Rugby Union News
Gwalia Lightning returned to winning ways with an impressive 19-31 victory on the road over Glasgow Warriors in Round 8 of the Celtic Challenge at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow this afternoon. Welsh internationals Sian Jones and Gwennan Hopkins, centres Molly Anderson-Thomas and Kelsie Webster all crossed for tries to secure the bonus-point. Fly half Carys […]
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6 mins. A strong first phase attack from Ireland moves the ball left quickly. They are into the Wales 5m zone and the visitors inevitably drift offside as they defend frantically. The ball is put in the corner for a lineout which is won and two phases later Conan drives over the line.
4 mins. The scrum ends with a Wales penalty after WillGriff John forces Porter to the floor. The clearing kick and lineout gives phased possession in the Ireland half, but the ball is not secured and Ringrose puts in a delightful drilled, bobbling kick up the right touchline. It’s a 50:22 and Ireland will have the ball in the Wales 22.
Continue reading...All the way across the field there are mouthwatering head-to-heads with players pushing for the tour to Australia
For British & Irish Lions hopefuls, time is running out. Three Test matches left to stake their claim, to catch Andy Farrell’s eye and book a place on the plane. Farrell is due to be at Twickenham on Saturday and he will be analysing everything. As a player that’s precisely where you want to be.
At this stage of the Six Nations, England against Scotland feels all the more pivotal for Lions hopefuls. We can safely say that there will be a large Ireland contingent and, unless something dramatic happens in the coming weeks, a relatively small group of Wales players. That congested middle is full of England and Scotland players and that makes Saturday’s match all the more mouthwatering.
Continue reading...Red Rose have lost four in row against Scots, but if they can back up Les Bleus win there will be talk of top-two finish
In recent times the Calcutta Cup has morphed into the “Scottish play” the English would rather not mention by name. One Red Rose win in seven attempts and four consecutive victories for Gregor Townsend’s side has certainly been an uncomfortable sequence for those who, for decades, regarded death and taxes as only marginally more inevitable than Scotland losing down south.
So much for the supposed dead weight of history. “What’s done cannot be undone,” murmured Lady Macbeth but she wasn’t privy to the skill and daring of Finn Russell or the killer finishing of Duhan van der Merwe. The last time England lost three or more consecutive home games in this fixture was in the early 1900s before Twickenham became their spiritual home.
Continue reading...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...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.
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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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 […]
The post Gwalia Lightning hit the road appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.
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 […]
The post Gwalia Lightning hit the road appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.
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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