The latest rugby stories making headlines on Monday, March 9
Wales team huddle at half-time in the changing room(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Here are your rugby morning headlines for Monday, March 9.
Warburton dismisses ‘whipping boy’ concern after Wales improvements
Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has happily dismissed his concerns that Steve Tandy’s side were set to become Six Nations ‘whipping boys’ following an impressive defensive display against Ireland in Dublin.
Wales went down 27-17 to title-chasing Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, although were trailing by just two points at one stage late in the second-half.
“I thought defensively, Wales were so much better, so much more physical compared to round one. It’s just unbelievable, the progress they’ve made physically,” said Warburton on BBC’s Rugby Special. “They were blown away against England and now they’ve become competitive.
“I thought in defence they showed some really promising signs. I lost in Dublin by over 20 points and that was in a good team.
“Wales haven’t won in Dublin since 2012 and that was in a Grand Slam team. Only the very good Welsh teams have ever won there.
“It was always a tall order to get a result but they did well. The game was in the balance at 19-17. There was a key moment Wales got wrong. These are the moments they’re going to learn.”
Analysing a time in the game when Wales kicked to compete around halfway rather than kick long, handing Ireland the territory for their fourth try, Warburton added: “These are the small moments of the game. You’re right in the game at 65 minutes and you’re chasing a two-point deficit.
“The damage was done in that middle third. But other than that, they’re the really small moments that Wales are getting wrong, but it was so pleasing.
“I think they’ve found their centre combination. The front-five have provided so much more of a platform, with their ball-carrying and their hits in defence.
“They’re looking like they compete again. I was worried we were going to become the 30-point whipping boys after round one, but they’ve quickly turned it around.”
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Wales’ hero insists they can end three-year wait
Flanker Alex Mann says Wales have the confidence to beat Italy next weekend after a stirring individual performance in Dublin.
The Cardiff back-row topped the tackle count on the weekend. Some statistic providers credited him with 33 tackles, with other say it was 32.
Either way, it was a Six Nations record by a player in a match. Unsurprisingly, Mann has now made the most tackles of any player in the competition – although he played down his efforts on Friday.
“I just try and do my job, really,” said Mann. “The way I look at it, I’ve got to do my job for the person next to me, for the coaches. I have a job to do when I go out there.”
“So I give everything I’ve got when I go out on the pitch. That’s where we hold ourselves now (being strong in defence).
“We’re all listening to each other. We’re all working for each other. The person next to you, who you know, is putting their body on the line for you.
“So it’s an exciting thing for us in both attack and defence. It’s pretty exciting, and it’s something to look forward to.”
And when asked whether this current Wales team had the confidence to end their three-year wait for a Six Nations win with victory over Italy next Saturday, Mann said: “100 per cent.
“Like I’ve said, we’ve been going through every game wanting to win and hoping to win.
“So, especially at home, last game of the Six Nations, I think that’s pretty exciting for us, in Cardiff. So we’ll give everything we got to get that win.”
‘Something is broken’ with England as pundits expect change
Former Scotland flanker John Barclay says something is broken with England if they do end the Six Nations with one victory, as both Barclay and Warburton admitted that it’s hard to defend current coach Steve Borthwick.
England slipped to their third defeat of the tournament on Saturday, losing to Italy for the first time in their history. A loss in Paris to France next weekend would mark England’s worst-ever Six Nations campaign – all the more remarkable given they came into the tournament on a lengthy winning run as one of the favourites for the title.
Both Warburton and Barclay chimed in on England on Rugby Special on Sunday, admitting change could be afoot despite the RFU’s vote of confidence.
“I just think back to how people were talking about Gregor Townsend after round one,” said Warburton. “He was under the pump, but he’s bounced back, Scotland have won three games and people aren’t thinking about that.
“I’ve never been a fan of changing the regime during a campaign. Get through the campaign. It’s unlikely but England could go to France and come up trumps.
“But if they don’t and they lose four games in the Six Nations for the first time in history, it’s very hard to defend.”
Barclay added: “With Gregor, I thought they had to finish with three wins or finish above third in the table. On the other side of that, if England only win one in the Six Nations, for me looking at it – with the resource players they have – it’s impossible to perceive how you don’t look at a change.
“Something is broken there if that happens. You don’t go on a 12-match winning run and then win one game out of five in the Six Nations, with the quality of players they have. It’s really hard on Steve Borthwick, whether he sticks or twists with those players.”
Ben Earl: I actually thought we played pretty well
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Sport Rugby Union Correspondent, Rome
Ben Earl has defended England’s performance in their historic first loss to Italy amid mounting pressure on head coach Steve Borthwick.
England are facing the prospect of their worst finish in the Guinness Six Nations after conceding 13 unanswered points at the Stadio Olimpico to crash to a 23-18 defeat.
Their third successive collapse was met with a statement of support for Borthwick from the Rugby Football Union, although the backing extends only as far as this year’s Nations Championship and not the 2027 World Cup when his contract ends.
Earl, Borthwick’s most impressive contributor for much of the last three years, believes there was plenty to admire in Rome.
“There’s an element of pride really because I actually thought we played pretty well,” said the Saracens number eight, who won his 50th cap on Saturday.
“There was a moment in that game I thought there was only one team that was going to win.
“If that game ended at 60 minutes you’d say that was an unbelievable performance by England, but unfortunately the result didn’t go our way.
“It was honestly one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played for 60 minutes. Because we had two good teams throwing punch after punch, tactical nous versus tactical nous, and we were on top.
“Excuse my French but there’s going to be a s*** ton of noise, whatever, but Italy are a very good team. They’re going to go and beat some good teams.
“That doesn’t mean that we can’t improve and we can’t beat them, but I thought there were large parts of that performance that were brilliant.
“It was a performance where we brought the gameplan to life and Italy won a couple of moments in the last 20 minutes to win the game. That’s Test match rugby. That’s another lesson for us.
“Of course at some point you say ‘how many lessons can you take?’. But, again, I keep saying I’d rather learn these lessons now than in Brisbane at the 2027 World Cup.”
Former internationals Austin Healey and Andy Goode have called for Borthwick to be sacked but Earl believes the players should be held responsible for the recent slump.
“Just have a think about what this team’s achieved since Steve took over. We’ve gone third in the World Cup,” he said.
“We’ve won 12 out of 15 games, but had won 12 on the bounce. We’ve beaten the All Blacks for the first time in Twickenham since 2012.
“The noise is actually bonkers, I think it’s crazy. If anyone is letting Steve down, it’s us, the group.
“And we need to play better at certain moments because we’re playing well for 50 minutes, playing well for 40 minutes, playing well for 30 minutes. We’ve just got to put it together – and we will.”