Horse racing: GIVEN LOOKS TO ASCOT FOR DAN THE MAN

Dandino will head to Royal Ascot in search of a four-timer after rattling off the hat-trick in impressive fashion at Epsom on Derby Day.

James Given kept it low-key with his colt in previous starts, sending him to Redcar and Doncaster, but took on some smart three-year-olds in the Investec Vincent O'Brien Handicap.

Owned by the Elite Racing Club, Dandino (17-2) showed a striking turn of foot under Paul Mulrennan to settle the race very quickly.

"It has been such a frustrating couple of weeks as we have had a 30% runners to place ratio, but they have been running well without winning and to come off the cold list in that way is very pleasing," said Given.

"Paul rode with lots of confidence and he has done it in a tremendous manner.

"We will step up to a mile and a half now for the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot 2010."

Godolphin look to have discovered a useful older filly with German recruit Antara making a winning debut for Sheikh Mohammed's operation in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes.

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Trainer Saeed bin Suroor said: "If she comes out of this OK she could possibly go to Royal Ascot 2010, where the Windsor Forest would be the obvious race."

Hardened Irish two-year-old High Award (7-1) took advantage of the slow early pace to dominate the Investec Woodcote Stakes under Johnny Murtagh.

"We worked him hard to win first time out, but I suppose we've been easy on him the last couple of times and those have put him right for today.

"He had plenty of experience and handled the track well," said Fozzy Stack, son and assistant to trainer Tommy.

Stuart Williams' bottom-weight Bertoliver was third at the course in April but went off at 33-1 as he blitzed down the stands rail in the Investec Entrepreneurial Class 'Dash'.

"We'll think about Ascot now, where we have the Coventry, Norfolk and Windsor Castle as options."

It was a fine moment for winning jockey Jack Mitchell, son of local trainer Philip.

"He has been a disappointing horse since he won so well at Lingfield last year," said the Newmarket baronet.

Sir Mark Prescott's continued his ridiculously hot form as Fortuni (9-1) turned the Investec Surefooted Challenge into a procession.

"I didn't think he ran very well at York last time so we decided to change the tactics, make the running, and it worked."

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Horse racing: Wesley Ward culls his team for this year's Royal Ascot meeting

US trainer Wesley Ward, who broke new ground when winning two juvenile races at Royal Ascot last year, has scrapped plans to be mob handed at next weeks renewal and may only have one representative or even none at all.

A team of four youngsters were originally penned into plunder further booty at next weeks Berkshire bash but Ward changed plans to send them to Newmarket last Thursday at the last minute.

Ward may now send the unbeaten Metropolitan Man for the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes on Thursday week but even these plans are subject to change and flight plans later this week.

Twelve months ago, Ward landed the Queen Mary and Windsor Castle Stakes with Jealous Again and Strike the Tiger respectively.

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Adrian Beaumont, of the International Racing Bureau, said: 'Wesley Ward pulled the plug on last weeks flight at the last minute and has no horses in Newmarket at present. One might still be coming,which may be Metropolitan Man, but I haven't had that confirmed yet.'

Meanwhile Toby Coles has recently become one of the youngest ever trainers to hold a licence in Newmarket and the 25-year-old is hoping that Silken Promise can give him his first success at Folkestone on Monday.

A former assistant to Sir Mark Prescott and Ed Dunlop, Cole filled a similar role with Christophe Clement in the US before extending his global knowledge in Australia and New Zealand.

Cole has recently returned to Newmarket where he currently rents a barn from Rae Guest at his Chestnut Tree Stables base on the Hamilton Road.

The rookie trainer said: 'I decided I had to have go myself at training as no one would employ me as an assistant anymore.I rent 14 boxes at Rae Guest's and have 8 in at the moment. We have had four runners to date and it would be nice to get one on the board on Monday.'

As well as his training duties, Coles has been helping connections of Australian sprinting star Gold Trail prepare their speedster for Royal Ascot next week.

The handler traded his tweed cap for a skull cap at the weekend when putting the six year old through his paces on the Al Bahathri Polytrack.

Coles has booked Frankie Dettori for the ride on Silken Promise who faces ten rivals in the twelve furlong Joy Is Discovering Your Favourite Brands Handicap (4.15).

