The Reds' Quade Cooper is one of those to have caught the eye in the early rounds of the Super 14 © Getty Images

The news this week that the northern hemisphere, like its southern hemisphere rivals, will have to learn to adapt to the new law interpretations in the 16 months leading up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, presents rugby in this part of the world with its greatest challenge for years, according to Peter Bills in the Irish Independent.

"IRB Referee Coordinator Paddy O'Brien confirmed that the zero tolerance of southern hemisphere referees in the Super 14 this year, regarding four critical areas, will be gradually implemented north of the equator. It is thrilling news for all those involved in the game in this part of the world.

"...As I wrote last year, all that is required is for referees to crack down on the players laying all over the loose ball, sealing it off and denying the opposition rapidly recycled second-phase possession. A healthy dose of yellow cards has backed up the strict interpretation in the Super 14 and, hey presto, we have seen some real rugby with the focus increasingly turned towards attack. I believe that, with this new interpretation of the existing law, the influence of breakaway forwards will, in time, be considerably diluted. For me, this is a huge bonus for the game."

Writing in The Independent former England boss Brian Ashton stresses the importance of the individual in the modern game.

"There is no 'I' in 'teams'." Most of us who have been involved in coaching or management for any length of time are familiar with this well-worn phrase, which, given the frequency with which it is heard, might more accurately be called a mantra.

"Like many snippets of home-spun sporting philosophy, it attempts to capture the essence of a basic truth: in this case, that the significance of the individual in a team game is as nothing compared to the importance of the collective. And like many of these one-liners, it misses the point.

"Just ask Warren Gatland about the influence of individuals, their thought processes and their decision-making. I'd be very interested to know the Wales coach's private view on Alun Wyn Jones and his visit to the sin bin during last week's Six Nations scrap with England (although I can probably work it out for myself)."

Chris Rattue isn't convinced by the latest SANZAR edict on the tackle area in The New Zealand Herald.

"A new season, a new rule and, believe it or not, some hope. There may be new life in dear old rugby yet ...

"First, the bad news. Rugby rules are made to be broken. A game that was, mythically speaking, invented by breaking the most important rule of another sport has never broken the habit of a lifetime. Cheating and rugby go hand in hand, like Colin Meads and a bloody heavy fencepost.

"The 2010 rugby season, which kicked off at the weekend with Super 14 trial matches, has unveiled yet another vital rule change, this one involving the tackle area. As it turns out, what we will get is a new interpretation of the old rule, the old interpretation having been - according to a leading referee - incorrect anyway."

Should there be yet more law changes? © Getty Images

Eddie Butler is happy with rugby's 'smallish lot' as calls for expansion continue in the wake of Brendan Venter's latest attack on the laws in The Guardian.

"With the solemnity of a vicar who has just found out his daughter is a porn star, the Rugby Football Union have levelled charges against Brendan Venter. The coach of Saracens had said that David Rose's second-half refereeing performance in the game against Leicester did not have much in common with his first.

"These are not matters to take lightly, but Richard Cockerill, the coach of Leicester fresh back on matchday duty after serving a ban for roundly abusing a match official, mush have had a chuckle. And double-checked that he had kept his lips sealed on the day in question.

"Rugby union is a wonderfully complicated game, which answers the question posed by Robert Kitson about the future size of the sport. Can it ever challenge football? No, it's too difficult to work out what's going on.

"There's nothing wrong with that, but complexity shrinks its global appeal. And if, in the name of expansion and simplicity, you start tampering with the laws, then you'll create something that isn't rugby union."

Rugby must settle on a vision of its future or suffer the consequences, writes Robert Kitson in The Guardian.

"A burning question for a new decade: what sort of sport does rugby union want to become? Is it simply content to remain football's imperfect cousin? Or is there a genuine will, by the time 2020 ticks around, to shed the ugly duckling feathers which still cling so stubbornly to the professional ideal? Assuming people crave the latter option, several things are going to have to change.

"First and foremost, the global rugby family needs to set aside petty differences and take a broader perspective. In truth, the problem has never really been geographical. Rugby's tribe, for the most part, divides on sub-Darwinian lines: are you a forward or a back? One loves the biff, the other the open spaces. Both camps, however, share a relish for the camaraderie, the humour, the on-field edge and the mutual respect between opponents and, on a good day, officials. If any of those essential components disappear completely, the sport is on the road to nowhere in particular.

"Which is why the first few months of 2010 are so vital. What sort of rational professional sport can expect to attract a new raft of followers with the following smorgasbord of delights: vicious rows about incomprehensible law interpretations, pompous statements from the Rugby Football Union castigating coaches for stating the obvious, ongoing eye-gouging cases, endless dreary kicking, umpteen injury bulletins, sub-standard stadium facilities and serious financial problems in both hemispheres."

Brian Moore again asks where rucking went - and why it hasn't returned - in The Daily Telegraph.

"First of all let us be exact about what I mean by rucking. Many people I spoke to remember the injuries JPR Williams and Phil de Glanville suffered during rucks, but their lacerations were not caused by rucking but by illegal stamping/raking above the neck. What I mean by rucking is the removal of prone players on the wrong side of the ball by the backward use of the foot; not stamping and not contact with the knee and ankle joints.

"The further I got into my quest and the more people I talked to the stranger the whole experience became. It seems that this subject has produced a bizarre amnesia in even the most informed observers. Nobody from the lowest casual watcher to the very highest qualified international player or coach was prepared to be absolute in their proffered answer as to the precise point at which rucking was outlawed.

"There must be a point at which the practice of removing illegally obstructive players with the foot was condemned, but I cannot find it and nobody has been able to help. I remember being at a meeting when the IRB referee manager, Paddy O'Brien, stated that handling the ball in a ruck was to be allowed "because it in fact legalised what was going on anyway" – ignoring the fact that it only happened because referees were failing to do their job."

Simon Barnes has lost patience with rugby, power-crazed referees and preventative refereeing in The Times.

"A new year, and soon enough rugby union will swing into prominence as the Six Nations Championship begins. Now place your hand on your heart and tell me: do you understand the laws of this bloody game? When the referee blows for an infringement, do you know what he is blowing for before you are told?

