The Wallabies learned it is time to get physical and are ready to harden up, jilted players left to their own, Premiership gets ready to kick off, a Dan Carter exclusive and more from this edition of What the Papers Say.

Thursday, August 25

Dan Carter exclusive - Sky Sports - The All Blacks No.10 knows the World Cup is more than just a sporting occasion for New Zealand.

Aussies look set to get physical - New Zealand Herald - If there was one lesson taken by the Wallabies from their clash at Eden Park earlier this month, it was the need to harden up. For all the pretty patterns and clever sleight of hand, the Wallabies couldn't trouble the All Blacks because they were some way off delivering the required physicality in the key areas of the game.

McDermott and Maguire prepare for battle - BBC - Did Martin Johnson make the correct calls in England's World Cup squad?

Who's who in England's 30-man Rugby World Cup squad - The Guardian - The low-down on each member of England's squad for the Rugby World Cup

The Fantastic Four - Scrum.com - The World Cup will herald in a new group of players who have played in four showpiece tournaments. This week's Scrum Sevens pays tribute

Wales well prepared for New Zealand tournament - The Telegraph - Of all the Six Nations teams, including Italy, Wales were the last to get their squad properly fit to play professional international rugby.

The state of play - Sky Sports - As the World Cup squads are announced, Stuart Barnes looks at where the major forces are at.

Hampson Not About to Give Up - The Daily Mail - The National Anthem always used to set Anne Hampson off. She’d sit in the stands and watch her son Matt stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his team mates in the England rugby team as they played God Save the Queen. When Matt was 20, and about to win his fifth rugby cap for England at the Under-21 Six Nations Championship, he suffered a catastrophic accident that changed his life, and that of his family, forever.

Jilted players lucky there were no cameras - New Zealand Herald - It was all rather different back in 1987. By contrast with yesterday's mechanical announcement in a Brisbane hotel, raw emotion was on show for anyone who cared to see it on May 9, 24 years ago.

Left-wing - the experts' view - The Telegraph - In the search for the greatest Rugby World Cup XV of all time, our experts consider the selection of left-wing

Guscott on England World Cup squad - BBC - "Once Danny Care got injured, Flutey's chances were limited"

Top 14 tournament preview - Planet Rugby - With the Top 14 season kicking off on Friday, we take a closer look at who will be gunning for the title and who will be fighting for survival.

Stage set for Premiership battle - Scrum.com - "When Premiership rugby returns, no club or coach will face a greater challenge than Worcester Warriors." Huw Richards reports from the Aviva Premiership launch

Wigglesworth eager to grab chance created by Johnson's injury jinx - The Independent - Saracens scrum-half can strengthen World Cup claims in Dublin on Saturday while Haskell recovery brings some cheer to England.

Clark showcasing the boom in girls' rugby - The Daily Mail - Rochelle Clark has seen a revolution in women's rugby since she launched her glittering career with Worcester and England 14 years ago.

Flutey to miss out on England RWC squad - The Guardian - The Wasp's attacking talents and versatility have been deemed less crucial than Shontayne Hape's defensive abilities

Moody should be the grumpy one after my mishap - London Evening Standard - After playing in any match I'm usually very hard on myself and rarely feel satisfied with how I've performed

Gatland gambles - Sky Sports - Leaving Sam Warburton as the only recognised seven is a risk for Wales, says Scott Quinnell

RWC 2011: another week closer, who’s hot and who’s not? - The Telegraph - Was that the most illuminating weekend of rugby for a long, long, long time? Unexpected strengths were shown, frailties exposed, egos dented and spirits lifted. Amother week closer to the big one, and form horses are starting to prance.