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• England prop Kyle Sinckler grateful to have won World Cup fitness battle

  Kyle Sinckler admits his relief at winning a race against time to be fit for England’s World Cup having succeeded in convincing Steve Borthwick that his body would not let him down.

  Sinckler tore the pectoral muscle in his chest during the build-up to the final warm-up Test against Fiji in August, plunging his participation in France 2023 into doubt.

  It resulted in veteran Dan Cole rolling back the years to start the opener against Argentina at tighthead prop and, eight days later, Sinckler’s promise to his head coach was honoured when he was given the all clear to face Japan.

  “For me there’s a massive amount of appreciation and gratitude to be back out there because it was kind of touch and go,” the 30-year-old Bristol front row said.

  “The scan came back and it didn’t look great but I knew it would be fine. Fair play to the medical staff and Steve for trusting me and to say: ‘I know my body, I am going to be fine’.

  “And thank you to my team who work for me off the field. They have really stepped up and helped me and I have been on recovery 24/7 since that game so I am just very grateful to be here and hopefully get to do my thing again.

  “I was keen to play against Japan and then to get the start against Chile, that was pretty cool.

  “I’m just grateful to be here – my second World Cup and my 13th or 12th year playing professional rugby.”

  England’s reliance on Will Stuart early in August’s warm-up fixtures suggested that Sinckler was no longer undisputed first choice for the number three jersey – a position he has held since 2018.

  His torn pec exacerbated the situation but, two games into his return, he is expected to start the final Pool D match against Samoa in Lille on October 7. And he will do so knowing the demands on the modern prop are greater than ever.

  “The only thing that is not expected from me is to kick and take high balls! The role has changed since I first came on the scene,” Sinckler said.

  “The way I played tighthead prop, a lot of people said: ‘You can’t do it that way,’ because of my ball-carrying, tips, chasing. I had to really work hard on my scrummaging because that didn’t come naturally.

  “Now it’s: ‘We want you to make 10 carries, we want you to make 10 tackles, we want you to get two or three scrum penalties, we want you to be strong in the kick chase, we want you to hit the rucks’. The standard is high and that is what I expect of myself.”

• Stuart McInally confirms rugby retirement after ‘dream came true’ with Scotland

  Stuart McInally declared it “a privilege” to have been able to end his rugby career at the Rugby World Cup with Scotland as he confirmed he has now retired from the game.

  The 33-year-old hooker has endured a roller-coaster of emotions since he first announced in April his plan to retire after the global showpiece to pursue a new career as an airline pilot.

  McInally, who captained Scotland at the last World Cup, looked on course for a fairytale career swansong in France this autumn when he was named in the provisional 41-man training squad in May but he suffered the anguish of being cut from the group when Gregor Townsend named his final 33 in August.

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  A post shared by Stuart McInally (@stuartthepilot)

  McInally then got called out to France as cover for the concussed Ewan Ashman in the first week of September but he returned home when his fellow hooker recovered.

  There was another twist in the tale when Dave Cherry fell on the stairs at the team hotel and suffered a tournament-ending concussion a fortnight ago, just after McInally had flown back to Scotland, so the long-serving Edinburgh forward was summoned back out to officially join the squad.

  Agonisingly, however, just over a week after being added to the fray – and without playing a match at the tournament – he suffered a neck injury in training on Wednesday and it was revealed on Sunday night that he had been forced to withdraw from the squad and would not be able to win his elusive 50th cap.

  McInally, who won the first of his 49 caps in 2015, posted a message on Instagram on Monday evening confirming that his “rugby story is over”.

  “When I was at school I had a dream: to play rugby for Scotland,” he wrote. “That dream came true and I’ve had the time of my life.

  “As Luke Patience (the British Olympic sailor) once said to me ‘it’s the arena that holds all of your hopes and dreams, but also your worst fears and nightmares’. And he wasn’t joking.

  “Like all sportspeople, my story contains a mixture of highs and lows. On reflection, the good times have, overwhelmingly, outweighed the struggles and I wouldn’t change my journey. It has shaped who I am today.

  “Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my career. There are far too many to name and I am forever grateful.

  “And lastly thank you to the supporters. Without you, my dream of captaining and Scotland singing the national anthem at a sold-out Scottish Gas Murrayfield doesn’t happen.

  “It was a privilege to end my career being being part of the 2023 Scotland Rugby World Cup squad and, for now, my rugby story is over.

  “It’s time to start the next one.”

  McInally’s message concluded with the emojis of an aeroplane and a pilot.

• Nice to be in control – Gareth Anscombe admits relief at securing quarter-final

  Gareth Anscombe admits there is an element of relief after Wales avoided a fight to the finish in their quest for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place.

  Wales’ record-breaking 40-6 victory over Australia meant they got the job done early in Pool C.

  They preserved their 100 per cent record with one game still remaining – against Georgia next week – leaving other teams, led by Fiji, to fret over reaching the knockout phase.

  Had Wales lost, it would have been a different story and meant them being caught up in a nervous scramble for two available places.

  “It is probably relief. I don’t like that saying that, but we knew there was a lot on it,” Wales fly-half Anscombe said.

  “We knew if we didn’t win we would go into the last week not quite having control. It is really rewarding because we do so much hard work.

  “We’ve got a tricky little number in Georgia to finish off, and we definitely won’t overlook them, but it is nice to be in control of the group.”

  Anscombe went on for an injured Dan Biggar after just 12 minutes in Lyon, and he promptly took charge, kicking six penalties, a drop-goal and conversion.

  His 23-point haul equalled Biggar’s record for most points by a Wales player in a World Cup match, although the 32-year-old would have set a new mark had he not missed a straightforward conversion following captain Jac Morgan’s late try.

  “‘Biggsy’ reminded me that apparently the last kick was to beat his record, so I am hacked off I have only tied that,” Anscombe added.

  “Dan is a great man and we get along so well, but he has given me a bit of stick about that!”

  Biggar looks likely to miss the Georgia game because of a strained pectoral muscle, but there are no suggestions at this stage that he could be doubtful for a potential World Cup last-eight clash against Argentina in Marseille seven days later.

  “We know how important Dan is for the group, particularly on and off the field with the energy he brings,” Anscombe said.

  “It was just really important when I went on that I brought some control and steadied the ship like he does so well.

  “We always talk about nailing our roles, and all I was thinking about was making sure I was accurate and bringing some control.

  “What was great was that we kept the scoreboard ticking. We have to give a lot of credit to our forwards. We squeezed them at set-piece time, took the points on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking off the back of that.

  “I felt like I was building quite nicely in the summer (training) camps, and then I broke my hand. I thought at one point it was my World Cup done.

  “I owe a lot of thanks to the team behind the scenes here. The medical team did a fantastic job to get me back on the field, and the coaching staff backed me without much game-time.

  “There is still so much to work on from a personal perspective, but it was so nice to spend some time in the big arena.”