Here are the latest rugby headlines on Friday, February 10, as Six Nations teams finalise preparations before battling it out again in round two.
Gatland excited by Wales youngsters
Warren Gatland believes Welsh fans can be excited by the glimpse into the future they are about to see at Murrayfield.
Gatland's new-look Wales side to face Scotland is brimful of younger players, with early twenty-somethings Joe Hawkins, Rio Dyer, Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan in the starting XV and Rhys Davies named on the bench.
Louis Rees-Zammit, just 22 himself, will come straight back into the mix for the Cardiff clash with England towards the end of February, when he is expected to be fit again.
READ MORE: The verdict on Warren Gatland's ruthless Wales team shake-up as he sends shudder through rugby
Wales boss Gatland has been ruthless in shaking up the old guard as he banks on the young guns to help get the team back to winning ways. Wales have won just two out of their last 10 matches and four from 15.
Asked if dropping big guns and Wales greats like Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric made this selection one of his toughest, Gatland replied categorically: "No, it wasn’t."
He went on to explain: "As a group this was part of the conversation from day one. We’ve realised we’ve got a bit of a disparity between the experience and the inexperience in the squad. How do we get these youngsters some game time and get them up to speed? That’s by playing international rugby.
"Reffell is 23, Morgan is 23, Tshiunza is young as well. But it’s not just those guys. I’m excited about Keiran Williams. Mason Grady has been training the house down. He’s really come on being in with us and you like to see these guys get an opportunity. We should have Rees-Zammit back for the England week.
"It's not a panic move. I said that as coaches at the moment we need to find out about some of these younger players. Last week was about finding out where we are as a squad with the players we picked and we always spoke about how do we give the young players an opportunity.
"For us it was about getting a balance. There has been no knee-jerk reaction because this has been part of the plan right from day one. We’ve got a group of youngsters who, if I was in that age bracket, I’d be thinking if I go out, perform well and put my hand up, I’ve got a chance of holding onto that jersey. As a youngster, I’d be excited by the opportunity."
Townsend's Wales warning
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend is warning of a Wales backlash and told his players 'they're coming for us' ahead of the Murrayfield showdown.
Townsend expects a much improved Welsh performance after their opening day defeat to Ireland and pointed to their second-half showing against the world's number one ranked men's team.
"I felt they took the game to Ireland, they had opportunities," Townsend said. "They were held up on the line twice, they were penalised close to the line, they had the same amount of line-breaks as Ireland.
"We know Wales are a quality side and they're motivated to get a win after starting with a defeat. These players they've brought in are players in form, they've either played well off the bench at the weekend or played very well for their clubs this year.
"The threats they have through their ball-carrying, their speed, and what they do over the ball is something we have to be very aware of. They've picked a team that is going to come after us. It's a positive selection from their point of view, bringing in younger players who want to drive the team forward."
Tributes paid to Charlie
Tributes have begun pouring in for Wales and Pontypool front row great Charlie Faulkner, who has died aged 81.
Pooler, the club where he made his name next to Bobby Windsor and Graham Price, tweeted: "Charlie was a much-loved character and a massive part of the history of Pontypool RFC. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him."
Former Wales star Mark Ring, who played for Pontypool in the 1980s, was among the many in the game who went public in sharing memories of Faulkner. Ring coached with Faulkner and said on social media: "Absolutely gutted to hear of the passing of Tony Faulkner, one of the great Welsh rugby icons. Unbelievable character off the field, could sit and listen to his humour whole day."
Broadcaster Phil Steele said: "Played under him when he coached Newport RFC - a genuine legend of the game and a scientist of the scrum. RIP".
Former Wales international James Ringer described him as "one of a kind", saying: "Our scrummaging coach at Cardiff RFC, for some reason called me Jeremy …I politely tried to tell him it’s actually Jamie -'don’t worry about that Jeremy just keep f***ing pushing'. RIP Charlie".
Ireland to overcome injury blow
Andy Farrell insists the major blow of losing influential hooker Dan Sheehan ahead of a mouth-watering Six Nations showdown with France will benefit Ireland going into this year's World Cup.
The in-form Sheehan will be a significant absentee for Saturday's crunch clash with the reigning Grand Slam champions in Dublin after a hamstring injury, handing an opportunity to Ulster's Rob Herring. The 24-year-old has played a starring role in his country's elevation to the top of the world rankings, starting nine of 10 Tests since coming off the bench against Les Bleus in Paris last year.
Former Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll this week dubbed Leinster man Sheehan as possibly the best number two in world rugby. While head coach Farrell would have preferred to name an unchanged line-up from the side that beat Wales, he believes becoming accustomed to last-minute disruption will stand his squad in good stead ahead of a shot at winning rugby's ultimate prize in the autumn.
"It's not nice for Dan," said Farrell. "Obviously he's a fantastic player at the top of his form, isn't he? Anyone would miss a player in that type of form. But at the same time, it's great in the sense that this is exactly what's going to happen down the track in the World Cup.
"International rugby is only going to get bigger and better, so therefore it's always going to be about the squad. When you get to the World Cup, you've a smaller squad, there's a 12-day turnaround there as far as concussion is concerned, so you're always going to be numbers down and you've got to be able to roll with the punches. We're happy with how our squad is developing, pushing each other, competing against each other."
England star shocked by axe
Max Malins admits it came as a "shock" when told by Eddie Jones that he was being dropped by England during last year's Six Nations because of his body language. Malins marked his first international appearance since being axed with a two-try salvo in Saturday's 29-23 Six Nations defeat by Scotland, a performance that helped heal the wounds inflicted a year earlier.
Having appeared in all four Championship matches in 2022, the Saracens wing was unexpectedly discarded before the trip to France and given an explanation he found hard to process.
"My body language in a walk-through - that was the reason given," said Malins, who upon missing out on the subsequent tour to Australia went on a three-night holiday to Mykonos with team-mate Ben Earl.
"I didn't understand it. I was taken aback by it. I'd like to think my attitude was always there. He may have seen something... I'm quite a relaxed guy, not necessarily buzzing around the place the whole time. Maybe my relaxed nature put a thought in his head.
"It was certainly a shock at the time and you don't tend to understand it straight away. It was gutting at the time. When you're in that shirt and it gets taken away from you, it's a tough one to take.
"The only thing you can do is take a step back from it and move forward. I had to take it on the chin, reflect on it, and move on. It certainly highlighted to me about how quickly it could be taken away and how you should never take being in this environment - being in camp, playing for England - for granted."
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