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Horse racing: Prince Charles will miss Royal Ascot to recover from chest infection

The Prince of Wales will miss Royal Ascot 2010 next week on doctors' orders, so he can recover from an ongoing illness.

He is to take three days off next week, cancelling all planned engagements, so he can try to shake off a persistent chest infection.

But the heir to the throne decided against rest and recuperation this week because he had so many important events to attend.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: “On doctor’s advice, The Prince of Wales will be taking three days off at the beginning of next week.

The Prince’s commitments this week include taking part in The Queen’s Birthday Parade, hosting two military receptions, visiting the Royal Cornwall Show and giving a lecture on Islam and the environment to mark the 25th anniversary of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

“The Prince has been suffering from a persistent chest infection for over a month and doctors have advised him to find a number of consecutive days in which to have a complete rest.”

Instead of cancelling them, he will take three days off at the start of next week. The Prince will travel to Birkhall, his private home on the Queen's Balmoral Estate in Scotland, with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.

He will miss Royal Ascot 2010, the week-long race meeting and highlight of the social calendar that dates back to 1711.

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The Prince will also miss the Garter Service and Procession, which always takes place at Windsor Castle on the Monday of Royal Ascot week and which is traditionally attended by all senior members of the Royal family.

In her throne room, the Queen will formally invest new Companions of the Order of the Garter – the senior British Order of Chivalry, founded in 1348 – with the insignia.

Following lunch, there is a procession of the Knights to St George’s Chapel followed by an installation ceremony.

The Prince's illness is not believed to be serious and he is scheduled to return to work on Thursday.

It is believed he has attended every Garter ceremony since 1989, and Ascot each year for most of the past decade.

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Horse racing: Richard Hannon Jr confident Paco Boy is ready for Ascot

The Queen Anne looks like being race of the week at Royal Ascot 2010 and Paco Boy's team are in confident mood.

Dual Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Goldikova and Sussex Stakes winner Rip Van Winkle are preparing to take on the apple of Richard Hannon's eye in what should be a thriller.

Hannon Jnr admits Paco Boy still has it to prove against opponents of that calibre, but believes if he is ever going to do so, then it will be this year.

He said:"Goldikova is very good and she'll be very hard to beat. She is a champion and Paco Boy is not at that status yet, but he does seem better this year than ever."

In the St James' Palace, Hill make another Hannon star, Canford Cliffs favourite to take revenge on French raider Makfi, who brushed him aside in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Last year's Coventry Stakes winner finally got it right when bolting up in the Irish 2000 Guineas.

Hannon Jnr said:"He came home so well at Newmarket I was a little bit disappointed he didn't win that day.

"He'd had a prep run and there was no issue with the trip so it was maybe the dip that beat him. We're taking on the winner again but we still fancy him."

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Ladbrokes slashed French Derby runner-up Planteur to 16-1 from 25s for the Arc and spokesman David Williams explained: "Lope De Vega seems unlikely to get the Arc trip so we've taken the runner-up Planteur out of the race and suspect he is capable of better later this year."

Michael Bell reckons Sariska is in for a lucrative campaign after her great run in the Coronation Cup. Last season's dual Oaks winner found only the brilliant Fame And Glory too good in a vintage renewal.

Bell said: "She ran a huge race, but just came up short against a very good horse on the day. We've got some big targets ahead but I have to have a proper chat with her owner."

Haljaferia is worth the wait in the last at Salisbury. The son of Halling bounced back to form at HQ recently in an amateur race and the booking of Fallon looks interesting.

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Horse racing: Kieren Fallon rides Al Zir in Derby

The colt, which finished ninth in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on his only outing so far this season, is a 33-1 chance with most bookmakers.

On a day of shocks in racing, it was revealed that Kieren Fallon has been booked to ride Al Zir for Godolphin in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

Fallon had been lamenting the possibility of missing out on the Classic. He was passed over for Ted Spread, and had been waiting for a call from Aidan O’Brien for one of the Ballydoyle team, but the call never came.

Godolphin will have Frankie Dettori riding stable elect Rewilding, now 8-1 from 12-1 with Ladbrokes, Ahmed Ajtebi aboard 66-1 chance Buzzword, and now Fallon on Al Zir.