"This is not a question that divides serious rugby buffs from the rest. Nor is it a question that divides rugby professionals from the rest. It is not one that divides the players on the field from the rest, or even the player doing the infringing from the rest. It is a question that separates the referee from every other individual on the planet.

"What happens in rugby? A player takes the ball, moves forward a little and gets tackled. A whole load of players then roll about on the ground. Pheep! The referee gives a penalty. It is a judgment that appears to have very little relevance to what is happening. I used to think this was just me and my silly ignorance. But it’s not. It’s a fundamental problem with the game."

Eddie Butler is looking to England for answers in the seemingly endless debate on the state of the game in The Observer.

”At the start of the decade that has just ended, England were the worry. And so it is that rugby, as played in and by England, sets the agenda for the new age. Wales have had their two Grand Slams in the noughties and Ireland are the force of the moment, but where we go from here depends on England.

“Ten years ago, the question was posed - with barely disguised mockery - of Clive Woodward: 'Can you ever win the Grand Slam?' Wales, Scotland and Ireland, at various stages of the Six Nations around the turn of the millennium, were in the process of making the England coach's job an ordeal as much as a pleasure.

“His answer, delivered in 2003, was an emphatic 'yes', which was the source of the concern. England trounced Ireland in 2003 to take the Slam and then travelled to New Zealand andAustralia, in the summer before the World Cup, to deliver a style that left everyone scratching their heads. Now that England had finally mobilised their rugby forces, would anyone be able to live with them?”

Tony Ward has hopes for the New Year, calling for some changes to the way the game is played in The Irish Independent.

"With the greatest year in our rugby history just ended, wouldn't it be lovely to assume everything in the rugby garden was rosy? However, just for a minute, let's leave aside the Grand Slam, Six Nations, Triple Crown, Heineken Cup and Magners League triumphs and take a look instead at the things that continue to irk. And, no, we won't even mention the crisis the club game is facing.

"As the game is fundamentally about primary possession, let us start with the set- piece.The line-out, to be fair, is in pretty good nick. Watch old footage on TG4's Rugbai Gold or ESPN Classic and, if nothing else, it brings home the awful mess the line-out once was. Now it is clear and well organised.

"Yes, I accept possession goes largely to the throwing side, but that is as it should be and, to the best of my playing knowledge and sadly fading memory, is generally how it always was. Why else had we hookers, second-rows and the odd back or front-row forward, whether off the top or on the peel, in secret conclave working that pre-match Da Vinci Code.

The IRB should be praised for getting rugby into the Olympics but condemned for the huge blunders over experimental laws, writes Brian Moore in the Daily Telegraph.

"This will be seen as the year in which rugby was forced to look inward and begin the process of considering where 15 years of professionalism have led the game and where we might be heading unless consideration is given to the game's eventual goals.

"It has been a curious year, in which we have seen improvements and setbacks in equal measure. We have seen some organisations take important strides forward and others, sometimes those specifically tasked with running the game, act in a way which could not have been better designed to harm rugby and its wider image. We have seen rugby's unique ability to act decisively in face of some problems and yet remain inert over others of equal import."

	All Blacks coach Graham Henry let his players have it at half-time in Christchurch © Getty Images

"Best Meltdown - Graham Henry's half-time rant in Christchurch after the All Blacks produced the worst 40 minutes in living memory against Italy. Captain Mils Muliaina says his experience was vital - he knew to get behind Henry and not be in the coach's eyeline.

"Second best Meltdown - Jimmy Cowan was a stroppy so-and-so when he captained the Highlanders against the Blues. He let referee Stu Dickinson frustrate him - easily done, but still, best not to let it show - and then the halfback snapped. He followed through late on Jimmy Gopperth (who tumbled magnificently) and Dickinson, with some glee, brandished the red card."

Tony Ward reopens the rolling subs debate in The Irish Independent.

"Spare a thought for our rugby-playing elite this cold St Stephen's Day. Much like the way it is with football across the water, high-profile rugby matches are now central to the Festive season. The professional fraternity here have embraced it seamlessly and it is now part and parcel of what they do.

"Local derbies whet the appetite and this afternoon Thomond Park and the RDS will be heaving with atmosphere.

"Rugby union has come a long way in its relatively short professional life. It still has much catching up to do given the head start rugby league and football have had. Like everybody else, I look forward to the 'inter-provincial segment' of the Magners League season. The intensity of the rivalry naturally adds to the level of appeal but it is box office rugby with a warning.

"Far be it for me to be a killjoy, but I genuinely worry for the welfare of our players. The record of the IRFU in protecting its centrally contracted employees stands tall; certainly when compared to the French and English ruling bodies, who at best share responsibility with their constituent clubs. Is it any wonder so few Irish venture abroad?"

	Dean Richards was cast into the rugby wilderness earlier this year for his role in 'Bloodgate' © Getty Images

"To see men like Richards stoop to such depths to win a match was one of the saddest sights of '09. But is it just a game of rugby anymore? No. Jobs, salaries, marriages, mortgages and families now depend upon the outcome of some of these games. Is it any wonder base human instincts have invaded what was once a sport renowned for its decency, behaviour and courtesy?

"...Rugby has been appalled by these and similar acts this year. Decent people have not been drawn to the game by eye gougers, drug cheats, liars or the foul-mouthed. Thank God these incidents are still a huge minority within the game -- yet just one of them is one too many."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills picks out some of his favourite moments from the past 12 months.

"2009 has been some year for rugby union.

“Ireland won their first Grand Slam for 61 years, South Africa their first Tri-Nations title since 2004. In doing so, the Springboks beat their greatest rivals, the New Zealand All Blacks, three times in a single season.

“The Lions chose the wrong captain and lost the Test series in South Africa. But the year ended with New Zealand again reminding us of their terrific power and quality in demolishing France in Marseille.

“So before you all disappear into a wine or beer bottle or whatever your favourite tipple might be at Christmas, here is this column's (albeit, slightly tongue-in-cheek) highlights of the rugby year.”

Peter Bills reviews a mixed 2009 in The New Zealand Herald.

"Everywhere you looked in 2009, rugby seemed to have problems. The South Africans' reputation was stained by Schalk Burger's eye-gouging on Luke Fitzgerald during a physically brutal Lions tour; the All Blacks lost three times to the Springboks and in New Zealand calls for Graham Henry to be sacked were loud and long.

