Cracking the Code

As I sit to write this, the 2015 Rugby World Cup countdown reads 315 days 22 hours and 33 minutes. This weekend, sees the return to our shores of the SANZAR superpowers on their end of year tours. Traditionally the Autumn Internationals provide an opportunity for the tourists to drip feed some new talent into the test environment whilst trying to exert dominance over their Northern Hemisphere opponents. For the hosts it is the start of the international season, a chance for the respective coaches to observe if their group can not only compete but defeat world class opposition. Given the proximity and location of next year's Rugby World Cup, does this year's series bare greater significance than previous? In June 1997 the English football team visited France to compete in Le Tournoi a four team round robin tournament featuring France, Italy and Brazil. The Tournament was played out as a prelude for France 98 the following year. England left as victors having defeated both F

Whether it be Russell Crowe's account of him as one of League's "sparkly eyed men" or his mother recounting how aged 16 her boy became the primary carer for his father, a sufferer of Motor Neurone Disease, carrying him up the 21 stairs of the Burgess household each night aged 16 to put him to bed. "Slammin Sam" The recent Fox documentary on Sam Burgess leaves the viewer in no doubt that the 25 year old from Dewsbury is not only a once in a generation footballer but a special character in any walk of life. Today Burgess who debuted for Great Britain aged just 18 confirmed that as of October 2014 he will switch his attention to Rugby Union with the Bath club. The announcement followed weeks of speculation that Sam would leave Souths in the NRL to chase the opportunity of representing his country in the 2015 Rugby World Cup on English turf. The signing has immediately split the English rugby community whilst HQ is understandably excited about the impact an