Here are your rugby morning headlines for Wednesday, January 26.
Jackman issues stark warning for Welsh rugby
Former Dragons boss Bernard Jackman has claimed that the success of Wales's national team has covered up a lot of "inefficiencies" at regional level.
The Irishman gave a detailed explanation as to why he believes Wales' success in recent years has masked a deeper-rooted problem beneath the surface.
"It's going to take a bad season, two bad seasons in the Six Nations for Wales for everyone to realise there is an issue," Jackman told the Scrum V podcast.
"If Wales come to Ireland next week and beat us and Wales are on for a Championship at the end of it, everyone in Wales will be so happy the national team haven't been affected by it. That's been the issue. There hasn't been that real day where someone has said, 'Hang on, where are we going here?'
"The national team is so important to Wales it's covered up a lot of inefficiencies down below.
"The players put in a huge amount of work, there are good coaches, etc. It's literally just about having the type of squad you need to go deep in Europe.
"Sometimes I feel in Wales, they haven't got the tools to go deep regularly, but it hasn't been criticised because there are a lot of people in Wales who don't like the regions. Certain people are more involved with their domestic clubs, which is fine, then there is a massive bias towards the national team.
"In fairness to the national team, they won the Six Nations last year and it didn't really make sense. The year before had been quite difficult, went deep in a World Cup, but managed to dig deep and be successful.
"Maybe they will again this year, but I think the WRU and the four regions need to work out what they want to be."
Jackman was speaking from his experience from coaching at Grenoble in France and, of course, with the Dragons and compared them to the flourishing Irish provinces.
While there are a whole manner of problems which need to be sorted out, Jackman believes that ultimately the Welsh regional failings boil down to a lack of funding below the national team.
"It's been coming, to be honest," Jackman said of the four Welsh region's poor showings this term.
"The national team have overachieved. It's full of talented players, but in terms of what the regions have been doing for quite a while, this season it seems to have come to a head.
"It's around investment. I've come from France where we had a small budget, but it was home advantage, that momentum of coming out of Pro D2, you can work off that for a while, but eventually money runs out. Look at Grenoble now,they are fighting a relegation battle from Pro D2 because of lack of investment.
"I came to the Dragons, back to Ireland and I see how well-funded the Irish provinces are and I think in professional sport that it is no secret you need a certain amount of money to compete.
"It's hard to keep overachieving. It comes down to investment in the game."
Since the regions were formed Wales have won Grand Slams under Mike Ruddock and Warren Gatland and took the Six Nations title last year under Wayne Pivac.
They begin the defence of their title in Ireland on February 5.
Ryan: Fully-fit Moriarty should start for Wales
A full-tilt Ross Moriarty should be a shoo-in for the Welsh back row in the Six Nations, Dragons boss Dean Ryan has said.
Moriarty has not played since the clash with New Zealand on October 31, but was named in Wayne Pivac's squad for the upcoming tournament.
The back-rower has been released back to his region for this Friday's clash with Benetton in a bid to ramp up his fitness and get game time in his legs.
And when asked if he thinks Moriarty should start for Wales against Ireland on the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Ryan said: "If I was selecting the side, yes, he's such a presence, his ability to come in and operate at the highest level is, off the back of sketchy game time, unbelievable.
"His presence emotionally to be in a game and compete is outstanding.
"It's for Wayne to make the decision, but we have to make sure Ross is fit and he's at his best, not just against Ireland but for remaining games for us and Wales."
Opening up on the decision to call Moriarty back for the Benetton clash, he said: "I was keen to get Ross back in the environment playing, it's been significant time. He's a huge part of our energy and emotion.
"Not having him has certainly highlighted the loss that he is within the side.
"We want him back playing, it was a significant injury, you can see how important he is to the national team that they'll bring him straight back in.
"And this is about getting him game time and we'll assess off the back of it with Wayne [Pivac] what is the best route forward."
Marler withdraws from England
England prop Joe Marler has withdrawn from the squad ahead of the Six Nations after he tested positive for coronavirus for the second time in three months.
The Harlequins front-rower left Eddie Jones' 36-man training squad which has been undergoing preparations in Brighton this week.
Marler missed England's win over Australia back in the autumn due to Covid-19, but returned for the clash with South Africa the following week.
Jones has not named a replacement despite the 31-year-old having to self-isolate until next week, thus throwing his involvement in the game against Scotland on February 5 into doubt.
England's preparations have already been rocked by the departures of Owen Farrell and Jonny May due to injuries, while Courtney Lawes is not yet training because of concussion.
Grand Slam star Evans gets Cardiff coaching gig
Former Wales and Lions lock Ian Evans has stepped in to help coach Cardiff RFC over the coming weeks.
Craig Everett, who coached Cardiff Rugby's academy as well as Cardiff RFC, has joined Wales under-20s' coaching setup for their upcoming Six Nations campaign and the Arms Park outfit have announced former Wales Grand slam winner Evans as his short-term replacement.
Evans will join the 'Rags' in Everett's absence and will also head up the under-16 North set-up for the season.
The former Ospreys second-row, who has already started working with the Blue and Blacks, stopped playing in 2017, having won 33 caps for his country, before gaining coaching experience with Treorchy RFC and the Dragons.
Cardiff Rugby academy manager Gruff Rees said: “It’s great to welcome Ian Evans into the set-up. As a former Wales international, he has a wealth of top class experience to bring into the group but also has a great personality and bags of energy.
“It’s been great to see his input with Cardiff RFC to date, but his work with the under-16 north side will also be crucial. He’s already gained some valuable coaching experience so is a valuable addition while Craggs [Everett] is with Wales under-20.”
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