"Across the Tasman, another Kiwi, Robbie Deans, coaching the Australians, suffered the ignominy of seeing his men lose five of their six Tri-Nations matches. Then they pitched up in Edinburgh and lost to Scotland.

"In Europe, the French got hammered by England, 34-10 at Twickenham, but life was far from rosy for the English. The northern autumn brought defeats by Australia and New Zealand and a realisation for manager Martin Johnson that English rugby's love affair with him was fast ending.

"The English punters' disbelief at the path professional rugby was taking in England was exacerbated by the notorious "Bloodgate" affair at the London Harlequins' club. The ghosts of those crusty old colonels and their batmen who once epitomised the club and its support must have been groaning in their graves as it became clear that, under director of rugby Dean Richards' direction, one of the Quins players, wing Tom Williams, had used a fake blood capsule to make a phoney substitution late in the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster."

The Independent risks the wrath of fans everywhere by listing their top 50 players in the world.

”Once again the IRB's choice doesn't take the No.1 slot in our list. Richie McCaw has had a good year, but not outstanding by his high benchmark. Outstanding is certainly something you can say of the 12 months Brian O'Driscoll has had.

“The Irish captain sits in pole position after leading - sometimes dragging - Ireland to their first Grand Slam since 1948, lifting the Heineken Cup at last with Leinster and having an outstanding tour with the luckless 2009 British and Irish Lions. He still had enough in the tank to play a key role in Ireland's impressive Autumn series as well.

“There are some who have slipped from view - Shane Williams and John Smit to name just two to miss out this year - who fall foul of a loss of form and the emergence of other shining talents such as Tommy Bowe and Schalk Brits.”

The IRB is expected to announce an in-depth overhaul of its judicial and citing systems next year according to Mark Souster in The Times.

"Rugby’s world governing body was moved to act and review its procedures in the wake of the lenient sentences handed out to Schalk Burger and Sergio Parisse this summer. Both were banned for only eight weeks when the minimum suspension should have been 12 weeks.

"The IRB is committed to ensuring consistency of sanctions worldwide via a more streamlined and proactive system. Exact details on the new policy are still being worked on and will require ratification by its full council next May, but one key component is expected to be a law that would enable the board to appeal against punishments it considers to be inadequate. At present only players can appeal if they believe a penalty is too onerous."

With the international season now over, the New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul picks his World XV.

"This was Brian O'Driscoll's year and it was a surprise he was not named IRB Player of the Year. He led Ireland to a Grand Slam and Leinster to their first Heineken Cup. He formed a deadly partnership with Jamie Roberts during the British Lions tour and then scored in the dying seconds to snatch a draw with Australia on his 100th test appearance. Not as quick as he used to be - but stronger, smarter and full of tricks.

"...Once Carter was restored to full health, there was only ever going to be one choice for this berth. Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson have aspirations to be as good - but they just don't deliver the same quality as Carter, nor do they match him for consistency. He nailed the winning penalty in Sydney on his Test return, defended brilliantly throughout the end-of-year tour and was sensational against France where his running game returned to top form."

	All Blacks coach Graham Henry is worried about the future of the game © Getty Images

"I do worry about the future. We used to have six coaching co-ordinators in Auckland. They each had responsibility for a number of schools and clubs in their area. They were knowledgeable people and they would get the message to the coaches. We were in good shape in those days. It was an amateur game. All the money wasn't channelled into paying the players, it was channelled into development. Now it's all going on wages and there is no education. Not one of those six is left now. Not one."

For a man whose default position sits somewhere between reserved and non-committal, Henry becomes almost evangelical at this point. He feels the game is in a mess and that swift remedial action is essential.

"They have to do something to improve the spectacle. The trouble is, countries are not going to agree on changes which won't complement their style of play. I think you have to get a group of people together who are all respected in the game and ask them to come up with solutions, and we'll play that game, whatever it is. I'd like to see one point for a drop goal, one point for a penalty and the ability to make a mark in other areas of the field."

Negative thinking is at the root of rugby’s woes but some teams are fighting back according to Stuart Barnes in the Sunday Times.

"The try-count and the quality of rugby in the Tri-Nations, that annual benchmark of international excellence, have plummeted. Coaches worldwide have suffered from a state somewhere between mass hypnosis and hysteria. Even the All Blacks, with their fearsome firepower behind the scrum, followed the trend of obsessive kicking and awaited the other side’s errors instead of utilising their lightning back line.

"But last week there was more than a chink of light. A bloody great hole was blown in the theory that the current laws alone have killed the game. New Zealand cut France to pieces with surgical precision and Matt Giteau carved holes in Wales and the reputation of their defensive guru, Shaun Edwards."

In a comparison of 1971 and 2009 Lions tours, conducted in conjunction with ESPNScrum, the Independent on Sunday reveals rugby is now a collision sport for muscular hulks.

"The extraordinary transformation from the stamina-based rugby of the game's amateur era to the physically combative version served up by today's professionals is illustrated by The Independent on Sunday today in a unique comparison between this year's Lions tour and the trip to New Zealand in 1971.

"The desperate plea for change made by Lions doctor James Robson at the end of the tour to South Africa in July, when the Scotsman warned that players were getting too big and muscular for their own good, is borne out by our exclusive statistical and subjective analysis. By comparing key indicators between the Second Test of the 1971 tour in Christchurch and the Second Test in Pretoria in 2009, the anecdotal theory that rugby has become a collision sport for muscular hulks is revealed as hard fact."

Paul Rees speculates as to what the IRB can do with the repeated calls for changes to the laws of the game in The Guardian.

"Another year, another review panel to recommend law changes. The nervous breakdown strategy adopted by sides in response to a directive to referees to give more latitude to defenders after a tackle has prompted the International Rugby Board to look at ways of encouraging teams to attack, although any changes will not be implemented until after the 2011 World Cup unless there are medical grounds for quicker reform.

"The IRB will set up a panel early next year to review the state of the game, conscious that a problem with the experimental law variation process was that it was largely southern-hemisphere inspired and gained only the support of Scotland in Europe. This time the IRB wants a consensual approach, even if that increases the danger of nothing happening.

