The pride of the south - New Zealand © Getty Images

Looking enviously at golf's Ryder Cup, The Guardian's Robert Kitson wonders if rugby could ever put a viable north v south match together.

"The Ryder Cup will soon be with us in all its pastel-slacked, absurdly partisan, you're-the-man glory. Not so long ago it was but a relatively low-key event in the golfing calendar; now there are pretty much dedicated 'WAG lanes' on the M4 to ferry the players' partners to and from Celtic Manor. Rugby union, always looking for ways to boost its global profile, can only gaze longingly at golf's sexiest format.

"The nearest oval-ball equivalent is the British and Irish Lions, whose teams generate massive interest for a relatively short space of time before dissolving into history overnight. Never again will Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll have the chance to dovetail to the same stunning effect as in South Africa in 2009. The closest thing to a direct Ryder Cup comparison - apart from the occasional Barbarians showpiece - came in 2005 when the Southern Hemisphere beat the North 54-19 at Twickenham to help raise money for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami."

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."

Former Wallabies boss John Connolly offers his thoughts on the impact of overseas starts in the European game. Like All Blacks coach Graham Henry he believes it is having a detrimental effect. Read his thoughts in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"New Zealand coach Graham Henry made a very good point when he was critical of the northern hemisphere for allowing a huge number of southern hemisphere recruits to play in their competition.

"There's no doubt this tour has brought the issue to a head. There's a lack of development in France and England. Private owners of clubs are looking at short-term results and there's not enough done to foster local talent in France's top 14 or the English premiership. This tour has rammed home these problems because of the dominance of the southern hemisphere."