, at times the inability to deliver the ball in front of the man halted forward momentum as players had to pause to gather ball which had been passed behind them."

Paul Rees of The Guardian believes that Michael Owen’s season-ending injury offers further evidence that rugby has developed an unhealthy obsession with size and power.

"A newsflash last week sent sports desk denizens all a-flutter. Michael Owen, it read, was out for the season with knee-ligament damage. Back pages were not held, however, when it emerged that the player being talked about was not an out-of-favour football international at Manchester United but a forgotten rugby international at Saracens.

"The two Owens were both brought up in Wales but there the similarity ended. The footballer is one of the most celebrated players of his era while rugby's Michael Owen is a victim of his sport's current obsession with size and power; not so much because he has suffered two serious knee injuries in as many seasons, but because his virtues, an ability to play with his head up and put others in space rather than into contact, are becoming increasingly seen as obsolescent.

"Rugby, with the emphasis on explosive power and a growing casualty list, has become boom and bust. Owen was a pivotal member of Wales's grand slam winning team in 2005, putting Ryan Jones into holes and helping his side play with a pace and a momentum that proved irresistible. Wales refreshed the game and the ungainly Owen went on to captain the Lions against Argentina the following May.”

Bath prop David Flatman has nothing but sympathy for Andrew Sheridan and is at a loss to explain how the game could be made 'safer', in The Independent on Sunday

"Contrary to what the armchair cynic might assume, seeing Andrew Sheridan dislocate his shoulder last week made me feel horrible. Of course, an injury to any man with whom one is in direct competition can only improve one's chances of a call-up, but in this instance I felt nothing but sympathy for my old friend.

"Perhaps it is because I have been where he is – in bed, in pain – and know exactly what he is going through. Apart from the physical discomfort, it is the feeling of uselessness that seems to affect the sidelined rugby player most severely.

"Knowing that all of your mates are out on the field running around, while you sip water to stave off the painkiller-induced cottonmouth and flick between Cash in the Attic and This Morning on the television, is utterly soul destroying. As much as you might crave the week off at the moment your alarm clock sounds in the early winter dark, a good injury lay-off is all it takes to make you appreciate being fully fit."

Paul Rees wonders about the effect of increased physicality on smaller backs in The Guardian.

"Backs, it seems, are shouldering a problem of the professional game: as players become bigger and stronger, as collisions multiply with blitz, rather than drift, defences now de rigueur and as the stealthy abolition of rucking has created a static pile-up in which inert bodies are often hit hard by a late arrival, injuries seem rugby's biggest growth area.

"A few years ago, knee ligament surgeons were in big demand; today it is shoulder specialists. If a look at the England elite squad does not suggest that careers are getting shorter, with 12 of the 32 players over the age of 30 and a 13th, Andrew Sheridan, another shoulder injury victim, joining them in a couple of weeks, a closer inspection reveals a clear split.

"Ten of the 18 forwards, not including Sheridan, are 30 or over but only two of the backs have reached that landmark, Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall, although Mark Cueto and Riki Flutey, who is currently out with a shoulder injury, will say farewell to their twenties during the course of the season.

"Wilkinson and Tindall have not reached their thirties without numerous operations. Wilkinson's fearless tackling landed him with neck and shoulder problems that cost him after the 2003 World Cup and his story shows that a little 'un will be left battered and bruised by big 'uns."

Chris Rattue, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that kicking-dominated union is beginning to suffer in comparison with the 13 man code.

"In contrast, rugby is bogged down, calling on parochialism and patriotism to save it, rather than giving a substantial return for those emotions.

"Four million fans. Yeah right. The union boys may be able to test the codes of advertising standards when making that claim, but only for the World Cup tournament.

"Rugby, the game we have loved for so long, has ground to a horrible halt, mired by scrum resets, breakdown confusion, kicking festivals, officious referees, endless penalties, errors, an inability to properly police or institute an offside line and a cross-hemisphere political rivalry that stymies potential remedies.

"A veteran photographer told me after the recent Auckland-North Harbour match that there was so much forceback kicking involved, he had trouble finding anything to photograph."