Simon Crisford, racing manager for the 'royal blues,’ said; “Kieren Fallon’s record in the Derby is fantastic, and he was available.”

The unbeaten sprinter was under consideration for either the Golden Jubilee Stakes or the King’s Stand Stakes, but is not yet at peak fitness from a protracted spell on the sidelines.

Overdose, the legendary Hungarian horse dubbed the 'Budapest Bullet’, will not run at Royal Ascot.

Although pencilled in to return at Bratislava on June 6, after which a trip to Berkshire beckoned, those plans have now been scrapped.

Owner Zoltan Mikoczy said: “Having seen the horse train and evaluated this, it was decided not to take part at Bratislava or Ascot.

Overdose has been off the track since last April as he recovers from a foot injury.

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Overdose out of Ascot - but on comebacktrail

The Hungarian sprinter, nicknamed the 'Budapest Bullet', missed all last year with a foot problem, but owner Zoltan Mikoczy remains upbeat about the five-year-old.

He said: "Royal Ascot is definitely off as it would be wrong to go there without a run. Any other horse maybe, but Overdose needs two runs before a Group 1 race."

His owner continued: "We are now looking at a Listed race at Maisons-Laffitte on June 25 (Prix de Hampton) for his planned comeback."

OVERDOSE was on Tuesday ruled out of Royal Ascot, but the 'winner' of the voided Prix del'Abbaye two years ago is ready to make his comeback in France this month.

Overdose was a 10-1 shot generally for the King's Stand Stakes and 12-1 for the Golden Jubilee, but was taken out of the betting by a number of firms on Tuesday.

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Ryder Cup boosts Welsh golf – Corporate Hospitality group

A body known as Golf Development Wales was launched as a direct result of winning the 2010 bid and they are already proud of some of their achievements.

The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor may be just three days in October, but for golf in Wales the effect of having the match for the first time will hopefully be long lasting.

Five new regional Centres of Excellence are now in existence and more than 40 new or improved beginner facilities have been built.

At a recent "golf awareness" week, thousands of people at more than 100 clubs were able to have free lessons and try the game.

There have been 1.5 million opportunities for juniors and beginners to try golf and 77,000 schoolchildren have participated in the sport.

There is a stand in the tented village at this week's Wales Open - also at Celtic Manor - and the current Welsh number one Rhys Davies was spending time there today to encourage youngsters to try to follow in his footsteps.

Tomorrow his focus will be on trying to become the first home winner of the event and after winning in Morocco in March and finishing second to Luke Donald in Madrid on Sunday, the 25-year-old's hopes are high.

Hundreds of them decided to take up membership and it is estimated that the result of that will bring more than £500,000 into golf.

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Golf: Welshman Davies aiming for Ryder Cup spot

European Tour rookie Rhys Davies is the player really making his mark. Since the start of March he has had a win, two runners-up finishes - in the latest of them he lost by a shot to Luke Donald in Madrid on Sunday - and a third place.

As excitement in Wales builds towards their first-ever Ryder Cup in October there is a growing feeling too that there might be a Welshman in it.

The last shot played by a Welsh golfer in the match was Phillip Price's dramatic winning putt against Phil Mickelson at The Belfry in 2002.

Price has no doubt that Davies has the qualities needed not only to make the team, but also to be a star of it.

"He will win many times," Donald said of Davies after they battled head-to-head for the last 36 holes. "This was my time, but he is a very tough competitor. He put a lot of pressure on me. He is very impressive - he has a great putting stroke and was very solid off the tee."

What also impresses Price is "his mind, his confidence, the way that he deals with pressure" and he adds: "I love what's doing, so I probably wouldn't advise him to do anything differently."

"I think people are probably beginning to realise he's the best putter in the world," he said.

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie partners Spanish Open champion Alvaro Quiros and England's Oliver Wilson. Quiros is currently in the last automatic qualifying position and Wilson, a debutant two years ago, four places below him.

In the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday at the Welsh Open, Davies partners defending champion Jeppe Huldahl and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, another looking to continue his form after closing with a 65 for fourth place at the weekend.

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Ryder Cup: Wales hopes to end golf hoodoo

The descent has in many ways resembled Welsh golf fans' hopes of seeing the first home-grown winner at the Wales Open…they are there at the start - but then go downhill quickly.