"Australia and New Zealand on the weekend showed that the try is not yet an endangered species in international rugby, but the four the Wallabies scored in Cardiff all started when Wales had the ball. The All Blacks under Graham Henry, until this year, had been the masters at exploiting turnover possession but they became more conservative after running at South Africa turned them into roadkill."

Brian Moore, writing in The Daily Telegraph, reviews the contrasting fortunes of the northern hemisphere sides during the November Tests.

“Ireland can claim a place on the short list of great teams of the past 40 years if their young talent is capable of continuing their country's long-awaited ascension. The necessary traits of producing a minimum standard of performance, closing out games and winning when not playing well are rarely attained and only time will tell if Ireland have finally mastered these things. Nevertheless, their win against South Africa shows that all they have to do now is take the final step.

“Welsh supporters should face the possibility that their team's up-cycle has ended and that rebuilding is needed. When coach Warren Gatland is reduced to referring to Australia's kicking something is wrong. Wales had injuries before and during the game, but if fans are honest they know that their side have not played with fluidity for some time. They did not look like breaking the Australian defence, their pack misses Adam Jones disproportionately and the back row is not balanced.

“Whether the necessary changes can been made without losing further ground depends on the claimed depth of talent being real and correct and consistent selection.”

In his unique style, Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones presents his verdict on the international rugby action this November.

"The rugby was dull...Is there anything in sport as stunningly boring as a slow ruck ball, slowing even further when inserted into another mini-ruck three yards laterally across the field? When the ball finally emerges, great news. The saps in the original ruck have all got back to their feet — just in time for another mini-ruck. Pass me the remote control, the World Paint-Drying championships are on the other side.

"Jonny’s back, but he’s no ringmaster any more...Can Jonny, the icon, still inspire a rugby team with his play, or these days is he relying simply on aura and goalkicking? How wonderful that he negotiated all three games, and how cruel it would be to lay at his door all the frailties and embarrassments of England as an attacking force."

The flame bearers for the game need to encourage a meaningful contest for possession at the scrum and after the tackle, according to Eddie Butler in The Observer.

"It was the terrible autumn of rain-drenched rugby, when it was gloomily confirmed that what had been eating into the domestic games of the European countries was now a worldwide pandemic. On two brief Heineken Cup weekends in October there had been a glimmer of hope, that cross-border competition might somehow create a resistance. But no, the rot has spread to all corners.

"It is a sneaky menace, for it strikes on two fronts: the scrum and the breakdown. It only needs to infect the line-out and we shall remember, remember this month of November as the twilight of union and the dawn of global rugby league. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with league. Love it to bits. But the bearers of the flame of rugby union are charged with offering a sport for all shapes and sizes, and that specifically includes a meaningful contest for possession at the scrum and after the tackle."

Rugby is enduring a sudden and unpleasant spell of navel-gazing on a variety of topics according to Gerald Davies in The Times.

"What would have happened had New Zealand not manoeuvred themselves towards failure in the quarter-finals of the 2007 tournament? In the seasons preceding that autumn, they marched to a wonderful tune, playing a mesmerising rugby no one could match for inventiveness and speed of thought. They were the only team to defy an issue that others complained about: that the pitch was no longer wide enough for the “modern” game and caused clutter in midfield.

"New Zealand kicked the ball often, but it is not what we remember of their play. It is Carter, Muliaina, Rokocoko, Mauger, Howlett and so on that rest in the memory. After the 2007 quarter-final defeat by France, the All Blacks’ way never caught on. Kicking became the preferred strategy."

Saturday will show that World Cup aspirations are only as strong as a side's reserves, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"Remember the inquests after the autumn internationals a year ago? South Africa and New Zealand had cut swathes through European rugby and Wales were the only side to land a blow on a southern hemisphere opponent, Australia. Fast forward a year and things don't look so bad. Fast forward another 12 months and who knows?

"France, Wales, Ireland and Scotland all approach their final games of the autumn this weekend with an eye on the future, not looking over their shoulders. France, having beaten the world champions, South Africa, take on New Zealand, now ranked No1 in the world again. Ireland have the chance of making it a grim autumn for the Springboks, and Wales look to repeat that win of a year ago."

Dylan Cleaver evaluates the ills of the world game, with particular sympathy for Sitveni Sivivatu, in The New Zealand Herald.

"It is not just the All Blacks' season in the dock at Marseille on Sunday morning, the game itself is facing an increasingly hostile jury.

"With the professional rugby season now spanning 10 months, we can no longer use the Shakespearean cliche of this being the winter of our discontent, but perhaps we can turn to Dickens and refer to rugby stadia in 2009 having largely been bleak houses. (Bleak in the major centres at least. Rugby seems to have undergone a rebirth of sorts in the provinces, so the obvious thing to do is cut four of them off at the knees - but that is a whole other story.)

"If you need a poster-child for rugby's ills, consider this: Sitiveni Sivivatu has received rave reviews in the past few weeks, not because of his scintillating running but because of the improvement in his kicking game and kick receipt. Ah, the romance of modern rugby."

Mick Cleary has five points that he thinks will right rugby's rapidly sinking ship in The Daily Telegraph.

"The handling code has become anything but, with only 22 tries scored in 23 recent Test matches. The try count across the annual autumn Test series has dwindled from an average of seven per game in 2007 to a measly 2.86 this year.

"Figures from the domestic leagues are no more encouraging. The try count in the Guinness Premiership has nose-dived, from an average of 4.12 tries per game last year to just 2.63 this season. Only five attacking bonus points, for a side scoring four tries in a game, have been awarded in 48 Premiership matches.

"Dull, stodgy, boring, risk-free – it is the motif of the season. The shop window is soiled, and the game is in danger of selling shoddy goods. So, what's to be done?"

Rugby has some answers to deliver on the entertainment debate, writes Owen Slot in The Times.

"Rugby union as entertainment? Traditionalists hold a deep-seated mistrust of their game crossing the line between sport and entertainment. Though, unfortunately for them, the professionalising of the game, by definition, requires rugby to be a public entertainment. There is no getting away from it.

"This has led to the current media debate. The grey, largely unentertaining series of autumn internationals in Europe has us all rushing for the lawbook, which seems to change every week anyway, to see how it can be further tinkered with to produce more entertainment. And those in the southern hemisphere do not know whether to laugh or cry.

