Here are your rugby evening headlines for Monday, February 13.
Jiffy bemoans lack of Welsh depth
Wales legend Jonathan Davies has pointed to the Scarlets losing talismanic No. 8 Sione Kalamafoni as one of the reasons why he doesn't see Welsh rugby's fortunes improving any time soon.
Warren Gatland's side are currently licking their wounds after losing the opening two games of the Six Nations for the first time since 2007. Naturally, attention for some has focused solely on the national side, but former dual-code international Davies says that the current malaise is the fault of several underlying problems in the game coming home to roost.
Kalamafoni has been an integral part of the Scarlets side in recent years, but a lack of clarity over contracts for next season and the general financial paralysis within the Welsh game have seen him accept an offer from French second division side Vannes.
Welsh rugby's four professional teams were given the go-ahead to begin contract talks with players at the end of January following a freeze on new deals, with acting chief executive Nigel Walker previously saying all player contracts were likely to be completed by the end of February. The Professional Rugby Board, which represents the professional game in Wales, is yet to agree a long-term financial deal despite reaching a six-year framework with the regions to resolve the game's financial problems in December.
When asked on the BBC's Rugby Union Daily podcast if he was worried about the state of the Welsh national team, Davies pointed to the Tongan's departure from Llanelli to illustrate the scale of the problems.
"Very [worried]," he answered. "I've seen this coming for a number of years. There's no strength in depth in the regions. They're struggling. The WRU haven't negotiated. Kalamafoni has been the Scarlets' best player and he's there all year. He's outstanding and he gives them front-foot ball. He's going because, I suppose, he doesn't know where he is [in terms of a contract] and he has to look after his family by getting a contract.
"That's just one of the many problems they have. A lot of people have been saying they've gone Team Wales heavy and, because they've been successful, it's papered over a lot of cracks. We watch it at the regions and people say 'there's players coming through'. Where? I can't see them.
"Dan Biggar has had 100 caps but no one has really put pressure on him, other than Anscombe who has got injured. Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny have been there a decade, but neither have played much rugby in the last couple of years. There's no one coming through. [Joe] Hawkins was plucked out of nowhere when he hadn't played a lot of rugby. And you've got two young lads from Exeter who have come in. I'm thinking they need to change the attack, but who are you going to bring in?
"You could go [Sam] Costelow at the Scarlets. But I don't really know. That's the problem I see with them. They haven't got the strength in depth that Scotland, Ireland, England, France and even Italy have got. That's the worry I have.
"If it's stick or twist, I'm not sure he [Gatland] can twist. The forwards did well and scrapped so well that they could have been in front at half-time. But there was no creativity. They had to make it a dogfight but once it opened up, it could have been 40 points. I'm not sure they have the players to make a difference."
French prop Atonio cited
France prop Uini Atonio has been cited for his high tackle on Ireland hooker Rob Herring during Saturday's Guinness Six Nations match in Dublin. Atonio was sin-binned in the first half of his country's 32-19 defeat at the Aviva Stadium after his challenge forced Herring off for a head injury assessment from which he did not return.
Referee Wayne Barnes was criticised by a number of pundits for his failure to send off the 32-year-old La Rochelle player. Atonio will attend a hearing via video conference before an independent judicial committee on Wednesday. A Six Nations statement confirmed the New Zealand-born forward was cited for an act of foul play contrary to law 9.13.
The law states: "A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders."
Former WRU chair can't see governance reform being blocked
Former Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies "cannot see a way" in which Welsh clubs would again block governance reform at the governing body following allegations of a "toxic" culture at the WRU.
During his tenure, Davies saw governance changes stopped by the member clubs, while his successor Rob Butcher suffered a similar fate at the AGM last October ahead of his resignation. Current chair Ieuan Evans was already planning on proposing a motion that would, among others, see the union have the option to have the appoint an independent chair.
However, amid the serious allegations of sexism, misogyny, racism and homophobia at the WRU, Davies is confident that a fresh attempt to approve the option of an independent chair and other changes at an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday, March 26, will not be blocked by the community clubs - as has been the case in the past..
Davies told BBC Radio Cymru: "Many things are happening. There's talks now of the union pushing the governance changes. In a way it's exactly what we offered six years ago so we've lost six years in a way in terms of the rules, the union's constitution and how they function. But there's now an expectation with how the idea will get to the clubs and I don't see a way the clubs can turn down the suggestions presented to them."
Ireland extend lead at top of rankings
There were no positional changes in the World Rugby men’s Rankings after round two of the Six Nations, but Ireland strengthened their grip on the top spot and Wales moved a little closer to matching their all-time low of 10th.
Victory for Ireland over France, ending Les Bleus' record 14-game winning streak, ensured that Andy Farrell's side stayed top, extending their lead to 1.95 points.
France remain in second place but the difference between them and New Zealand has dropped to just 0.4 points.
Scotland strengthened their hold on fifth place fractionally after the record win over Wales, gaining more of a reward than England did for defeating Italy. Wales remain in ninth place but are dangerously close to matching their all-time low of 10th. Warren Gatland’s team are now just 0.34 of a point better off than Japan.
Farrell hails impact of Lawrence
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent
Owen Farrell has hailed the impact of Ollie Lawrence as England saw tentative evidence against Italy that they may have found the solution to their perennial inside centre problem. Lawrence was England's most effective carrier in the 31-14 victory at Twickenham, amassing 83 metres from his 11 runs, the majority of it into the heavy traffic, breaking eight tackles in the process.
It was a continuation of the marauding form he has shown for Bath since his move from Worcester in October, rewarding Steve Borthwick's decision to dispense with the contentious Marcus Smith-Farrell creative axis in favour of a better balanced midfield trio.
By repeatedly getting England over the gainline, a player who was never given a proper chance by Borthwick's predecessor Eddie Jones has indicated there is an alternative to Manu Tuilagi as a bulldozing centre. The 23-year-old made an impression on his captain as he excelled in a position that due to a peculiarity of the English game has not been filled convincingly since Will Greenwood retired in 2004
"Ollie he did really well, he played the way he's been playing for his club - destructive," said Farrell, who was operating from his preferred position of fly-half. "I remember playing against him at the start of the season for Saracens at our place and he was holding the ball in one hand and batting everyone off like he did against Italy. It was good to see him break the line against Italy and get us on the front foot."
Just behind Lawrence as England's most potent carrier in the maiden victory of the Borthwick era was number eight Alex Dombrandt, another player who was unable to convince Jones of his value. The Harlequin has started Borthwick's first two games in charge, beating Sam Simmonds to a place in the back row, with Billy Vunipola exiled once again. It is another position that has suffered from frequent change once Vunipola's grip on the jersey was loosened and after overcoming a string of injuries that forced him out of the July tour to Australia and the autumn, Dombrandt is hoping to secure a run of games.
"I've been working hard in training and really trying to improve my all-round game, so to have that backing from Steve is massively important," Dombrandt said. "I try to repay that on the training ground, preparing the team well, and hopefully on game day putting in good performances. The start of the season for me personally was a bit frustrating because of a knee injury. Then I came back for a couple of games but tore my hamstring.
"I feel like I play my best rugby when I get into a rhythm of games and I feel like I'm starting to play games consistently which is always a good thing for me. But I'm still looking to improve my all-round game and just keep going."
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