• Tom Curry injured during training on Wednesday

• Brother Ben has not played for England since 2025

Tom Curry has emerged as a major doubt for England’s autumn opener against Australia on Sunday, handing Steve Borthwick a huge blow before a crucial November campaign, with twin brother Ben leading the race to start at openside flanker.

It is understood that Tom Curry sustained his latest injury during Wednesday’s full bore training session, throwing Borthwick’s plans for his back-row configuration into disarray. Borthwick will finalise his team selection before announcing it on Friday afternoon but as things stand, Ben is in pole position to wear the No7 jersey.

• Smith’s calf injury to be tested in training on Wednesday

• Alex Mitchell ruled out of Nations Championship finals

Fin Smith faces a make-or-break training session on Wednesday to prove his fitness for the No 10 jersey in England’s autumn opener against Australia on Sunday, amid cautious optimism the Northampton playmaker will come through unscathed.

Smith sustained a calf injury in Northampton’s derby defeat by Leicester last month and the England head coach, Steve Borthwick, has been sweating on his fitness ever since. Smith’s Northampton half-back partner, Alex Mitchell, meanwhile, has been ruled out of England’s entire autumn campaign owing to his latest hamstring injury.

• Pool 4: Northampton 28-12 Cardiff

• Saints claim first win for Prem side at eighth time of asking

At 7.16pm, just around the time those Sunday night blues kick in, England’s Champions Cup cohort finally had something to cheer about. It was not pretty but after seven of their Prem rivals had failed to claim victory in the opening round of the competition, Saints survived a sizeable scare from Cardiff to put one on the board for the Prem, thanks in no small part to the excellent George Hendy.

It might be harsh on some of the performances this weekend – Gloucester were immense in drawing with Bordeaux, Exeter mightily unlucky to be beaten in Toulouse – but zero wins would have been a crushing embarrassment for a league that has been feted for its attacking exploits so far this season. One out of eight is not a lot to shout about as it is.

Bordeaux No 8 takes on Gloucester in Champions Cup to underline hole he will leave Borthwick for the World Cup

Swines are swirling above Twickenham, the cows have returned to their roots and hell is an icy sub-zero. Steve Borthwick has been given a free pass to pick one player based outside England. The consensus is that Jack Willis – Toulouse captain and two‑time Top 14 player of the season – would be the obvious choice. The smart money, however, would be on Borthwick picking brother Tom in a flash.

For clarity, this is not going to happen. It is not World Cup season without a cause celebre but the reality is that you, dear reader, have more chance of selection. Still, the story of the younger Willis warrants re-examining. Firstly because his decision to head for France after receiving an enhanced contract was unprecedented. Secondly because for Bordeaux he is pulling up trees, forests and anything else in his way this season. England’s No 8 depth is shallow and Willis is the type of player Borthwick would give his right arm for. After Bordeaux have begun their Champions Cup defence at Gloucester on Friday, chances are his left too.

• Bristol wing: ‘Someone do something about it!’

• Pat Lam left three players out because of the pitch

Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial pitches in the Prem after posting a graphic image of the wounds he sustained during Bristol’s defeat at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium on Saturday.

The Wales wing revealed the extent of the friction burns caused to his right leg after running out for the Bears on Saracens’ artificial pitch with the caption: “Can we please stop playing on these AstroTurf pitches!! Someone do something about it!!”

England’s identity under Steve Borthwick is not as clear as it should be this close to the tournament

It was not so long ago that the Rugby Football Union would host an annual Christmas bash. Executives, head coaches, assistants, members of staff and an invitation to the press pack. Mince pies and mulled wine, even a touch of merriment if we were lucky. Eddie Jones would sometimes make an appearance, but the mind goes back to one year when he did not.

To give him his due Steve Borthwick, his assistant at the time, did. He would probably rather have been anywhere else, but one of the more clear-eyed RFU employees, who had long-since figured out that the then forwards coach was destined for the top job, did their utmost to involve him. Alas, Borthwick soon had a long-distance train to catch and hours of in-depth analysis on a laptop ahead of him.

