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‘A rugby incident’: Ireland’s Simon Easterby defends Beirne and Porter

  • Head coach addresses incident with Antoine Dupont
  • Scotland make two changes for trip to Paris

Ireland’s interim head coach, Simon Easterby, has expressed disappointment with comments made by his France counterpart, Fabien Galthié, over Antoine Dupont’s injury. Les Bleus won 42-27 in Dublin on Saturday to end Ireland’s grand slam hopes and move into pole position for the Six Nations title. But the post-match discussion was dominated by the season-ending knee injury suffered by the France captain.

The 28-year-old scrum-half ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament when the Ireland forwards Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Beirne cleared out a ruck. Galthié said the actions of Beirne and Porter were “reprehensible” and reported the pair to the match’s citing commissioner, but no retrospective action has been taken.

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‘It is not too dissimilar’: England’s Earl happy to make central switch if needed

  • 6-2 bench split means Earl will provide cover at centre
  • “Half the stuff I do is as a 12 anyway,’ says back-rower

Ben Earl has said he would take a shift to playing at centre against Wales in his stride on Saturday after Steve Borthwick revealed the back-rower is the first cab off the rank in the event of injury.

As England go in search of the bonus-point victory they are likely to need to keep their hopes of winning the Six Nations title alive, the head coach has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. With three fly-halves in the squad, there is no obvious centre cover and Tommy Freeman is starting there for England for the first time.

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Borthwick deserves credit after bold selection for England’s Wales test

Head coach wants his players to stamp their authority on Saturday’s encounter in the Cardiff cauldron

Pick the bones out of that. Four openside flankers in the squad, three fly‑halves, just two second-rows and one centre. It does not stop there with a first start on the wing and a debut in waiting on the bench, in Cardiff – a place that has a habit of swallowing up and spitting out fledgling England careers.

On the back of a six-day turnaround, the easy move was to slot Henry Slade back into midfield for the injured Ollie Lawrence and challenge the other 14 who started the victory against Italy last Sunday to go out and do the same against Wales.

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Steve Borthwick may use three fly-halves for Six Nations finale in Wales

  • England’s Fin Smith, Marcus Smith and Ford all in squad
  • ‘Our aspiration is to win the tournament,’ says Borthwick

Steve Borthwick is prepared to unleash his triple threat of No 10s simultaneously against Wales on Saturday, with the head coach insisting England are heading to Cardiff intending to win the Six Nations title.

Borthwick has selected Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as well as George Ford in his matchday squad for the first time and revealed deploying all three in harness is a possibility as England seek to keep their championship hopes alive on “Super Saturday”.

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‘I’ve done nothing wrong’: Ireland’s Porter hits back over Dupont injury

  • France coach Galthié furious over loss of pivotal captain
  • Prop says he had ‘no malicious intent’ in incident at ruck

The Ireland prop Andrew Porter insisted “I haven’t done anything wrong” as he hit back at France’s head coach Fabien Galthié amid the fallout over Antoine Dupont’s season-ending knee injury.

Les Bleus’ captain – widely regarded as the world’s best player – faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament during his country’s 42-27 Six Nations win in Dublin. France were furious with the incident which caused the injury, with Galthié branding it “reprehensible” as he announced his intention to refer Porter and his Ireland teammate Tadhg Beirne to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

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Chessum claims hostility from fans will ‘rev up’ England for Wales showdown

  • Chessum recalls abuse directed at players in 2023
  • ‘It is probably the best away day you can have’

England are braced for a “hostile” welcome on and off the field in ­Cardiff when they head across the Severn Bridge for the final Six Nations instalment this weekend. The lock Ollie Chessum has not forgotten some of the abuse directed at England’s ­players by Welsh fans two years ago and he suggests it will “rev up” the visitors for the game at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Chessum, who was named player of the match after his side’s seven‑try win against Italy on ­Sunday, says ­England are determined to finish their campaign on a high note and are fully prepared for the “special” reception they receive before Six Nations games in Cardiff, most recently in 2023.

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Sherratt hails Wales’ ‘brave effort’

Teddy Williams

Matt Sherratt hailed Wales ‘brave effort’ in picking up two points from their 35-29 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield. His side were trailing by 27 points seven minutes into the second half having conceded five tries, but they hit back to outscore their hosts three tries to one in the final 40, notching a bonus-point […]

The post Sherratt hails Wales’ ‘brave effort’ appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Cardiff move back to the top of SRC table with stunning win

Nobody would have predicted Cardiff going to Llandovery and scoring a magnificent seven tries in a 52-19 win to take them back to the top of the Super Rygbi Cyrmu table – not even their own top brass! Cardiff Rugby academy manager Gruff Rees was the first to admit he never expected to see a […]

The post Cardiff move back to the top of SRC table with stunning win appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Lucky 13th try of helter-skelter SRC game wins it for Pontypool

Pontypool head coach Tom Hancock was the first to admit that his heart was in his mouth when Aberavon scored their sixth try in a helter-skelter Super Rygbi Cymru game to take a 39-38 lead with only six minutes left on the clock. Even the die-hard Pooler fans thought that was that as a hush […]

The post Lucky 13th try of helter-skelter SRC game wins it for Pontypool appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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The Breakdown | France buy-in to monster pack blueprint threatens reimagined future

Oscar Jégou’s fine Dublin performance brings into focus the potential impact of forwards who can play anywhere

The Six Nations title is still theoretically on the line entering the final weekend. But, let’s be honest, if France display the same power against Scotland as they did against Ireland in Dublin there is only one probable outcome. Even minus the unfortunate Antoine Dupont, now facing a long lay-off because of damaged knee ligaments, France have frightening reserves of strength and depth.

How good, for example, was the young back-row forward Oscar Jégou after he arrived off the bench to replace the centre Pierre-Louis Barassi? The 21-year-old from La Rochelle did not simply make a try-scoring impact; he made every specialist centre in the competition shift uneasily in their seats. Why bother with a subtle, ball-playing 12 or 13 when you have a 6ft 3in Superman who makes old-school positional orthodoxies redundant?

This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Wales senior men’s squad update

Tom Rogers

Scarlets wing Tom Rogers and Cardiff Rugby wing Josh Adams have been released from the Wales senior men’s squad. Rogers sustained a fractured thumb against Scotland at the weekend that requires surgery, while Adams is released due to a hamstring injury in training that requires a period of rehabilitation that will be undertaken at his […]

The post Wales senior men’s squad update appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Fin Smith reveals tough love from Wales coach Sherratt that drove him to success

  • Pair crossed paths during time at Worcester Warriors
  • Elliot Daly to keep place in backline after Italy showing

Listen to Fin Smith wax lyrical about the Wales head coach Matt Sherratt, the influence he had during their days together at Worcester and the debt of gratitude he feels is obvious. Accordingly, Smith sent Sherratt a message of congratulations when he was handed the Welsh reins on a temporary basis after Warren Gatland’s departure. “I texted him saying all the best,” said Smith, “and he said: ‘Eff off, I’ll see you in a few weeks.’”

Sherratt’s reply was entirely in jest – “it was nice to know he’s not changed since he got the big job” – and Smith is only too aware of the threat Wales pose to England’s outside chance of clinching the Six Nations title in Cardiff on Saturday. Defeat by Scotland was a 16th in a row but Sherratt has Wales playing a far more eye-catching brand of rugby. In what is due to be his final match in charge they would love nothing more than to end their miserable losing run against England.

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