Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Friday, February 25.
Pivac explains controversial call
The non-selection of Dillon Lewis raised plenty of eyebrows yesterday and left fans bemused after he put in a fine shift from the bench against Scotland.
But he has lost his place among the replacements to Leon Brown, who has made just five appearances for the Dragons this term, four of which coming from the bench.
It was a surprising call but the Wales boss has shed more light on the situation.
"We fully intended to use all three tight-heads over the first few weeks and that’s what we’re doing," he said.
"We looked at Leon’s scrummaging against England on the last couple of occasions he’s played against them and we think he’s done a pretty good job. For that reason he’s getting an opportunity this week.
"[Leon's Set-piece has done well and is improving all the time in this environment. He's a big guy and we see a big future for him.
"Dillon has done very well. It's not a case of a player being dropped here, it's giving players opportunities and they both deserve it.
"You'd agree Dillon has come on and made an impact each time. There's a challenge there for Leon, he's scrummed well against England the last couple of occasions he's come on and hopefully that will be the case again.
"He has been out of rugby for a wee while, worked really hard in training, had the shoulder injury in the summer and only had a handful of games for the Dragons.
"He's worked hard in training, we feel he deserves this opportunity and we'll see how he goes."
Owens expects England to be too strong
Nigel Owens admits he's not confident of a Wales victory over England this weekend.
Wayne Pivac's men head to Twickenham on Saturday, a stadium where they've not won in a decade.
And legendary referee Owens isn't sure that record will be coming to an end this time around.
“England at Twickenham is always difficult,” he told William Hill. “Not many teams go to Twickenham and win. England are always difficult to beat, even more so at Twickenham.
"It’s their first home game, they’re going to want to show their fans that they are capable of being up there with the best again and going to France and being in contention for that World Cup again next year.
“I think it will be a tough afternoon for Wales, but if they go there and play some rugby… I think if they try to beat England up front they will play into England’s hands.
"They need to go up there and spread the ball wide and take those opportunities like they have done in the past, then England are beatable.
"But if you’re asking me who I think is going to win, obviously my heart says Wales but my head says it’s going to be England because of that home advantage. If they came to Cardiff I’d fancy Wales to turn England over, but going to Twickenham they will be a bit too strong for Wales at home.”
Healey concerned over Randall
Former England international Austin Healey fears Eddie Jones has got his selection wrong at scrum-half.
Jones has gone for the inexperienced Harry Randall, Bristol's livewire, at No.9 instead of starting Ben Youngs, who becomes his country's most-capped men's player when he comes off the bench on Saturday.
The theory is that Randall will be able to lift the tempo, with Jones feeling his side can get at Wales early in the Test match.
Healey, though, has concerns.
"With Harry Randall starting against Wales many expect England to play at pace, but let’s be clear, playing fast club rugby is still two yards off a fast international game," Healey wrote in his column with the Telegraph.
"He normally plays in a team at Bristol who love playing in a broken-up game, picking up and going by himself. With England, his first job is to get the ball in Marcus Smith's hands as fast as possible, or whichever runner is available for the next phase.
"I would have been tempted to stick with Ben Youngs, or even Danny Care. Why? Randall is rapid and loves a loose match, but I am equally not sure about him as a Test scrum-half.
"Having started previously against the USA, Canada and Italy, Wales on Saturday is going to be Randall's biggest game for England by some margin. Let's see how he gets on."
Lawes warns Wales he's firing on all cylinders
England’s reinstated captain Courtney Lawes says he's once again back firing on all cylinders ahead of Saturday's clash with Wales at Twickenham.
Lawes has been restored to England's back row, and has subsequently taken over from Tom Curry as captain, following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to concussion.
His last match was for Northampton against Ulster on January 16.
“It wasn’t in one particular game. I had just taken a couple of little knocks the past month or two,” he said.
“I guess pretty much the day after I had headaches which didn’t go away for a little while. I also had headrush-like symptoms
“I knew I just had to take my time. I’ve been able to train and work hard whilst doing rehab for this so I am feeling good again.
“I’m 100 per cent OK now. I’ve been going pretty hard this week and I’ve come through it fine. I am pretty confident.”
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Woodward gutted by Manu blow
Sir Clive Woodward believes the loss of Manu Tuilagi is a significant blow to England's hopes of victory on Saturday.
Tuilagi has been forced to pull out of the squad due to another hamstring injury, with Eddie Jones now likely to be pondering a key selection dilemma head of the visit of Wayne Pivac's men.
And while insisting England's game plan could still cause Wales problems, the World Cup-winning coach admits it's a big setback to their preparations.
"It’s a bitter disappointment because I loved the look of the England team announced earlier," he wrote in his Daily Mail column. "With Manu restored, I fancied England to do some serious damage and my first reaction was fair play to Eddie Jones for finally fitting all the parts of the jigsaw into place.
"For this match, he was going to give England the balance they lacked. He would have been playing in his best position at 12 where the entire world recognises his threat and that allows Henry Slade to operate in his best position of 13. Take Manu out and the threat of the side looks totally different — with him, anything is possible.
"Marcus Smith, meanwhile, clearly enjoys operating alongside a big unit at 12 — his combination with Springbok Andre Esterhuizen was key for Quins when they won the Premiership last season and will remain key as Quins develop as a team.
"Now it’s back to temporary fixes. Does Slade go back to 12, where he rarely looks as effective, and is it Joe Marchant or Elliot Daly slotting in at 13?"
"These are the calls Eddie must now make and he must not lose sight of the raison d’etre of the side he originally named; to play at a pace and tempo that Wales can’t live with. England can still accomplish that and claim a handsome win."
Georgia v Russia postponed
Rugby Europe has announced that the European Championship match between Georgia and Russia has been postponed.
The decision comes amid Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, although Rugby Pass claims there has also been speculation over the safety of Russian nationals entering the country.
A statement from Rugby Europe reads: “Considering the current situation and to preserve the health and safety of all players and officials, Rugby Europe has decided to postpone the game between Georgia and Russia scheduled to take place on February 27th in Tbilisi, Georgia and to cancel the Snow Rugby Championship scheduled to take place on February 27th and 28th in Moscow, Russia.
“The game between Spain and Russia in the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship scheduled on February 26th in Madrid, Spain, is currently maintained.”
“We will be making no further comment at this time on this matter.”
Earlier in the day, the Georgian Rugby Union’s official Twitter account posted a promotion for the fixture, which was written in Ukrainian.
The post has since been deleted.
Russia currently sit fourth in the Europe Rugby Championship log, having lost both of their opening games against Spain and Romania.
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