There’s no ignoring the holders but what of the hosts, the All Blacks, France and even England? Here’s a rundown of all 24 teams taking part in Australia in 2027

Beaten by Australia last weekend but the manner in which they came back after Rassie Erasmus emptied his bench was emphatic. The series victory over New Zealand was the one they really wanted this year and achieving that, romping from 1-0 down to 3-1 victors, underscores that they are the team to beat in Australia next year.

All Blacks were valiant in 3-1 series defeat but Springboks sent another warning to rest of the world in Baltimore

What is the enduring image of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series? The Springboks put the exclamation mark on their status as World Cup favourites by wrapping up the series 3-1 with victory in Baltimore on Saturday, but in months and years to come where will the mind immediately go when reflecting on this epic?

The reality is that after four Tests of remarkable intensity – a brutal reminder of the levels required to compete with the two biggest beasts in the world game – there are plenty. But it is hard to look beyond the 65th minute of the third Test in Soweto, when the Boks’ tank rumbled over from 20 metres. Malcolm Marx was awarded the try and there would be no more deserving recipient of a player of the series award.

• Governing body floating staging Ireland v Italy in US

• World Rugby eyes commercial value in American fixtures

World Rugby wants a Six Nations match to be staged in the US and has offered financial incentives to the unions to do so – but England have effectively ruled themselves out on the grounds that fixtures at Twickenham are too lucrative.

The US will stage the 2031 World Cup and World Rugby is seeking to capitalise commercially despite mounting fears over the parlous state of rugby union in the host country. As a result, the governing body is desperate to raise interest in the sport’s profile by staging high-profile matches Stateside, with Baltimore hosting the fourth Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday.

• RFU eager to avoid uncertainty heading into World Cup

• Lloyds Bank to pay £5m a year for logo on back of jerseys

Steve Borthwick will be handed a contract extension until after the 2028 Six Nations, giving the Rugby Football Union time to identify his successor if England flop at the World Cup next year.

The RFU’s move is designed to avoid uncertainty heading into the tournament but stops short of backing Borthwick in the long-term.

Lawes is back in the Prem after two years in France and has unfinished business at international level

Courtney Lawes was not expecting to be named in Steve Borthwick’s pre‑season England squad over the weekend. While the 37-year-old has made clear that his return to the Prem with Sale Sharks is in no small part down to his ambition to feature in a fifth World Cup next year, much like the national head coach Lawes favours action rather than words.

Borthwick has explained to players such as Lawes, his fellow Sale arrival Joe Marchant and Newcastle’s new No 8 Hoskins Sotutu that in order to achieve England selection they must prove themselves against the players they are now competing with in the Prem.

• South Africa 29-24 New Zealand

• Hosts hit back for win after early Savea double

There have been moments over the past couple of weeks that have made us question South Africa’s status as the standard bearers in world rugby. After this helter-skelter third Test victory that ensures they cannot lose the series, we have an emphatic answer. The Springboks’ power is unrivalled. The All Blacks’ panache has taken them mightily close but South Africa remain on their perch.

A consolation score for New Zealand at the death rescued some pride but flattered the All Blacks. A second-half masterclass from the Boks, the relentless kind that leaves even opponents as worthy as these suffocated, gasping for air, confirms what was taken as read before this series started – South Africa remain the hot favourites for next year’s World Cup.

• Second Test: South Africa 33-26 New Zealand

• Head coach changes front-row just before start

The Boks are back. Level at one apiece in the series after a return to what they do best. Blending power and directness, blood and thunder, to edge far enough ahead of New Zealand and withstand a gutsy comeback from the All Blacks. Throw in some brazen mischief from Rassie Erasmus, who swapped his entire front-row just an hour before kick-off, and this was much closer to a trademark Springboks performance after they were unrecognisable a week ago.

South Africa were far from flawless but constantly ferocious. It was not a knockout blow – not least given how the All Blacks finished the match – but it was some counterpunch after last week’s humbling. The third Test is scheduled for Johannesburg but they may consider relocating to Manila.

• First Test: South Africa 16-33 New Zealand

• All Blacks score five tries against world champions

As first courses go, this was a delicious appetiser to a series that looks set to live up to its billing. First blood goes to New Zealand, who withstood a barrage of South Africa scrum pressure and demonstrated a slickness the double world champions could not live with, clinching a first win at Ellis Park since 2022.

