Peter O'Mahony and Francois Cros play brilliantly effective if somewhat unheralded roles for Ireland and France.
Irish great Shane Byrne tempers his Rugby World Cup optimism with a sharp history lesson
England were on the canvas with nine minutes left to go before staging a famous 19-point recovery job to stun the All Blacks
In taking a mammoth squad of 36 players to South Africa, the All Blacks are perhaps risking leaving some of their men undercooked for the latter stages of the Rugby Championship.
Will Jordan is the sixth member of the All Blacks camp to test positive for Covid after two players and three coaches were hit with the virus on Monday.
The All Blacks side that will face Ireland in the first test will not be anywhere near the same as the one that was beaten in Dublin by a dominant Ireland side last November.
Selection is increasingly down to statistics but it is also down to gut feeling and Warren Gatland will hope he's got it right
Former prop John Andress is using the personal touch to guide players through tough times
We have scoured the globe for 10 of rugby's top young talents to keep an eye on in 2021, with age-grade rugby having been cancelled in 2020.
The way Andy Farrell handles his captain will define his tenure as Ireland head coach.