George North will leave Northampton at the end of this season and return to Wales on a national dual contract, with the Dragons believing they can tempt him to Rodney Parade. The Lions wing, who has won 69 Wales caps and scored 30 tries, has agreed a deal from next term, the Welsh Rugby Union have announced. North has been one of the biggest names in the European game over recent years and his tally of caps means he could have chosen to stay in English rugby, or moved to France, and still have been eligible for Wales selection as he is comfortably above the new 60-cap threshold.

Steff Evans is likely to be the beneficiary from George North’s latest injury which has ruled the Northampton wing out of Wales’ autumn series. Scarlets wing Evans has been knocking on the international door for 12 months, but had to wait until the summer before winning his first caps against Tonga and Samoa whilst North was on Lions duty. With North now due to be ruled out for the whole of November due to a knee problem, then 23-year-old Evans will be the favourite to take one of the wing spots for the Tests against Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa, with Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny likely to fill the other back three positions.

The last thing Warren Gatland wanted to see with the 2017 Under Armour Series less than a month away was George North being helped off the pitch at Franklin’s Gardens. The Northampton Saints wing went down twice in the space of two minutes in the first half of his side’s Champions Cup clash with reigning champions Saracens with a left knee injury.

Leigh Halfpenny is getting ready to show Toulon what they’re now missing since he joined the Scarlets. But with Wales’ autumn Test series fast approaching, Peter Jackson says it’s time for Warren Gatland to scrutinise Halfpenny’s form rather than his historic contribution. Leigh Halfpenny’s used to be the first name on the Wales team-sheet and not just because they named it back to front instead of the other way round. The question to be answered by the end of the month is whether he reappears in the starting XV by the time the Wallabies land at their customary staging-post beside the Taff after the migratory flight north. For the first time in a long while, Halfpenny cannot be sure on that score, even less so as to whether it will be at full-back, on the wing or as emergency cover on the touchline.

Scarlets forward Tadhg Beirne wants to play for Ireland and admits he has to go home to fulfil that ambition. Welsh players who cross borders face the same dilemma, but Robin Davey believes such demands are outmoded and have no place in the modern sporting era. Yet again the thorny subject of player qualification has reared its head, this time the case of Irish lock Tadhg Beirne hitting the headlines. He really blossomed under the tutelage of the Scarlets last season, into an international prospect, after being rejected by the Irish provinces.

George North has shaken off his Lions lows and is coming back to his best, according to his former Wales teammate Martyn Williams. The Northampton wing endured a frustrating tour to New Zealand in the summer, four years after he was the most feared player in the Lions’ line-up when they won their 2013 series in Australia. North managed just three matches for the Lions this year and failed to make the Test team to face the All Blacks before a hamstring injury ended his trip prematurely.

The Lions have thrown down the gauntlet to the All Blacks, says Robin Davey, who argues Warren Gatland has thrown off his reputation for conservative game plans and familiar selection choices. The All Blacks may be world champions and they may reign supreme right now, but the British and Irish Lions are gunning for them. Perceptions that Lions coach Warren Gatland is a defensively-minded, negative type of coach have been thrown out of the window and it’s clear from his controversial team selection for the first Test in Auckland on Saturday that he means business.

The Lions are still caged in UK rugby, but in little more than two weeks we will know which players are to be unleased to take on the All Blacks. Robin Davey argues Wales will provide at least seven from a team that finished fifth in the Six Nations. Wales may have finished a lowly fifth in the recent Six Nations Championship, but there’s every chance they will have a healthy representation on the Lions tour to New Zealand this summer. And there’s a strong possibility they’ll provide the captain as well when the Lions bid to win the Test series in the home of world champions New Zealand.

George North’s biting allegation against France has been rejected by the Six Nations through lack of evidence. The Wales wing claimed he had been the victim of a bite during the dramatic late stages of his team’s 100-minute defeat in Paris last Saturday.

Justin Tipuric has said George North’s bite marks were visible in the dressing room in the aftermath of Wales’ controversial Six Nations defeat to France. Both players and coach Rob Howley will learn on Monday whether match citing commissioner John Montgomery intends to take action against France over the biting allegation.

George North has revealed he was desperate to make amends for his muted Murrayfield display by proving his true value against Ireland. The Wales wing says he wanted to “put it right” after spectacularly rediscovering world-class form as Wales shredded Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations title hopes on Friday night.

George North lived up to his promise for self-improvement according to the coach who backed his man to come good for Wales. Rob Howley could have dumped North. Instead he got him pumped and the desperately needed reward for Wales was a 22-9 victory over Ireland that repaired the tarnished reputation of both men. It was a bone-jarring Six Nations match as has been the way between these teams in re