To reach the 2010 course you have to drive down a road which resembles the Whistler ski jump from this year's Winter Olympics.

None more so than Rhys Davies. A second place finish in the Madrid Masters on Sunday topped a week in which he qualified for the US Open in Pebble Beach and gained entry to The Open at St Andrews.

But this year's Wales Open could be the turning point with a number of the Welsh lads arriving in Newport in fine form.

So far this season he has earned €763,465 Euros and lies ninth on the European Tour Race to Dubai rankings - little wonder people are touting him for a place in Colin Montgomery's Ryder Cup team this October.

In a Ryder Cup year, it would be rude not to mention the man many hope will be one of Montgomerie's vice-captains.

The 25-year-old has been Wales' form golfer this term. He marked his debut season on the European Tour with victory in the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco; came second in both Madrid and the Volvo China Open; third in Maybank Malaysian Open and sixth in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Five top-10 finishes - his best being tied for fourth at the Volvo China Open - sees Donaldson ranked 36th on the European tour and he'll fancy his chances in a field which will be missing many of the leading players.

But Rhys is not alone. Jamie Donaldson arrives in the sort of form which might suggest he will challenge too.

Stephen Dodd - a World Cup winner for Wales - has had three top 10 finishes, while Bradley Dredge, second at the Celtic Manor in 2007, once again teased us with a glimpse of the type of golf he is capable of at the Qatar Masters at the start of the season.

Local boy and 2010 member Phillip Price had seemed to have fallen off the radar until his recent third round of 65 at the Italian Open reminded us of the player who so famously beat Phil Mickelson in the 2002 Ryder Cup at the Belfry.

Who knows if one of these 12 Welshmen will seal victory on home soil? Let us just hope that there will not be an exodus in need of the ski lift before the weekend.

Adding to the list of Welsh representation will be: Sion Bebb, Craig Smith, Stuart Manley, Kyron Sullivan, Garry Houston, Liam Bond and Jason Powell.

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A stirring in the valleys as Davies gets closer to Ryder place

Donald and Germany’s Martin Kaymer are the only two from the world’s leading 30 in the field and Davies knows it is a golden opportunity.

If the former British boys’ champion, 25 last Friday, lifts this week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor, he could well leap to seventh in the Ryder Cup point’s race.

“He is very impressive. He has a great putting stroke and was very solid off the tee.”

“I think people are probably beginning to realise he’s the best putter in the world,” he said.

“I love what he’s doing, so I probably wouldn’t advise him to do anything differently.”

“I am impressed by his mind, his confidence and the way that he deals with pressure.

As excitement in Wales builds towards the country’s first Ryder Cup in October, there is a growing feeling that there might be a Welshman in the team

European Tour rookie Rhys Davies is the player really making his mark.

Since the start of March he has had a win, two runners-up finishes and a third. He lost by a shot to Luke Donald in Madrid on Sunday.

“He will win many times,” Donald said of Davies after they played head-to-head for the last 36 holes.

Price has no doubt that Davies has the qualities needed not only to make the team but also to be a star of it.

In the first two rounds tomorrow and Friday, Davies partners defending champion Jeppe Huldahl and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, another looking to continue his form after closing with a 65 for fourth place in Madrid at the weekend.

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie partners Spanish Open champion Alvaro Quiros and England’s Oliver Wilson. Quiros is in the last automatic qualifying position and Wilson is four places below him.

George Findlay recorded the lowest scratch score of 96 in Royal Montrose Golf Club’s 25-hole open.

The Fortrose-based club will host this month’s Scottish senior women’s championship and the Scottish club championship final in September.

The last shot played by a Welsh golfer in the Ryder Cup was Phillip Price’s dramatic winning putt against Phil Mickelson at The Belfry in 2002.

Stuart Benson, the great-great grandson of William Doleman, took part in this year’s event and Stuart’s daughter, Nicole, also played.

The Scottish senior women’s championship will run from Tuesday, June 29, to Friday, July 2, and the Scottish club championship is on Sunday, September 26.

Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club will this year hold two national events – for the first time.

