Here are the latest rugby headlines on the evening of Thursday February 10, after a busy day of Six Nations team announcements.
Wales injury update issued
Wales coach Wayne Pivac has issued an injury update on some of his key players ahead of this weekend's Scotland clash.
Josh Adams has been ruled out of the game due to a calf problem, just a week after making his starting debut at centre in Dublin - an experiment which divided opinion given his lethal finishing capabilities on the wing.
Pivac told a press conference on Thursday: "If you are talking a World Cup and the knockout stage, you would probably give it a go, but it is just one of those ones where we don’t think it is worth the risk because if it does worsen, then that would be him gone for the rest of the tournament and quite some time."
As for whether Adams would have been selected at No. 13, Pivac said: "It was certainly a discussion we were having. There has been a lot of talk about that selection.
"When you break down the performance, we certainly don’t think that him playing at 13 was the cause for the tries they scored. He did a lot of good work at 13."
Willis Halaholo has recovered from a hamstring problem and is on his way to returning to match sharpness.
"In terms of Willis and the hamstring, he has been cleared," Pivac added. "Really now, with Willis it is a matter of getting some volume into him and just the sharpness he needs to get back to play at Test level. Certainly, he is heading in the right direction."
Louis Rees-Zammit had his ankle heavily strapped in the Ireland game, but he's fine to go again against the Scots.
Pivac explained: "He just rolled it in the warm-up. It wasn’t sufficient enough to keep him out of the game but he’s come through the week really well. The medical team have done a great job, he hasn’t missed a training session, so he’s fine."
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Healey warns 'confused' England could lose to Italy
Austin Healey claims Eddie Jones' "chaotic style has left England looking confused" and warned they should not rule out a shock defeat to Italy this weekend.
The Azzurri went down to their 33rd consecutive loss in round one of the Six Nations to France, but a youthful side put in a spirited performance before ending on the wrong end of a 37-10 scoreline.
Jones' men will be heading to Rome on Sunday looking to bounce back from a dramatic Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland, but Healey doesn't think it's a done deal - citing Jones' approach and its effect on his players.
"Jones needs to settle on an approach that is going to win the Six Nations and then the Rugby World Cup and not deviate from it," Healey wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"When I see someone like Ben Youngs, England's most-capped scrum-half of all time, you start to wonder whether Eddie has turned off people's instincts. Has he made them so stringent in the patterns they follow, that they actually forget the nature of opportunity?
"Allow the players to be the best versions of themselves rather than fitting them into who you want them to be, Eddie.
"Honestly, I think it's too late for Eddie to change. But if he can get the style right and find consistency, England have the talent in the bank to do whatever they want. The team for Scotland looked good on paper, yet when you saw them on the pitch it looked like they were all following instructions.
"I'm not saying it will happen, but a loss to Italy does not seem completely ridiculous. There is that much uncertainty and confusion in the way England are playing."
Healey's column for the paper is headlined: "Eddie Jones' chaotic style has left England looking confused - do not rule out an Italy win.'
Pivac demands 'improvement across the board'
Wayne Pivac wants to see "an improvement across the board" when Wales face Scotland on Saturday.
Wales have not started a Six Nations campaign with successive defeats since 2007, and they must beat Scotland to revive any hope of a successful title defence following last weekend's tame 29-7 loss in Ireland.
Scotland last won in Cardiff 20 years ago, losing eight Six Nations Tests, a World Cup warm-up game and an autumn international during that time.
But they will arrive at the Principality Stadium following a stirring Calcutta Cup victory over England last weekend that confirmed Six Nations title credentials.
"It is an improvement across the board, really," Wales head coach Pivac said, after making changes of personnel, including a Test debut for 22-year-old Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan.
"The players are very critical of themselves. They are very disappointed after the game last week.
"They are desperate to go out there and show we are a much better team than the display we put on last week. Across the board, everybody in the camp was very disappointed.
"We are at home, we are in front of 75,000 people, and we owe it to ourselves and our public to put on a better display, as simple as that.
"They (Scotland) are a very good side. They have got a number of British and Irish Lions.
"They showed last week (against England) that they fight for every blade of grass, and that is certainly what we have got to be doing on the weekend.
"We have to match that, and then bring some on top of that."
Townsend says Scotland well-equipped to break Cardiff hoodoo
Gregor Townsend believes Scotland are well equipped to banish their Cardiff hoodoo but the head coach is still braced for a formidable challenge at the Principality Stadium.
The Scots beat Wales in Llanelli behind closed doors but they have not won in the Welsh capital since 2002.
They were humbled 34-7 on their last Six Nations visit in 2018, but Townsend feels his team - buoyed by victories away to England and France last year - now have the resilience to handle testing occasions such as this Saturday's.
"We should be better equipped to deal with the challenge of going to Cardiff," he said. "We've not been there for four years so a lot has happened in those years to this team. We've had some experiences against some top sides home and away, and we've shown resilience in those games.
"We've not won them all but I believe the Tests we had at Twickenham and in Paris last year sets us up this week for what will be a great challenge in a full stadium at one of the best venues in the world.
"It would be hard to top what we did in Paris but the challenge this weekend is a bigger one in many ways because of our history in Cardiff and the fact it's a full crowd, which it wasn't in Paris."
