The RFU has made 16 recommendations to eliminate cheating from the sport.

The Image of the Game Task Group has put forward measures it believes will help restore the reputation of the game.

After four weeks of investigation, including a survey of professional players and 4,500 responses from grassroots rugby, RFU President and Task Group Chairman John Owen said: "The aspiration of the Task Group was to eliminate cheating in all its forms across the game. This is vital if we are to rebuild the image of the game.

Adidas is the new official supplier of the ERC match ball with the Torpedo Respect ball kicking-off the 15th Heineken Cup on 9 October. The biggest rugby club tournament in the world will use the highly acclaimed Torpedo Respect ball for all matches of the upcoming 2009/2010 season.

Under the sponsorship deal with ERC, organisers of both the Heineken Cup and newly titled Amlin Challenge Cup, adidas will provide the official match ball for both European tournaments, as well as referee apparel. adidas also holds the exclusive rights to create and sell official ERC, Heineken Cup, H Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup licensed product.

Scotland’s International Deaf Rugby team received a major boost today with the announcement that Hidden Hearing, one of the UK’s leading hearing healthcare providers, is to sponsor the team for the current season.

The five-figure sponsorship deal is a major boost to the side who line up against their English and Welsh counterparts over the same weekends as the full RBS 6 Nations next spring.

Scottish Deaf internationalist and honorary secretary, Neil Houston, welcomed the sponsorship: “Being deaf or having a hearing loss doesn’t make us any less passionate about the game. We are just as keen to represent our country as our senior national colleagues.

Gloucester Rugby are have announced they will be writing the next chapter in the club's illustrious history this autumn with a fixture against the touring Qantas Wallabies. Kingsholm has since been the scene of many memorable games over the years, including Gloucester facing the All Blacks in 1905, South Africa in 1906 and the visit of the 1924 All Blacks who were nicknamed 'The Invincibles'.

However, the clash between the Cherry and Whites and the Green and Golds promises to rank up there with the very best of them.

The fixture is scheduled for 7:45pm on the evening of Tuesday November 3rd and forms part of the Qantas Wallabies autumn programme which kicks off with a fixture in Tokyo against the All Blacks.