Here are your rugby evening headlines for Monday, 6 March.
Italian talisman ruled out of Wales clash
Italy have been dealt a massive blow ahead of the Six Nations clash with Wales after full-back Ange Capuozzo was ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
Capuozzo had been battling a shoulder injury after the defeat to Ireland, but there had been some small hope that the 23-year-old, who helped down Wales in Cardiff last year, would recover in time. However, that's not the case - meaning he'll miss what is likely to be a Wooden Spoon decider on Saturday.
Warren Gatland's side sit pointless at the bottom of the Six Nations table, with Italy one place above them with a single losing bonus point from their opening defeat to France.
Capuozzo will now begin his rehabilitation back at Top 14 side Toulouse, while Italy will probably turn to Matteo Minozzi to step in at full-back.
It’s likely that Matteo Minozzi could step in at full-back for this weekend’s game against Wales in Rome as Italy look to back up their famous 2022 win in Cardiff.
Shanklin: Something has to be done about coaching
Former Wales centre Tom Shanklin holds the unenviable honour of losing away to Italy in both 2003 and 2007, but he fears that the situation with the current crop is worse regardless of whether they win in Rome next week.
Whereas 2003 and 2007 represented the nadirs before success in the following years, the growing number of problems within Welsh rugby make any sort of improvement in the coming years hard to fathom.
“There are so many parallels between then and now," Shanklin told DaiSport. There could be more pain to come, but if you look at both 2003 and 2007, coincidentally World Cup years like 2023, they paved the way for good times to
come.”
He added: “There was some real quality coming through the system in 2003-2004 and things did eventually click in 2005. Those hard times were about preparing the next generation,” he added.
“I don’t see the same quality emerging now. Sometimes you get lucky with a group of players coming through together, but we are struggling at the moment.
“For me it has to start with good coaching at 16-17 years of age. We need to be asking, ‘why aren’t we producing the volume and quality of players we need to feed the Welsh team’?
“Where is out next No 10? Who will play at No 8 after Taulupe Faletau retires and who will fill the No 15 shirt after Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams finish?
“And what is going to be the right combination at centre? We’ve had about 19 different pairings in recent years.
“We also need to find a big, ball-carrying No 6. Player development is the key and that is an issue for the WRU and the clubs.
“In Dublin, Leinster are able to field a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th XV of players who are competent in the basic skills of the game – passing, catching, tackling. They all have vision and are properly prepared to play up to the level required of them – it’s a question of coaching and we have to do something in that area.
“For us, it is the tactics we are going into the games with that are part of the problem, I feel. We have to evolve.”
Former Ireland star looks to Cardiff effect to keep up Grand Slam hopes
Former Ireland lock Devin Toner believes Andy Farrell's side should look to how they silenced the Cardiff crowd when they defeated Wales last month ahead of their Six Nations clash with Scotland.
While only Ireland can still win a Grand Slam, Scotland would keep their title hopes - as well as claim a first Triple Crown since 1990 - with a home victory at Murrayfield.
As such, keeping the Scottish crowd quiet will be high up on Ireland's agenda. And Toner believes they can look to how they blitzed Wales early on in the opening fixture to keep the Principality Stadium quiet as the blueprint.
"It’s kind of personal," he told RTE. "Everyone has their own way of dealing with things, in your own head and dealing with the pressure.
"I suppose as a team, you can see [what happened] in Wales.
"If you get ahead early or if you start well, the first five or ten minutes, if you get an early try or something, that does kind of quieten down the crowd a little bit but again, it’s a hard thing to do, especially against a great team but it’s all individual mentality and how you are prepared for it.
"If you are well prepared as a team and everything is lined up, it’s a thing that you can weather well.
"It was always hard for me when you are calling lineouts and the crowd is so vocal. It’s very hard to call. How to negate it? Just try to start well and stick to the game plan."
Scotland's Gilchrist banned for rest of Six Nations
Scotland lock Grant Gilchrist will miss the rest of the Six Nations after being banned for three weeks for his red card against France.
The 32-year-old was sent off for a high tackle to the head of Anthony Jelonch after just six minutes of France's 31-21 win in Paris. The ban has been reduced from six weeks after he admitted his mistake, with a lack of intent also taken into account.
The Edinburgh lock will now miss Scotland's remaining matches against Ireland and Italy, as well as his club's URC clash with Connacht.
However, the judicial committee accepted Gilchrist's application to go to a tackle coaching course instead of serving the final match of his ban.
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