Having conquered Europe with Toulouse, Spain prop Joel Merkler has even bigger fish to fry – at the 2027 Rugby World Cup

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT THE FUTURE'S

Had qualification for the World Cup been decided by population, Spain would only just have made it for the past seven tournaments. Ranked 31st by that metric, they lag behind Myanmar, Sudan and Colomb

Gregor Townsend’s men hope to change hearts and minds after their autumn setbacks

Laden with talent, the ever-improving Azzurri are closing the gap on the major powers

Steve Tandy is the man charged with reversing the Cymru conundrum and has a plan to get the Welsh dragon roaring again…