The problem of the WAG, as understood in football circles, has yet to raise its head in rugby union, but New Zealand, in their quest to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time in 20 years, have addressed the issue. Wives and partners will be allowed to stay at the same hotel as the players during the World Cup in France, but there will be no cohabitation.

Nothing, it seems, will be allowed to stand in the way of the All Blacks, whereas England, the holders – although not for much longer if recent form is a true guide – will follow the same pattern as in 2003. That was the tournament during which Mike Tindall, an England centre at the time, met Zara Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter, a relationship that has been sustained since.

The wives and girlfriends of the England players will be allowed to stay with their partners the night before and the night of a game – “at the player’s discretion” – but will be expected to stay in another hotel outside those times. Twenty partners of New Zealand players are expected in France during the tournament, at their own expense, among them Honor Dillon, the Black Sticks (New Zealand women’s hockey team) international, who is the girlfriend of Dan Carter, the All Blacks fly half.

Martin Gaitan, the Argentina centre who played in the 27-20 defeat by Wales on Saturday, remains in a Cardiff hospital after surgery on Sunday for a partial tear in the wall of a coronary artery. Gaitan, 29, who plays for Biarritz, complained of chest pains after the match and seems sure to miss the World Cup.

Sylvain Marconnet has become the second player forced by injury to withdraw from France’s World Cup squad. Marconnet, the most experienced prop in the squad with 71 caps, was given until the end of the month to prove his recovery from a broken shin bone but an ankle inflamation has forced him to follow Elvis Vermeulen out of the competition, his place going to Nicolas Mas, the Perpignan front-row forward.

South Africa, who are in the same World Cup pool as England, will look at their midfield options against Connacht in Galway this evening before meeting Scotland on Saturday. Butch James, the fly half who will join Bath after the tournament, plays at centre with Ruan Pienaar, normally a scrum half, playing fly half. It is a move that has been considered before, such is Pienaar’s versatility. He has also played on the wing.