Stuart Lancaster will announce his squad for the Six Nations on January 11th. After the appointment of Graham Rowntree, Andy Farrell and Stuart Lancaster as England interim coaches it seems that this will be the time for the youngsters to prove themselves.

Andy Farrell is currently coaching with Saracens so he will certainly have knowledge about the vast array of youngsters that are on offer to England in the Saracens camp. Stuart Lancaster was the England Saxons coach prior to his interim appointment meaning he knows about the young talent that England have already produced with the Saxons and Graham Rowntree was of course a coach during Martin Johnson's era so knows about the current batch of players. Put together, these three men have more knowledge about current English players than any other.

Just one week ago, #rugbyunited was launched. Many of you reading this will already be involved with the project or, if not, you will probably have heard of it.

After Saracens' victory over the previously unbeaten Harlequins, Talking Rugby's Russell Hargreaves caught up with Alex Goode and Andy Saull of Saracens, Harlequins centre Matt Hopper, Conor O'Shea and Mark McCall.

The game was a sell-out and saw just two tries, one from Saracens' David Strettle and one from Harlequins' Joe Marler, but provided a great day out for the Twickenham crowd who were entertained my X Factor contestants in the build-up to kick-off and at half time.

In front of a sell-out Twickenham crowd, it was a top-of-the-table London derby at the home of English rugby as reigning Aviva Premiership champions, Saracens, took down the previously unbeaten, Harlequins.

Nick Heath was at Kingsholm and caught up with Bryan Redpath, Dai Young and Henry Trinder after the game. Gloucester thrashed London Wasps with a demolition of the Londoners who remain near the bottom of the Aviva Premiership table. Gloucester moved up to fifth in the table in a victory that sees the Cherry-and-Whites replenish their play-off hopes.

Gloucester thrilled a sell-out Kingsholm crowd with a six try destruction of visiting side, London Wasps.

The last time these sides met was back in February when Gloucester won 10-9 at Adams Park. Gloucester had won just two from their last six games and Wasps had lost all of their last four matches apart from last weekend’s victory over Bayonne.

In a post-match interview Bryan Redpath said “The players should be proud of themselves. They’ve had a lot of stick over the last couple of months, some of it is justifiable and some of it not.” He added “I think the win was a combination of many things.”

The new England interim coaches chatted to Talking Rugby earlier in the month and it's time to see what they said in the interviews.

Former England Saxons and Leeds Carnegie coach, Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree, a member of the previous England coaching team and Andy Farrell, father of Owen Farrell and a coach at Saracens, make up the interim coaching team and they will announce their squad for the Six Nations in early 2012.

The Franklin’s Gardens crowd ceased to cheer for large parts of the game but when they did there was certainly good reason to do so as a high quality Northampton performance in the first half consisted of three beautifully crafted tries that put the Saints in a 22-3 lead half time.

Saracens' fly-half Charlie Hodgson talking to the RFU podcast's Simon Ward ahead of the Big Game 4 on December 27th at Twickenham - Aviva Premiership leaders Harlequins taking on champions Saracens. You can also check out our preview of the Big Game 4 which includes an interview with Mike Brown and George Robson of Harlequins by clicking here.

In 1861, a student at a west London military academy named Edwin Ash decided to gather his friends together for a regular game of football on Richmond Green. Since these modest beginnings, Ash’s club, Richmond FC, has continued to break new ground and to achieve great things both on and off the field. And on 12^th November 2011, over 350 members and friends as well as players past and present, gathered at 8 Northumberland Avenue for a gala dinner, one of two highlights of a year of celebrations marking Richmond’s 150^th Anniversary, the second being the fantastic game against The Barbarian FC played on 12^th April 2011 and preceded by a pre match supper for 600.

This edition of the rugby news round-up features a story about Welsh Rugby's salary cap, Anthony Allen's possible move back to Kingsholm, Ian Gough's citing and Northampton's new signings.

Round 4 of the Heineken Cup saw return fixtures offering plenty of surprises. Leicester held off Clermont, Gloucester narrowly beat Connacht at Kingsholm whilst Leinster thrashed Bath in a seven try thriller.

One of the biggest shocks of the weekend was Northampton's 45-0 thrashing of Castres, a side they lost to the previous week and Harlequins managed to beat four-time Heineken Cup champions, Toulouse, a side they had also lost to the previous week.

