Former England and Lions star Guscott is a BBC rugby union pundit

Former Bath, England and Lions centre Jeremy Guscott is back to answer your questions.

Among the topics Jerry discusses this week are:

- Who is looking most impressive in the early stages of this season's Heineken Cup

- Who should form the England half-back pairing for the November Tests

- The All Blacks' decision to select rugby league convert Sonny Bill Williams for next month's tour to the northern hemisphere

- Ireland's prospects at next year's World Cup in New Zealand

- The refuelling ability of former England prop Jason Leonard

If you have any questions for Jerry, please use the postform on this page. He will answer as many as possible next week, but unfortunately not every question submitted can be used. This week's answers appear below.

Do you think any English side has the potential to succeed in Europe this season given Leicester and Wasps' convincing victories?
Tim Clamp, England

An interesting weekend in the Heineken Cup but still difficult to pick a real contender. I think it's fair to say Leinster have been the most impressive, beating a strong Racing Metro side and also securing an impressive away victory against Saracens. What are your thoughts on the contenders so far and who has impressed you the most?
Peadar Breathnach, Ireland

Thomas Waldrom starred as Leicester thrashed the Scarlets on Sunday

Hi Tim and Peadar, while most of the English Premiership sides are not playing remarkable rugby they are not out of the competition as yet although Sarries will do incredibly well to qualify now. The next two games, playing the same team home and away in the space of seven or eight days, is the crucial time to put yourself in position to qualify and Bath, Wasps, Leicester and London Irish all have the opportunity. The best-placed Premiership side to qualify is Leicester, who impressed me with their overall performance against the Scarlets, while Leinster and Ospreys also shone in their matches. Tigers, Northampton, Toulouse, Leinster and Biarritz all look good, but there's a long way to go between now and qualification.

What do you make of Shane Williams' near-try when he hurdled over Topsy Ojo? Have you ever seen anything like that before?
Tom Grey, Wales

Hi Jeremy, just wondering if you could clear something up. Ever since I started playing rugby I have always been told it is illegal to jump into tackles when you are the attacker. However, on Friday night Shane Williams attempted to "hurdle" Topsy Ojo in the Heineken Cup match between Ospreys and London Irish. I seem to remember Rocky Elsom being penalised for this a few seasons ago, coincidentally by the same ref as the one in charge of Friday night's game.
Neil, Ulster

Hi Tom and Neil, as far as I'm aware it is illegal to jump into a tackle and I thought Williams was trying to jump over Ojo rather than jump into him. On the Lions tour to Oz in 1989 we played Canberra and one of their players tried to run over the scrum, he failed miserably!!

Who do you think will start at 10 for England in the upcoming autumn internationals? With Toby Flood seemingly back to form straight away on his return from injury and with his blossoming partnership with Ben Youngs at Leicester, will he get the nod ahead of the flourishing Jonny Wilkinson?
Nick, England

After a great performance this weekend by Leicester, are Youngs and Flood definitely getting the England number nine and 10 shirts for the upcoming internationals?
David, England

Hi Nick and David, for me Flood deserves to start at 10 for England against the All Blacks but it's great that Wilkinson is playing well because it means Flood has to perform to keep his starting place. As for Youngs starting, that is a definite yes. He has just continued where he left off on the summer tour. I've said before and I say again, it is so refreshing to see such a young English player showing such authority and maturity in his play. Youngs is currently the best player in Europe and if his consistency in performance continues he could become truly world class.

Hi Jerry, how much of Sonny Bill Williams have you seen since his move to Canterbury, what areas of his game have developed and what is still to work on? Additionally, if you were marking him what would you do to combat his strengths/exploit any weaknesses?
Michael, New Zealand

Hi Jerry, what do you think of Williams's inclusion in the All Blacks squad and do you think the All Blacks will be troubled by any of the teams on their northern hemisphere tour?
Alex, New Zealand

Where do you see Williams playing if he does lock down a regular starting berth for the All Blacks?
Ruairidh Calderwood, Australia

Williams is big, quick, powerful and skilful, but can look lost on occasion

Hi Michael, Alex and Ruairidh, Sonny Bill Williams has shown good form and has adapted to union very well since switching codes from rugby league. His selection doesn't surprise me, the New Zealand Rugby Union has made a substantial investment and needs to fast-track him ready for the World Cup. From what I've seen so far he just needs to react and anticipate quicker to what's going on around him. From set-piece play he knows what to do but when it gets past a few phases he sometimes looks lost.

He undoubtedly has the talent and at 6ft 4in (1.93m) and 17 stone (108kg) he has the presence to attract defenders. Whether or not he will oust Ma'a Nonu or Conrad Smith will be interesting to watch. He has a habit of getting injured at the wrong time and has had a few interesting off-the-field adventures. He has the potential to be a real superstar of world rugby, I can't wait to see him in an All Black jersey when they come over next month, and with him playing with quality players around him it should be fun.

