Burgess no quitter

There was some good news,however,for the Burgess backers,as Bath coach Mike Ford revealed the former Rabbitoh will extend his contract with them and target the next World Cup as a flanker.

"Proving he is an international back-rower is the big challenge now for Sam,"Ford said in an interview with the London Times.

"He's always been a No. 6 for us,no question. We've talked about next time the England squad gets selected,his goal's got to be to be there as a six.

"The last conversation I had with him,he was going to extend his contract with us and he wanted to go for the next World Cup. He is going to play for us for the next few years. He loves rugby union,he is settled in Bath.

"We will no doubt show everyone he is a back row,not a centre. That's what I am hoping will happen. In those juicy fixtures we've got on the bounce,people will be able to make their own judgments. We've just got to show people."

Catt fight

To make life even more uncomfortable for the RFU,England were forced to comment on rumours of a training ground spat between assistant coach Mike Catt and former Melbourne Rebels five-eighth Danny Cipriani - with the former allegedly threatening to end the player's career.

An England rugby spokesman took the diplomatic route,explaining:"Danny and Mike were involved in a robust conversation on the training pitch following a misunderstanding around a training drill instruction. Both shook hands afterwards and the incident played no bearing on selection."

Case closed,then.

Selfie spat

The fallout is showing no signs of abating,with England squad member James Haskell engaging in a Twitter spat with 2003 World Cup winners Neil Back and Lewis Moody.

When Back questioned the flanker's use of a selfie stick after the win over Fiji,Haskell took to social media to hit out.

"I wasn't even playing! You're so old and out of touch your eyes dont work,"he posted.

"I hope your book sales go better than your coaching.

"You were one of my childhood heroes,yet the general negativity towards myself and the team is appalling.

"Rule No.1 - never meet your heroes."

The post has since been deleted.