Tries from Manu Tuilagi and Salvi sent Leicester to victory in the return fixture against a side who they had lost to the previous week. Clermont's single try from Sivivatu along with a host a penalties and two drop goals were not enough to overthrow the Aviva Premiership giants.

At the age of 26, Matt Hopper has played just five times for Harlequins. But despite few appearances, the former Cornish Pirate has made an impact already with his incredible skill and speed showcased at the highest level for Quins.

He joined the Londoners in the summer from Championship club Cornish Pirates and had previously represented Plymouth. Hopper spent a year perfecting his rugby in Australia playing in the Sydney Premiership with Manley.

In a recent interview with Nick Heath, Harlequins' and England Saxons full-back Mike Brown spoke about player awards, England, Toulouse and of course, Christmas. At the age of just 26, Brown has been playing at the Twickenham Stoop with Harlequins since 2006. In that time he has made over 100 appearances for his club and has gained 3 England caps.

During his Quins career, Mike Brown has scored a total of 189 points, consisting of 37 tries. In the interview he discusses the growing amount of talented English full-backs and understands it will be hard to get into the England squad with the likes of the more experienced Delon Armitage and Ben Foden. Click 'more' to watch the interview.

After Danny Care was arrested following Harlequins' Round 3 loss to Toulouse, he was fined by the club and was punished by Stuart Lancaster on the phone. In an interview with Nick Heath, O'Shea assured that Care "won't make that mistake again." Click play on the video below to see what Conor O'Shea had to say:



Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath

This edition of Scrum Five's rugby news round-up includes some stories about the RFU, including the appointment of a new CEO and the retirement of an English Rugby legend. We also have another story about Danny Care included in this edition...

England legend, Richard Hill, was one of the players who won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 with Jonny Wilkinson. Hill, now 38, appeared 71 times for England between 1997 and 2005. The former England flanker paid tribute to Wilkinson after the announcement of his International rugby retirement earlier in the week.

Yesterday evening, a statement was released announcing Jonny Wilkinson's retirement from international rugby. Currently playing in Toulon, Wilkinson has remained under the radar and out of the English spotlight but his name will be remembered in English rugby history after kicking the drop goal that won England the 2003 Rugby World Cup (video below).

Wilkinson has had an illustrious career consisting of many great moments despite large parts of it being dogged by injury. At the age of 32, Wilkinson has made over 90 appearances for England and 6 for the British and Irish Lions.

With Heineken Cup Round 3 nearly over and more rugby news stories emerging its time for another rugby news round-up. In this edition we have an interesting story about Worcester's Miles Benjamin and some news about Chris Ashton. Click 'more' to read the stories...

This weekends games include Ulster v Aironi, Cardiff v Edinburgh, Harlequins v Toulouse, Connacht v Gloucester, Treviso v Biarritz, Castres v Northampton, Scarlets v Munster, Racing Metro v London Irish, Saracens v Ospreys, Bath v Leinster, Glasgow v Montpellier and Clermont v Leicester. Below is a live feed from Round 3 of the Heineken Cup including live commentary and scores!

One month after returning from an Achilles injury, Dom Waldouck has spoken to Nick Heath about London Wasps, Christmas and the Amlin Challenge Cup. Click play on the video play to watch Dom's interview.


Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath

Another few days have passed and it's time to take a look at the latest rugby headlines from around the world. In this edition of Rugby news Round-up we have an interesting story about Sonny Bill-Williams and some useful Amlin Cup information...

Following some of the worst ever weeks for English Rugby and the RFU, the organization will have to make changes to ensure that the reputation of English Rugby is not damaged too severely.

Traditionally, captains always seem to be back-rowers. But that rule is not compulsory as we have had the likes of front-row prop, Phil Vickery, and lock, Martin Johnson both being captain of England, with Martin Johnson lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003. Even so, I have come to the conclusion that whoever the new England captain is, he will have to be a strong player, capable of leading a national side and he needs to have an edge that will keep skill, communication and playing ability at a high level...

Following a weekend of big clashes between the top clubs in the Aviva Premiership, round 10 provided us with some action-packed matches and big results. Talking Rugby were on hand at Leicester vs Northampton and Saracens vs London Irish to see what the coaches and players said post-match. Click 'more' for an overview of round 10 of the competition and to listen to the post-match interviews.

After Steve Thompson being forced into retirement, England retaining the Dubai Sevens trophy and Shane Williams' final game for Wales, the week has provided an exciting selection of rugby events for us to see. Click 'more' for a round-up of the last few days of rugby news and find out which scrum-half Saracens are about to sign.