England intent on lifting women’s World Cup

Host country will capitalise on growing enthusiasm as they seek to make home advantage pay in the tournament next year

Grove: win over Australia must not be one-off

The Scotland wing says that beating Argentina at Murrayfield on Saturday is a must after the heroic triumph against the Wallabies

Argentina aim to find psychological advantage

The Pumas will take on Scotland at Murrayfield with confidence after beating their opponents twice in their past three meetings

England open World Cup campaign against Ireland

Fresh from victory over New Zealand, the world champions, England's women go into the global tournament as second seeds

London Irish challenge lawmakers after defeat

London Irish 11 Newcastle Falcons 15: exiles' head coach Toby Booth says that rule changes have prohibited entertaintment

The rugby republican's date with the Queen

In the first excerpt from Lawrence Dallaglio's book, he recalls the World Cup victory parade and a boozy encounter with royalty

Johnson must go back to basics

England 6 New Zealand 19: England fail to capitalise on their scoring opportunities as All Blacks find weaknesses

England respond to inspiring example of Spencer

Women succeed where the men failed by beating New Zealand at Twickenham after No 8 scores the game's only try

Fearless Moody puts his head where it hurts

Flanker rises above the mediocrity by demonstrating his impressive bravery once more during the game against New Zealand

Robinson must try to maintain the momentum

If the manager is going to take Scotland up a level he must break a cycle of overachievement followed by underachievement

Steadman misses final act but salutes heroic defence

Defence coach unable to bear watching Matt Giteau line up the conversion that could have undone all of Scotland's defiance

Hodgson’s accuracy lifts Sale Sharks

Leeds Carnegie 17 Sale Sharks 24: home team's implosion plays into hands of their opponents and their experienced fly half

Saracens maintain their winning habit

Saracens 22 London Wasps 6: Wasps' expansive game comes unstuck in difficult conditions against powerful league leaders

Snobbery drove England's chariot into ditch

The English game has paid a high price for failing to safeguard its winning culture while allowing self-interest to prevail

How the England players rated

The Times's Rugby Correspondent assesses how Martin Johnson's selections acquitted themselves against the All Blacks

How England and New Zealand rated

The Sunday Times assesses how the two sides perfomed during their match at Twickenham

Loyal fans short-changed by lack of tries

Rugby is suffering from mistakes at the top: the failures of the IRB have turned the sport into a boring festival of kicking

Williams turns on style

The winger’s stirring display, which resulted in two tries, helped his side beat the feeble Pumas at Millennium Stadium

Gatland answers critics

The form of his Wales side pleased the coach after physical battle with the Pumas resulted in victory for his men

Scots snatch sensational win over Australia

Scotland 9 Australia 8: defensive heroes earn famous victory as Matt Giteau pays the price for kicking blunders