Here are the latest rugby headlines on the evening of Wednesday, February 9.
Wales 'didn't put up much of a fight'
Wales "didn't put up much of a fight" in defence against Ireland and Scotland will be fancying their chances of getting a first Six Nations win in Cardiff in 20 years, according to Scotland international Ryan Wilson.
The Glasgow Warriors captain, 32, predicts Scotland will be in a different mindset heading to the Welsh capital this weekend than they usually would off the back of their dramatic Calcutta Cup win over England in round one.
"They'll be saying 'we're focusing on ourselves', but they'll have one eye on Wales at the moment," Wilson told Scrum V. "This could be their year.
"It's a shame to see the way that Wales played at the weekend. Ireland were brilliant, they were fantastic. But I just don't think the Welsh defence was very good, they didn't put up much of a fight.
"Going into any Six Nations, a lot of the time - no matter how the Welsh regions are going - you can bet nine times out of 10 that Wales come in and they put up a fight and they stand those gains.
"They're always a team just sort of clinging there, they play very clever at national rugby where you've just got to stay within a score and keep the points ticking over.
"It was the first time in a good while that I've seen them in the Six Nations get completely blown away and not be able to get anywhere near it.
"That, for me, gives Scotland a hell of a lot of hope, especially the way that Scotland controlled the game in tricky conditions."
Having won the last of his 50 caps to date in the 2021 win in Paris, Wilson has an insight into the Scotland of old and also this resurgent side being tipped for Six Nations silverware - and credits Welshman Steve Tandy as having a big hand in Scotland's success.
"[Scotland defence coach] Steve Tandy's been outstanding. You can see the way they defended in the first half against England, they just held on and kept them out. If a team like England can't score, it drains your confidence. That's how we managed to stay in the game.
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Welsh teams get new dates after Covid problems
The new dates for a series of postponed United Rugby Championship matches involving Cardiff and the Scarlets have now been confirmed.
They will face each other in a Welsh derby clash at the Arms Park on Saturday, April 9, with a 2.10pm kick-off.
That’s the weekend of the last 16 of the Champions Cup, which neither team is involved in. The game will be broadcast live on BBC Wales, as well as Premier Sports.
They were originally due to meet on Boxing Day, but that fixture was postponed due to Covid cases in the Cardiff squad.
The two regions have also been handed new dates for their two rounds of URC fixtures out in South Africa.
Those games were postponed in November and December due to the Rainbow Nation being placed on the UK’s red travel list.
They will now play the fixtures across two weekends in March.
On Friday, March 11 (5.10pm), the Scarlets will take on the Sharks in Durban, with Cardiff facing the Lions in Johannesburg on Sunday, March 13 (2pm).
Then on Friday, March 18 (5.10pm), it’s Bulls v Scarlets in Pretoria, with the
Stormers hosting Cardiff in Cape Town on Sunday, March 20 (12 noon).
The two Welsh teams had to go through protracted spells in hotel quarantine following their last troubled trip to South Africa.
On that issue, URC say they will ensure significant on-call measures are in place in the unlikely event of such circumstances occurring again.
Chief executive Martin Anayi added: “Player welfare remains paramount to rugby’s success and after much internal consultation we believe that our clubs and players are confident that contingencies now exist that – no matter how unlikely to be needed – can expedite any future process.”
Details on the remaining three Welsh derbies yet to be rescheduled are expected to be announced by URC in the near future.
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Wales captain takes coaching role with U18s
Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap has been named among Liza Burgess' Wales Women U18s coaching staff.
The skipper and Bristol Bears No. 8 will take up the role of skills coach, alongside former Wales flanker Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin and Gloucester-Hartpury backs coach Oli Wilson who will head up the defence and attack respectively and Marc Breeze is also the attached forwards coach.
Worcester Warriors Women general manager Josh Payne becomes Wales Women's U18s team manager.
Lillicrap is one of 12 Wales Women internationals to have been awarded historic full-time WRU contracts in January.
The re-introduction of U18s sides at the four Welsh regions and in north Wales, and a Wales Women U20s programme at a later date, is part of the WRU's work to improve player pathways from community to international level.
The regions have been playing against each other in tournaments, and after the final two rounds the new coaching team will name a Wales U18s squad to compete against other Six Nations teams in the spring.
Ireland star claims they 'didn't actually play that well'
Andrew Conway expects France to be a "different animal" to Wales but has warned there is still plenty more to come from in-form Ireland - even going as far to say Ireland "didn't actually play that well".
The Irish take on the pre-tournament favourites in Paris on Saturday after beginning their Six Nations campaign by cruising to a bonus-point win over Wayne Pivac's reigning champions.
Munster wing Conway - who battled a sickness bug amid claiming two tries in last weekend's championship opener in Dublin - believes Andy Farrell's remain capable of significant room for further improvement.
"I think there is so much growth in the team in that we didn't actually play that well," he said, reflecting on beating Wales 29-7.
"We played quite well but there's so much more in us.
"The detail that we've looked at - detail even we were chatting about in the changing room afterwards - about how much better we can be is pretty clear for us to see in here.
"Obviously this weekend is going to be a different animal altogether and it's going to be a way, way tougher match.
"It's probably one of the most exciting places to go in the world."
Conway crossed twice in quick succession in the second period against the Welsh to move on to 15 Test tries from 28 caps.
Baldwin returns
Scott Baldwin is to resume his rugby career in Wales with the Ospreys after his release from Worcester Warriors on compassionate grounds.
Warriors agreed to the Wales international’s departure from Sixways earlier this month amid a serious illness in the 33-year-old’s family.
The 34-cap hooker wanted to spend more time with his close family in Wales, and Worcester supported his request to return home. He has signed a contract that ties him to the Swansea.com Stadium region until the end of the 2022-23 season.
He heads back to the Ospreys after three years in English rugby, with his second stint at the south-west Wales region starting with immediate effect.
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