"The sign on the door in the bowels of the Manchester Velodrome reads simply "Steve Peters", but there is plenty else it could say. Abandon preconceptions all those who enter here." William Fotheringham reports on the psychiatrist who is turning Britain's Olympic cycling team into a superfast and ultra-efficient unit.
New England team manager Martin Johnson said on Friday he was looking forward to getting England back to the top of world rugby. "It's a tremendously exciting time for English rugby," the 38-year-old, captain of England's 2003 World Cup-winning side, said at Twickenham in his first news conference since being named in the job on Wednesday.
Wales coach Warren Gatland will take his strongest available side to South Africa for two Tests against the world champions in June after guiding his team to the Six Nations grand slam in his first season in charge. In recent years, Six Nations sides have rested leading players when travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the off-season.
All hail the Six Nations, the tournament that never ceases to surprise and fascinate. Having scraped one victory last season and gone home from the World Cup early, Wales looked to be continuing their downward spiral when they trailed England 19-6 with 20 minutes remaining of their opening match on February 2.
On the day Jonny Wilkinson set a world points record, the England flyhalf was upstaged by opposite number Chris Paterson in Scotland's upset 15-9 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday. Paterson, a metronome-like place kicker, is on a remarkable run of 30 successful penalties and conversions in a row dating back to the 2007 World Cup.
England, fired by the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, dashed French hopes of a Six Nations grand slam with a 24-13 win over France at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. It was England's first away win over France in the Six Nations since 2000, and left unbeaten Wales as the only side now capable of claiming the grand slam.
Wales skipper Ryan Jones hailed his team's stunning 26-19 Six Nations win over England in London on Saturday as the greatest day of his career. Wales were 16-6 down at the break and were still trailing by 10 points with 20 minutes left before they ran in two tries to record their first victory at Twickenham in 20 years.
Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers, who is currently on a tour to address the players and coaching staff of all five of South Africa's Super 14 franchises, will visit England coach Brian Ashton on his upcoming overseas tour -- but he won't have contact with any of the Springboks currently playing overseas.
Lawrence Dallaglio has announced his England retirement with immediate effect and intends to end his club career at the end of the current northern hemisphere season. Number eight Dallaglio made the last of his 85 England appearances during October's World Cup final defeat against South Africa in Paris.
South Africa's captain, John Smit, has urged his team to give their World Cup-winning coach, Jake White, a rousing send-off at the Millennium Stadium this weekend as the Springboks prepare to say goodbye to the man who masterminded their triumphant campaign in France.
Jake White, South Africa's World Cup-winning coach, on Monday played down suggestions he would be replacing Brian Ashton next month as the man in charge of England, although he didn't rule himself out of the job at some point in the future. White is stepping down when his contract runs out in December.
World Cup-winning South Africa coach Jake White has held talks with England rugby chiefs, a media report said on Sunday. White guided South Africa to a 15-6 victory over England in the World Cup final at the Stade de France in Paris on October 20 and announced on Wednesday that he would quit his post in December.
English rugby's ruling body has responded angrily to criticism of coach Brian Ashton by England World Cup stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Catt. Dallaglio and Catt have both accused Ashton of failing to properly prepare and organise England during their run to the World Cup final.
South Africa's raw power was the key factor which enabled them to win the World Cup final, England scrumhalf Andy Gomarsall said on Monday. "In the end South Africa's physicality was the difference," Gomarsall told Reuters in Sydney where he is on holiday.
Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has criticised Brian Ashton, saying he did not have the managerial skills to be head coach at the World Cup. "I hope I'm not going to lose a friendship over what I say about Brian, a good coach who I believe was in the wrong role," Dallaglio says in his autobiography, serialised in the Sunday Times newspaper.
In this most weird and wonderful Rugby World Cup, England is making it seem like anything is possible. That includes winning the final against South Africa on Saturday at Stade de France, a prospect that was utterly absurd little more than a month ago.
As a wax model of English rugby star Jonny Wilkinson joined the statue of national hero Horatio Nelson in London's Trafalgar Square, attention in both England and South Africa was on Friday focused on the looming Rugby World Cup final between the two nations.
'I've believed for a long time now that South Africa are going to win the World Cup," Jake White says with quiet but utter certainty in his hotel room in Paris. Days away from the final, against an England team that White's Springboks beat 36-0 last month, it might be presumed that arrogance or complacency underpins the South African coach's unusually bold honesty.
Unbeaten South Africa face defending champions England in a mouth-watering Rugby World Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday, a re-match of the pool match the Springboks won with consummate ease. But both sides have been quick to play down the significance of that record 36-0 rout, achieved when England were without talismanic flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson.
Mark Cueto was given a dream England recall on Wednesday when coach Brian Ashton named him as the replacement for injured winger Josh Lewsey for Saturday's World Cup final. Lewsey misses the game with a hamstring strain and Cueto, injured and then out of favour since the pool stage, was put straight in.