Jeremy, do you think Brendan Venter's comments were a little over the top in the wake of Saturday's defeat by Leinster? As a Leinster man who attended the match, I saw nothing wrong with Richard Strauss's attempts to the win the ball for which he was ultimately sin-binned. Do you find the refereeing inconsistencies a real worry?
Stephen McGovern, Ireland

Hi Stephen, I completely agree that the comments by Venter were totally OTT. There's nothing wrong with passion and emotion but in his position and with his past record he should know that there is a time and place to air personal views. Yes, it was a very important game, one that Sarries needed to win, and yes, some of the referee's decision did look a bit dubious, but that can happen. Venter has to learn he's not bigger than the game of rugby; he has to accept these things happen not only to him but every other team as well. Fortunately referees get it right most of the time.

How impressed were you with Edinburgh's first-half display against Northampton? I think it is the best I've seen them play - 15-man rugby, great handling, offloading in the tackle, fast recycling, inventive... but then it fell away in the second half. All the signs are we're moving in the right direction but do you think we'll always be a step behind (as the second half performance showed) in Scotland?
Malcolm Harvey, Scotland

Malcolm, you couldn't help but be impressed by the performance of Edinburgh and they will feel it was a game they could and should have won. This is a game Edinburgh really need to understand how and where they came to lose because it was there for the taking. If Edinburgh continue to perform as they did and tighten up their forward control they will cause all teams problems.

Hi Jerry, I was wondering what you thought of Chris Ashton's comments that England's chances of winning the World Cup are "realistic". Admittedly it is early days but with the form of the All Blacks and the capabilities of France, South Africa and Australia, I don't want to appear pessimistic, but surely this World Cup is beyond England?
Benjie Haston, United Kingdom

Hi Benjie, after England's last game against Australia I would say if they performed like that against the teams you mention then they could win those matches. It is fair to say that we have to see if England can maintain that level of performance. England have Scotland and Argentina in their pool in next year's World Cup, at present they are more than capable of getting to the knock-out stages and from there, as we saw in the last World Cup, anything is possible.

Ulster's little trip down to France aside, it has been a hugely successful weekend for Irish rugby. Do you believe that the Irish have what it takes to be real World Cup contenders next year?
Jonny, Ireland

Hi Jonny, Ireland are at that stage where they need to take the next step up, from Grand Slammers to a team that can beat the southern hemisphere teams at home and more importantly away. Before the 2003 World Cup, England beat these teams home and away and when it came to the tournament, no team held any mental advantage over England. Ireland on paper have a team that should really prove difficult for anyone to beat; the autumn internationals will show them how much more they need to improve.

Hi Jeremy, I just wondered what your opinions on Aled Brew are? As far as I can see he is big, strong, fast and offers Wales something totally different to the wing options Warren Gatland is currently using. His defence has come on leaps and bounds and he is a danger for the opposition under the high ball. It seems to have all come together for Brew now, how much longer can the Wales selectors ignore him?
Dale Jones, Wales

Hi Dale, Brew has a lot of competition with Leigh Halfpenny, Shane Williams, Gatland's favourite Tom Prydie and newbie George North all making Wales' latest squad. Brew has to keep doing the business and hopefully he will make an impression with the Welsh selectors.

A couple of things constantly irritate me in watching the game. Both are things that no-one in authority and refereeing circles seem to address. The first is feeding at the scrum, which has become an epidemic, and the second is forward passes, which also seem to be consistently ignored. What do you think?
Stuart McCord, UK

Hi Stuart, I agree with the feeding into the scrum, it is not quite rugby league but it is not far off. Feeding the scrum happens a lot and I think the powers that be should start to pick up on it and sort it out. It's not difficult. I'm afraid I don't agree with the refs missing many forward passes, from what I've seen they pick most of them up.

Abendanon (right) has improved his previously porous defence

Hi Jeremy. Nick Abendanon has started the season well with Bath. His now reliable tackling has saved many try-scoring opportunities whilst his dynamic running lines regularly cut up defences and as a result he is often on the scoreboard. But can he really challenge the likes of Delon Armitage and Ben Foden for that England number 15 shirt?
Chris Tame, England

Hi Chris, Abendanon is playing well and I agree his defence has improved. He has to continue playing well if not better than Foden and Armitage and that won't be easy. His best chances will come when Bath play Northampton and London Irish, he will need to have his best games then, when he is up against his closest competition.

Hi Jeremy, on tour who was the biggest lad in the England team? Apparently Jason Leonard could bolt the quickest pint.
Gerald 'Gingerlad' Darley, England

Hi Gingerlad, thankfully back then we were allowed a few bevvies after a game and to be fair most of the forwards could drink their weight. Leonard was and is a world-class drinker, not by speed but on consumption, there weren't many who could last the distance. After many an international I would see his opposite number put in a pile trying to keep up with him, it wasn't a pretty sight.

Hi Jeremy, I've played rugby for seven or so years and have just turned 18. I've always played at a good standard - Surrey Division One - and represented Surrey at Under-21 level. Ever since I began playing, I've played as a lock although I am now slowly moving to blind-side as I've stopped growing at 6ft 1in. My issue is I don't really have time to go to the gym and put on some mass and muscle and believe this is starting to possibly limit my rugby. My skill sets are good, but would it be in my better interest to stop playing squash and badminton and concentrate on putting more weight on?
Bav Singh, England

Hi Bav, you have to do what suits you and your ambitions, remembering what makes/keeps you happy. It's all about balance, will putting on muscle mass make you a different player and how will that affect you? Will going to the gym mean missing what you enjoy? Weigh it all up and make the call.

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