Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, February 14.
Wales international 'would be amazed' if Williams and North face England
Former Wales fly-half Nicky Robinson says he would be amazed if Liam Williams and George North are selected to face England in the Six Nations on February 25.
Speaking in the wake of the defeat to Scotland on Saturday, Warren Gatland admitted "we need to be pretty ruthless" going forward and Robinson believes we will see that approach to selection of the backs for Wales' next game. Gatland had made a number of changes for the trip to Edinburgh by opting for a younger pack, but stuck with the same backline.
"I think he showed parts of it [being ruthless] last week after dropping Toby [Faletau] and Justin [Tipuric]," Robinson told the Scrum V podcast. "I think we'll see the same with the backs, who were poor. George [North] was poor on the weekend, I thought Liam [Williams] was poor as well. I'd be amazed if they're playing against England in a fortnight."
Ken Owens in Mike Tindall's Six Nations team of weekend
Ken Owens is the sole Welshman named in Mike Tindall's Six Nations team of round two.
Ireland defeated France 32-19 to cement their position as the number one ranked team in the world, while Scotland remained unbeaten in their campaign with a 35-7 success against Wales and England picked up their first win of the Steve Borthwick era on Sunday, beating Italy 31-14. It is no surprise, therefore, to see Scotland and Ireland dominating the team, with four and five players respectively. Welsh captain Owens, who scored the sole Welsh try at Murrayfield, is the only representative from Warren Gatland's side.
Mike Tindall’s Six Nations team of round two: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Duhan van der Merwe, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Garry Ringrose, 11. Damian Penaud, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Antoine Dupont, 1. Danilo Fischetti, 2. Ken Owens, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. James Ryan, 5. Thibaud Flament, 6. Matt Fagerson, 7. Jack Willis, 8. Caelan Doris.
Select your Wales team to face England below:
Eddie appoints Welshman to Barbarians coaching team
Eddie Jones has appointed former Wales flanker Kingsley Jones as his Barbarians assistant coach for the showdown against a World XV coached by Steve Hansen on May 28.
Former England boss Jones is heading up the Baabaas set-up for the trip to Twickenham later this spring.
His 10-cap Welsh namesake, head coach of Canada since 2017, represented Barbarians twice as a player on the side’s 2000 summer tour, facing Ireland at Lansdowne Road and then Leicester Tigers at Twickenham – both of which saw the Baa-baas emerge victorious. He then acted as assistant coach to Philippe Saint-André in 2010’s 29-23 triumph over Ireland at Thomond Park, and a 35-26 loss to England at Twickenham.
He said: "Coaching the Barbarians is one of the highest honours in rugby. I was lucky enough to play for the Baa-baas in 2000 – which was an incredible experience – and also coach them alongside Philippe Saint-Andre in 2010. So, to be part of the coaching set up again, working alongside Eddie Jones, is just amazing.
"The beauty of the Barbarians is that you get all those different players who in the past have gone toe-to-toe with each other, but are now in the same changing room – it’s so unique. I’ve known Eddie since 2007 and I’ve always got on really well with him. He’s such an open-minded guy and I’m sure I’ll learn as much in a week as I’ve learnt in many. It’s always great to see other approaches to coaching, so I’m really excited to do it."
Select your Wales team to face England below:
England sweating on fitness of Kyle Sinckler for Wales clash
Kyle Sinckler's availability for England's Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales has been thrown into doubt by a facial injury. Sinckler has been omitted from a 26-man squad that will take part in a three-day training camp in London this week, although he will be present to receive treatment from England's medics.
The Bristol prop departed as a blood replacement in the 50th minute of Saturday's 31-14 victory over Italy and was unable to return, resulting in Dan Cole finishing the game at tighthead. Sinckler impressed against Scotland and Italy, playing his part in England's set-piece revival and showing high work-rate on both sides of the ball, and it will be hoped he can recover in time for the trip to Cardiff on Saturday week.
Steve Borthwick can at least call on Will Stuart as his replacement, although he will have concerns over the Bath front row's lack of game time despite including him among the 26. If Sinckler's wound fails to heal sufficiently, Cole and Stuart will battle it out for the number three jersey against Warren Gatland's men.
Courtney Lawes will also receive treatment in the camp that fills the first break week in the hope of facing Wales having struggled with a calf injury that has prevented him from taking part in the Six Nations to date.
Sale flanker Ben Curry is present despite being dropped against Italy, but there is no place for his twin brother Tom who is nearing recovery from a hamstring issue. In a sign of Manu Tuilagi's slide down the pecking order he has been left out of the 26 altogether with Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence and Joe Marchant the specialist centres named by Borthwick. England U20s players will join their senior counterparts to boost the numbers for training sessions.
England training squad — forwards: O Chessum (Leicester Tigers), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Dombrandt (Harlequins), B Earl (Saracens), E Genge (Bristol Bears), J George (Saracens), N Isiekwe (Saracens), M Itoje (Saracens), L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), W Stuart (Bath Rugby), M Vunipola (Saracens), J Walker (Harlequins), J Willis (Toulouse).
Backs: H Arundell (London Irish), O Farrell (Saracens), O Hassell-Collins (London Irish), O Lawrence (Bath Rugby), M Malins (Saracens), J Marchant (Harlequins), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), M Smith (Harlequins), F Steward (Leicester Tigers), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers), A Watson (Leicester Tigers).
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