The Barbarians will have to turn in one hell of a performance in 80-degree evening heat to persuade a veritable army of critics that this peculiarly misplaced opening fixture of the British and Irish Lions 125th anniversary tour was not a lot more trouble than it was worth.

The Baa-Baas were ripped apart by England

Dylan Hartley was sent off in the first half as Leicester Tigers were crowned Premiership Champions with a 37-17 victory at Twickenham.

Emotionally charged Saints will need to be at their best to beat the Tigers this afternoon

Youngs is set to be joined in Tigers' Twickenham line-up by five fellow Lions

Lydon switches from his role as head of rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union

Quins alarm bells are ringing as their title goes on the line against a formidable Leicester

Stuart Lancaster names 11 uncapped players in squad

South Africa claimed victory at the Scottish leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series in Glasgow beating New Zealand 28-21 in the final.

Talk of gouging at the Rugby World Cup box office is worrying for all those who see the 2015 tournament as the perfect platform for the game’s graduation as a fully fledged and reasonably savvy protagonist in the front rank of professional sport.

The millions captivated by this season's Six Nations decider between Wales and England will learn tomorrow where an even more significant encounter between the two great rivals – the World Cup pool match in the autumn of 2015 – is to be staged.

Same as it ever was. Jonny Wilkinson's approach to the outside-half's art may not be as captivating as Barry John's or as complete as Daniel Carter's – he is, in some senses, a small piece of a No 10 unnaturally developed – but the parts of his game that work best are on the supreme side of brilliant. The most celebrated player of his generation guided Toulon to their first Heineken Cup final yesterday with a 24-point haul, three of which came from a drop goal that may just have been better than the one he landed on World Cup-winning night a decade ago.

Wilkinson makes an emotional return to HQ with Toulon on Sunday

Much as he would love one last shot at winning the jackpot with the British and Irish Lions, Jonny Wilkinson has spent the last few weeks playing down his chances of staging an international comeback in Australia this summer, effectively admitting that a full-on ruck with the Wallabies is a young man's game. If one of those young men, Owen Farrell, passes the Wilkinson test this weekend, he can expect to be named in the tour party when it is announced in seven days' time.