It wasn’t a classic, but a statement victory by the All Blacks to which South Africa must respond in the coming weeks. By the end, South Africa had two men in the sin-bin and, given their status as the world’s leading side, this must go down as a disintegration. There will be a backlash – it is hard to remember a time when South Africa were so inaccurate with the ball in hand – but credit New Zealand for producing a masterclass at weathering the storm and taking their chances. It is 30 years since Sean Fitzpatrick led the All Blacks to a first series victory in South Africa, but the class of 2026 are off to a flying start.

Throwback series rekindles memories of the past, but the focus is very much on realities of the modern game

Just in case you were unaware that the series between South Africa and New Zealand, styled as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR), is a “tour like no other”, the Springboks have just unveiled a jersey to prove it. “A jersey like no other” to be worn four times and then consigned to history.

The RGR, though, kicks off with a looming legal battle in South Africa in the background over the series’ commercial identity and the unauthorised use of its branding. And you thought sporting romance was dead.

• Incident occurred after Pumas were denied a late try

• Albornoz’s ban begins against South Africa on Saturday

Tomás Albornoz, the Argentina fly-half, has been banned for four matches for intimidating the referee after the full-time whistle of England’s controversial victory against the Pumas last month.

Albornoz accepted allegations of misconduct at a disciplinary hearing, and that his behaviour was intimidatory. He will miss Argentina’s Test against South Africa on Saturday as well as their forthcoming double header with Australia and a Toulon fixture.

Despite a huge upswing in performance against France, the head coach still has a case to answer for what went wrong in the Six Nations

Did England play like that because of Steve Borthwick or in spite of him? For all that the Rugby Football Union will deep dive, look under the bonnet, get into the weeds – pick your own favourite bit of corporate speak – it is the fundamental question that Bill Sweeney and his review panel must ask in the coming weeks. Did Borthwick liberate his players against France, or did they take matters into their own hands?

As usual, the panel will include input from Sweeney and Conor O’Shea as well as those from outside the building who insist on anonymity. It is said that despite the huge upswing in performance in defeat against France, the RFU is still determined to establish what went wrong during this Six Nations. That is a positive sign because when the dust settles, this still goes down as their worst-ever championship. The noises coming from the RFU suggest that they will not be blinded by the razzle-dazzle in Paris, that Borthwick still has a case to answer.

Steve Borthwick was under immense pressure but the character shown by his team against France offers hope of better times ahead

Just as Steve Borthwick was reaching for his coat, he finally has something to hang his hat on. The ledger records an agonising defeat but a performance brimming with positives, carried out with a swagger that must signpost the way forward if this is to be the turning point in Borthwick’s tenure. Moments of naivety, too, plenty of mistakes and a maddening feeling that leaves you questioning why they do not always play like this.

Around half an hour before kick-off of this bonkers Six Nations finale, as part of an equally mind-boggling, gloriously French, pre-match show, there was a moment when two white horses cantered down the middle of the pitch, hitched up on their hind legs before galloping away in different directions down the touchline to take up residence behind each goal. The two horsemen facing each other down. It was then that you sensed something might be in the air.

• Anniversary kit marks 120 years of fixture

• England to wear their traditional white

England’s Six Nations finale in Paris on Saturday could descend into farce with France poised to wear a special edition pale blue kit that threatens to clash with the white strip worn by Steve Borthwick’s side.

Fabian Galthié’s team have confirmed they will don the anniversary kit, which is significantly lighter than their traditional blue strip, for a match that marks 120 years of rivalry between France and England. It is understood, however, that England will still wear their white kit despite the potential for a clash. Match officials are also understood to have given both kits the green light.

• Ben Spencer defends tactic despite three straight losses

• Minimal changes expected for final Six Nations game

England have vowed to double down on their kick-heavy gameplan against France on Saturday despite their drastic decline in recent weeks. It is a move that risks further provoking the anger of their supporters.

Steve Borthwick and his side have come under intense scrutiny after last week’s first defeat by Italy and the manner in which they stuck rigidly to their kicking strategy left fans irate. England have kicked the most times and for the most metres of all the Six Nations teams and while it was a tactic that paid dividends last autumn when they were on a 12-match winning run, it is no longer having the desired effect.