These are your morning headlines on Monday, March 28.
Farrell 'a liability'
Stuart Barnes has labelled Owen Farrell a 'liability England can't afford' after the latest controversy surrounding his dangerous tackle technique.
Returning to action after four months out with an injury, the fly-half was widely deemed fortunate not to receive a yellow card after a no-arms hit on opposition centre Piers O’Conor.
Farrell failed to wrap his arms as he drove into O’Conor with a shoulder. Referee Christophe Ridley decided the hit merited a penalty and no more, with Billy Vunipola’s hit on O’Conor a split-second earlier meaning the No. 13 was heading downwards a tad before he encountered Farrell. On another day, a visit to the sin bin could have resulted, though.
Barnes was not impressed, writing in the Times : "For all the questions asked about Marcus Smith’s lack of size and perceived defensive weaknesses, Eddie Jones’s first-choice England captain has returned to the sport with the same tackling issues as he left it.
"There was not even a hint of arm-wrapping, which would have offered a display of legality. It wasn’t a swinging arm and it wasn’t malicious but if he commits a similar infringement in Australia this summer, England could find themselves in trouble.
"He’s as hard as nails. But until he can warn roaming forwards and charging centres out of his defensive corridor with the controlled violence of Jonny Wilkinson, his non-tackling technique is more of a negative than a positive.
"A solid shoulder seems a strange aspect to single out but the Test game is hugely aware of its audience and the obsession with health and safety occasionally borders on the paranoid. The game will ensure it does its best to protect players from Farrell’s edgy aggression; maybe even from himself."
England told to get Shaun Edwards
England have been told the time has come to make Shaun Edwards an offer he can't refuse and ensure he is at the centre of the coaching team that succeeds Eddie Jones.
The call comes from the Daily Mail, with chief rugby writer Chris Foy following Lawrence Dallaglio in urging the RFU to act over Edwards. There is much frustration across the bridge that the game's finest defence coach has inspired England's rivals to success for more than a decade rather than the country of his birth.
England have never made Edwards a serious offer, and that has to change, according to the English press.
The Mail wrote: "So the RFU want an Englishman to replace Eddie Jones. Good. They should go the whole hog and make it an all-English coaching team – starting by making Shaun Edwards a serious offer at long last.
"It's too late for this World Cup cycle. The medal-laden former Great Britain rugby league captain is committed to France until 2023, when he will seek to help the hosts win their home World Cup. His short-term ambitions lie across the Channel, but if they have any sense, the RFU will make it clear to him now that they want him when the next global showpiece is over.
"That is not how it normally works. Normally, the head coach is installed and he is able to choose his own side-kicks, but Edwards is a unique, special case. Every team he is involved with enjoys success. He is the common denominator. The RFU must pay whatever it takes for that magic touch."
Cardiff's 'soul searching' inspired Glasgow win
Josh Turnbull says Cardiff had to do some "soul searching" ahead of their dramatic comeback win over Glasgow Warriors.
The Arms Park outfit went into the clash with the Scottish side having lost three consecutive matches. However, a fine second-half performance saw them run out 32-28 winners against Danny Wilson's side. You can read the match report here.
And speaking after what was a breath-taking encounter in the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon, veteran forward Turnbull felt his side showed plenty of character to emerge victorious in the United Rugby Championship encounter.
READ MORE: Welsh rugby's 'baby-faced assassin' backed for big future by Wales star amid moment of magic
"We had to work hard for it. We've had a tough couple of weeks, a little bit of soul searching as well," he said. "We spoke this week about concentrating on ourselves, working hard for each other with and without the ball.
"The last time we played Glasgow they just worked that little bit harder than us and came away with the win. We said that's not going to happen tonight. The last 10 minutes, we showed that down in that 22, stayed there, and, I thought at times, when they scored that intercept try, it could have been us but the character showed from the squad to come back into the game, we're just pleased.
"Glasgow are no slouch of a team. They like to run the ball like they showed in the first-half. At times from the kick-offs, it was like chasing shadows. But we got ourselves back into a good position, a couple of good tries from Theo [Cabango], Willis' [Halaholo] dancing feet and Jarrod [Evans] ticking those kicks over and keeping us going really."
Fans urged to pack out Arms Park for Wales v Scotland
Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap has called on the Welsh rugby public to head to Cardiff Arms Park this Saturday as they try to make it two wins from two in the Women's Six Nations.
Wales pulled off a dramatic comeback win to beat Ireland 27-19 on Saturday in Dublin in front of 6,000 supporters, and next face Scotland this Saturday (4.45pm kick-off).