In an exclusive interview New Zealand coach Graham Henry talks with The Independent's Peter Bills about the future of the game and his All Blacks team.

"Henry fears that New Zealand and Australia have most to fear if the game contracts, increasingly becomes largely a kicking dominated affair and people turn away from it because of its lack of entertainment. “Our two countries will suffer most if nothing is done about this. And there are already signs of that in the last couple of years because people are very concerned about this.

“People that have been traditional fans are now questioning the game because of the laws. There is nothing Australia and New Zealand can do about it. We wanted to make the ELVs permanent but we got out-voted.

“But the consequences of doing nothing about this in this part of the world are serious. It is a real problem because we do not have the population numbers in this country. Getting bums on seats is a big challenge, especially in a recession. In the UK, you will sell out a Test match all the time particularly given the close proximity of each country to another but chiefly because of the population numbers."

A newspaper reader may well have found a solution to rid the game of all aimless punts. Rob Kitson in the Guardian suggests the IRB should try it.

"The best suggestions in life are often the simplest. Many of the finest brains in the world have wrestled with how to improve rugby union as a sport and, as often as not, have ended up making it worse. Fair play, therefore, to Mr Martin McNeill of Richmond, Surrey who penned a short, pithy letter to the Sunday Times last weekend. The last sentence read thus: "I suggest any kick that is cleanly caught by the opposition leads to....a scrum from where the ball was kicked."

"Genius. Well, almost. Mr McNeill missed out six words. If you insert "outside the 22" after "kick" and "the option of" in place of the dots you suddenly have a potential remedy for the curse of excessive kicking, currently causing players and spectators alike major neckache. Think about it. All those speculative hoists and aimless punts outlawed. Scrum-halves and fly-halves forced to abandon the lazy hit-and-hope option. Heaven forbid, some teams might even opt to run first-phase ball out of their own half. Welcome to the new rugby: much like the old, only with the boring ping-pong taken out."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore insists the International Rugby Board's policy of globalising rugby by simply giving financial support to emerging teams will fail in the same way that overseas aid is doomed to fail without a supplementary policy of self-sufficiency.

"Irrespective of the spin put on this, Argentina's inclusion has little to do with a benevolent desire to see an emerging nation grow. It has taken about 10 years of negotiations and wrangling to approve Argentina's introduction to the 'Cosy Club', containing the founding members of the International Rugby Board.

"...By way of fortunate coincidence, Argentina's rise has taken place as the Tri-Nations format has shown that while it remains a robust tournament, it had become a little jaundiced and required revision to remain popular."

When Eva Peron asked her country not to cry, she had no idea Argentina was going to be so abysmally treated by the rugby world and Sanzar in particular, so says Gregor Paul in the Herald on Sunday.

"The introduction of Argentina would be a fresh challenge; a new place to travel; a new style of rugby to counter. It would also lessen the exposure to both South Africa and Australia, as Argentina's arrival would pave the way for each team to play the other three twice.

"And there is also a feeling among the players that the time is now for Sanzar to take definitive action. This whole sorry episode could go on forever if no one takes a risk.

"It's a bit like having a baby - there never will be an ideal time. You just do it and cope. That's the key to the Pumas."

November should be a better month for the northern hemisphere countries but Australia are showing World Cup-winning potential, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"Listen carefully and you might be able to hear the World Cup clock ticking. As of Wednesday, kick-off for New Zealand 2011 was precisely two years away and those 24 months are going to rush by.

It may seem a while since South Africa left Paris with the Webb Ellis Cup, but from here on most coaches will be working against the clock and now is as good a time as any to look at the work in progress. And I don't mean on the stadiums.

Barring Dunedin, that seems to be going fine. However this weekend take a look at the current world order, especially as the champions play the All Blacks in Hamilton. No1 versus No2, and obvious World Cup favourites if only because they are playing at home."

Peter Bills, writing in The Independent, ponders the future of the miss-pass as an attacking weapon in the modern game.

"The miss-pass: key to opening up rugby's modern day defences or an attacking liability?

