Here are some of the stories making the rugby news on Friday February 10 ahead of another eagerly anticipated weekend of Six Nations action.
Owens warns Scotland
Ken Owens has warned Scotland that Wales will be a tough nut to crack at Murrayfield tomorrow.
Wales go into the game on the back of a heavy home defeat to Ireland and are underdogs against a Scotland side who stunned England at Twickenham.
Veteran hooker Owens admits there has been a lot of soul searching this week but is adamant Wales will return to winning ways.
"We are confident we can bounce back and right the wrongs of last week, be a lot more clinical and a lot more physical," he said.
"It is going to be a full-blooded Test match. We have had some good success against Scotland.
"They beat England last year and came to Cardiff and came up short. They will be looking to come at us, and certainly we are looking at doing that and bouncing back from the defeat last weekend."
Warren Gatland has wielded the axe by dropping experienced pair Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric, benched Taulupe Faletau and turned to youth instead.
And Wales captain Owens is confident the new young guns will thrive at Murrayfield.
"There is depth in Welsh rugby. It's exciting that players are having opportunities to gain experience, for this tournament and the World Cup that is coming. They have been at the top of their game for their clubs," he said.
"Murrayfield is right up there. It is a great stadium, one of the traditional strongholds of world rugby. Thankfully, we have had a lot of success there over the years. It is going to be a huge challenge. I am sure they are going to be coming at us, and we will be going at them as well.”
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Smith axed by England
England boss Steve Borthwick defended his decision to axe Marcus Smith as part of a revamped midfield selected for Sunday's Six Nations clash with Italy.
Having started the last eight Tests together, Smith has been demoted to the bench to accommodate Owen Farrell's selection at fly-half instead of inside centre.
Borthwick completed a significant overhaul of the midfield by replacing Joe Marchant with Henry Slade at outside centre while Ollie Lawrence fills the vacancy at 12.
The decision to omit Harlequins glamour star Smith was the main subject for discussion at Borthwick's team announcement Press conference.
The England coach explained: "I've decided to change that combination for this week. As always when I pick a team I will pick a plan for the opposition. That's the way we want to go this week. Every game matters. I'm not focusing on some game in the future.
"I feel this is a team which is right for this game. We've got some fantastic fly-halves. When you look at this team I think you see exciting young talent."
Asked how Smith reacted to the bombshell news, Borthwick went on: "Marcus has been brilliant. As a player I've been on the other end of that, and I remember those conversations. I have been in those situations and have empathy for the players.
"I would expect exactly that question. As head coach I'm not going to give too much away in terms of tactics. I think having Henry Slade's distribution skills available this week, his left foot kicking option is a great strength. Any team which has right and left foot kicking options, is a strength."
England: F Steward (Leicester); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter), O Lawrence (Bath), O Hassell-Collins (London Irish); O Farrell (Saracens, capt), J Van Poortvliet (Leicester); E Genge (Bristol), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol), M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester), L Ludlam (Northampton), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).
Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester), N Isiekwe (Saracens), B Earl (Saracens), A Mitchell (Northampton), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).
Keep blaming me, Eddie tells England
Eddie Jones admits that Steve Borthwick was "probably right" when stating he had inherited an England team that "weren't good at anything".
Borthwick, who took over from Jones as head coach in December, offered the damning assessment following last Saturday's 29-23 Six Nations defeat by Scotland at Twickenham.
Jones was sacked after presiding over a dire 2022 and, having taken charge of Australia, he accepts his attempts to enhance England's attack created problems.
"Well he's probably right and that's part of the problem," Jones told the podcast EDDIE. "We were trying to morph a team that had had a very good set-piece and very good kicking game.
"The way that the game is played at the moment, that will win you games but it's probably not good enough to be World Cup champions.
"And so expanding the attack sometimes takes away from your strengths and they're going through that difficult period where they're trying to get that balance right in their game.
"But Steve will fix it. There's no doubt he'll fix it. And keep blaming me. That's all right, I've got a pretty strong back and pretty strong shoulders to absorb that."
Farrell ready for huge France showdown
Andy Farrell hopes a partisan Dublin crowd can turn the tables on France and drag Ireland through difficult moments during Saturday's potential Six Nations title decider.
Farrell's men felt the full force of a raucous Stade de France this time last year as French fans spurred on their side to a thrilling 30-24 win which paved the way for a Les Bleus Grand Slam
A sold-out Aviva Stadium awaits the French this weekend when the world's top two teams collide in a mouthwatering encounter.
Head coach Farrell has urged home supporters to help Ireland end a three-match losing streak against Fabien Galthie's in-form visitors but acknowledges his players are responsible for igniting the atmosphere on the terraces.
"Yeah, 100 per cent," he said, speaking of the need to bring the crowd into the game. "It's a package, isn't it? It's everyone who comes to the game buying into it and we're a part of that package.
"Obviously everyone wants to start well and start strongly, and it's something that we've done pretty well.
"But things ain't going to go according to plan when two good teams are going at it. So therefore it isn't just getting them behind us and getting excited through the good times, it's also making sure that the fans feel where we're at in the game as well and try and drag us through because it's certainly what our players felt last year in France."
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