Sale welcome back Robinson as head coach

Jason Robinson has been appointed head coach of Sale Sharks for next season. The World Cup winner in 2003 with England will return to the club where he spent seven years as a player after agreeing a two-year deal.

The 34-year-old will work beneath Sale director of rugby Kingsley Jones, who will replace the outgoing Philippe Saint-André at the end of the season. Phil Keith-Roach, former scrummaging coach with England under Sir Clive Woodward, has also joined the Sharks. Jones said: "It's fantastic news for the club that Jason has agreed to join the coaching staff. It's no coincidence that the three years that Jason was captain were the most successful in the club's history."

Former England front row forward Mark Regan will retire at the end of the season after 19 years of top flight rugby, the 37-year-old announced. The Bristol hooker, a member of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad, played 46 times for England and featured in the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.