"Time was, when the miss-pass was an obviously viable, indeed valuable part of an attacking team's armour. Throwing the ball out wide, missing perhaps two players to surprise the defence, was an exciting option for the team in possession looking to make serious inroads into a defence.

"Yet modern day defences have rendered this tactic far less attractive. The reason is obvious: in the modern game, the respective back lines are invariably lined up opposite each other, man on man, with space at an absolute premium. Very often, if the rush defence is employed, that minimal amount of space and time is restricted even further.

"That results, all too often, in midfield players taking the safety-first option and going into contact to recycle the ball. Sometimes, it can take nine or ten such phases even before the first chink of space opens up in the defence."

Forget the enduring indignation over MPs' expenses. This was also the week when rugby mislaid its moral compass and forfeited any claims to sound governance, writes Paul Ackford in the Sunday Telegraph.

"Monday's topic was cheating. Tuesday delivered news of an Australian sex scandal. By Wednesday eye-gouging was high on the agenda. Thursday brought confirmation of another cock-up by the International Rugby Board over which laws applied where and to whom. And on Friday Wasps formally ditched Ian McGeechan nine days before he is due to lead the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa. Has there ever been a week like it?"

Following Nick Mallett's daft decision to play Mauro Bergamasco at scrum-half earlier in the Six Nations tournament, the Independent looks at other ploys that proved unwise.

"A feature of the Lions' troubled tour to Australia in 2001 was the on-going spat between Austin Healey (right) and Wallaby lock Justin Harrison. At Gosford, against Australia A, Harrison had chased the scrum-half out of a ruck after seeing him hit one of his team-mates in retaliation for a kick on Will Greenwood.

"They met again when the Lions met the ACT Brumbies a week later. Harrison kneed Healey in the thigh. The injury would force the England No.9 to miss the second Test yet he still managed to scored two tries against the Brumbies and after both the pair indulged in some verbal sparring. When the Wallabies called up Harrison for the decisive third Test, Healey described the lock in his newspaper column as a 'a plod, a plank and an ape.' Healey was later fined for his comments and publicly rebuked by Lions coach Graham Henry, and Harrison was to have the last laugh, stealing the crucial last minute lineout in the third Test to clinch an Australia series victory.

"...As acts of brainlessness go, the decision by France's most capped prop Sylvain Marconnet to go on a skiing holiday in the middle of the 2007 Six Nations with a World Cup to look forward to later in the year, takes some beating. Inevitability, the 30-year-old Stade Francais prop suffered a double fracture of the left tibia, which required an operation to insert a screw in the bone, ruling him out for five months and the World Cup in his own country."

John Leicester is not very impressed with the standard of rugby on show in this year's Six Nations and predicts more joy for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa when the hemipsheres clash later this year. Read his thoughts in the New Zealand Herald.

"You can almost hear the All Blacks licking their lips. The Springboks and Wallabies, too, for that matter.

"Rugby's top three nations, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, can hardly be experiencing any other emotion than expectant satisfaction as they look northward to the less than impressive spectacle being offered by Europe in the Six Nations tournament that is throwing up more spills than thrills. Much of it so far hasn't been pretty or terribly encouraging for hopes that European teams might mount a genuine title challenge at the next World Cup."

Writing in The Times, Gabby Logan muses on the "other-worldy" physiques of modern rugby players.

"Women like rugby players - not exactly revelation of the week I will admit, but it needs further examination, especially as thousands of commuters are being hampered on their way to work by middle-aged women suddenly slowing to a shuffle to take in “those posters”.

"So what's the fascination: is it all about size? I will admit that when I first met my husband I had been entrenched in the world of lean footballers for years. I wasn't dating them, but I was interviewing them and working with them all the time. I was a child of one. They were fit and sometimes ripped. But there was nothing other-worldly about their physiques, nothing that the average bloke couldn't attain with a few less beers.

"When I met Kenny, he was with some London Wasps players who were over 6ft 5in tall, so he didn't even look that big next to them. But within an hour of meeting him he jokingly put his arm around me and I felt like I was being enveloped. If we ran out of money we could always live in his wingspan, I thought.

