Here are the latest rugby headlines on Friday, January 13.
Call for Flower of Scotland to be ditched over anti-English 'chippiness'
Scotland's sporting anthem Flower of Scotland should be ditched because of its anti-English "chippiness", according to rugby legend Jim Telfer.
Having previously made the call for it to be replaced 12 years ago, the Scot hasn't changed his mind about the song which refers to Robert the Bruce's victory over the English forces at Bannockburn in 1314. Written by Roy Williamson of the folk group The Corries in the 1960s, it was first adopted by the Scottish rugby team in 1990 when Telfer was the forwards coach. The team went on to win the Grand Slam and the song was later picked up by the Scottish football team in 1997 and the Commonwealth team in 2010.
In an interview with The Times weeks out from the 2023 Six Nations kick-off, 82-year-old Telfer - who played 22 times for his country - said: "Flower of Scotland is a great song in a way and it does get the hairs on your neck straightening and standing up, but because it's against another country, I still don't think it's the ideal anthem. People sing that song, sing about the English, and it's just in the moment. After the anthem has passed, we just get on with the game. They use it at the Commonwealth Games and so on but I still don't think it should be the national anthem."
Speaking in 2010 on the anniversary of that Grand Slam victory, Telfer had said: "We need to stop defining ourselves through England, and it would be a sign of maturity if we got ourselves a decent national anthem."
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Grassroots rugby hit by flooding
A number of grassroots sports fixtures in Cardiff have been cancelled this weekend due to heavy rainfall seen across Wales.
Flooding hit a number of communities and left some fields alongside the Taff Trail completely submerged in water.
Cardiff Council said on Friday: "Update on Cardiff’s Parks Sports Pitches. Unfortunately, due to the significant amount of rainfall recently, the council’s grass pitches will be CLOSED this weekend (14th & 15th January) due to waterlogged conditions."
North returns for Ospreys
Wales and Ospreys back George North returns from injury to take his place among the replacements for the Champions Cup match against Montpellier. The Ospreys will bid to repeat their stunning December victory over the French champions on Saturday night at the Swanssea.com Stadium in a match which is being broadcast live on S4C.
The 30-year-old wing/centre has been out of action for four weeks after undergoing surgery on a fractured cheekbone and eye socket.
Fellow Wales internationals Alex Cuthbert, Owen Williams, Rhys Webb, Adam Beard, and Jac Morgan all start after sitting out the narrow United Rugby Championship defeat to Leinster, all hoping to impress Warren Gatland before he names his Six Nations squad next week. See the full Ospreys team news here.
Toby Booth's men are bidding to repeat an unexpected 21-10 win against the French champions last month. Montpellier field 11 of the starting team which beat Racing 92 in their last Top 14 game.
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Cardiff missing team full of players
Cardiff Rugby have made eight changes to face Newcastle Falcons in the Challenge Cup on Sunday, with a total of 16 players unavailablee for selection.
Liam Williams and Rey Lee-lo are both ruled out after head injuries, seeing Josh Adams switch to full-back and centre Mason Grady promoted to the starting line-up. Lloyd Williams and Rhys Priestland are the starting half-backs, Ellis Jenkins starts at No. 7 and Kirby Myhill is the only unchanged member of the front row, with props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti both coming in. See the full Cardiff team news here.
Also unavailable to Dai Young are Josh Navidi, Willis Halaholo, Tomos Williams, Thomas Young, Dillon Lewis, Jacob Beetham, Gwilym Bradley, Kristian Dacey, Jamie Hill, Max Llewellyn, Theo Cabango, Liam Belcher, Dmitri Arhip and Lopeti Timani.
Cardiff - who have a final group game in Brive next week - top Pool A with two wins out of two but since December's cup successes have lost two out of three Welsh derbies in the United Rugby Championship.
Young said: “We were disappointed to lose two home derbies recently but this competition gives us a change of focus and an opportunity to compete for silverware. Our victory up in Newcastle at the beginning of last month was one of our more complete performances and that is what we need to get back towards. We have selected a strong side and the target for us now is to secure a home fixture in the last 16. The club has a good history in this competition and we want to go as far as possible."
Read more:
Wales' new defence coach 'is a f***ing great bloke who can replicate Shaun Edwards' success'
Welsh ref becomes most-watched rugby video on internet after telling off 'unacceptable' players
Warren Gatland's very different Wales backroom team and how they're rated
Ospreys v Montpellier team news as Wales hopeful missing amid wholesale changes