Wales have been written off by many observers after last weekend's 29-7 defeat away to Ireland, but Townsend expects them to be a stronger team this Saturday.
"Normally, you're better in your second game in the Six Nations," he said. "In the first game things didn't usually go smoothly for you, so if you're going up against a top side like Ireland, who have got lots of momentum and you're playing them away from home, you may struggle to get into the game early on but I felt the second quarter and in parts of the second half, Wales were the equal of Ireland.
"We know they'll be better for having that game and they're a top side with great players throughout the 15."
Scotland flanker Jamie Ritchie has been ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations with a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old went off in the second half of last weekend's victory over England, and the Scottish Rugby Union revealed on Thursday lunchtime that his campaign is over.
In one of five changes to the side that started the Calcutta Cup match, Ritchie will be replaced by Exeter's Sam Skinner. There are three changes to Townsend's front row for the match in Cardiff, with Edinburgh's Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel starting alongside hooker Stuart McInally. Glasgow's Sione Tuipulotu comes in to make his third Scotland appearance at inside centre.
Zander Fagerson, George Turner and Rory Sutherland drop to the bench, while Sam Johnson has been released to play for Glasgow on Friday.
Sexton ruled out of France v Ireland
Andy Farrell says the loss of influential skipper Johnny Sexton for the crunch clash with France could provide "great development" for Ireland going forward.
Veteran fly-half Sexton has been a key figure for his country for more than a decade and will be a major miss in Paris due to a hamstring strain suffered in training.
His injury is not thought to be too bad and he could be available for the round-three match against Italy on February 27.
Munster's Joey Carbery will deputise in the number 10 jersey to make his maiden start in the championship, with Connacht player Jack Carty providing back up from the bench and James Ryan taking on the captaincy.
While head coach Farrell admits 36-year-old Sexton remains vital to his plans, he insists the in-form Irish are far from being a one-man team.
"We're not just one player, it never has been, it never will be, and we want to grow as a group and we make sure we approach every game in that manner anyway," said Farrell.
"Obviously Johnny is an important member of our group.
"Being skipper of the side, he's integral to how we push forward with many parts of our environment but at the same time this is just about the group.
"It's a great development for us as a team going forward as well and we still expect ourselves to be at our best in Paris on Saturday.
"We're gutted for Johnny. It means so much to him to captain his side and to play in games like this.
"At the same time, he realises it's an opportunity for us to grow as a group and that's exciting within itself."
Galthie anticipates same Ireland without Sexton
France head coach Fabien Galthie does not expect Ireland to modify their offensive style of play in the absence of injured captain Johnny Sexton.
Les Bleus were preparing for fly-half Sexton to lead the Irish in Paris this weekend before he was ruled out by a hamstring issue on Thursday morning and replaced by Joey Carbery.
Saturday evening's mouth-watering Stade de France clash is already being touted as a potential Six Nations title decider, with both sides in form and producing free-flowing rugby.
"We worked on Ireland and prepared for the game with him at fly-half," Galthie said of Sexton.
"What we saw against Wales (last weekend) and New Zealand (in the autumn) he was their playmaker, their lead, their captain.
"We think this team are very structured, they have a very serene game plan, they will keep that style of attack.
"We imagine they will keep the same fundamentals, attack and defence-wise despite the absence of Johnny Sexton."
Les Bleus have made two changes to the starting XV which recovered from a slow start to defeat Italy 37-10 last weekend.
Centre Yoram Moefana will make his maiden championship start in place of the injured Jonathan Danty, while Francois Cros replaces Dylan Cretin in the back row.
France team: M Jaminet (Perpignan), D Penaud (Clermont), G Fickou (Racing 92), Y Moefana (Bordeaux), G Villiere (Toulon); R Ntamack (Toulouse), A Dupont (Toulouse); C Baille (Toulouse), J Marchand (Toulouse), U Atonio (La Rochelle), C Woki (Bordeaux), P Willemse (Montpellier), F Cros (Toulouse), A Jelonch (Toulouse), G Alldritt (La Rochelle).
Replacements: P Mauvaka (Toulouse), J-B Gros (Toulon), D Bamba (Lyon), R Taofifenua (Lyon), T Flament (Toulouse), D Cretin (Lyon), M Lucu (Bordeaux), T Ramos (Toulouse).
England get June date with Barbarians at Twickenham
England will host the Barbarians at Twickenham this summer as preparation for their tour of Australia in July.
The fixture on June 19 will be the first meeting between the teams in three years since Marcus Smith inspired a 51-43 victory for a much-changed Eddie Jones' side.
Barbarians were set to face Samoa at Twickenham in November but the match was cancelled due to an outbreak of Covid-19 cases in their camp. It followed a similar incident in 2020 when 13 players from the invitational side breached coronavirus protocols which resulted in their England clash being called off.
Jones said: "The Barbarians fixture is a special one in rugby, it's always a good challenge for the players, entertaining for supporters and showcases the spirit of the game.
"It's been great to play back in full stadiums again and we know this game is one that the fans enjoy and we're looking forward to playing in front of the Twickenham crowd. It will also be a good preparation for us ahead of an important tour to Australia."
"As a club we have of course not had the easiest time coming to Twickenham in recent months," Barbarians president John Spencer added. "We therefore are looking forward to returning as worthy opponents of England in June."
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