Category: Rugby Union

Steve Borthwick’s response to stinging defeat in Scotland is to hand a first start to English rugby’s young tyro

A week can be a long time in the Six Nations, never mind in politics. One minute England are contemplating title showdowns in Paris, the next they face a must-win game against Ireland to remain in contention. A swift riposte to the defeat in Scotland last weekend is required urgently and Steve Borthwick’s team selection reflects the management’s desire for a significant gear change.

It has clearly played straight into the hands of Henry Pollock, whose ambition to start for England is about to be realised after seven caps off the bench. His promotion reflects the need to re-energise all involved in the Murrayfield meltdown, as does the starting return of Tom Curry and Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman’s shift back to the wing and Marcus Smith’s bench resurrection.

• Henry Pollock to make first Six Nations start on Saturday

• Coach hails player who can ‘thrive on’ commotion

Steve Borthwick has backed Henry Pollock to thrive in the face of any wind-up tactics from Ireland on his first England start on Saturday, tipping his rising star to bring “euphoria” to Twickenham.

Pollock comes into the side at No 8 as England seek to get their Six Nations campaign back on track. He will go up against a raft of players and coaches with whom he rubbed shoulders on the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia last summer. Borthwick, however, has challenged the 21‑year‑old player to express himself in front of the Twickenham crowd.

• Northampton coaches eased post-Lions burden

• England back played 34 games last season

England’s Tommy Freeman has revealed the extent of his mental struggles after the victorious British & Irish Lions tour of Australia at the end of a season when he exceeded the player welfare limits for the number of appearances.

Freeman played in 34 games last season – 19 for Northampton, nine for England and six for the Lions – and has spoken of a “built-up anxiety” as a result of the workload. The mandated limit is 30, but players were given dispensation for the Lions tour on the proviso they were allowed five weeks off on returning from Australia and missed the first two rounds of the 2025-26 season.

The former Ireland hooker on his rugby family, why Andy Farrell’s side need to rebuild and the physical toll of touring with the Lions

I have known Keith Wood for nearly 30 years and so it’s easy to talk about life and death long before we move on to rugby. But the game always provides context and, last Friday afternoon, the 54-year-old former Lions hooker and Irish captain drove to Cork to watch his youngest son, Tom, play for Ireland against Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations.

The previous weekend Tom made his first-team debut for Munster to match his dad and the grandfather he never met. Gordon Wood played for Munster, as well as Ireland and the Lions, before he died, aged 50, in 1982. Keith was only 10 when that first tragedy occurred but he went on to play for the same three teams as his dad.

Ireland fought back to earn a narrow victory in Dublin after a resurgent Italy had threatened a major upset

The Opta supercomputer has crunched the numbers and chucked out a predicted result.

Drumroll please….

Hi Daniel.

I am REALLY looking forward to this match. I’ve been “with” Italy ever since they made it a 6 Nations but obviously reasons to be cheerful have been thin on the ground. Until now. Sergio Parisse was world class and was surely only a question of time before other high class Italians emerged.