Six Nations 2023: England's Steve Borthwick says Owen Farrell demotion not based on kicking: 'I've made bold selection calls before'; Ireland's Johnny Sexton embracing pressure of final Six Nations Grand Slam chance; Warren Gatland: Strike threat caused 'significant split' in Wales squad
Saturday 11 March 2023 16:42, UK
Hear from the camps ahead of the weekend's Six Nations Round 4 encounters, as England host France, Wales travel to Italy and Scotland welcome Ireland...
England head coach Steve Borthwick insists Owen Farrell's demotion to the bench was based on more than goalkicking as he made the shock decision to pick Marcus Smith at fly-half for Saturday's clash with France.
For the first time since 2015, Farrell has been overlooked for the No 10 jersey, with Borthwick displaying the ruthless streak in selection that has already seen experienced heads Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs overlooked.
With England's captain limited to a supporting role from the bench, Ellis Genge will lead the team at Twickenham until Farrell steps on to the pitch.
It has been a solid if unspectacular championship so far for the 31-year-old Saracen, who has started all three games, but his accuracy off the kicking tee has been a very poor 47 per cent.
Borthwick, however, insists that while his success rate of completing just seven out of 15 shots at goal was a factor in selection, it was only one of several.
"Every kicker has small dips and the great kickers always come back and improve their percentage," England's head coach said.
"I consider every aspect and you'd expect me to do that. I try to do this job as thoroughly as possible.
"Owen's been kicking brilliantly in training this week, as has Marcus. There are wider aspects to be considered within this game and game plan, not simply the goalkicking.
"If you were to track all the teams I've selected there have been some pretty bold decisions.
"I've tried to pick the right team for that game, I don't consider how it will be perceived by the outside.
"Owen has been brilliant, as he always is. He trains brilliantly and he leads this team fantastically well, whatever role he's playing."
Smith is viewed as a better fit to execute England's strategy against France, whose colossal pack provides power at the cost of mobility.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Ellis Genge (c), 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Ollie Chessum, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 7 Jack Willis, 8 Alex Dombrandt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Henry Arundell.
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c); 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Paul Willemse, 6 Francois Cros, 7 Charles Ollivon, 8 Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Sekou Macalou, 21 Maxime Lucu, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet.
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton insists having one final chance to become a Grand Slam-winning captain is positive pressure as he edges closer to his probable Six Nations swansong.
Andy Farrell's in-form side are in pole position for the title and on course for a tournament clean sweep going into crunch games away vs Scotland and at home vs England.
Ireland have clinched just three Grand Slams in the history of the championship in all its forms (1948, 2009, 2018), with Sexton part of the squad which last achieved the feat in five years ago.
The veteran fly-half is expected to retire following this year's World Cup but does not feel unduly burdened by current circumstances as he attempts to sign off a stellar Six Nations career in style.
"Pressure is pressure," he said ahead of Sunday's visit to Murrayfield. "It's been there for the last 10, 15 years in various forms. This is a good pressure. You've one shot, you want to do well.
"But at the same time it's not about me, it's about the team and building and trying to do something that we set out to do. That's ultimately what it's about.
"It's about embracing it, it's about realising that it's not always like this.
"Going back a couple of years, we'd lost our first two games and we were fighting for a bit of respect, a bit of pride, whatever.
"So it's not always like this. You've got to cherish it. Where else would you rather be? Would you rather be fourth and playing for nothing?
"It's where we want to be. You can't get away from that so it's just about driving home process, driving home performance, driving home the things that matter."
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Matt Fagerson, 7 Jamie Ritchie (c), 8 Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Conor Murray; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Iain Henderson, 5 James Ryan, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O'Toole, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw
Warren Gatland has revealed the threat of possible player strike action before Wales' Six Nations game against England caused "quite a significant split" and "tension" within his squad.
Wales head to Rome for a contest with Italy on Saturday, both having lost their opening three games.
Another defeat, and a first Six Nations wooden spoon for 20 years beckons, given that Wales' final fixture is against France in Paris.
A crushing contractual and financial back-drop has engulfed Welsh regional rugby, with all four professional teams - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - facing major funding cuts, leading to vastly-reduced contract offers for many players whose deals expire at the end of this season, and a player exodus appears inevitable.
Along with thorny subjects like Wales' former 60-cap national selection rule and fixed-variable contracts, off-field problems led to the prospect of a players' strike before England's Cardiff visit last month.
Although a strike was averted and the England game went ahead as scheduled, with Borthwick's team winning 20-10, Wales head coach Gatland said: "In terms of the stuff that was going on off the field, that definitely had an impact.
"There was quite a significant split in the group over which way to go, and I think that definitely caused some tension within the group for a couple of weeks.
"I think if things do get signed and get sorted and we get Welsh rugby back on the right track, I think it will be positive for everyone.
"Time was the healer. It was definitely quite fractious there, which is understandable because people have different opinions.
"I don't have an issue with that, but sometimes that can create tension and on reflection that definitely happened with guys having strong views one way or the other. I think things have settled down over the last couple of weeks.
"There were big moments in the England game where there were no celebrations from our players - no slapping backsides or congratulating guys about turnovers.
"That has sort of been the message this week, making sure we celebrate as a group. When I look back and saw we weren't doing that against England, that is probably a reflection of where we were as a group."
Gatland has seen Wales lose to Ireland, Scotland and England since he returned for a second spell in the job.
"We have been disappointed with the results so far, and for me it is hard to take as it is the first time I have lost three games in the Six Nations with Wales," he added.
"It is about trying to get a handle on where we are, and we have still got a lot of work to do. We have got some young players who are pretty exciting and need a bit of time.
"For a number of players it could be their last year in a Welsh jersey as well, so there will be that sort of transition going forward.
"We are not quite where we want to be in terms of that process, but I can tell we are working hard.
"One of the things I've always said is you cannot coach experience. Sometimes, young players make mistakes and you've got to allow them to do that.
"They learn from playing at the highest level and gain that knowledge from international rugby. That's why for a number of them we have got to give them time in the middle."
Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Pierre Bruno, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney; 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 3 Simone Ferrari, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Federico Ruzza, 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Michele Lamaro, 8 Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Edoardo Iachizzi, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Luca Morisi.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb; 1 Wyn Jones, 2 Ken Owens (c), 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Jac Morgan, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 George North, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit.
