Here are your rugby evening headlines for Thursday February. 9
Wyn Jones ready to put injury frustration behind him
Wales prop Wyn Jones is ready to put his injury frustrations behind him as he takes on the strongest Scotland side he's seen throughout his career.
The 2021 Lions Test loosehead has endured a tough time in recent years, with injuries hindering his Wales involvement in the past couple of years. However, he's back in the side ahead of the trip to Murrayfield on Saturday as part of a much-changed pack and ready to make up for lost time.
"For me personally it's about putting the red shirt back on and playing rugby," said Jones. "It's been a frustrating time out with injury and last week I wasn't involved. You've just got to take the chances when given them."
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When asked if this was the strongest Scotland side he'd faced, Jones added: "Yes, definitely. They've got a lot of threats behind the scrum. We've spoken about Finn Russell and Duhan van der Merwe. They are playing at the top of their game at the moment and that's something we will look to shut down.
"We are a tight squad from one to 38, and I think training has been competitive from everyone. With Zander (Fagerson) coming back from injury I'm sure he's similar to me in wanting to get back on the field and play some rugby."
Gatland talks up 'mature' Russell
Warren Gatland has talked up Scotland fly-half Finn Russell, adding that the view of the playmaker as a mercurial maverick is wide of the mark.
Gatland took Russell on the 2021 Lions tour of South Africa, persisting with the Scottish star through injury and rewarding him with an appearance off the bench in the final Test. Many feel the Lions played their best rugby against the Springboks when Russell was on the field.
And Gatland believes that the playmaker, who shone in an understated manner against England last weekend, isn't as boom or bust as some would believe.
"He wasn’t really fit for a lot of that tour in South Africa," said Gatland. "There’s no doubt he’s matured incredibly as a player.
"He’s a running threat. I think in the past, people would call him a maverick. I’m not quite sure that tag is applicable at the moment.
"I just think with that maturity in his game management, what he’s learned in his attacking game and kicking game, I think he’s got an incredible balance.
"What I love about him is that he plays with a smile on his face. He’s pretty relaxed in the way that he plays. He’s pretty key for them. He’s on top of his form and he was excellent for them last week."
Townsend wants Scotland improvement for Wales clash
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has warned his side they'll have to improve ahead of facing Wales, despite keeping belief with the the majority of the team that won the Calcutta Cup last Saturday.
There's just one change to the XV that won 29-23 away to England, with Glasgow prop Zander Fagerson replacing 36-year-old WP Nel after more than two months out with a hamstring injury.
And Townsend insisted that, despite another impressive win over England, his team selection for the visit of the Welsh was not straightforward.
“No, it wasn’t,” he said, when asked if it was an easy decision to pick 14 of the 15 who started at Twickenham.
“We actually delayed the team announcement because we had a few selections that we had to sleep on. I believe they’ve earned the right to get a second opportunity to build on that win but the performance wasn’t at our best level.
“We’ve got players on the bench and out of the 23 who are quality players that have played very well for us in the past or are itching for that opportunity, so it wasn’t an easy decision, but these guys have the opportunity to build on last week.”
When asked about the mood in camp he said: “Good, determined to improve from last week.
“There’s been an edge to training, like there was last week. As a coach, I see other things in meetings and how the players talk to each other and it seems like their focus is on improving this week, which is the only thing you can ask for.
“We have to improve from what we did last week because in large parts of that game, we weren’t at our best. I saw better performances in Argentina in the summer and in our games in November.
“The good thing was we took our opportunities and we showed resilience into that final quarter and that makes us tough to beat. But we’re not at our potential, and that’s what we’re striving towards.”
Ireland hit by injury blow
Ireland have been hit by an injury blow ahead of hosting France, with hooker Dan Sheehan ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
Sheehan drops out of the squad as Ulster's Rob Herring starts and Leinster's Ronan Kelleher comes onto the bench.
Scrum-half Conor Murray is fit to start, having shaken off a knock to be named, with Craig Casey again selected among the replacements.
Ireland are otherwise unchanged, with skipper Johnny Sexton fit to start having missed Ireland's last two encounters with France due to injuries.
Read next:
- Warren Gatland rips up pack to face Scotland as Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric left out completely
Sam Warburton names the 'insanely powerful' Wales pack Gatland will pick next year
- Meet Duhan van der Merwe, the 'most dangerous winger in the world' who has Wales in his sights after England wonder try
- Sir Clive Woodward says Twickenham is 'world's biggest pub' and urges England to follow Wales' lead on drink culture