"Size does not just mean height. Every part of a rugby player's body is different to the non-rugby playing human. I watched the Ireland team practise their lineouts at Stadio Flaminio in Rome last weekend. Jerry Flannery, the Ireland hooker, is only 5ft 11in but weighs 102kg (about 16st) - and most of this seems to be on his upper thighs and biceps. “He's a gym monkey,” Keith Wood, the former Ireland hooker, said, noticing that I was staring. Which is a kind way of saying: “He had to work at it, it's not all natural like me.”

Peter Bills urges referees to play hard-ball with repeat offenders at the breakdown in The Independent.

"When, oh when, will rugby’s referees take off their kid gloves and sort out the mess at the breakdown? The ruck. The pile up, the breakdown - call it what you will. Whatever name you use, it has become the biggest blight on the entire game.

"Former Ireland and Irish Lion Donal Lenihan said recently during the Munster/Ulster Magners League clash "At almost every second breakdown there seems to be a penalty." There’s a good reason for that. Players are cheating. And the sad fact is, few referees are doing much to stop them."

Through the rugby year, across the oceans of the different hemispheres, the game of rugby union has many guises. The Independent offers a visual retrospective of the rugby world in 2008.

"For sure, the image of grunt and grind, impact and intimidation, is thoroughly merited. In this professional era for the sport, never has rugby so resembled a gladiatorial encounter.

"Yet the game has many faces which is one of its most enduring appeals. It can be alarmingly physical yet still aesthetically enchanting. And sometimes, what the photographer’s camera captures is a different image, a fresh vision of the sport hidden away from most supporters."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills puts forward his belief that the ELVs are here to stay.

"Clear signs are emerging that the rugby dice appear to be falling in favour of adopting most of the ELVs at the IRB Council’s meeting on the vexed issue in May.

"It is my firm understanding that the five leading countries of the world – New Zealand, South Africa, France, Australia and England – are ready to vote for most of the proposals when the matter is discussed by the IRB Council.

"As things stand, it is chiefly the Celtic countries, Ireland, Wales and Scotland that are standing out against making the proposals law. Of these, Wales are seen as crucial in possibly being drawn to the side of those in favour. If the Welsh succumb, then Ireland and Scotland will be lost, isolated and certain to be defeated on the issue."

Nigel Owens talks to Patrick Barkham inThe Guardian about the trials of being the only openly gay international referee.

"Early one morning, Nigel Owens scrawled a note saying he "just couldn't deal with it any more" and crept out of his parent's house. Fat, lonely, bulimic, addicted to steroids and secretly gay, Owens climbed high above the Welsh valley where he grew up and waited for the sleeping pills to take hold. He has no memory of being saved but was spotted and taken to hospital by a police helicopter. If his rescuers had arrived half an hour later, he would have been dead.

"Nearly 13 years on, Owens is not fat, or bulimic and certainly not on steroids. Most notably, his sexuality is no longer a secret. This is a big deal because Owens is an international rugby union referee. Being a referee is a lonely job; being the only professional - player or ref - brave enough to be openly gay must be lonelier still on rugby union's pitches. And Owens is not just an exception in rugby; apart from the tennis player Amélie Mauresmo, virtually no international gay or lesbian sports star still playing has publicly discussed their sexuality. The few who do, such as basketballer John Amaechi and footballer Justin Fashanu, who later killed himself, only came out after retiring."

Peter Bills meets IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset, and the main man of world rugby has money on his mind in The Independent

"Removing the selfishness of a ‘me not we’ attitude in rugby union should be paramount among the game’s priorities for 2009, IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset has said.

"In his New Year message on the state of the game, Lapasset insists that rugby must consider a wider collective and forsake the policy of individual gain at the expense of others.

"Lapasset conceded “At this time, the north and the south are more and more divided, partly because the economies are different. Nor is this true only of rugby. In so many sports, the best players are in Europe where the markets and economies are much bigger. Look at football.

“But if we allow this to be maintained we are in danger of devaluing the game in other parts of the world. The fact is, economy cannot be the only criteria; it must not be the pinnacle of our strategy.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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