The Six Nations 2021 is almost here - but who is going to claim glory this year? Will England stay on top? Will France topple their old enemies? Will Ireland or Scotland make a charge? We are about to find out.

The Springboks joining the Six Nations is one of rugby’s current hot-button issues - but would it solve the current problems, and what new ones might it create if the Rugby World Cup champions made the switch?

Last December, World Rugby announced their Team of the Decade and it is fair to say not every rugby fan agreed.

The Flanker went through the XV and made our own changes where needed.

With the draw for Rugby World Cup 2023 in the books, England fans are already looking forward to their next chance to claim the title that eluded them in Japan in 2019. The Flanker has got out the crystal balls to see who will be running out in the tournament opener in three years' time.

Rugby World Cup's allow players to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage of all. Takudzwa Ngwenya did just that in 2007 when he destroyed Bryan Habana on the way to a brilliant try. The Flanker pays tribute to the flying American winger.

As Dan Leo’s powerful documentary ‘Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Rugby’ takes the game by storm, the issue of World Rugby’s outdated eligibility rules has never been more important. The Flanker examines why the rules need to be updated and how it can benefit the game of rugby across the world.

The Flanker remembers Christophe Dominici, the 67-cap France winger who was involved in two of France’s greatest ever victories, over New Zealand at both the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cup tournaments, who has died suddenly aged 48.

Italy, since their admission to the Six Nations in 2000, have long been everyone’s second team. However, with results not improving and Georgia looming in the background, do they still deserve a place in the tournament?

The 2020 Six Nations is in the books as England sealed the title with a convincing win against Italy, Scotland ground out an important win against Wales before Ireland and France played out a thriller. Read our Five Talking Points below.

The dark arts, gamesmanship or, as we like to call it, shithousery is as big a part of the sport as a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal or a Phil Bennett sidestep. We have picked out five of the greatest, most controversial and downright devious moments of shithousery in rugby history.

With his long shaggy hair, fearsome scrummaging ability and wearing his heart on his sleeve, legendary Italy international prop Martin Castrogiovanni remains a fans hero at Leicester Tigers. Look back on his time at Welford Road and how he lit up the Premiership with his rugby skill.

The semifinals of the European Rugby Champions Cup did not disappoint, as Racing dethroned Saracens to set up a top-tier final against Exeter Chiefs, who dispatched four-time champions Toulouse. In the Challenge Cup, Bristol Bears needed extra time to get past Bordeaux-Begles and Toulon saw off a struggling Leicester Tigers to set up an equally mouth-watering final.

As Dave Rennie names his first Wallabies squad, fresh off the success of Super Rugby AU, he will know there are problems he needs to address to start the rebuild for Australian rugby - but how has he done so far?

European rugby is back with the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup kicking off the knockout rounds after a coronavirus enforced delay. Saracens faced off against powerhouses Leinster, there was an all-French affair in Clermont while Northampton Saints aimed to upset the odds down in Exeter against the Chiefs.

The last round of Super Rugby AU set up a tantalising finals series, as the Rebels squeaked past the Force to knock out the Waratahs and set up a qualifying final date with the Reds, who in turn knocked over eventual grand final hosts the Brumbies.

The European Rugby Champions Cup final has to be considered the biggest club game of rugby in the world. We rank our Top 5 favourite matches since the tournament came into being in 1995 as the game went professional, with Leicester Tigers, Wasps and Leinster all featuring.

The penultimate round of Super Rugby AU left the competition fascinatingly poised as the Brumbies clinched a home final by downing the Western Force, in the first Super Rugby game to be officiated by a female referee, and the Waratahs put themselves in the mix for the last spot in the finals by seeing off their direct competitors, the Melbourne Rebels.

With Kieran Read agreeing to play for Counties Manakau in the domestic Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand this season, we wound back the clock on the double World Cup winner and former World Player of the Year’s career. Check out who Read made his debut alongside against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2008.

Round 7 of Super Rugby AU was a week of acid tests, as the Waratahs looked to build on their thumping of the Reds against the Western Force and the Queenslanders took on the Melbourne Rebels as both sides looked to prove their title credentials.

The end of season grades are in for Super Rugby Aotearoa and teachers’ pets the Crusaders unsurprisingly top the class. The Blues are much improved, Highlanders and Hurricanes perform above average but the Chiefs must do better.