Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, January 27.
Biggar to do late mother proud
Wales captain Dan Biggar says he is gutted his late mother won't be around to see him lead his country.
The new national skipper's mother Liz died in the summer shortly before the Lions tour to South Africa.
Liz was Biggar's biggest supporter and he says she would have been incredibly proud of his captaincy achievement.
"It will obviously be a very proud day," he told the BBC.
"I tend to be immensely focused on match day and don't tend to deal with the emotional side.
"My mum passed away six months ago so she will obviously be at the forefront of my mind.
"She'd have been over the moon, I'd have struggled to get her off the phone I think after Wayne phoned me on Sunday night.
"She'll be a massive thought and I'm gutted she won't be around to see it. I'm hoping I can do her incredibly proud."
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Eddie Jones makes a 'dodo' of himself
England coach Eddie Jones has revealed the embarrassing moment he called British Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill by the wrong name after she was invited into the squad to talk to his players.
Ennis-Hill has been advising England's squad on how to deal with expectation after being invited to talk at their Brighton training camp.
The London 2012 heptathlon gold medallist took part in a Q&A organised by Maro Itoje and George Furbank to assist Eddie Jones' team in their Six Nations title quest.
"She was obviously an outstanding athlete and it's a great story with the resilience she showed and the expectation she had to cope with," Jones said.
"I embarrassed myself at the start by calling her the wrong name. It's a bit embarrassing for the team that their head coach is such a dodo. We all make mistakes and we get on with it.
"She was really good and had good messages for the team, particularly for the young guys coming through.
"They're all dealing with expectation and Jess spoke about how she did that, how she handled social media and communication with her coaches. There were some really good points for the players to absorb."
Ennis-Hill was part of Team GB's 'Super Saturday' success at the 2012 Olympics and four years later took silver in Rio, having given birth to her son Reggie in 2014 and battled back from career-threatening injuries.
Captain explains why players are different with Wales
Wales captain Dan Biggar has explained why Welsh players often seem to deliver for the national side despite their regional struggles.
The four regions find themselves in a difficult position after a series of humbling defeats in Europe recently - a situation that is hardly ideal preparation for the Six Nations.
But it's a position Wales have been in many times before success.
Asked to explain the upturn in players' performances on the international stage, Biggar said: "I think we’ve been really, really fortunate to have some very good people in the set-up in terms of the staff, management and coaches.
"It’s obviously not the case for this campaign due to injuries, but generally we’re quite a tight-knit group and it’s often a similar group whenever we come into camp.
"I think that automatically helps in terms of the fact everyone knows each other and we’re not spending a lot of time getting to know people and what their traits are on and off the field.
"I think it really is just belief. We’ve been lucky to have a fair bit of success over the last number of years. When you’re successful and achieve, it sort of becomes second nature.
"We’re also aware it’s going to be a tough ask with the number of players we’ve got out missing, but it’s a real pat on the back to the lads that whether it’s disappointing results or form from club level, we work our socks off here.
"It’s certainly not a holiday camp when we come into the Vale and if you put a lot of hard work in, you tend to get results at the end of it."
Six Nations not considering relegation
Six Nations chief executive Ben Morel continues to rule out relegation from the championship in the belief that Italy's dismal record does not threaten its credibility.
Italy have failed to win a game in the tournament since dispatching Scotland 22-19 in 2015 and have never finished higher than fourth, an achievement they last managed nine years ago.
A trip to favourites France on February 6 opens their campaign and they host another strong title contender England seven days later, pointing to further misery ahead.
Georgia are strongest among the developing nations pressing to join Europe's top table, while South Africa are perennially linked with a switch of hemispheres away from the Rugby Championship.
Morel is cautious over making any changes to the format and, when asked about promotion and relegation, he replied: "It's not on the current agenda but we understand there needs to be a pathway for emerging nations into elite rugby.
"The Italian results have probably been, first and foremost, not to the satisfaction of the Italian team themselves and the Italian federation.
"At the same time they have got young talent and are performing well in the under-20s regularly. There has been some conversion to the senior team.
"Their struggles are well identified and they are a putting a lot of resources behind it. This is the year when they have three away games so we need to be mindful.
"But they have a young, exciting team and they know what they need to do, so they have our full support. I don't believe there's a question of credibility."
Rugby world help Tonga
The rugby world is uniting to support those affected by the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami that hit Tonga.
With homes damaged or destroyed by the initial blast and ensuing tsunami and fresh drinking water, agricultural production and public services disrupted by layers of volcanic ash and salt water dumped on the Pacific Island nation, rugby’s major stakeholders have joined forces to pledge their full support.
World Rugby is continuing to coordinate a united approach to provide the necessary support to repair and restore rugby infrastructure impacted.
This process will begin after the relief effort and following a review of financial, equipment and resource requirements in partnership with the Tonga Rugby Union, with whom the international federation is in close contact.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We stand in solidarity with the people of Tonga, the Tonga rugby family and Tongans around the world at this difficult time."
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