Rugby Union News
Senior men’s head coach Warren Gatland has named the Wales team to play France in the opening match of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations at Stade de France, Paris on Friday 31 January (KO 20.15h GMT, live on ITV and S4C). Josh Adams, Liam Williams and Dafydd Jenkins return to the Wales starting XV at […]
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Aled Walters still recalls watching the British & Irish Lions win the 1989 series against Australia as an eight-year-old and celebrating Ieuan Evans try in the third Test. Now he will be joining Evans, who is the current chairman of the Lions Committee and tour manager this summer, on the 2025 tour Down Under after […]
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Harlequins duo are firm friends and can boost the cohesion of Steve Borthwick’s side against Ireland on Saturday
The buildup to a fixture between England and Ireland has not truly begun until someone mentions the C-word, so step forward Steve Borthwick to name his side for England’s daunting Six Nations opener in Dublin two days early and officially set the hare running.
It is getting a little tired now but the narrative goes that Ireland can boast a level of “cohesion” that is the envy of the world while England are a mishmash, thrown together from nine different clubs and trying desperately to get on the same page.
Continue reading...The Ireland interim coach’s deputy tag may soon be cast off if he leads his country to a historic repeat triumph
History shows it can be done. In 2013, with Warren Gatland having stepped away to prepare for that summer’s British & Irish Lions tour, Rob Howley took over as interim Wales head coach and they ended up as tournament winners. Beating England by a record 30-3 margin in Cardiff will forever rank among the great Welsh rugby days.
This time the “deputy dawg” with the interim sheriff’s badge on his tracksuit is Ireland’s Simon Easterby. Andy Farrell will not be too far away but his Lions responsibilities have left his assistant in temporary charge. Win a third successive title, in the process becoming the first nation to do so since the tournament expanded 25 years ago, and the coaching tweak will be a minor footnote. Should Ireland endure a significant dip, though, perceptions can swiftly change.
Continue reading...New Wales scrum coaching consultant Adam Jones is loving being back in the international environment and is backing his old coach Warren Gatland to turn things around. Jones won 95 caps for Wales and played in five Tests for the British & Irish Lions and since hanging up his boots has become a highly rated […]
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England have been handed a major boost for their Six Nations opener against Ireland on Saturday with Alex Mitchell passed fit to start at scrum‑half. Mitchell gave Steve Borthwick a scare after sustaining a knee injury this month but he has been deemed ready to rekindle his half-back partnership with Marcus Smith in Dublin.
Mitchell sat out England’s entire autumn campaign with a neck injury and was missed as Borthwick’s side fell to three defeats out of four. He has emerged as the head coach’s first‑choice scrum-half, however, and – having taken a full part in the session on Monday after being unable to train last week – he is poised to retake the No 9 jersey against the defending champions.
Continue reading...Card tricks are not the only sleight of hand the Northampton flyer will hope to show as Saturday’s opening Six Nations contest against Ireland looms
When the moment is right Tommy Freeman still loves performing the magic card tricks he first learned at school in Suffolk. It is always fun finding fresh “victims” and on the Eurostar back from an away game in Paris this month it was the turn of Northampton’s young scrum‑half Archie McParland to be left open-mouthed by his teammate’s sleight of hand.
Now you see it, now you don’t. Coincidentally that happens to be Freeman’s super-strength on a rugby field as well. His club coach, Sam Vesty, long ago spotted him as the type of player who makes most impact when he backs his instincts. A keen hockey player in his youth, Freeman possesses the spatial awareness to pop up in places his opponents are not anticipating.
Continue reading...Llandovery overturned a 21-point deficit in the second half to earn a stunning comeback triumph over Cardiff in their Super Rygbi Cymru Cup Pool A opener at Church Bank. Right wing Llian Morgan ran in a hat-trick with left wing Ilan Phillips, No 8 Nathan Hart and a penalty try also on the scoresheet for […]
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RGC director of rugby Josh Leach praised his side after they opened their SRC Cup campaign in style by coming from behind to defeat Aberavon 54-42 in a thrilling Pool A clash at Parc Eirias. Flanker Dan Owen, hooker Rhodri King and full-back Dion Jones all bagged braces, with scrum-half Dan Roderick and replacement Jessie […]
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Ospreys tighthead prop Ben Warren has been called up to the Wales senior men’s squad. WALES SQUAD FOR 2025 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS Forwards (20) Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 10 caps) James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 16 caps) Elliot Dee (Dragons – 51 caps) Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby – 104 caps) Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs […]
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In February 2000, the newcomers surprised Scotland and a quarter-century of highlights remind us of the tournament’s enduring power
It is more than 140 years since England beat Wales in the very first match of the old Home Nations championship, 2-0 at St Helen’s in Swansea in 1883, and there is an old man in the back bar of the Kings Head who will tell you that the English winger’s foot was in touch when he scored the winner.
Even the modern-day championship’s getting on. The Six Nations is 25 this year. The tournament brought in Italy and they marked the occasion by beating Scotland 34-20 in their first game. Diego Domínguez, their little wizard of a fly-half, kicked three drop goals and 29 points in total, and Scotland have not had a relaxed flight out to Rome since.
Continue reading...Freddie Steward has praised the Six Nations’ decision to introduce 20-minute red cards in this season’s championship, hailing it as “good for the game”. The England full-back was shown a red card against Ireland in Dublin two years ago which was subsequently rescinded and he believes the game’s increasingly fine margins makes the new initiative a fairer solution.
Under the new approach, England would now be able to replace Steward with another player after 20 minutes rather than having to play the rest of the match at a numerical disadvantage. “The bunker stuff is really good,” insisted Steward. “It has such a significant impact on Test matches, as you saw in that game. It needs to be the right decision because it shapes campaigns for teams. You can lose games on a decision. It really kills you. I am glad they have taken strides to get it right.”
Continue reading...Ospreys head coach Mark Jones has given Dan Edwards’ selection in Warren Gatland’s Guinness Six Nations squad a big thumbs up. The 21-year-old Ospreys outside half had been due to train with Wales during the Autumn Nations Series but injury prevented him from doing that. Since then he has bossed the Ospreys side and led […]
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Gwalia Lightning’s 27-29 victory against Edinburgh has seen them move up a spot to second place on the Celtic Challenge table after a nail-biting fifth round clash at Hive Stadium this afternoon. Wales centre Kerin Lake made her debut for Gwalia Lightning against Edinburgh with the lead swapping numerous times during a closely fought contest. […]
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Lock on a daunting Six Nations, handling injury, why Welsh players should play in the Premiership and family pressure
The Six Nations is no place for the weak or the meek. Particularly not on a frantic Friday evening in Paris when Wales, last year’s wooden spoonists, have to enter the bubbling cauldron of the Stade de France. The pumped-up hosts will be scenting dragon’s blood and the task awaiting the visiting pack will be formidable in anybody’s language.
Cometh the hour, cometh the hard men. It is the reason why Dafydd Jenkins, the lock who became the youngest captain in Six Nations history last season, believes age matters less than attitude. “There’s pressure but if you can’t handle that you shouldn’t be there,” murmurs the 22-year-old. When the going gets tough, Jenkins is the type of player who relishes the battle even more.
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