These are your rugby headlines on the evening of Sunday, January 23.
Lam: Lloyd's Wales call came too early
Bristol Bears coach Pat Lam believes Ioan Lloyd's Wales call came a bit too early for the 20-year-old.
The utility back missed out on Wayne Pivac's Six Nations squad this time around, having won his two caps during the 2020 tournament.
Lam has suggested that international honours came too soon for the youngster, but says there has been an upside to that situation as well.
"I played him out of school," said Lam. "He came into the Welsh team possibly too early but the good thing that came out of it, me and Wayne [Pivac] stay in good contact as to how we work him."
"He's played against some big players, he's put in some great hits and that gave me confidence when I saw him stop [Ngani] Laumape last weekend, he's ready to come in to 12 now," he added.
"We've got to remember he's 20 years old and it's about building his career, building him as a rugby player so that when he gets into finding the position he wants to play he'll be certainly better for it."
Lloyd featured in the Bears 52-21 hammering of the Scarlets in Llanelli on Saturday night before departing the field with an ankle injury.
Wallaby sent off for swearing at Barnes
Stade Francais hooker Tolu Latu was sent off during his side's European clash with Connacht in Paris on Sunday for shouting "f****** hell!" at referee Wayne Barnes.
Wallaby Latu has already been shown a yellow card for a dangerous clearout
According to OTBSports Barnes could be heard over the referee's mic stating that Latu had looked up from the penalty, "looked straight at me and shouted, 'f**king hell!'
"He then looked at me and said, 'I got the f***ing ball!''" Barnes told Stade captain Tala Gray on the pitch.
The commentators on BT Sport said: "Latu is in all sorts of trouble, all sorts of trouble. Good night, good luck and goodbye.
"Whatever he said to Wayne Barnes, it was enough to warrant a yellow card. It's his second one having gone for foul play, and that is the end of that. "
Stade held on to win 37-31.
England call up Ford
Leicester Tigers' George Ford has been called into England's Six Nations squad following Owen Farrell's injury setback.
It was revealed on Friday that Farrell suffered an injury in Saracens training and would miss his side's weekend clash with London Irish.
Reports have suggested he could miss the entire tournament, and Jones has now acted to bring in Ford, who has been in excellent form for the Tigers this season.
The Daily Mail report he will be officially confirmed as part of the squad on Monday and has been summoned to their training camp in Brighton.
No scandal, Toulouse told
Bordeaux Bègles boss Christophe Urios has told Toulouse there has been "no scandal" over their cancelled Heineken Champions Cup match against Cardiff.
The Arms Park club were awarded a 28-0 victory with positive Covid cases within the French team's camp.
Toulouse president Didier Lacroix hit out at the ruling, even claiming a decision had already been made by EPCR before a meeting with the French club.
"I've been trying for weeks to shut up," said Lacroix in a French language press conference following the announcement.
"In the face of situations that we have to manage. We will still try to do it. But the anger has risen very, very high in the face of injustice.
"We, for the Cardiff match, could present a team. We had anticipated, we had been rigorous. What I find incredible and scandalous is that the EPCR does not apply the rules that were passed on to us.
"Maybe our team was less competitive. Yes, Antoine Dupont has Covid. Well, we'll play without him!
"Today, the EPCR tells us that the team we present, despite our negative tests, may present a risk of transmission of the virus. Who benefits from the crime? How far are we going to go?"
But Urios has disagreed with Toulouse's take and told them there was no scandal.
“First of all, it’s a sensitive subject for me because it’s my sport, it’s the European Cup and it’s Toulouse that is affected,” Urios wrote for RMC in France. “In Top 14, when you are hit by the Covid, if you are able to present fifteen professional players, including six on the front line, you have to play the match.
“In the Champions Cup, as far as I know, there are no rules. It is at the discretion of a commission that relies in particular on experts from the LNR. So even if Toulouse was able to field a good team, they agreed by the number of players affected during the week that the risk of a cluster was high. So they canceled the game.
“For me there is no scandal. I don’t think there is. The rule of the European Cup is not to postpone a match.”
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