"They, in the south, have been calling for change for years. Their game has sought to accentuate the product as an entertainment – and they have been criticised for it up here. So it is, of course, with a big told-you-so that they have been enjoying watching the north come to terms with the idea that we might have got it wrong."

	Dan Carter and onny Wilkinson previously clashed during the Lions' tour to New Zealand in 2005 © Getty Images

"Each player in his fashion exerts an all-embracing influence on his team. They do so nowadays not only in the manner of their expert play but increasingly by the mere talk of their presence, which is at once inspiring and debilitating. Their inclusion encourages bravura in others and a puffing of the chest, their absence brings in its place a brittle mood of a team’s only half-belief. This lack of conviction has been less for the All Blacks, while, with his six-year absence, Wilkinson has been a ghostly presence at almost every feast since 2003, a reminder of what might have been for England. His return has been a long time coming.

"Accomplished and distinguished as they are, each has travelled a different path to their present heights. If one is loyal more to technique than to instinct, the other manifests more of a natural “feel” above solid practice, while neither influence, whether of nature or nurture, is totally absent from either supreme performer. Simply, the balance varies."

On the evidence of the autumn international matches so far, the great game of rugby union is in a mess. So writes Gwyn Jones in the Western Mail.

"The blame has been laid at the feet of the coaches for being too dictatorial and for demanding such negativity from their teams.

"The finger has also been pointed at the players for their inability to “play with their heads up” and make bold, but correct, decisions. There may be some element of truth in these arguments but on the whole they miss the point. The reason that teams kick so much is because that is the most likely way to win matches."

Brian Moore believes that the IRB must wade in once again to clear up the laws of the game in The Daily Telegraph.

"Safety concerns and the issue of unattractive rugby have both been raised in this paper and elsewhere, because they are now matters which are causing real concern and are widely acknowledged as important. They are not artificial worries, and evidence is widely available to support such apprehension.

"In considering any change let us rid ourselves of the macho notion that rugby is a man’s game and if we want to make it safer we might as well take up ballet dancing. By its nature rugby is a sport of violent collisions and much of the enjoyment derived from playing it comes from that. There will be enough red-blooded contact for any reasonable person when the dangerous and unnecessary practices that have crept into the game are removed.

"High and borderline-high tackles need to be outlawed. How will rugby be poorer if these potentially injurious acts are stopped? A tackler has full discretion as to how he tackles; he is perfectly able to drive an attacker backwards by hitting well below the neck, so why condone tackling that flirts with the possibility of causing damage if it is slightly mistimed or ill-aimed?"

Shaun Edwards's offers a tactical breakdown of England v Argentina in the Guardian.

"Forget the tactical nuances, Argentina are in town and the big men love nothing better than throwing their weight around – actually weight and a fair bit of technical know-how when it comes to scrum time.

While England have struggled to find a front row the three Argentinians, Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma and Martín Scelzo, have been together for some time. They know their business and on days like today when rain is forecast can be match winners. In short, an awful lot is going to depend on England's tight-head and anchor, Duncan Bell. If he goes backwards, the link between backs and forwards at the scrum breaks down."

Writing in The Times, David Hands analyses the issues to be addressed by a medical conference in London.

"A conference starting today at Lensbury, in Teddington, southwest London, will begin the process of discovering whether the game has become too dangerous for its own good.

"Medical experts from every one of rugby’s leading countries are involved in the two-day session towards the end of a year that has brought accusations that players have become too big, that referees are ignoring significant aspects of play that lead to injuries and that the demands made on leading players have become far too great."

Writing in The Times, Gerald Davies says the time has come for the game to embrace a mid-season break.

"Whereas, of course, the 10 to 12-week off-season break in the summer is an important recuperative period, it should not be solely at the expense of other breaks. The timing of short breaks for players during the season, and the management of those individual players’ breaks to help the body and mind to rest, is a justifiable aim. During the Lions’ ten-match, seven-week tour last summer, the collaboration between Ian McGeechan, his coaching team and the medical staff ensured the right balance of on-field commitments for the players.

"This relationship was beneficial to everyone. Only two players appeared in six matches, all the others made appearances in five games or fewer. Time off was critical and it helped substantially. Nevertheless, there were serious injuries."

The Times' David Hands talks to referee Nigel Owens ahead of another busy run of high-profile games for arguably the world's most-respected official.

"There is some distance between Twickenham and Bancyddraenen Mountain to the east of Carmarthen. There is, quite literally in this case, a lifetime between refereeing an international sporting occasion tomorrow in front of more than 75,000 people and a man driven by the depths of depression to attempt to take his own life.

"It is an indication of the regard in which Nigel Owens is held that not only will he handle England’s game against Argentina this weekend but he has also been awarded the plum fixture of this month. He will referee the match at Croke Park on November 28 between Ireland and South Africa that not only brings together the holders of the grand slam and the world champions but is also redolent of the outstanding three-match series last summer between the Springboks and the Lions, who were so heavily influenced by Ireland players."

The sport as a spectacle is suffering as the world's two best Test sides resort to the boot, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"So does running rugby pay? Obviously not for the second-best team in the world and not for a man who is arguably the best fly-half currently playing. But look elsewhere and you discover that the best team in the world, South Africa, kick even more frequently.

Why? Well one reason is that both sides do it well. Last Saturday, when the All Blacks were under pressure in the first half, Carter twice found touch nearly 60 metres downfield and the Springboks have probably the best kick/chase game around. Marry a brilliant lineout with the ability of their backs to behave like siege guns and you have quite a Test-winning tool.

However, with the game as it now stands, even less gifted kicking sides are mugs if they don't follow suit. Some call it patience, others say it's merely playing the odds, which have been stacked against running rugby."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore praises the ball skills and general tactical appreciation of southern hemisphere players opposed to their northern rivals.

"Apart from one aberrant 15-minute period when Australia’s backs were strangely imprecise, the standard of delivery by both the Aussie and Kiwi backs was sharp. Contrast this with the often laboured passing of the Welsh and especially the English backs. Not only was it sometimes ponderous, at times the inability to deliver the ball in front of the man halted forward momentum as players had to pause to gather ball which had been passed behind them."

