Cipriani criticises Jones after Smith decision
Eddie Jones' decision to bring off Marcus Smith was met with confusion from England fans with the fly-half having a sterling game on his Six Nations debut.
England were winning 10-17 when George Ford was brought on to replace Smith at fly-half and one of Jones' former players Danny Cipriani says Jones had a 'shocker' with the decision.
He said in his Daily Mail column: "As a No 10, the last 20 minutes of a big game is when you earn your money. It’s a chance to really put your stamp on the game and that’s why I was shocked when Eddie Jones brought off Marcus Smith early on Saturday.
"If Smith had been given the chance to finish the match, I think England would have won. The whole complexion of the weekend would be very different and nobody would be here now questioning trust or belief."
However, speaking on Tuesday, Jones said he had no regrets for the decision, he said “I’m the best coach in the world with hindsight. I’ve done a few TV commentaries and I was the smartest coach in the world,”
“But I made a decision on game day and I don’t have any regrets. I’m looking forward to Italy now.”
Launchbury in for Ludlam after injury
Lewis Ludlam returned to the England fold for the first time since 2019 at the weekend as he failed to put a stop to the passionate Scots as they won the Calcutta Cup.
Northampton captain Ludlam suffered rib cartilage damage in the game and will miss England's trip to Rome as a result with Joe Launchbury recalled to cover in his absence, hoping to add to his 69 caps.
Launchbury, 30, missed most of 2021 with injuries and returned on January 30th for Wasps against Saracens following a nine month lay off for an ACL injury after previously suffering a stress fracture to his leg.
Eddie Jones says he expects Ludlam to return before England's game with Ireland on February 26th and has praised the experience of his replacement Launchbury, "He is a good Test lock," Jones said on Tuesday.
"He's an outstanding mauler and is a guy who is tough on the one-pass play around the ruck. He brings a lot of experience and at the moment that is not something we have got a lot of - he is a great addition for us."
FORWARDS
Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps)
Ollie Chessum, Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 32 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 37 caps)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 5 caps)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 27 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 32 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 62 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 52 caps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 4 caps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 69 caps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 90 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 75 caps)
Tom Pearson (London Irish, uncapped)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 10 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 48 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 16 caps)
BACKS
Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 53 caps)
George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 78 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped)
Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped)
Max Malins (Saracens, 11 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 8 caps)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 44 caps)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 6 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 6 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 113 caps)
Hansen wins player of the round
With a long list of contenders following a stellar weekend of Six Nations action it was always going to be hard to call a player of the round for the opening games.
It turned out to be a player lots of rugby fans outside the Irish province of Connacht will not have heard of before, as Mack Hansen was named player of the round by the fans.
He took 34% of the vote ahead of Scotland's Darcy Graham (30%) and France's hat-trick hero Gabin Villière (24%) as the 23-year-old racked up 149 metres, the most of any player in Round 1, in an all-action display.
It was not so long ago that Hansen, an Australian born winger was in the Wallabies' U20 squad while playing for the Brumbies in Canberra, but a move to Irish rugby materialised due to his desire to play for the country of his Cork-born mother.
He was a surprise pick from Andy Farrell on the wing as the experienced Keith Earls watched on, but it looks to have uncovered yet another gem for Irish rugby.
Dave Cherry called in for Scotland
Dave Cherry featured in all five of Scotland's Six Nations games in 2021 but wasn't named in the original 39 man squad for the Championship.
However, he comes in as one of a wide choice of hookers with George Turner, Stuart McInally, Fraser Brown and Ewan Ashman already vying for the number 2 shirt.
The Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel explained the decision: “Everybody’s fine” he said, “David was going to join up with us last week. Obviously, we’re really lucky with the depth we have at hooker at the moment. Dave was a huge part of the Six Nations last year, came in and played wonderfully.
“We had Fraser Brown in at the weekend as well. We want to try and get everybody involved at some point and not wait until there’s an injury or a concern.
We want these guys to have an understanding the systems and how if differs from the club they’re playing at, to make sure that when called upon and needed we have six or seven hookers available that can come in and do a job.
