It was a great performance. I’m delighted how they fronted up and I thought the young guys who came in did really well.

Everybody has off-field problems at some stage in their life. What you’ve got to do is be able to handle those problems and make sure they don’t affect your work – and I’m sure Paul...

What’s the point of having the rules and regulations if this is going to happen? I’m not saying that Wellens made that much difference, because we played so badly they could have had Mickey Mouse...

There’s no doubt in my mind that Kirk is a Great Britain player in the making. He’s developing from a follower into a player who leads others. He has great presence and I’m just pleased...

He will be playing on Friday. He has attended work all week.

We want to avoid that if possible. But we will do what is necessary for the good of the player.

Richard’s injury and loss puts pressure on us – but it also opens a door for someone else to step up to the plate and take their chance.

I’ve told them that it’s like against like. We’re a top-six side and so are they. This has just been a blip in their progress, caused more by individual errors than anything.

I am very pleased with my players. We spoke in our preparation about the emotion of the event and we knew full well that the kitchen sink would come out in the first 20 minutes....