french rugby players: mars 2016

lundi 14 mars 2016

Sean Cronin warns Ireland not to get carried away by big win over Italy

Ireland’s Six Nations salvage operation is back on course after a record try-scoring spree against Italy. A win over Scotland on Saturday would see them finish in mid-table – hardly the goal when a treble of Championship titles offered itself before a ball was kicked in this campaign, but events overtook them fairly quickly.

The combination of injuries and the retirement of Paul O’Connell lowered their sights to a point where against Italy they needed to look creative. The win was almost unavoidable – the manner of it needed to be convincing, however.

“I heard Rory Best saying it was about giving the fans something back and putting in a performance,” said Sean Cronin, the Ireland forward who won his 50th cap. “That was something we talked about during the week, not worrying about what’s gone before but trying to put in a good performance today at home against an Italian team that caused us massive problems in the World Cup.
“There was a big focus there: a massive thing for us was that we wanted to play to the best of our ability. There are areas we will have to work on and Joe was quick to tell us that after the match.”
The good news for Joe Schmidt, aside from the nine tries, was the prospect of reinforcements coming over the hill. Absentees Cian Healy, Eoin Reddan and Rob Kearney are all expected to be fit to face Scotland, who are lumbered with a six-day turnaround. That advantage was accentuated further by Ireland having an early kick-off against Italy, so they have every advantage going into the last round.
The positive side effect of the injury toll was the arrival of new caps to the scene: three in Twickenham a fortnight ago and another against Italy, in the shape of replacement prop Finlay Bealham. His arrival into the game in the second half brought the Connacht contingent to five, a stat unforeseeable only a year ago.
“If you told me that five of us would be playing a Six Nations game against Italy I don’t know what I would have told you,” Bealham said. “We didn’t say too much at the end – we just all looked at each other and had a big smile. We were all thinking the same thing: really humbled and just really happy we were all there. Hopefully some more lads will come in in the future.
“People might be playing club rugby now and think that in a couple of years you could be playing for your country. It’s just a matter of working hard and proving yourself and the rewards will come.”
By the time Bealham went on to the field the damage to Italy was done. A spectacular try by Jamie Heaslip – a contender for try of the season – just before the break finished any slim hopes the Italians had of competing. That left then 25-3 down, a predicament compounded by an intercept for Jared Payne in the first few minutes of the second half.
“I think we’ll have to go up in certain areas next week, a couple of levels again,” Cronin said. “We’ll see how Scotland get on but they’re a quality side with a quality coaching team as well. We’re not getting carried away with today. You have to put it into perspective and we put one over Scotland last year in the Six Nations and they will be gunning big time next week. It’s all to play for, for them and us. We would like to go up in a couple of areas.
“In the first three games, the draw against Wales was very disappointing when we were 13-0 up. France was one that seriously got away. We just wanted to focus on this game, not on stuff that went on in the previous rounds. We wanted to concentrate on ourselves and get a performance at home in front of our fans, and then build for next weekend.”
Ireland Zebo; Trimble, Payne (McFadden, 72), Henshaw, Earls; Sexton (Madigan, 50), Murray (Marmion, 60); McGrath (Bealham, 66), Best (capt; Cronin, 50), Ross (White, 55), Ryan, Toner (Dillane, 55), Stander (Ruddock, 62), Van der Flier, Heaslip.
Tries Trimble, McGrath, Stander, Payne, Heaslip 2, Cronin, Madigan, McFadden. Cons Sexton 3, Madigan 2. Pens Sexton.
Italy Odiete; Sarto, Campagnaro, García (Haimona, 55), Bellini; Padovani (McLean, 59), Pallazzani (Lucchese, 63); Lovotti (Zanusso, 72), Giazzon (Fabiani, 55), Ceccarelli, Biagi (Steyn, 36), Fuser (Geldenhuys, 27), Minto, Zanni, Parisse (capt).

source : http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/13/ireland-sean-cronin-big-win-italy-six-nations-rugby-union

dimanche 13 mars 2016

Eddie Jones declared his England charges ready to claim the Grand Slam in Paris after watching them hold off a resurgent Wales side at Twickenham.

Despite Jones seeing his men suffer the full-force of this Welsh onslaught, he was proud of the turnaround from England's World Cup defeat and says a first Red Rose Grand Slam since 2003 is now achievable.

"The Grand Slam is a reality, so we can't wait to get to Paris next week and do the business, we have to prepare well and we will work out what we have to do after the Scotland France game," the Australian said.

"The Grand Slam is there for us to take.

"For France, obviously it will be there last game, they are going to play with a lot of passion and a lot of pride, but if we play well and prepare well, I think we are good enough to do the business."

Jones made a raft of changes in the second-half - one of which saw Manu Tuilagi make his first England appearance since June 2014 - and he acknowledged the number of changes may have handed Gatland's outfit the initiative.

