Tigers boss Richard Cockerill is not a fan of Twitter © Getty Images

The crackdown has begun. Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill has banned all of his players from using Twitter (and Facebook) after Jordan Crane revealed his recent injury blow via the micro-blogging website.

"The next time he [Jordan] does that, I'll break both his ankles," said Cockerill at the official launch of the new Premiership season."None of our players will be tweeting or Facebooking anything about Leicester rugby club ever again."

Will the rest of the Premiership clubs follow suit? I hope not after we launched our brand new Twitter modules on the site.

Better get the latest ramblings while you can...

"Lost 34-30, the score matched the amount of fights during the gAme.. Not our finest hour, but we will Come back better for the experience!"
Northampton's Shane Geraghty reflects on a colourful pre-season loss to Dax.

"2 days of absolute focus trained like an animal!Physically and mentally ready,we play Racing Metro club Friday,lets start something special!"
Toulon's Joe van Niekerk talks up his side's preparation for their Top 14 clash with Racing Metro. The result? A 36-31 defeat for Toulon and a yellow card for Big Joe.

"@JordanCrane86 what you doing on here- does this mean cockers is gonna break both your ankles ha"
Saracens' Richard Wigglesworth responds to some Twitter chatter from Jordan Crane in the face of a supposed ban.

"In durban and loving the weather! Bout to have a coffee and UNO challenge wit @drew_mitchell and @adamcoopy"
Wallabies star Matt Giteau bounces back from his side's latest Tri-Nations setback with a game of cards with his team-mates!

"Scrummaging today. Graham Rountree along to help out. And low an behold, despite being injured and unable to train, PDJ comes out to watch!"
Gloucester and England lock Dave Attwood accuses team-mate Paul Doran Jones of some social networking.

"@BryanHabana hey brother wats up? unlucky happens to the best of us, iv prob dropped more than iv caught haha. Catch you in bloom bro..!"
Wallabies fullback James O'Connor has some sympathy for Springboks winger Bryan Habana who gift-wrapped a try for his Wallabies rival.

"Watching Ali G Indahouuuuuse. Can't imagine having grandchildren and still not finding it funny. There lies your problem Oliver :-)"
Bath and England's Olly Barkley feels guilty about his love of Ali G.

"Possibly the greatest film box set you can get http://tweetphoto.com/41719359"
It appears Olly Barkley is not the only one with some guilty DVD pleasures with team-mate Tom Biggs another with questionable taste.

"@GeorgeGregan thanks Georgie just trying to follow in your footsteps. But don't think these thin legs will get to your record"
Springboks centurion Victor Matfield thanks Wallabies legend George Gregan for his best wishes and admits his all-time record of 139 Test caps is out of his reach.

"How bad is this,16 funerals and 1 wedding at 25 that isn't good."
Stade Francais and England's James Haskell longs for a litte joy in his life.

"Punched out a few laps in the pool instead of weights today and I have a new found appreciation for swimmers.. My big ass was like an anchor."
Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell is not a natural in the water.

Jonny Wilkinson is very much at home at Toulon in the south of France © Getty Images

A trip to the south of France at this time of year is tempting enough but add in the chance to get an insight into one of the most fascinating clubs in the world and you can understand why I wasted little time in accepting an invite to visit Toulon earlier this week.

The biggest draw of course was a certain Jonny Wilkinson who shared his thoughts on life under the Mediterranean sun on the same day it was later announced that he would not be joining up with the England camp. Bad timing on our part but perhaps good on the part of the club? But I did find out that the club, who are not bound by the same agreement that guarantees the release of those players based in England, were not happy about the fact that they had received no official request for his release. Not that they would or even should let him go with their new season kicking off the same week!

But Wilkinson was only part of the story with the club itself taking centre stage. The likes of Felipe Contepomi, Tom May, Paul Sackey and Rory Lamont all offered valuable insight into the club as did coach Philippe Saint-Andre and also, perhaps most interestingly, club owner Mourad Boudjellal - all of which you can read on the pages of ESPN Scrum over the coming days.

And to cap it all I got to witness the small but mighty Stade Felix Mayol in full voice - with 13,000 packed in for the pre-season friendly(!) against Stade Francais that was won 25-22 by the hosts who kick off their Top 14 campaign against Bayonne on Friday, August 13.

And here's a 'postcard' from Toulon to whet your appetite:

Dear Readers,

Graham