Munster

France’s scheduled Six Nations game with Scotland on Sunday was postponed; Coach Fabien Galthie and 11 players tested positive for Covid-19; Galthie left squad bubble to watch son play rugby after win over Italy in Rome

France head coach Fabien Galthie retains the support of his federation after it emerged he left the squad’s bubble on the opening weekend of the Six Nations to watch his son play rugby.

France’s round three game against Scotland on Sunday was postponed because of an outbreak of coronavirus, with Galthie providing the first positive test after a 15-13 victory over Ireland in Dublin on February 14.

Eleven players, including star scrum-half Antoine Dupont and captain Charles Ollivon, have been diagnosed with Covid-19, prompting French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu to demand answers.

Maracineanu has threatened to withdraw France from the Six Nations amid reports that players went out to eat waffles while in Rome to face Italy in round one.

But French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte has now revealed that the day after the 50-10 win over Italy, Galthie attended the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris to see his son Mathis play.

“For me, he has the right to leave from the moment he is masked. He was outside,” Laporte told France 3 television channel.

Galthie left the team bubble to watch his son play in Paris

“He watched the match alongside (Stade Francais director general) Thomas Lombard, who himself is tested every three days and also wore a mask. I don’t see where the problem could be. But then again I’m not a doctor.

“Why wouldn’t I support him (Galthie)? I am not a prosecutor. And it’s not because I really like Fabien. He knows very well that I don’t give gifts to people.”

The Six Nations have yet to reveal a date for the re-arranged match between tournament favourites France and Scotland.

Eddie Jones admits it is ‘almost impossible’ for England to win the Six Nations after losing in Cardiff; Jones calls on his players to show resilience and stick together in final two fixtures against France and Ireland

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Eddie Jones says England must learn to ‘overcome’ tough circumstances after two controversial first-half calls from the referee resulted in Wales tries

Eddie Jones has demanded England remain unified as they “dig in” with the aim of salvaging something from their dismal Six Nations campaign.

Emphatic defeats by Scotland and Wales have removed the champions from title contention, with Saturday’s controversial 40-24 defeat in Cardiff once again exposing ruinous levels of indiscipline.

Six Nations favourites France visit Twickenham on March 13 before England face Ireland in Dublin in the final round – two tough assignments to prevent further damage being done.

Jones has called for his players to show resilience and stick together in the quest for a meaningful last fortnight to the tournament.

“It’s going to be almost impossible for us to win the championship now so we just have to approach France as another opportunity for us to get back on the front foot,” said Jones.

“We will dig in. It’s the only thing we have got to do now, dig in. It is a great challenge for the team.

“I thought some of our rugby against Wales was really good. Sometimes you play rugby and don’t get the result; sometimes you play terrible rugby and you do get the result.

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England captain Owen Farrell admitted their discipline ‘wasn’t the best’ against Wales

“We are going in the right direction. We still have areas to improve and we have to make sure we stick together and dig in.

“We have been through these periods before. Every team goes through these. I don’t know of a team that doesn’t.

“Everyone is going to have an opinion. Some might be right, but we just have to make sure we listen to what is important and the important thing is what goes on in the team.

“We know how hard we are working and we know what direction we are going in and we will get out of this.”

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Sky Sports News reporter James Cole reflects on a dramatic Six Nations victory for Wales against England

Jones’ squad have already started a pre-scheduled week off and when they return to the camp on Sunday they will begin urgent repairs to the kamikaze discipline that placed them on the wrong side of a 14-9 penalty count at the Principality Stadium.

The most guilty offender was Maro Itoje, who gave away five penalties and who, in the eyes of Wales boss Wayne Pivac, should have been sin-binned on the basis of accumulation of offences.

Itoje is England’s most effective player but Jones knows he must make some adjustments to his game.

Maro Itoje conceded five penalties against Wales

“Maro is one of the best players in the world and he plays the game on the edge,” said Jones.

“I can remember the same sort of discussion being had about (former Australia captain) George Smith at one stage. Sometimes the referees tend to over-referee a player like him.

“At the same time, there are areas of the game he needs to tidy up and he knows that. He’s a good boy, a good player. There are just a few things in his game he needs to tidy up.”

Fly-half George Ford is convinced the current malaise is a temporary blip that can be reversed.

“We’ve been through this before. It’s part of learning, part of winning, and we’ll come through it,” Ford said.

“One hundred per cent we’ll come through this. Stick together, fix things up, be honest with each other and move on.”

Wales back George North missed the win against Scotland last weekend after sustaining a foot injury against Ireland on the opening weekend of this year’s Six Nations; North will hope to help maintain Wales’ Grand Slam bid when England visit Cardiff on February 27

George North is in line to win his 100th Wales cap against England in the Six Nations after returning to training.

North missed Wales’ win against Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday with a foot injury sustained during the opening weekend 21-16 victory over Ireland earlier this month.

The 28-year-old could now reach a landmark appearance when Eddie Jones’ side visit Cardiff on February 27 as Wales look to maintain their Grand Slam bid.

Wales attack coach Stephen Jones said: “George is making good progress, every day he is improving.

“He’s taken part in some sort of training already, which is great, and that’s the good thing from our perspective.

“I believe it is a full green light.”