Nevertheless, the blueprint was laid for Jones in a first half performance full of power, verve and physicality.
He said: "There's one game for 60 minutes and then another game for 20 minutes, lucky we got enough points in the first 60 minutes, because the last 20 minutes all belonged to Wales.

"It was a funny performance by us, at times today we were immaculate - you know really good, really sharp, really intense, but then we just dropped off a little bit at the end.

"We made a number of changes on purpose to test players and to test the strength of the team and maybe those changes didn't work."

England 25-21 Wales: how the Six Nations players at Twickenham rated

ENGLAND

   15 Mike Brown 6/10 The full-back’s try broke Irish resistance a fortnight ago but here he butchered an early chance. Always looked strong on the counterattack.
   14 Anthony Watson 7/10 The Bath wing, another try-scorer against Ireland, kept Alex Cuthbert honest with some sinewy runs and took his opportunity superbly.
   13 Jonathan Joseph 6/10 A hat-trick of tries in Rome but he had few opportunities to cross the line. Made some threatening runs, though, and some timely tackles.
   12 Owen Farrell 7/10 His kicks at goal punished the countless Wales errors and kept England’s noses in front. He has played well as a makeshift inside-centre.
   11 Jack Nowell 6/10 The Exeter wing was confined to defensive duties in the first half but made some smart breaks in the second.
   10 George Ford 6/10 The fly-half hasn’t found his form of last season but brave tackle on North got him into the game and distributed and kicked from hand well.
   9 Ben Youngs 7/10 A good sniping display with his usual intelligent kicking game before being replaced by Danny Care and inches away from scoring an early try.
   1 Joe Marler 6/10 His scrummaging was the target of barbed comments during the week but he more than held his own against powerful Samson Lee.
   2 Dylan Hartley (capt) 6/10 England’s leader played big role in dominant English scrum and led the side well before being replaced late in the game. Very strong showing.
   3 Dan Cole 7/10 Unlucky not to have been awarded a try after a quarter of an hour although his scrummaging power brought a resulting penalty. Late yellow card.
   4 Maro Itoje 9/10 Picked after an impressive first start against Ireland the 21-year-old showed why with important steals at the lineout. Outstanding.
6 Chris Robshaw 7/10 He exorcised the memory of his World Cup nightmare with another industrious display and tackles helped shackle the dangerous Jamie Roberts.
  7 James Haskell 7/10 The red cap was everywhere again and the flanker was especially strong at the breakdown against the much-heralded Welsh back row.
8 Billy Vunipola 8/10 Did not repeat his spectacular display against the Irish but the tournament’s leading ball-carrier was not that far off. Another huge game.

REPLACEMENTS Luke Cowan-Dickie 6/10 (for Hartley 72) No time to make an impact Mako Vunipola 6/10 (for Marler 54) Kieran Brookes 6/10 (for Robshaw 72) On after yellow card Joe Launchbury 5/10 (for Itoje 78) Jack Clifford 6/10 (for Haskell 68) made strong impact Danny Care 6/10 (for Youngs 63) added some tempo Manu Tuilagi 7/10 (for Ford 63) First run led to penalty and saved game with tackle on North Elliot Daly 5/10 (for Joseph 75) No chance to shine

WALES

   15 Liam Williams 6/10 He may just be keeping Leigh Halfpenny’s seat warm but the Scarlets man gave another solid display and was assured under the high ball.
    Alex Cuthbert 4/10 The wing’s two tries did for England three years ago but he looks short of confidence and was culpable in the Watson try.
    Jonathan Davies 5/10 Had one of his quieter games before exploding into life in the last few minutes with his part in George North’s try. Little chance to shine.
   George North 6/10 His try against France had given Wales fresh hope of another title and his well-taken try here gave them a sense of what might have been.
   Dan Biggar 6/10 The fly-half hauled Wales back into the game with an opportunist try after England appeared to have repelled a period of Welsh pressure.
   Gareth Davies 6/10 England’s nemesis at Twickenham last autumn and he prevented Cole scoring a try near the spot that he went over in the World Cup. Always a threat.
   Rob Evans 5/10 He struggled along with the rest of the front row in the first half and Wales looked stronger after they had replaced their props and hooker after the break.
   Scott Baldwin 6/10 He had a decent game on a difficult afternoon for the Welsh pack but his work at the lineout undermined the Welsh effort.
   Samson Lee 6/10 The tighthead is a worthy successor to Adam Jones as the cornerstone of this Welsh scrum but he struggled along with the rest of the pack in the first half.
   Bradley Davies 5/10 Wales’s Wasp took a painful early blow to his chest and he wasn’t able to rule the roost in the lineout as he has recently. Made important tackles.
   Alun Wyn Jones 7/10 The lock is closing in on his 100th cap and was probably the pick of the Welsh pack. Made some good carries and worked hard.
   Dan Lydiate 5/10 The flanker’s tackling style has come under scrutiny in recent days and he had plenty of tackles to make in the first half. A bit of a fading force.
   Sam Warburton (capt) 6/10 Tackled with the ferocity we have come to expect but the Lions captain was carried off on a stretcher in the second half after a bang on the head.
   Taulupe Faletau 6/10 He came off worst in his duel with old pal Billy Vunipola, who will challenge him for his Lions jersey next year. Did nothing for English nerves with late try.