Paul Rees of The Guardian believes that Michael Owen’s season-ending injury offers further evidence that rugby has developed an unhealthy obsession with size and power.

"A newsflash last week sent sports desk denizens all a-flutter. Michael Owen, it read, was out for the season with knee-ligament damage. Back pages were not held, however, when it emerged that the player being talked about was not an out-of-favour football international at Manchester United but a forgotten rugby international at Saracens.

"The two Owens were both brought up in Wales but there the similarity ended. The footballer is one of the most celebrated players of his era while rugby's Michael Owen is a victim of his sport's current obsession with size and power; not so much because he has suffered two serious knee injuries in as many seasons, but because his virtues, an ability to play with his head up and put others in space rather than into contact, are becoming increasingly seen as obsolescent.

"Rugby, with the emphasis on explosive power and a growing casualty list, has become boom and bust. Owen was a pivotal member of Wales's grand slam winning team in 2005, putting Ryan Jones into holes and helping his side play with a pace and a momentum that proved irresistible. Wales refreshed the game and the ungainly Owen went on to captain the Lions against Argentina the following May.”

Bath prop David Flatman has nothing but sympathy for Andrew Sheridan and is at a loss to explain how the game could be made 'safer', in The Independent on Sunday

"Contrary to what the armchair cynic might assume, seeing Andrew Sheridan dislocate his shoulder last week made me feel horrible. Of course, an injury to any man with whom one is in direct competition can only improve one's chances of a call-up, but in this instance I felt nothing but sympathy for my old friend.

"Perhaps it is because I have been where he is – in bed, in pain – and know exactly what he is going through. Apart from the physical discomfort, it is the feeling of uselessness that seems to affect the sidelined rugby player most severely.

"Knowing that all of your mates are out on the field running around, while you sip water to stave off the painkiller-induced cottonmouth and flick between Cash in the Attic and This Morning on the television, is utterly soul destroying. As much as you might crave the week off at the moment your alarm clock sounds in the early winter dark, a good injury lay-off is all it takes to make you appreciate being fully fit."

Paul Rees wonders about the effect of increased physicality on smaller backs in The Guardian.

"Backs, it seems, are shouldering a problem of the professional game: as players become bigger and stronger, as collisions multiply with blitz, rather than drift, defences now de rigueur and as the stealthy abolition of rucking has created a static pile-up in which inert bodies are often hit hard by a late arrival, injuries seem rugby's biggest growth area.

"A few years ago, knee ligament surgeons were in big demand; today it is shoulder specialists. If a look at the England elite squad does not suggest that careers are getting shorter, with 12 of the 32 players over the age of 30 and a 13th, Andrew Sheridan, another shoulder injury victim, joining them in a couple of weeks, a closer inspection reveals a clear split.

"Ten of the 18 forwards, not including Sheridan, are 30 or over but only two of the backs have reached that landmark, Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall, although Mark Cueto and Riki Flutey, who is currently out with a shoulder injury, will say farewell to their twenties during the course of the season.

"Wilkinson and Tindall have not reached their thirties without numerous operations. Wilkinson's fearless tackling landed him with neck and shoulder problems that cost him after the 2003 World Cup and his story shows that a little 'un will be left battered and bruised by big 'uns."

Chris Rattue, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that kicking-dominated union is beginning to suffer in comparison with the 13 man code.

"In contrast, rugby is bogged down, calling on parochialism and patriotism to save it, rather than giving a substantial return for those emotions.

"Four million fans. Yeah right. The union boys may be able to test the codes of advertising standards when making that claim, but only for the World Cup tournament.

"Rugby, the game we have loved for so long, has ground to a horrible halt, mired by scrum resets, breakdown confusion, kicking festivals, officious referees, endless penalties, errors, an inability to properly police or institute an offside line and a cross-hemisphere political rivalry that stymies potential remedies.

"A veteran photographer told me after the recent Auckland-North Harbour match that there was so much forceback kicking involved, he had trouble finding anything to photograph."

In an exclusive interview New Zealand coach Graham Henry talks with The Independent's Peter Bills about the future of the game and his All Blacks team.

"Henry fears that New Zealand and Australia have most to fear if the game contracts, increasingly becomes largely a kicking dominated affair and people turn away from it because of its lack of entertainment. “Our two countries will suffer most if nothing is done about this. And there are already signs of that in the last couple of years because people are very concerned about this.

“People that have been traditional fans are now questioning the game because of the laws. There is nothing Australia and New Zealand can do about it. We wanted to make the ELVs permanent but we got out-voted.

“But the consequences of doing nothing about this in this part of the world are serious. It is a real problem because we do not have the population numbers in this country. Getting bums on seats is a big challenge, especially in a recession. In the UK, you will sell out a Test match all the time particularly given the close proximity of each country to another but chiefly because of the population numbers."

A newspaper reader may well have found a solution to rid the game of all aimless punts. Rob Kitson in the Guardian suggests the IRB should try it.

"The best suggestions in life are often the simplest. Many of the finest brains in the world have wrestled with how to improve rugby union as a sport and, as often as not, have ended up making it worse. Fair play, therefore, to Mr Martin McNeill of Richmond, Surrey who penned a short, pithy letter to the Sunday Times last weekend. The last sentence read thus: "I suggest any kick that is cleanly caught by the opposition leads to....a scrum from where the ball was kicked."

"Genius. Well, almost. Mr McNeill missed out six words. If you insert "outside the 22" after "kick" and "the option of" in place of the dots you suddenly have a potential remedy for the curse of excessive kicking, currently causing players and spectators alike major neckache. Think about it. All those speculative hoists and aimless punts outlawed. Scrum-halves and fly-halves forced to abandon the lazy hit-and-hope option. Heaven forbid, some teams might even opt to run first-phase ball out of their own half. Welcome to the new rugby: much like the old, only with the boring ping-pong taken out."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore insists the International Rugby Board's policy of globalising rugby by simply giving financial support to emerging teams will fail in the same way that overseas aid is doomed to fail without a supplementary policy of self-sufficiency.

"Irrespective of the spin put on this, Argentina's inclusion has little to do with a benevolent desire to see an emerging nation grow. It has taken about 10 years of negotiations and wrangling to approve Argentina's introduction to the 'Cosy Club', containing the founding members of the International Rugby Board.

