"The Six Nations should be protected on free-to-air TV"

The Wales great who has represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction

AROUND THE WORLD IN TEN STORIES

Take a whistle stop tour around the rugby world with these tales

DOWNTIME WITH... ANDREA PIARDI: "I resisted the temptation to pull out a yellow card - it was a perfectly legal tackle on me!"

The groundbreaking Italian referee talks sailing, simplicity and the Six Nations

"The Chile players deserve what they are living"

Playing Japan in Chile's Rugby World Cup debut was emotionally draining but a wonderful lesson for everyone.

SAM WHITELOCK

The All Blacks legend is moving to France after a record-breaking World Cup

DAN McKELLAR

The Australian coach wants to create a new history for Leicester Tigers

"The Australian World Cup should start with a bang, not a whimper"

With France 2023 done and dusted, we cast our eyes four years hence to the next men's Rugby World Cup- and Stephen Jones is demanding changes

TYSON BEUKEBOOM

The hard-hitting Canada lock has a new challenge with Ealing Trailfinders

HOW THE RUGBY WORLD CUP WAS WON

The bloody-minded Springboks pulled off three one-point wins in a row to retain the Webb Ellis Cup. RW assesses a feat that bordered on the miraculous

"For Africa to reach its potential, we must take concrete actions"

DURING THE World Cup in France, the global spotlight naturally gravitated towards Tier One nations. Yet the future of rugby isn't confined to these nations. World Rugby recently highlighted that emerging nations are the key drivers of growth, identifying Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in 2023.

RECORD-BUSTING CONEHEADS!

Two English fans set an attendance world record at France 2023. Alan Pearey reports

Gavin Coombes

Quiet off the park, demonstrative on it. This is Munster's latest monster

RUGBY RANT

Fans at the World Cup in Nice were left frightened, says John Moore from Newport

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO JOIN A PREMIERSHIP ACADEMY

We travel to the RPA's Academy Induction Day to meet the stars of tomorrow

WHAT GOES ON TOUR...

ENGLAND WERE playing Ireland away for the Grand Slam in 2001 and my job was to arrange the travel and other logistics for the team, writes David ‘Elton’ Beaumont.

Is it right to expand the Rugby World Cup to 24 teams?

A 24-TEAM World Cup is a great idea so long as you love your turkey shoots, your humiliations of smaller nations who are under-resourced, underplayed and underappreciated by the global game from one World Cup cycle to the next.

"As a player you need to see light at the end of the tunnel"

FOR TEST players it's pretty much every four years that you get a proper pre-season. You've finished the season early, you get four weeks off and then you go into a World Cup camp from mid-June. Whereas normally, if a Test player is on a summer tour, you have a short summer break and then you're into it.

DOWNTIME WITH... MARK ATKINSON: "I can't have four squares of chocolate, I'm having four bars!"

The Gloucester centre on his sweet tooth, a Savage prank and embarrassing stitches

HOW TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

After missing out on this year's World Cup, we find out what USA Rugby need to do eight years out from hosting the tournament

BEKA GORGADZE

The Georgian has battled back from injury to make his second World Cup

"Romania is a fine rugby nation but it has been allowed to rot away"

A once-mighty rugby nation has fallen on hard times. Stephen Jones says we must remember Romania's proud history and hope for a revival one day

SAM CANE

He's captain of the All Blacks on a Rugby World Cup odyssey. Do jobs come with greater pressure?

MORE TO COME FROM FIJI

Fiji and their exceptional Drua Super Rugby side have made incredible strides

Andrés Vilaseca

Labelled 'Lazy' as a boy, the Uruguay captain is now a national linchpin

RUGBY RANT

Japan-based writer Rich Freeman laments the Brave Blossoms' false dawn

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO...HELP PREPARE THE SAMOA SQUAD

Former Test referee Johnny Lacey is working with Samoa at the World Cup

WHAT GOES ON TOUR...

THE MAIN pranksters in Italy's squad are me and Luca Bigi, writes Seb Negri. There is always a war between us. For a long time now it has been hiding boots and things like that.

Does Tackle School work?

\"NOBODY REALLY liked school, not even the geeks. Rugby's top players and coaches would have been the cool kids in their younger years anyway, so expecting them to sit up straight in class might be a big ask.

"France still has the proper traditions of rugby"

RUGBY IN France is different. It’s hostile, supporters love it, and if you’re the opposition – be it a club, age-grade or an International – they love to hate the opposition.

Agustín Creevy

The first centurion for Argentina, the hooker still has a few more shots in his locker as he heads to his fourth World Cup