Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Thursday, March 9.
Young Wales star tipped for 'special' role against Italy
Wales are set to assign Joe Hawkins extra responsibility in Saturday’s Six Nations showdown with Italy in Rome.
The coaching staff were mulling over whether to dispense with the idea of naming a specialist fly-half on the bench and instead ask Hawkins to cover the role.
The 20-year-old is expected to be named at inside centre in Warren Gatland’s starting line-up for the date at Stadio Olimpico, but there is a feeling he could eventually develop into a fly-half and follow the positional route the great Dan Carter made in switching from centre to No. 10.
He has impressed the coaches with his kicking and played his junior rugby for Pontardawe at No. 10. Those who pick the side feel he is mature, game aware and a good decision-maker and so capable of handling the job of acting as emergency back-up should it be needed against Italy.
Tomos Williams is set to be the reserve scrum-half, with George North covering centre and Louis-Rees Zammit the back-three replacement. Scott Baldwin, Gareth Thomas, Dillon Lewis, Rhys Davies and Tommy Reffell are tipped as potential forward replacements.
Jenkins makes World Cup promise
Neil Jenkins insists Wales can put their current issues aside and turn a corner ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Wales are set to name their matchday squad for the upcoming Six Nations clash late on Thursday morning, with Warren Gatland overseeing a disappointing campaign that has so far yielded three straight defeats.
Italy are also yet to record their first win of the tournament, but lie ahead of Wales by way of a single bonus point, and are arguably now more of a competitive threat than in previous years.
"I don't think it makes any difference to us whether we're favourites or not," said Wales assistant coach Jenkins, who believes nothing can be taken for granted against the Azzurri. "We'll have to be at our best on Saturday to win. The reality is we probably felt there was going to be some pain about us at this moment in time. We're certainly feeling that.
"But we have until September to get ourselves right and I believe we can do that. I'd like to think we'll be going through the gears from now until then to give us a good chance at the World Cup."
England poised to drop Farrell
Steve Borthwick is set to make the shock decision to drop England captain Owen Farrell for the upcoming clash with France at Twickenham on Saturday.
According to The Telegraph, Farrell is set to be replaced by Marcus Smith for the visit of the Grand Slam champions. Should Borthwick follow through on his decision, it will be the first time Farrell has been dropped from a major Test match since 2015.
Reports claim Ellis Genge, who captained Leicester under Borthwick to the Premiership title last season, will skipper the side. The decision comes just five weeks after Borthwick appointed Farrell as his captain for the Six Nations campaign.
Wainwright still chasing World Cup dream
Aaron Wainwright says he hasn't given up on his World Cup dream, despite enduring a frustrating Six Nations Campaign.
The Dragons star hasn't played an international Test match for 13 months, with his last appearance coming as a replacement against Scotland in last year's Six Nations.
After missing the tour of South Africa due to a foot injury, he was left out of Wayne Pivac's squad for the autumn, but was recalled under Warren Gatland for this year's championship.
However, he has so far not seen a single minute of action, and was released from the camp to play nearly an hour for the Dragons against Connacht at the weekend, before returning for the upcoming showdowns with Italy and France.
“It’s been a hard block of training in camp, getting through a lot of running and fitness, but I was thinking before the game that it had been a while since I’d had a run out,” he said. “It was a pleasure to be back with the boys.
“The message has been to be ready if called upon so it was nice to get game time under my belt and I will definitely be looking to take any chances with both hands.
“The back row has always been strongly contested through the years so I am happy to be in the squad and around it.
“The World Cup is a carrot for everybody who is involved in the squad. When given an opportunity it will be in the back of any player’s head. If I need to just keep training hard then that is what I will do; I know I will be ready and raring to go if called upon.”
Baxter confirms talks with Wales stars
Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter says he has held serious conversations with "a lot of Welsh players" ahead of the 2023/24 season.
The English side have been linked with a number of Welsh internationals in the last few months, including Ross Moriarty, Tomas Francis and Nicky Smith.
Speaking to DevonLive on Wednesday, Baxter said: “It is not like it is a shopping basket and you just go and fill it, there is more too it than that. Without doubt we have looked at and talked to a lot of Welsh players and we haven’t come to an agreement with any of them yet.
“You have to remember that for all the turmoil there has been there, a lot of Welsh guys are very proud Welshmen and I don’t think that has been highlighted enough.
“For a lot of players what has been tough for them and the heartbreak of the situation is they have a real desire to play for Wales, especially if they are players on the fringes. They have a massive desire to play for Wales and for guys who are impacted by the cap situation, it is a massive decision for them to leave Wales.”
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