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Wimbledon 2010: Andy Murray fancies his grand slam chances on Wimbledon's grass

When the French Open began, there was a line on Murray’s profile page on the website for the men’s tour which suggested that his favourite surface was clay. That has since been changed to hard courts, and after his fourth-round defeat to Tomas Berdych at Roland Garros he will now begin his preparations for the grass, and many consider that it is on the lawns of London that he has his best chance of winning a first grand slam.

Only in the kitchen showrooms of Surrey, around Andy Murray’s home in Oxshott, would you hear a more animated debate about surfaces.

You know that summer is coming when Vogue are carrying an interview with a teenage British player it is in the July issue that Laura Robson makes the unfortunate suggestion that some of the other female players are “sluts” and when Murray is reacquainting himself with the low, shooting bounce of grass on a practice court ahead of the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Queen’s Club.

“I don’t feel terrible just now. I’ve got to get over it quickly because obviously it’s an important few weeks for me, with Queen’s and Wimbledon coming up, and I need to have all my energy focused on the tennis there.

Back in England, Murray needs to shake the clay dust from his racket bag and any negativity from his mind.

“I’ll start practising almost as soon as I get back, and I’ll get in the gym. I’ve got my hunger back, my appetite back for that, and after Wimbledon I’ll have a break but these next few weeks are very important for my year.

"My season so far has been very patchy, and the next few weeks will determine how the year is going to go.”

"It’s a pretty stressful period in terms of the stuff you’ve got to go through, so I had better get over it quickly or I’m not going to do well,” Murray said.

On the grass last season, he went through the draw at Queen’s without dropping a set, so becoming the first British champion in Kensington since Bunny Austin in 1938, and he went on to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final, where he lost to Andy Roddick.

In Paris, Murray was considered to be only an outsider for the title, but during the coming grass-court swing he will rightly be regarded as much more of a force.

"I lost last year to a guy who was playing arguably the best tennis of his life in the semis of Wimbledon and I still feel like I can improve, so I’ll try to work on my game in the next week or so before Queen’s. I do look forward to the grass. I think I have a chance of winning Wimbledon.”

While Murray’s game is best suited to hard courts, and his first grand slam final came at the 2008 US Open and his second at this year’s Australian Open, there are many players who would say that they produce their best tennis on that surface, and there is a smaller group who are comfortable on grass.

“The grass last year was very good,” Murray said. “I didn’t lose a set at Queen’s and was doing everything well. I feel like I’m hitting the ball well, I feel like I have got confidence in my game again, I just need to make sure I take that to the grass and do a few things a little bit better.

Last season, Murray won six titles, with tournament victories in Doha, Rotterdam, Miami, Queen’s, Montreal and Valencia. He has not retained the first three of those six, as he did not play in Doha and Rotterdam and he lost his opening match in Miami.

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Tennis: WTA to launch probe into Laura Robson's controversial 'slut' comments

The WTA Tour issued a statement yesterday which suggested they will investigate what the former Wimbledon junior champion said during a fashion shoot.

Women’s tennis authorities have requested a transcript of the interview given by Laura Robson to Vogue magazine in which she was reported to have described some fellow players as ‘sluts’.

‘We understand that an actual transcript of her remarks exists and we will review it carefully as soon as we receive it.’

‘We are aware of Laura Robson’s reported comments to Vogue UK along with her statement that the comments were taken out of context,’ said WTA Tour spokesman Andrew Walker. 

The fuss could hardly have come at a worse time as Robson prepares for the grass-court season that leads into Wimbledon, where she is expected to play in both the main draw and the juniors.

According to WTA sources, there is virtually no prospect of the 16-year-old player being punished over the incident.

Among other comments, Robson is quoted as saying that some other players ‘go with every guy and make such a bad name for themselves’.

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Rugby: Summer tours are back on the right track at last

Ignore the logistics for a minute and imagine if the Lions toured the southern hemisphere every year, playing one Test annually against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Now traditional tours by individual countries are thankfully back on the global agenda. From 2012, the leading countries in Europe will play proper three-Test series against the SANZAR giants, plus Argentina, while also returning to the Pacific Islands and even Japan.

In the case of sporting conflict, familiarity so often breeds tedium, which is exactly why pleas for Lions tours to become more frequent have been rightly ignored. Scarcity is part of the appeal.