We’re only as good as our last game so we’ve got to go out and do it again next week," the skipper said.
"The wind will be in our sails. We’ll work hard this week and reflect honestly on what went well and what needs to be tweaked and worked on.
"We want to put a good performance in at Cardiff in front of our home crowd and hopefully get the result again.
"The crowd at RDS was outstanding, there was a lot of Irish support and travelling Welsh support, it was a great rugby match to watch as a spectator. We’re hoping for the same type of crowd in Cardiff next week. Come and support rugby, Wales rugby, because that’s what it is. It’s a brand of rugby and we’re a national squad and you can really be our 16th person next week. I’m sure Scotland are going to come hard at us next week but we’re excited to be home, have a home crowd and so far everything we’ve seen about the TikTok Women’s Six Nations has been brilliant and we just want to keep growing it and keep the excitement there throughout the campaign."
Head coach Ioan Cunningham added: "The girls are really happy, there were happy tears on the field and I'm just really proud to be a part of it. You can see what it means to these players. They deserve what they got from all the work they put in.
"I think we can grow and build on these performances. We made some strides in the autumn and I think we’ve improved again but we want to get better so we’ll analyse this game, look at the detail, always look to improve and obviously put our focus towards the next game which is Scotland."
Ashton reveals career-changing moment
Chris Ashton believes a 10-week ban handed to him for allegedly gouging Ulster centre Luke Marshall "changed the direction of his career".
The former England wing denied that he gouged Marshall in 2016 during a Heineken Champions Cup match between Saracens and Ulster at a point when Ashton was tipped to return to the national side.
But the incident, Ashton says, ultimately changed the course of his career.
“At the end of 2015, Stuart [Lancaster] gets sacked and Eddie comes in,” Ashton told Jim Hamilton in a special Rugby Roots documentary for RugbyPass. “So I’m like ‘right, I’ve got a chance to get back in here’. We were going well at Saracens, I was doing well. Everything that Eddie was saying was positive.
“A week before the Six Nations starts in 2016, I got done for an eye gouge. That one literally changed my career. The direction of my career. I didn’t do it. I flat out didn’t do it. I can’t say that about all the bans.
“That one I did not do. My hands were on his face for 0.006 of a second. You don’t gouge someone like that. I literally sat there and cried in this room. This is my opportunity to get back in [with England], you can’t take this away from me. You could see the disciplinary man shaking his head ‘Nah, not having it’. He didn’t have any interest.
“My England career is done here, if you don’t accept what I’m telling you is right. Nah, he didn’t want it. Ten weeks…TEN WEEKS!’ And I spoke to Eddie [Jones] after it and he said 'You’d have played mate, you’d have started.' It was worse [for having been told that by Jones]. It was way worse.
“Again, it was another situation where people will say 'That was your own fault'. You just have to take it as it is. I went back to type, trained as hard as I could.
“England in 2016, soon as Eddie came in, went on to win the Grand Slam. I’m sat at home and I’m like ‘Man, where do I go from here?’
At the weekend, Ashton equalled the Premiership's all-time try scoring record with a brace in Leicester Tigers' win over Exeter Chiefs.
The 34-year-old crossed the whitewash in each half at Sandy Park as the visitors earned an impressive 22-17 triumph. And in touching down twice, Ashton moved level with former Wasps and Tigers ace Tom Varndell at the top of the league's scoring charts.
The 44-cap England international now has 92 Premiership tries to his name and will break the record outright the next time he runs in five points. The Tigers have a 12 point lead over Saracens at the top of the Gallagher Premiership table while Exeter are in fourth after 20 matches.
'Ridiculously talented' Underhill lauded
Former Ospreys star Sam Underhill has been lauded as a "ridiculously talented" player following his sublime display in Bath's 24-24 draw with Sale Sharks.
The former Cardiff University student - who spent two years with the Ospreys - scored a pair of tries as the spoils were shared between Bath and Sale on Saturday afternoon. It came after the America-born flanker had travelled back to the USA for a family wedding.
And Bath head coach Neal Hatley believes Underhill is "as good as anything in world rugby" when on song.
“If he scored in the top corner here five or seven minutes into the second half it could have been 28-7, it would have been a long way back for them," Neal Hatley told Rugby Pass.
“Sam on his day is as good as anything in world rugby. He hasn’t played a lot of rugby this season. He’s had a few bumps, a little bit of concussion, so he’s coming back into it.
“He’s a ridiculously talented rugby player and to show power five or six metres out for his two tries was phenomenal and he showed great enthusiasm to scramble back and attack the ball.”