REPLACEMENTS Ken Owens 6/10 (for Baldwin 54) Looked strong Paul James 6/10 (for Evans 54) Decent in the scrums Tomas Francis 5/10 (for Lee 54) May be in trouble for late charge on Cole Luke Charteris 6/10 (for AW Jones 63) Made a big impact Justin Tipuric 5/10 (for Warburton 56) Little chance to shine but may replace Warburton next week Rhys Webb 6/10 (for G Davies 54) Looked sharp Rhys Priestland 6/10 (for Dan Biggar 74) Good cameo

source : http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/12/england-wales-six-nations-palyers-ratings

jeudi 10 mars 2016

Cotter and Novès prepare for Sunday

Stick or twist for Vern

Scotland ended their long wait for a Championship victory in Italy but the question now for Vern Cotter is whether he makes any changes to a winning team.

There are three new faces in the squad with Glasgow trio Alex Dunbar, Henry Pyrgos and Fraser Brown all fit enough to rejoin the squad.

Dunbar could theoretically come back into the starting line-up but with Duncan Taylor in fine form he might have to wait a little longer to reunite with Mark Bennett. Peter Horne is another option in midfield after being named on the bench in Rome.

Pyrgos might also be an option on the bench in place of Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, although skipper Greig Laidlaw will win his 50th cap in the starting line-up.

Returning faces for Novès

Guy Novès has been keen to use this Championship as an opportunity to see a wide range of players and after making six changes in round two, and five in round three, we will see more this weekend.

That's because Novès has already released six players back to their clubs, including Paul Jedrasiak, Jonathan Danty and Djibril Camara, all of whom started in Cardiff.

Antoine Burban is also absent through injury so there will be at least four changes to the team.

Yoann Maestri seems the obvious choice in the second row while Wesley Fofana is fit again and should start either on the wing or at centre.

In the back row there are plenty of options between Yacouba Camara, Bernard Le Roux and Loann Goujon.
Novès may go even further though, with Scott Spedding tipped for a start at full-back, while François Trinh-Duc is pushing hard to come in for a first start of the Championship at ten.

It's been a long time since Scotland went into a clash with France with this much confidence, today's decisions could tell us whether that confidence is justified.

source : http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/news/scotland/29726.php#e4pdBOo2PTYZDI7L.97

mercredi 9 mars 2016

Eddie Jones puts Manu Tuilagi on the bench for England’s crunch with Wales

Manu Tuilagi will make his long-awaited return to Test rugby against Wales after being named in England’s squad for Saturday’s crucial Six Nations fixture at Twickenham. The Leicester centre has taken Alex Goode’s place among the replacements, with Wasps’ Elliot Daly retaining his place on the bench.

Tuilagi has not played for England since June 2014, having been sidelined with a groin problem for 15 months. Richard Cockerill, the Tigers’ director of rugby, suggested at the weekend it would be unwise to recall him prematurely but England’s head coach, Eddie Jones, clearly feels it is a risk worth taking.

The Northampton tighthead Kieran Brookes has also nudged out his club-mate Paul Hill, with Joe Launchbury replacing the injured Courtney Lawes. Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie has been retained as cover at hooker for Jamie George, who hurt an arm at training on Tuesday.
It seems, though, that England will stick with the same starting XV that defeated Ireland last month. That would mean a second start for Saracens’ Maro Itoje in the second-row and Ben Youngs staying at scrum-half ahead of Danny Care. Retaining Daly also gives Jones the luxury of an extra specialist centre, which would almost certainly ensure Tuilagi is not needed until the second-half.