"...By way of fortunate coincidence, Argentina's rise has taken place as the Tri-Nations format has shown that while it remains a robust tournament, it had become a little jaundiced and required revision to remain popular."

When Eva Peron asked her country not to cry, she had no idea Argentina was going to be so abysmally treated by the rugby world and Sanzar in particular, so says Gregor Paul in the Herald on Sunday.

"The introduction of Argentina would be a fresh challenge; a new place to travel; a new style of rugby to counter. It would also lessen the exposure to both South Africa and Australia, as Argentina's arrival would pave the way for each team to play the other three twice.

"And there is also a feeling among the players that the time is now for Sanzar to take definitive action. This whole sorry episode could go on forever if no one takes a risk.

"It's a bit like having a baby - there never will be an ideal time. You just do it and cope. That's the key to the Pumas."

November should be a better month for the northern hemisphere countries but Australia are showing World Cup-winning potential, according to Shaun Edwards in the Guardian.

"Listen carefully and you might be able to hear the World Cup clock ticking. As of Wednesday, kick-off for New Zealand 2011 was precisely two years away and those 24 months are going to rush by.

It may seem a while since South Africa left Paris with the Webb Ellis Cup, but from here on most coaches will be working against the clock and now is as good a time as any to look at the work in progress. And I don't mean on the stadiums.

Barring Dunedin, that seems to be going fine. However this weekend take a look at the current world order, especially as the champions play the All Blacks in Hamilton. No1 versus No2, and obvious World Cup favourites if only because they are playing at home."

Peter Bills, writing in The Independent, ponders the future of the miss-pass as an attacking weapon in the modern game.

"The miss-pass: key to opening up rugby's modern day defences or an attacking liability?

"Time was, when the miss-pass was an obviously viable, indeed valuable part of an attacking team's armour. Throwing the ball out wide, missing perhaps two players to surprise the defence, was an exciting option for the team in possession looking to make serious inroads into a defence.

"Yet modern day defences have rendered this tactic far less attractive. The reason is obvious: in the modern game, the respective back lines are invariably lined up opposite each other, man on man, with space at an absolute premium. Very often, if the rush defence is employed, that minimal amount of space and time is restricted even further.

"That results, all too often, in midfield players taking the safety-first option and going into contact to recycle the ball. Sometimes, it can take nine or ten such phases even before the first chink of space opens up in the defence."

Forget the enduring indignation over MPs' expenses. This was also the week when rugby mislaid its moral compass and forfeited any claims to sound governance, writes Paul Ackford in the Sunday Telegraph.

"Monday's topic was cheating. Tuesday delivered news of an Australian sex scandal. By Wednesday eye-gouging was high on the agenda. Thursday brought confirmation of another cock-up by the International Rugby Board over which laws applied where and to whom. And on Friday Wasps formally ditched Ian McGeechan nine days before he is due to lead the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa. Has there ever been a week like it?"

Following Nick Mallett's daft decision to play Mauro Bergamasco at scrum-half earlier in the Six Nations tournament, the Independent looks at other ploys that proved unwise.

"A feature of the Lions' troubled tour to Australia in 2001 was the on-going spat between Austin Healey (right) and Wallaby lock Justin Harrison. At Gosford, against Australia A, Harrison had chased the scrum-half out of a ruck after seeing him hit one of his team-mates in retaliation for a kick on Will Greenwood.

"They met again when the Lions met the ACT Brumbies a week later. Harrison kneed Healey in the thigh. The injury would force the England No.9 to miss the second Test yet he still managed to scored two tries against the Brumbies and after both the pair indulged in some verbal sparring. When the Wallabies called up Harrison for the decisive third Test, Healey described the lock in his newspaper column as a 'a plod, a plank and an ape.' Healey was later fined for his comments and publicly rebuked by Lions coach Graham Henry, and Harrison was to have the last laugh, stealing the crucial last minute lineout in the third Test to clinch an Australia series victory.

"...As acts of brainlessness go, the decision by France's most capped prop Sylvain Marconnet to go on a skiing holiday in the middle of the 2007 Six Nations with a World Cup to look forward to later in the year, takes some beating. Inevitability, the 30-year-old Stade Francais prop suffered a double fracture of the left tibia, which required an operation to insert a screw in the bone, ruling him out for five months and the World Cup in his own country."

John Leicester is not very impressed with the standard of rugby on show in this year's Six Nations and predicts more joy for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa when the hemipsheres clash later this year. Read his thoughts in the New Zealand Herald.

"You can almost hear the All Blacks licking their lips. The Springboks and Wallabies, too, for that matter.

"Rugby's top three nations, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, can hardly be experiencing any other emotion than expectant satisfaction as they look northward to the less than impressive spectacle being offered by Europe in the Six Nations tournament that is throwing up more spills than thrills. Much of it so far hasn't been pretty or terribly encouraging for hopes that European teams might mount a genuine title challenge at the next World Cup."

Writing in The Times, Gabby Logan muses on the "other-worldy" physiques of modern rugby players.

"Women like rugby players - not exactly revelation of the week I will admit, but it needs further examination, especially as thousands of commuters are being hampered on their way to work by middle-aged women suddenly slowing to a shuffle to take in “those posters”.

"So what's the fascination: is it all about size? I will admit that when I first met my husband I had been entrenched in the world of lean footballers for years. I wasn't dating them, but I was interviewing them and working with them all the time. I was a child of one. They were fit and sometimes ripped. But there was nothing other-worldly about their physiques, nothing that the average bloke couldn't attain with a few less beers.

"When I met Kenny, he was with some London Wasps players who were over 6ft 5in tall, so he didn't even look that big next to them. But within an hour of meeting him he jokingly put his arm around me and I felt like I was being enveloped. If we ran out of money we could always live in his wingspan, I thought.

"Size does not just mean height. Every part of a rugby player's body is different to the non-rugby playing human. I watched the Ireland team practise their lineouts at Stadio Flaminio in Rome last weekend. Jerry Flannery, the Ireland hooker, is only 5ft 11in but weighs 102kg (about 16st) - and most of this seems to be on his upper thighs and biceps. “He's a gym monkey,” Keith Wood, the former Ireland hooker, said, noticing that I was staring. Which is a kind way of saying: “He had to work at it, it's not all natural like me.”

