Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, March 30.
Wales bidding for record crowd
Wales are hoping for a record crowd to turn out at Cardiff Arms Park this Saturday when they look to make it two Six Nations wins from two against Scotland (4.45pm kick-off).
Each championship match in the opening round saw a record crowd turn out at the weekend, and this Saturday marks Wales' first home game of the schedule. Ioan Cunningham's Wales team go into the match buoyant after a stunning comeback win to beat Ireland 27-19 in Dublin last Saturday. They face a Scottish side who have recently qualified for the World Cup who will be bidding to give a better account of themselves than their 57-5 defeat to reigning champions England would suggest.
More than 3,000 tickets have already been sold for Wales' second-round fixture. The Welsh record for a standalone women's international rugby match is thought to be their 2017 clash against England, attended by 4,113 people.
Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap said: "Come and support rugby, Wales rugby, because that's what it is. It's a brand of rugby and we're a national squad and you can really be our 16th person. I'm sure Scotland are going to come hard at us but we're excited to be home and have a home crowd."
It comes amid confirmation that England Women's final-round Six Nations showdown in France has sold out more than a month in advance. The final match of the 2022 championship will be played out at Bayonne's Stade Jean Dauger on Saturday, April 30, and is likely to decide the title winner. The stadium will host 10,600 spectators for the Super Saturday fixture, which takes place after Wales v Italy at home in Cardiff Arms Park (noon kick-off) and before Ireland v Scotland (8pm start).
In round one, France beat Italy 39-6 in Grenoble in front of a record 14,000 spectators, Ireland hosted a victorious Wales at the RDS in front of 6,113 fans to set an attendance record for a standalone Women's Six Nations game in Ireland and Scotland faced champions England in front of 3,988 fans in Edinburgh.
Tickets for Wales Women’s home Tik Tok Women’s Six Nations matches are on sale now and are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for under-16s.
Crunch time arrives for Welsh teams
Dwayne Peel says his Scarlets are entering a huge period of the season, as they embark on five successive Welsh derbies in the United Rugby Championship.
They face back-to-back games against both Cardiff and the Dragons ahead of travelling to the Ospreys, with a home fixture versus the Stormers rounding off their campaign.
“The next course of games are huge in terms of qualification for Europe and our ambitions to make the play-offs,” said head coach Peel.
“To do that we are going to have to win the majority of the games left. It’s good to have some of the Welsh boys back this week. There is a big buzz in training and everyone is looking forward to these derbies. It’s all to play for in this period. It’s exciting to have the back-to-back games and it will be a good challenge.”
Coach opens door to becoming new England boss
Exeter coach Rob Baxter has shown an interest in becoming England head coach for the first time.
Baxter has been linked with the role before but usually distances himself from such speculation. But, with the RFU publicly stating they want an Englishman to success Eddie Jones, Baxter is open to talks.
He does, however, want clarity on the type of role the RFU are looking for, whether that's a director of rugby managing coaches beneath him, or a more hands-on head coach position.
Baxter said: “I would be happy to have a chat about what the role is, how they see it working and what their plans and ambitions are. For obvious reasons there’s an interest in it.
“But I’ll be honest with you, we don’t really know what the job is. That’s one of the RFU’s challenges – to really decide. Unless you know what it is, it’s hard to say yes or no to anything. At the same time, I’m not looking for another job! I’m very happy here.”
