Tonight's rugby news as English club release statement over racism investigation and bold World Club Cup plans advance

Here's your rugby evening headlines for Sunday July 24.

Newcastle Falcons have issued a statement in response to news that the Rugby Football Union will launch an independent investigation into racism at the club to follow up claims made by former centre Luther Burrell.

English rugby authorities will launch a feedback process this week to discover the extent of racism in the game in the wake of allegations made by former England international Burrell. He last month received apologies from the RFU and Premiership Rugby Limited after he said racism was “rife” within the sport and that racist “banter” had become normalised among team-mates.

Wales can't recreate cavalier Scarlets style — perhaps Wayne Pivac is right to go for efficiency over excitement

The RFU, the sport’s national governing body, intends to begin a joint initiative alongside PRL and the Rugby Players Association (RPA) to uncover the scale of the issue. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has twice met Burrell in recent weeks and said the player will be “part of the process”.

In response to the news of an inquiry, a statement from Newcastle read: "Following Luther Burrell’s recent media interviews, Newcastle Falcons - as Luther’s most recent club - said it would investigate whether any of the incidents referenced in the article took place during his time at Newcastle Falcons. The club also want to ensure that all our players and staff continue to feel they have a forum to raise concerns should they need to.

"We wanted the investigation to be fully independent and, as such, we agreed that the RFU would conduct the investigation and we will review their findings and recommendations before deciding on any appropriate action.

"The club has a rich history of