Here are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, March 14.
Wales given boost as Adams 'good to go'
Wales have confirmed Josh Adams should be "good to go" against France after the wing picked up a knee injury, with Dan Biggar also in contention for the Six Nations finale in Paris on Saturday.
Adams was a doubt after suffering a knock, with Wales already having lost fellow wing Alex Cuthbert earlier in the championship, but attack coach Alex King said the situation was "looking pretty positive" as the squad prepare for the match at their base in Nice.
Quizzed on the wing's availability, King said: "Fingers crossed he's good to go. We've already lost Alex as well on the wing and we don't want to lose any more players but things are looking pretty positive".
Biggar is also set to make a return to the Welsh lineup having been dropped against England before being ruled out against Italy with a back injury.
Asked if the fly half would be available for selection, King added: "That's the plan as well. He obviously plays his rugby in France so he knows the culture and what it means to the French people. So I'm looking forward to hopefully, you know having him ready for selection on Saturday".
One man who won't be featuring, however, is Liam Williams, whose Six Nations is over after suffering a shoulder injury in Rome.
King and Gatland are now tasked with finding his replacement, with the coach adding that they were exploring options.
"There's a few knocks and bruises, I think all the teams are going through similar challenges if you look at all the squads," he said. "Obviously Liam's out, I thought he was tremendous at the weekend, so brave. There were a couple of big moments especially in the aerial battle where I thought he really stood up for us.
"Unfortunately, he's picked up a knock, but we've got some options to play at 15 and we're looking at those options now. We want to get the balance of the team right for Saturday."
Youngs opens up on 'loneliness' after wife's death
Former England star Tom Youngs has candidly revealed his feelings of 'loneliness' after his wife Tiffany's death.
The family's life was changed forever when Tiffany was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer nine years ago. She confirmed she was in remission in 2018, but the cancer later returned and she died in June 2022, two months after the Leicester Tigers legend announced his retirement from rugby.
Speaking with BBC Breakfast, Youngs, who earnt 28 England caps and featured on three occasions for the British and Irish Lions during a stellar career, explained what life has been like since he lost the mother of his children, with the former front row now working on the family farm in Norfolk.
"I've had days where I've thought how am I going to get through the day, and I did," he said. "I think the loneliness really hits you. But I have learned, I have gone through that and I am better for that experience because my reflection on life is better.
"I'm very lucky to have the farm. I want to work, I want to do that. Going through something that I have gone through, if you sit around and think too much, you drive yourself crazy."
He added: "Never lose hope, the days get easier, life moves forward and you can enjoy life and not feel guilty about it. That's all part of the grieving stages and getting through it."
Ireland make kit change over period concerns
Ireland Women have permanently swapped their traditional white shorts for navy ones after players voiced their concerns over period anxieties.
The team will wear the new shorts for the first time when they face Wales in the opening game of the women's Six Nations in Cardiff on March 25, with Ireland internationa Enya Breen saying that the switch will help women at all levels of rugby feel "more comfortable on the field".
"The top way to ensure we perform to our best on the field is by removing any unnecessary distractions," she said. "Wearing navy shorts instead of white is such a small thing, but for us it's a big step from Canterbury and the IRFU.
"Our hope is that it will help women at all levels of rugby feel more comfortable on the field so they can get on with performing at their best in the game that they love."
It comes after similar moves were made in women's football, with West Brom, Stoke and Manchester City among the teams making a switch from white shorts to darker ones. The issue of women athletes wearing white clothing was also brought up at last year's Wimbledon championships when female players spoke about the anxiety of being forced to wear white.
Ex-England coach says Farrell v Smith root of team's problems
Eddie Jones' former assistant has pinpointed where the current England team are going wrong and believes the dilemma over picking Marcus Smith or Owen Farrell at fly half is at the core of Steve Borthwick's side's problems.
Matt Proudfoot worked under Jones as England's scrum coach after helping South Africa to World Cup glory in 2019. He left the role when the Australian was sacked at the end of last year and having watched England get hammered 53-10 by France in the Six Nations, was left less than impressed by where the current squad now finds itself.
Speaking on South African television, Proudfoot gave his thoughts on where he thought Borthwick was going wrong as he explained that the team appeared to be in between two different styles of play, depending on who was in the 10 shirt.
“Eddie wanted to go with a power game,” he said. “To compete with the southern hemisphere teams, you need a power game and he tried to go with super power. That’s why Owen went into fly-half. So you can see the selection model now, do they go a high continuity side with Smith at No10 or do they stick with Farrell at No10 and play a more traditional kicking game with a power game?
“I think this whole flux where they are is what depends on the selection of their No10. Their big guns up front, they’re missing [Luke] Cowan-Dickie, who adds a lot up front, they’re missing Tom Curry and they’re missing Courtney Lawes.
"Those three are half their pack, and they’re tougher forwards, and I just think they’re probably missing a [Joe] Launchbury in the second row. So they’re missing a big chunk of what their pack could be.
He added: "You can see they’re between which style are they going to go to. The English press are pushing for Smith and a more continuity-based side where Ireland are.
"[There is] probably the more traditional side, big maul, big scrum, big kicking game, and you can see half the players, probably the Saracens guys, are in this camp and the other guys, probably the Harlequins guys, are in that camp- they want to play a more unstructured type of game.”
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