If you listened closely enough on Tuesday night you could have heard the collective cursing from the majority of the rugby press as Matt Stevens’ interview went to air on Sky Sports News.

The 5pm timing of his confession was about as welcome to rugby hacks with daily deadlines as a stiletto heel in the nether regions.

It also meant that the next issue of International Rugby News would carry nothing of the biggest rugby story of the year given that we had closed the magazine the previous Friday and toddled off to the pub to congratulate ourselves on a job well done.

Nevertheless, a fine issue it promises to be, after a month that saw us take a pre-dawn stroll through Smithfield meat market with a couple of Harlequins players, speak to one man who claims the sport has saved him from a life of crime, enjoy a conversation with the lovely Felcia Field-Hall - James Haskell’s other half, and chat with Sale and England wing Mark Cueto, who is somehow on the verge of an international recall despite an eye-watering bulging disc in his back.

All that plus a comprehensive look ahead to the Six Nations, out next Wednesday.

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