England will get the ball rolling with a series in South Africa and it will have the feel of a Lions expedition.

A series also gives time for sub-plots and dramas and conflicts to emerge and evolve.

Reviving proper tours in June may be a nod to nostalgia, but the move is founded on commercial imperatives, too, as crowds and revenues are down for these June matches, which are too often one-sided.

With midweek games thrown in it allows fringe players to stay involved and the whole exercise will hold a greater sense of resonance and purpose.

In Europe, attendances and bank balances are well catered for during the November Test window, but proper series would be an improvement then, too.

On the flip-side, when a true contest materialises, as was the case last summer when France won a Test in Dunedin and New Zealand hit back in Wellington, 1-1 is not a satisfactory conclusion. It was crying out for a decider.

This is where the familiarity argument kicks in. Back in the day, a visit by the All Blacks was a major event, but now that mystique and air of expectation has been somewhat eroded by regularity. They have come to Twickenham during the last four years of autumn internationals.

A real series would carry more weight than the endless round of one-off Tests. England could play the likes of Fiji or Samoa at the start of November, followed by a three-Test series against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa or Argentina.

In the interests of expansion, the RFU could take one match each year to the provinces - to Old Trafford, Villa Park or St James’ Park.

The public don’t moan about repetition during an Ashes series, which comes to these shores once every four years.

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Rugby: Olly Barkley tells England team mates: 'We must behave'

Olly Barkley last night backed Martin Johnson's demand that the England rugby squad behave themselves on tour next month.

Johnson wasted no time yesterday in issuing a stark warning of the "pitfalls" which potentially lie await for them off the field on a five-match mission to Australia and New Zealand.

It will be England's first trip Down Under since the 2008 tour to New Zealand when allegations of serious sexual assault were made against four of the squad.

"In the world we live in there are pitfalls, some can be put there deliberately, some are just the pitfalls that young guys face when they're out and about in big cities

"We'll be together for three and a half weeks in hostile territory, staying in different hotels and city centre locations," he said. "There will be distractions and potential areas to get embroiled in so we'll need to be smart and look after each other.

No formal complaint was made in 2008 against the so-called Auckland Four of Danny Care, David Strettle, Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown, whom NZ police sought to interview over claims made by an 18-year-old woman.

"I don't think they will be targets but this is the world we live in. People have cameras on their phones these days."

But Barkley acknowledges that the whole episode was a wake-up call and that it is vital no-one invites embarrassment onto the tour this time.

Indeed, an RFU inquiry found no evidence of any such incident having taken place - though it did adjudge Ojo and Brown guilty of misconduct for staying out all night.

"The management and the players are confident we will all adhere to that.

"We've put the 2008 issue behind us and there's now a code of conduct in place," said a player who has had his own off-field problems in the past.

The difference between this one and the last is that Johnson will be with it every step of the way. In 2008 he stayed home to await the birth of his second child and in his absence chaos ensued.

"The big thing is if you don't you compromise not only the squad but the individuals involved as well. That's the last thing anyone wants to do to a tour that we're all so positive about."

At Twickenham yesterday he left nobody in any doubt that he will be on top of matters in Perth and in Sydney and across the Tasman Sea in Napier.

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Rugby: England tour payments agreed

The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby have settled a players' payment dispute ahead of the upcoming tour to Australia and New Zealand.

An independent third party was called in to settle the dispute and the RFU and TER have accepted their recommendations ahead of the opening clash against the Barbarians in Perth on June 8.

Martin Johnson's men face two friendlies with Australia Barbarians and two Tests against Australia before making a trip to take on New Zealand Maori in Napier in June, but the tour looked in doubt after the two groups failed to find some common ground over payments for the 44-man squad.

However, the finer details of the players' payments will not be made known to the public.

A basic tour fee of £7,800 was thought to have been offered with an extra £5,000 on offer for every man that made Johnson's squad of 22 for the two Tests against Australia with the other half of his squad receiving no extra incentives.

"Both sides met today with the independent third party appointed to review the situation, and accepted their recommendations.

A joint statement made by the RFU and TER read: "The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby are pleased to announce that they have resolved all the outstanding issues over tour payments for the elite player squad for the tour to Australia and New Zealand.

"The details of the final resolution remain confidential and will not be disclosed by either party."

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