Rugby Union News
Tommy Reffell is preparing to join fellow back row man Jac Morgan in a mission to slow down Ireland in Round 3 of the Guinness Six Nations at Principality Stadium. Although the two men played together against France after Aaron Wainwright was injured in only the fourth minute, it will be the first time they […]
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Interim head coach brings back Gareth Anscombe and club familiarity for visit of defending champions on Saturday
Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes. Matt Sherratt, newly installed as Warren Gatland’s replacement, however temporarily, has picked his first Wales team. No one is expecting much more from it than a 15th consecutive defeat when Ireland come to Cardiff for round three, but there is at least a feeling of the rational about his selection.
Perhaps 14 losses in a row can mess with even the most seasoned mind. This is not suddenly a team bursting with experience, but where some of Gatland’s selections seemed wanton rejections of received wisdom Sherratt has responded with the selector’s equivalent of putting his foot on the ball. Wales are not blessed with a luxury of options, but when there are simple solutions to the quandary of, for example, who to pick at fly-half, sometimes it is best to go with them.
Continue reading...England have vowed to show their nasty side against Scotland on Saturday with the captain, Maro Itoje, calling on his team to buck the trend of recent history by clinching the Calcutta Cup for the first time in five years.
Buoyed by their one-point victory over France last time out, England have been champing at the bit all week with Tom Curry saying there was an edginess to training on Monday and Ben Earl revealing the squad were subjecting to a series of video clips showcasing their failings in recent defeats by Scotland.
Continue reading...Gregor Townsend seems to know just what is needed to unravel their Six Nations rivals with a peerless record
Among the many questions hanging over the 132nd Calcutta Cup, the hardest to answer might just be exactly how many times you need to beat the English before they stop thinking of themselves as favourites for the next game. Since Gregor Townsend took over as head coach, Scotland have been unbeaten in six out of seven matches, including, count them, the last one, two, three, four in a row. And yet the English have contrived a way to arrive at this fixture, which could yet be a record-breaking fifth defeat, as odds-on favourites with every bookmaker, and on a wash of pundits’ promises about how their forwards are going to “monster the auld enemy”.
Well, Townsend knows exactly what those laurels are worth, and is happy enough to let England have them.
Continue reading...Gwalia Lightning hit the road for a second successive game when they face Glasgow in Round 8 of the Celtic Challenge at Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow on Saturday, February 22 (KO: 1pm). The Welsh side sit third in the Celtic Challenge league table and are hot on the heels of the Irish powerhouses who have dominated […]
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Gwalia Lightning hit the road for a second successive game when they face Glasgow in Round 8 of the Celtic Challenge at Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow on Saturday, February 22 (KO: 1pm). The Welsh side sit third in the Celtic Challenge league table and are hot on the heels of the Irish powerhouses who have dominated […]
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Brython Thunder have named a side hoping to build on their recent victory when they face Clovers in Round 8 of the Celtic Challenge at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, February 22 (KO: 11.30am). The Thunder recorded a first win of the campaign, scoring six tries in their last gasp 38-32 win against Edinburgh in […]
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Brython Thunder have named a side hoping to build on their recent victory when they face Clovers in Round 8 of the Celtic Challenge at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, February 22 (KO: 11.30am). The Thunder recorded a first win of the campaign, scoring six tries in their last gasp 38-32 win against Edinburgh in […]
The post Thunder looking to build on last round success appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.
Ireland have won their last six Under-20 Men’s Six Nations matches against Wales, scoring an average of 40 points per game in that run. It comes after Wales had won the preceding six clashes in this match-up Ireland have lost just one of their last 17 matches in the U-20 Six Nations (W15, D1), a […]
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Tom Bowen and Aiden Boshoff were house mates at school, team mates at Bristol Bears and are now hoping to combine to bring down the Irish in Round 3 of the U20 Six Nations. Weather permitting at Rodney Parade, the two Welsh wings will be among the major threats in the home ranks as Harry Beddall’s […]
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Continue reading...Head coach Matt Sherratt has made his first team selection as Wales head home for the first time in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations. Wales face Ireland at 2.15pm this Saturday at a sold-out Principality Stadium in the third round of this year’s Championship. “My mindset coming in [to this role] was just to make […]
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England’s Calcutta Cup preparations have been tainted by the fallout from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s shoulder injury, which raises questions over the Rugby Football Union’s new central contracting system.
Feyi-Waboso reinjured his shoulder at England’s training base on Wednesday after suffering a dislocation on Exeter duty on 21 December, with the Chiefs confirming he will be sidelined for up to 14 weeks. He is unlikely to play again this season and, as he will be out of action when Andy Farrell names his British & Irish Lions squad, Feyi-Waboso’s chances of touring Australia are hanging by a thread.
Continue reading...Senior men’s head coach Matt Sherratt has named the Wales team to play Ireland in the third round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations at a sold-out Principality Stadium, Cardiff on Saturday 22 February (KO 14.15h GMT, live on BBC and S4C). Ellis Mee is named on the wing for his first cap and will […]
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Scotland will have the one player they could not afford to lose for their Calcutta Cup match against England, after their medical team confirmed that Finn Russell has recovered from his concussion in good time to play for them tomorrow.
Russell suffered the injury in the first half of their game against Ireland in the previous round, when he collided with Darcy Graham, but he was found to be symptom-free 24 hours later, and has since completed a 12-day return-to-play protocol before recommencing full contact training while the team were away in camp in Spain this week.
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