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Alun Wyn Jones says this is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for Louis Rees-Zammit after his match-winning try for Wales over Scotland on Saturday

Fellow centres Johnny Williams and Jonathan Davies are also back in training to strengthen head coach Wayne Pivac’s midfield options, while flanker Josh Navidi has overcome the neck injury which forced him to miss the Scotland win.

Meanwhile, full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who was injured against Scotland, and wing Hallam Amos are going through HIA protocols.

Scrum-half Tomos Williams has been ruled out with a hamstring problem.

Jones said: “Hallam and Leigh are still going through the protocols. But Johnny Williams is good, it’s the same with Navidi’s neck and Jonathan Davies.”

Progressive Rugby group writes open letter to World Rugby outlining concerns over player safety and provides a plan to reform the game in order to reduce head injuries within rugby union; RPA chairman Ethan Waller says their top priority is player welfare, including brain and mental health

Progressive Rugby has written an open letter to World Rugby calling for urgent reform in rugby union.

The group has been formed by Jamie Cudmore, James Haskell, Professors John Fairclough and Bill Ribbans, plus various other senior names from the game.

It comprises of current and former players, coaches, club representatives, referees, refereeing coaches, medics, sponsors, politicians and teachers at rugby-playing schools – and believes that more must be done to protect the health and wellbeing of rugby players from excessive workloads, brain trauma and the potentially serious and life-threatening consequences that come from repeated concussive and sub-concussive injuries.

In an open letter to World Rugby, the group has outlined its concerns along with a suggested plan of action to improve overall safety, protect players and bring much-needed reform to the game – stating that “without change, the sport is threatened with extinction within a couple of generations.”

Zander Fagerson was shown a red card for making contact with Alun Wyn Jones’ head when launching himself into a ruck

Within the letter, Progressive Rugby said: “We consider in view of the evidence of risk for traumatic brain injuries occurring in rugby union that more should be done to protect the rugby-playing community from the dangers of injury and that World Rugby has a moral and legal duty to minimise risk and to inform players and parents of the risk of brain damage from repeated knocks.

“Evidence of the existence of brain disorders in retired players supports the contention that participation in rugby union can cause brain damage.

The awareness of the association with traumatic brain injury and participation in rugby union is of paramount importance for both the players and the sport itself. We believe that this issue is the greatest threat to the worldwide game.”

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Ireland captain Johnny Sexton branded comments from a French doctor about his concussion record ‘inaccurate’ and ‘highly inappropriate’

The letter suggested a number of measures that should be taken to limit head injuries in the game, including limiting contact between players in training, and a review of double-teaming tackles and upper level of tackle height.

Among additional measures, the group also put forward a guaranteed number of days off for players in-between seasons and increased education of head injuries.

RPA chairman Waller: Brain damage not like breaking a leg

Newly appointed Rugby Players’ Association chairman Ethan Waller says that the organisation’s top priority is player welfare – including brain and mental health.

The RFU’s medical figures in December revealed that one in five professional rugby union players in England had a concussion during the 2018-19 season. Those figures represented greater than a four per cent increase of players who sustained concussions during the previous campaign.

Waller backs the call for a sport-wide concussion database and limited contact in training to help prevent further head damage among players.

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Rugby Players’ Association chairman Ethan Waller says players must be shown red cards for reckless contact with the head of opposition players

Waller told Sky Sports News: “It’s different at each club, but research shows that a lot of injuries do come from training including head injuries.

“It’s clearly an area to look at. There needs to be a balance of what’s safe so that players don’t get injured – because if you do ‘no contact’, it also can end up being detrimental, so it’s about finding the balance of what’s a safe amount to do and finding that middle ground for what’s best for our players.”

The prevalence of concussions has been under sharp scrutiny in recent months with a number of former players launching a legal case against the sport’s authorities.

James Ryan sustained a head injury in Ireland’s opening Six Nations game against Wales

Scotland’s Zander Fagerson has been banned for the rest of the Six Nations after receiving a red card for making contact with Alun Wyn Jones’ head when launching himself into a ruck against Wales.

Waller believes that contact with the head should result in a red card and reckless clear-outs need to be removed from the game.

Waller added: “Head contact is not like breaking a leg where you can go have an operation and get it fixed – the damage that you could be doing to your brain is something that you may not know about for years.

“I think the way it’s been refereed is spot on because you can’t be having those kinds of reckless clear-outs or those kinds of contacts to the head constantly.

“The more deterrents we have against that, the less likely you are to see those things and games to be won or lost on the back of a red card. You’re more likely to see, from a supporter’s point of view, a better spectacle when that begins to filter out of the game.”

Wayne Pivac claims first away win of Wales coaching reign, and a second successive Six Nations victory this season, setting them up for England’s visit to Cardiff later this month.

Wales made it two wins from two as they fought back to beat Scotland 25-24 who were reduced to 14-men after Zander Fagerson was sent off.

A brace from Louis Rees-Zammit, plus tries from Liam Williams and Wyn Jones secured the win for Wales while Callum Sheedy and Leigh Halfpenny added a conversion and a penalty.

Stuart Hogg once again produced a superb performance for Scotland scoring two tries while Darcy Graham also got onto the scoresheet with Finn Russell adding three conversions and a penalty.

Scotland had looked on track for victory until referee Matthew Carley sent off Zander Fagerson in the 53rd minute after he made shoulder-led contact with Wales prop Wyn Jones’ head at a ruck.

Despite being down a man, Scotland threw everything at Wales but could not do enough to secure victory.

More to follow…