Peter Bills urges referees to play hard-ball with repeat offenders at the breakdown in The Independent.

"When, oh when, will rugby’s referees take off their kid gloves and sort out the mess at the breakdown? The ruck. The pile up, the breakdown - call it what you will. Whatever name you use, it has become the biggest blight on the entire game.

"Former Ireland and Irish Lion Donal Lenihan said recently during the Munster/Ulster Magners League clash "At almost every second breakdown there seems to be a penalty." There’s a good reason for that. Players are cheating. And the sad fact is, few referees are doing much to stop them."

Through the rugby year, across the oceans of the different hemispheres, the game of rugby union has many guises. The Independent offers a visual retrospective of the rugby world in 2008.

"For sure, the image of grunt and grind, impact and intimidation, is thoroughly merited. In this professional era for the sport, never has rugby so resembled a gladiatorial encounter.

"Yet the game has many faces which is one of its most enduring appeals. It can be alarmingly physical yet still aesthetically enchanting. And sometimes, what the photographer’s camera captures is a different image, a fresh vision of the sport hidden away from most supporters."

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills puts forward his belief that the ELVs are here to stay.

"Clear signs are emerging that the rugby dice appear to be falling in favour of adopting most of the ELVs at the IRB Council’s meeting on the vexed issue in May.

"It is my firm understanding that the five leading countries of the world – New Zealand, South Africa, France, Australia and England – are ready to vote for most of the proposals when the matter is discussed by the IRB Council.

"As things stand, it is chiefly the Celtic countries, Ireland, Wales and Scotland that are standing out against making the proposals law. Of these, Wales are seen as crucial in possibly being drawn to the side of those in favour. If the Welsh succumb, then Ireland and Scotland will be lost, isolated and certain to be defeated on the issue."

Nigel Owens talks to Patrick Barkham inThe Guardian about the trials of being the only openly gay international referee.

"Early one morning, Nigel Owens scrawled a note saying he "just couldn't deal with it any more" and crept out of his parent's house. Fat, lonely, bulimic, addicted to steroids and secretly gay, Owens climbed high above the Welsh valley where he grew up and waited for the sleeping pills to take hold. He has no memory of being saved but was spotted and taken to hospital by a police helicopter. If his rescuers had arrived half an hour later, he would have been dead.

"Nearly 13 years on, Owens is not fat, or bulimic and certainly not on steroids. Most notably, his sexuality is no longer a secret. This is a big deal because Owens is an international rugby union referee. Being a referee is a lonely job; being the only professional - player or ref - brave enough to be openly gay must be lonelier still on rugby union's pitches. And Owens is not just an exception in rugby; apart from the tennis player Amélie Mauresmo, virtually no international gay or lesbian sports star still playing has publicly discussed their sexuality. The few who do, such as basketballer John Amaechi and footballer Justin Fashanu, who later killed himself, only came out after retiring."

Peter Bills meets IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset, and the main man of world rugby has money on his mind in The Independent

"Removing the selfishness of a ‘me not we’ attitude in rugby union should be paramount among the game’s priorities for 2009, IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset has said.

"In his New Year message on the state of the game, Lapasset insists that rugby must consider a wider collective and forsake the policy of individual gain at the expense of others.

"Lapasset conceded “At this time, the north and the south are more and more divided, partly because the economies are different. Nor is this true only of rugby. In so many sports, the best players are in Europe where the markets and economies are much bigger. Look at football.

“But if we allow this to be maintained we are in danger of devaluing the game in other parts of the world. The fact is, economy cannot be the only criteria; it must not be the pinnacle of our strategy.”

Peter Bills talks with Mike Catt inThe Independent about the dearth of skills in the modern game.

"That so-called professional players who train every day still cannot perfect the simple art of passing a ball accurately when on the move (off either hand) is an incredible indictment of some of the coaching the game has seen in recent years. This is hardly rocket science, the ability to time a pass and place the ball invitingly in front of the support runner so that his speed and momentum give him a chance of exploiting a gap or the uncertain tackle.

"Yet how often do we see this fault in English rugby? The answer is, every week; time and time again. Players hurl the ball anywhere, very often nowhere near the intended recipient of the pass. Undeniably, the passing of most international backs 30 years ago was technically superior to that of the modern day.

"It would be trite to suggest professionalism has not produced significant progress in many aspects of the game. Forwards in particular are far more comfortable with ball in hand and can run clever, intelligent lines in both possession and support play that would never have crossed the radar of their counterparts decades ago."

Writing in The Times, David Walsh asks whether gouging is on the increase and speaks to former Ireland prop Reggie Corrigan about the time he, "felt two fingers reach into his eye socket ".

"“It was terrifying,” Corrigan says. “I had a contact lens ripped out of my eye and I genuinely thought I was going to lose sight in that eye when it happened. It is a really horrendous experience because you just feel the nails of two fingers going straight into your eye ball. You don’t believe it is actually happening and then it is over. It is literally a lunge, a grab, and a release. At that point you are blinded for a short period of time and I had no doubt whatsoever it was a deliberate act.

"“I had to go off, my cornea was scratched. There was the disciplinary hearing, the video showed the incident from about 10 different angles, you could see the hand going to the face but you couldn’t see the fingers plunge into the eye socket, which is the crucial bit. You had the referee’s report, the medical evidence, my evidence and the evidence of the other player. He got six weeks because the evidence wasn’t conclusive and I certainly felt, ‘Here was a guy getting away with it’.”"

The cult of feedback and questionnaires is killing sporting instinct and individualism and in danger of dragging outstanding young players into the pack of mediocrity according to Ed Smith. Read his thoughts in the Daily Telegraph

"You've just finished the biggest game of your life. Still wearing the scars of battle, now imagine that instead of a pat on the back and an encouraging word, you're given a form to fill in, demanding you evaluate your own and your colleagues' performances."

"...Professionalism has made people obsessed with evidence of endeavour. To some professionals, justifying their jobs can become as important as being good at them. Hence the obsession with those 'achievements' – hours logged, sessions completed, commitments 'signed off' on – which look good on headed notepaper and can be shown off at meetings. But does anyone ask if they are actually working?"