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• Bill Sweeney believes English rugby is ‘on cusp of something quite spectacular’

  Bill Sweeney is confident he remains the right man to lead the Rugby Football Union despite the English game being mired in crisis and claims that “we are on the cusp of something quite spectacular”.

  Four professional clubs have collapsed in just over a year – Wasps, Worcester, London Irish and Jersey Reds – while in January the Rugby Football Union triggered a grassroots revolt through its handling of the tackle height being lowered at community level.

  On the eve of England’s victory over Argentina that opened the World Cup last month, RFU council members sent a letter to the board raising concerns over the leadership of chief executive Sweeney and chair Tom Ilube.

  Sweeney stated that the “cynical” rebellion had been faced down at Friday’s council meeting, adding that it was staged by a “small group of people who are no longer in the game or have agendas that are not necessarily in the best interests of the game”.

  At the elite level England have not finished above third place in the the Six Nations since 2020 and sacked Eddie Jones in December, giving his replacement Steve Borthwick just eight months to prepare for the World Cup.

  “It’s probably for others to say if they don’t feel I am the right person to do it,” Sweeney said.

  “I personally feel I am given my experience, given my background and my balance of business and sport. I feel I am the right person to do that.

  “I came into this role for one simple reason and it’s because I’m very passionate about this game.

  “There’s probably a large number of my friends and family who would be quite happy if I didn’t do it any longer. But I do believe that we are on the cusp of something quite spectacular here.

  “This has been a unique moment in time because of the financial challenges, because of the working relationship with Premiership Rugby, our ability to change that relationship around the partnership, to fix the things that have stopped us winning Six Nations on a regular basis.

  “The work that we’re doing in World Rugby around Nations Cup, the global calendar – that all plays into this as well.

  “I feel that I have the energy, I’ve got the passion and I’ve got the desire to see this through. Now if somebody else thinks differently about that, that’s also equally fine.

  “You don’t wake up every morning enjoying it, but that’s the reason why I would like to carry on.”

  Sweeney was accused by a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing last November of being “completely asleep on the job” and told that he should consider resigning in response to the financial crisis that led to Wasps and Worcester entering administration.

  The Twickenham chief has promised structural reform “to fix a number of issues that have been broken for some time”, thereby ending the “boom and bust periods when it is more based on hope”.

  Sweeney confirmed that negotiations are proceeding for 25 England players to be placed on ‘hybrid contracts’ that would give Borthwick more control of his most important internationals.

• England career igniting convinced me to sign new Saracens deal – Ben Earl

  Ben Earl admitted it was his England career igniting that convinced him to re-sign with Saracens and play his part in lifting the domestic club out of the doldrums.

  Earlier this week Earl signed a long-term contract with the Gallagher Premiership champions to continue his upward trajectory in a 2023 that has produced his first Test start and selection in Steve Borthwick’s World Cup squad.

  Now that rampaging displays against Argentina, Japan and Chile have impressed audiences in France, he has become one of Borthwick’s star performers, who is set to be restored to the back row against Samoa on Saturday.

  Having struggled to convince Eddie Jones and then being discarded by Borthwick in the Six Nations earlier this year in order to work on his conditioning, the 25-year-old admits he was considering his options overseas until his England outlook changed.

  “You never shut that door. I guess it is a lot easier to move abroad if you are not playing for England,” Earl said.

  “If you are not in the picture, it can be nice sometimes to have a change of scene, but thankfully at the moment I’m playing for England and that made my decision for me.

  “Steve has always been very honest with me about what it would take for me to play for England and hopefully I’m starting to make some steps in those directions.

  “Now it is just a no-brainer, I’m fully focussed on playing for Saracens and hopefully for England for a long time.”

  Earl has chosen to stay in the Gallagher Premiership during a period of upheaval.

  Jersey Reds’ announcement last week that they had entered administration lifts the total of professional clubs to have gone out of business in the past year to four, painting a grim picture of the finances of the English game.

  A closer relationship between the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby is set to produce a series of ‘hybrid contracts’ that will give Borthwick greater control over around 20 of his Tests stars.

  Earl would be a prime candidate for one of the contracts that would see a player’s club receive greater compensation and he believes his generation has a role to play in restoring the sport to health.

  “We are hearing good things about the plans for the league over the next couple of years – salary cap stuff and commercial stuff. We are already seeing some small changes and that can only be a good thing,” he said.

  “There have been times when players have shut themselves off from the commercial side of the game.

  “And we as a younger generation in terms of coming through and taking on the mantle of the league, we need to be a bit more open by putting ourselves out there.

  “We’ve had some talks with the league. We’re asking for a bit more, they’re asking for a bit more. Everyone is willing and saying the right things, so hopefully that’s a step in the right direction.”

• Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw an injury doubt for crucial Scotland clash

  Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw has emerged as an injury doubt for Saturday’s crucial Rugby World Cup showdown with Scotland in Paris.

  The 30-year-old is struggling with a “niggle” and will be assessed ahead of head coach Andy Farrell naming his matchday 23 on Thursday afternoon.

  Henshaw suffered a fitness setback at the start of the tournament when he was a late withdrawal from Ireland’s bench for the 82-8 win over Romania.

  He subsequently came on as a replacement in the 59-16 success over Tonga and the 13-8 victory against reigning champions South Africa.

  Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell said: “Everyone came through training, but Robbie has a bit of a niggle and we’re finding out about that today.

  “I’m sure there will be some information on that tomorrow.”

  Henshaw has been providing back-up for in-form midfield duo Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.

  Leinster team-mate Jimmy O’Brien, Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey and Munster veteran Keith Earls are among the options to take his place in Farrell’s squad to face the Scots, if he is ruled out.

  Ireland will secure a quarter-final spot as Pool B winners with a victory or a draw at Stade de France, while a loss may also be sufficient for progression, depending on the scoreline and bonus points gained.

  Farrell’s men are seeking a 17th consecutive success to set up a likely last-eight appointment with either hosts France or three-time champions New Zealand.

  Former Ireland captain O’Connell, who represented his country at four World Cups, believes the current crop of players know how to remain in the moment and avoid being inhibited by passion or pressure.

   

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  “Being able to not rely massively on emotions is a big part of it,” he replied when asked about the key to consistently backing up wins.

  “It’s always a big strength of ours how much the lads love playing for Ireland, how important the history of the team is.

  “But that’s kind of the icing on the cake now rather than the whole cake.

  “I think probably in fairness it would have come in under Joe (Schmidt, former head coach) and that ability to focus just on what’s right in front of you and not what’s too far ahead of you.

  “They’ve a big appetite around just getting better and improving, both individually and as a group.

  “When the focus is all about getting better, you acknowledge the significance of what might happen if you win a game at the weekend for sure, but you’re kind of able to ignore it a little bit then as well.

  “The more you understand who you are and what you stand for the easier it is to perform.

  “They don’t have to build up how important the game is. We all know it and they all know it.

  “They focus on getting better, they focus on the next moment, and that sometimes helps them block out some of the noise around the game.”