Within the England dressing-room, either way, the big man’s return will be warmly received.
“Wherever Manu plays, even if he has a bad day, someone will still get taken down or he is going to run through someone,” said the Wasps flanker James Haskell. “Very few players have the ability to do that but Manu is pretty special. He’s pace, power and strength personified. I have played with him against some of the best teams in the world and he causes everybody trouble.”
Wales’s head coach Warren Gatland, meanwhile, has warned England’s fly-half George Ford to brace himself for a testing examination after naming an unchanged starting XV. “We won’t disappoint George Ford in terms of where we go on Saturday,”he said. “We won’t be throwing the ball all over the place, we will be pretty direct. We’ve got players to get us across the advantage line … hopefully when we do we can play some pretty positive rugby.”
Gatland believes there is no reason Wales cannot repeat their dramatic Rugby World Cup pool victory at the same venue. “The guys are training well and we are treating Saturday like a final. It will be one heck of a game and whoever wins probably wins the Six Nations.”
He is also looking forward to pitting his wits against Jones who, in his view, has added “a bit of an edge” to England. “He has been honest and opinionated and I think that’s been great for the game. It sounds like his players are really enjoying the environment and thriving on that.
“When he does say something out of turn it is important the media don’t jump on him, otherwise he will clam up and stay quiet. Give him the licence to speak his mind and say what he wants to say without analysing everything.”

England (probable) M Brown (Harlequins); A Watson (Bath), J Joseph (Bath), O Farrell (Saracens), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs); G Ford (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton, captain), D Cole (Leicester), G Kruis (Saracens), M Itoje (Saracens), C Robshaw (Harlequins), J Haskell (Wasps), B Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: J George (Saracens) or L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), M Vunipola (Saracens), K Brookes (Northampton), J Launchbury (Wasps), J Clifford (Harlequins), D Care (Harlequins), M Tuilagi (Leicester), E Daly (Wasps).

source : http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/eddie-jones-manu-tuilagi-six-nations-wales

Scotland centre Matt Scott to miss rest of Six Nations with injury

The Scotland centre Matt Scott will miss the rest of this season’s Six Nations Championship due to injury.

Scott, who has won 34 caps, sustained an elbow injury during Edinburgh’s game against Connacht last Friday and the Scottish Rugby Union said that an MRI scan had shown up ligament damage in the joint.

The SRU said: “An MRI scan at Spire Murrayfield Hospital on Monday confirmed that Scott sustained elbow ligament damage in his club’s Guinness Pro12 loss to Connacht on Friday.

“Further examination this Friday will confirm if the player requires surgery on the joint.

“However, it is clear at this stage that he will at least miss the remainder of the 2016 RBS Six Nations, and will return to his club for ongoing care and assessment.”

Scott started Scotland’s Six Nations opener against England at Murrayfield last month, but Mark Bennett and Duncan Taylor forged the midfield partnership when Scotland beat Italy 36-20 in Rome 11 days ago.

Scotland continue their Six Nations campaign on Sunday when France visit Edinburgh, with their final match being against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday week.

source : http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/09/matt-scott-miss-six-nations-scotland-france-rugby

dimanche 6 mars 2016

Clermont pair Morgan Parra and Noa Nakaitaci staked their claim for a France recall in a big Top 14 win over Grenoble on Friday night.

However the winger ran in a first-half hat-trick in a 45-12 win over Grenoble, while Parra played over an hour as he continues his return from injury.

And both admitted after the game that an international return was on their minds as they try to convince Guy Novès they are worthy of a recall.

Parra said: "Yes (I looked at the squad) but I'm coming back from injury and I'm not getting too worried about it but of course it's always in the corner of your mind to try to come back. But it's complicated.

"There is a squad in place. It's up to me, with the guys around, to play well. If the club does well, then it means we're playing well. It's not for me to ask the question (of the hierarchy)."

While Parra has been involved with France under Novès, Nakaitaci has been on the outside but is still keen to get back into the Test reckoning.

He explained: "I'm pleased but it's thanks to all the players. The forwards made ground and in the backs we took our chances. Technically it was very good, when I had some space I had the chance to score.

"For the moment I'm focused on the club and qualifying. If I focus on the club, France will come later. It's an objective but if I want to get called up I have to perform."

source : http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/news/france/29671.php#uKlKpksprHhGd4Ky.97

Wesley Fofana could make his first appearance in this year's RBS 6 Nations after being named in the French squad to prepare for next Sunday's clash with Scotland.

The Clermont centre missed the start of the Championship with a rib injury, but made his playing return this weekend in the Top 14.

And as a result he has been called into the French set-up by Guy Novès as one of two new faces in the 31-man squad.

Find out the Accenture Team of the Week for Round Three

Scott Speddng, Fofana's Clermont teammate, also returns having had to pull out of last Friday's defeat to Wales.

Due to injuries and the quick turnaround, France had been training with just 30 players ahead of the Welsh clash, but Spedding and Fofana have pushed them back up to 31.

That means there is only one player who has dropped out, with Jean-Marc Doussain staying with club side Toulouse.

France are aiming to get back to winning ways after falling to their first loss of the campaign against Wales in Cardiff last week.

Their last defeat to Scotland came in 2006, also at BT Murrayfield, but the Scots ended a run of nine straight Championship losses with their win over Italy last time out.

source: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/news/france/29659.php#E8OrdGDk7CiDYPqF.97