The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond
Wales and Scotland will face each other in a few months’ time(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Here are the latest rugby headlines on the evening of Friday, November 14.
‘Wales will win Six Nations before Scotland’
Former Wales international Alex Cuthbert believes Wales will win a Six Nations title before Scotland, despite the team’s current struggles. The Scots came up short against the All Blacks last weekend, remaining winless against New Zealand in their history.
Despite notable victories and strong individual performances in recent years, notably against England, they have failed to challenge for the Six Nations title and flopped at Rugby World Cups under Gregor Townsend.
Townsend’s men face Argentina on Sunday, a team who walloped Wales 52-28 in Cardiff last weekend. Wales are at the start of a massive rebuilding phase and have lost 19 of their last 20 matches. But, such is the inability of the Scots to take the final steps to glory, Cuthbert believes Wales’ time may come around again before the Scots get over the line in a tournament.
“This golden generation of players they have, don’t get me wrong, they are pretty good. But they haven’t got a lot to show for it, have they?
“This Six Nations, the amount of pressure on those guys will be immense, I think, if they ever want to come better than, like, third in the table.
“Disrespectfully, I probably think even Wales will win a Six Nations before them. That will go down really well! They have got world class players but you could say are they under-achieving?”
Tandy backs Mann
Wales coach Steve Tandy has backed new openside Alex Mann to soften the blow of replacing the “irreplaceable” Jac Morgan against Japan this Saturday.
The Wales captain was ruled out of the rest of the autumn campaign after dislocating his shoulder against Argentina last Sunday. Cardiff back-row Mann will start on the openside for Wales for the very first time this weekend – having made a handful of starts there before.
The 23-year-old had three starts there for the Blue and Blacks last season, as well as a few for Wales U20s back in 2021.
However, filling the void left by British and Irish Lions back-row Morgan will be a different task – with Tandy admitting he’s impossible to replace.
“I don’t think you can replace Jac Morgan for a minute,” admitted Tandy. “Jac is an unbelievable player and if anyone loses big players it’s hard to replace them.
“That’s when you look at what you have got. You’re not going to replace him like-for-like, but ultimately we’ve got to find a way to balance that off.”
He added: “You don’t plan on losing your captain but it’s a brutal and physical sport. We have to be adaptable.”
Mann has played all of his international rugby to date, having made his debut in last year’s Six Nations, on the blindside. But Tandy believes he has the qualities to wear the seven jersey moving forward.
“He’s got flexibility in how he plays,” said Tandy. “He has athletic ability, ball-playing skills but also his energy levels with how he gets off the line in defence.
“He gets people to the floor, he’s a jackal threat and has lineout ability. He is an all-round player who can play across the back row.”
Mann himself isn’t bothered by where he plays in the back-row, saying earlier this week: “It’s just a number, whatever the coaches ask of me I make sure I give 100% so it doesn’t matter to me.”
George Ford urges England to seize their chance against New Zealand
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
George Ford insists Maro Itoje’s England are determined to seize their place in the nation’s rugby history by ending the long wait for victory over New Zealand at Allianz Stadium.
It is 13 years and five Tests since the All Blacks were last toppled at Twickenham with that Manu Tuilagi-inspired 38-21 rout still recalled with awe.
England go into the 47th meeting between the rivals as marginal favourites with most bookmakers as a result of their nine-match winning run and the perception that New Zealand are vulnerable.
And they will be stirred by a call to arms from veteran hooker Jamie George demanding they deliver only the ninth victory over the All Blacks in their 120-year rivalry.
“It’s a long time ago, isn’t it? It makes me feel old!” said playmaker Ford, who has edged Fin Smith for fly-half duties in the main event of the autumn.
“Let’s change that. There’s only been eight ever wins. It’s like, come on, let’s have a ninth now. One hundred per cent.
“Jamie George mentioned something to the team this week – the last time England beat New Zealand at Twickenham was 2012. And people still go on about 2012. Manu Tuilagi and all those…
“Jamie then flipped it and said this is the opportunity we have in front of us. Why can’t we – 2025 – be the next team that they talk about? It’s definitely part of my motivation.”
The message of rising to the occasion is echoed by Itoje, the England captain who was a colossus in the last victory over the All Blacks in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup.
“We want to be the ninth English team to do it. And we are capable of doing it,” Itoje said.
“That is the opportunity that is there for us. In life you don’t get many of these opportunities, so we want to go out there and take it.”
England and New Zealand clashed three times last year with the All Blacks winning on each occasion, but only by a combined total of 10 points to illustrate the competitive nature of the contests.
Scotland boss Gregor Townsend makes one change for Argentina clash
By Anthony Brown, PA
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made just one change to his starting line-up for Sunday’s Test against Argentina at Murrayfield.
Vice-captain Rory Darge, who came off the bench in last weekend’s 25-17 defeat by New Zealand, starts at openside flanker in place of Matt Fagerson, who drops to the bench.
Talismanic stand-off Finn Russell has been passed fit to keep his place after being substituted with knee and ankle issues in the closing stages last Saturday.
There is still no place in the squad for influential prop Zander Fagerson, who has been working his way back to full fitness after being sidelined since early April by a combination of calf and knee problems.
Joint-record try-scorer Duhan van der Merwe is named on the bench after being dropped from the squad entirely last weekend, with Townsend reverting to a 5-3 split after going 6-2 against the All Blacks. Lock Marshall Sykes drops out.
In the only other change to the bench, Nathan McBeth replaces fellow Glasgow prop Rory Sutherland, who misses out due to concussion.
Scotland team: B Kinghorn (Toulouse), D Graham (Edinburgh), R Hutchinson (Northampton), S Tuipulotu (Glasgow), K Steyn (Glasgow), F Russell (Bath), B White (Toulon); P Schoeman (Edinburgh), E Ashman (Edinburgh), D Rae (Edinburgh), S Cummings (Glasgow), G Gilchrist (Edinburgh), G Brown (Glasgow), R Darge (Glasgow), J Dempsey (Glasgow).
Replacements: G Turner (Harlequins), N McBeth (Glasgow), E Millar Mills (Northampton), M Fagerson (Glasgow), J Bayliss (Bath), J Dobie (Glasgow), T Jordan (Bristol), D Van der Merwe (Edinburgh).
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