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Pietersen has not played for England since the 5-0 drubbing suffered in the 2013-14 series on Australian soil.

Speaking a month after England regained the Ashes, Pietersen said: “Absolutely, it seems to be the right decision at the moment”.

Luke Fitzgerald has replaced him at inside-centre, the rest of the side was extremely predictable, as the strongest possible team for Ireland.

“If we produce our performances we want at home“.

“But we’re under no illusions about what a tough, tough test this is going to be and we wouldn’t want it any other way”.

The technology will benefit the Television Match Official (TMO) who will be able to monitor the footage from the cameras. “They shouldn’t have changed it – even though the decision was right”.

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter believes Japan only showed 80 per cent of their capabilities against the Springboks and lock Grant Gilchrist warned that even if Scotland knew exactly what was contained in Jones’ game-plan, that might not be enough to save his side. However...

That Patel’s weight will again be a topic for discussion is inevitable, and he will just have to put up with it. It was held to be a reason why England looked elsewhere last season at a time when the Sky TV pundit and former England coach, David Lloyd, termed him the form...

There was plenty of time to get a bonus point try after securing the victory.

Eddie Jones, the Japan coach, has warned that rugby is moving in a “dangerous direction” and called on the sport’s governing body to increase “fatigue” in the game to reduce power and the number of collisions.

England, with a 35-11 win over Fiji, and Wales, who defeated Uruguay 54-9, launched their World Cup campaigns with victories last weekend in a “Pool of Death” also featuring two-time champions Australia.

It broke a 24-year World Cup winning drought for Japan, the team coached by former Wallabies mentor Eddie Jones.

In the 48 hours since their surprise defeat by Japan, the Springboks have dissected and analysed what caused one of the biggest upsets in rugby history. A seasoned stoker of controversy, Jones also insisted the local crowd would back his team – who wear red and white, as do...

The Gloucester number eight suffered a knee injury in England’s 35-11 victory over Fiji.

But nothing significant. JJ [Joseph] has a bit of a knock, nothing too serious.