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Here are your rugby morning headlines for Wednesday, February 11.
Biggar lays down harsh truth to Wales rugby fans
Dan Biggar has delivered a blunt assessment of where Wales currently stand and warned supporters to accept some uncomfortable truths ahead of Sunday’s daunting clash with France.
Speaking on The Rugby Pod after Wales’ hammering by England, the former fly-half admitted his old side were “quite a bit short” of the required standard and said the contest was effectively over inside the opening 20 minutes.
“There comes a certain responsibility to at least perform at a certain level. And there’s a minimum standard, isn’t there?” Biggar said.
“And I thought Wales were, as I said after the game, I thought Wales were quite a bit short of that in that first 40 in particular. And that’s when the game ultimately was done, inside 20 minutes, wasn’t it?
“Whether that was self-inflicting wounds, like not tapping the ball, penalties at lineout, penalties for obstruction, yellow cards, low phase count, high error count… very little to be positive.”
Biggar admitted he wanted to find positives in a young squad and inexperienced coaching group, but struggled after what he saw in the first half at Twickenham.
“I’ve tried, and I want to be positive about Wales, but it was very difficult to be positive after that first 40,” he added.
“You hope that there’s going to be a massive reaction, but then you think, ‘OK, well they’re playing France on Sunday with the roof closed,’ where France looked amazing.
“But I think you’ve got to accept as well, as Welsh fans, players, supporters, whoever you are… these are not the games Wales can almost win at the minute.”
That acceptance, he suggested, is part of the current reality. However, he stressed there are still standards that must be met — even in defeat.
“But there has to be ways in which you lose,” he added, contrasting the senior side’s display with the under-20s’ fighting performance against England.
“They rolled their sleeves up, threw a few shots. Like the team on Saturday, it was really disappointing.”
For Wales, the immediate focus now is on preventing the situation from spiralling further — and Biggar issued a rallying cry to supporters not to abandon the team at a critical time.
“You have to get back to the Principality on Sunday. Almost forget that you’re playing France. You have to try and get the crowd in there,” he said.
“That now is not the time to walk out on the team. This is when almost the team, and this young group and inexperienced coaching group, need the support of the nation.
“Because they can’t be that bad again. And if they are, then they’re in big, big trouble.”
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Borthwick: Scottish rugby fans should back Townsend
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent
England head coach Steve Borthwick is surprised by the scrutiny of Gregor Townsend’s position as Scotland boss ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash at Murrayfield.
The Scots are reeling after being ambushed 18-15 by Italy in Rome, plunging them to 10th in the global rankings behind the Azzurri and placing doubt over Townsend’s ability to continue until the 2027 World Cup as contracted.
Former national team captain John Barclay declared this week that if they fail to finish in the top three then it “becomes a necessity to see a change”.
Townsend was unable to guide Scotland out of the group stage of the 2019 and 2023 World Cups and has never finished higher than third in the Six Nations during his nine years in charge.
But Borthwick said ahead of England’s attempt to claim a first win at Murrayfield since 2020: “I think Gregor Townsend is a wonderful coach.
“I was told recently that he has the best win record of any Scotland coach in the professional era. Sir Ian McGeechan had two spells and Gregor sits above that.
“The way he has coached the attack they have and the way they move the ball, when they do that they look terrific.
“I have immense respect for him as a coach and I find it surprising that people are not spending more time talking about Scotland rather than not supporting their coach.
“He’s a phenomenal coach and they should spend more time supporting him.”
In an indication of the rivals’ contrasting fortunes, England head to Murrayfield as odds-on favourites to retain the Calcutta Cup despite the ground being the graveyard of their title ambitions in recent times.
A 12-Test winning run means they march north of the border full of confidence and they have captain Maro Itoje back in the starting XV after he was picked on the bench for the 48-7 rout of Wales following the recent death of his mother.
Luke Cowan-Dickie is promoted at hooker in the only other change to the starting XV with Jamie George and Alex Coles dropping to the replacements, where Fin Smith ousts Marcus Smith having recovered from from a calf injury.
Henry Pollock continues in his super-sub role after being given license to roam by Borthwick as England look to build positional flexibility for the 2027 World Cup.
The Northampton flanker continues to be seen as an option for the wing during matches.
“Henry’s got incredible pace and super handling skills and you see not just his ability to make breaks, but how he supports breaks,” Borthwick said.
“How often do you see him on somebody’s shoulder taking an offload and then running on and scoring or potentially giving another offload for somebody else to score?
“His skill set and the way he plays the game is less within a structure and more within having a freedom roam to go and find the ball and find where he needs to be. I’m very confident with him in that position.”
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International calls for Six Nations intervention after TV ‘bias’
Former Scotland international Jim Hamilton has called on Six Nations organisers to step in after claiming French television coverage impacted key decisions during France’s win over Ireland.
While France were widely praised for a superb performance in their Six Nations opener at the Stade de France, debate has continued around two first-half tries that some felt should not have stood.
There were suggestions of a forward pass in the build-up to Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s opening try, while Antoine Dupont also appeared to knock the ball on at the base of a scrum before France’s second score. Neither incident was reviewed in detail during the broadcast, with limited replay angles shown.
Speaking on The Rugby Pod, Hamilton questioned why neutral television directors are not used in major tournaments, arguing that the lack of replays can influence the TMO process.
“Because the replays are so bad because it’s French TV, we never got the angles on it,” Hamilton said.
“I can’t believe in 2026 that with the amount of money, that was the most viewed game and it broke TV records. They’re not getting the true experience because some TV director… is like ‘no I’m not doing this’.
“I think that’s mental! That needs to be called out and needs to be looked at.”
Hamilton stressed that he did not believe the incidents ultimately altered the outcome, with France dominant for large parts of the contest, but warned that similar situations in bigger matches later in the championship could have serious consequences.
“It didn’t have an effect on the game but as we go through the gears here, if that is England-France for the Grand Slam decider at the end of the tournament and these things ain’t being checked… that is a fair point,” he said.
Concerns around host broadcasters controlling replay output in France have surfaced previously, with critics arguing that failure to show certain angles can limit the TMO’s ability to intervene.
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Scotland coach says beating England can change everything
By Anthony Brown, Press Association
Pieter de Villiers is adamant a victory over England on Saturday can “turn everything around” for Scotland after a dire start to their Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Gregor Townsend and his players have come under heavy fire since Saturday’s grim 18-15 defeat by Italy in Rome.
But scrum-coach De Villiers still believes they can get back into championship contention by winning this weekend’s Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield.
“It’s only the second game of the tournament, any team in the tournament can still win it,” he stressed at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Italy will go out and surprise other teams as well, they’re a really good outfit and I think it’s going to be tight all around this tournament.
“It’s important that we get that enthusiasm back to go and deliver a great game.
“England are a team who have had good results recently, they’ve been consistent.
“A result against England obviously will turn everything around and put us on the right track to win this tournament.”
De Villiers insisted the magnitude of this weekend’s match against their bitter rivals will ensure there is no lingering deflation in the Scottish camp.
“On Sunday everyone needs a pick-up because it’s obviously a big disappointment, but I think everyone is squarely back on the horse,” said the South African-born coach.
“With such a big game coming up, the passion that is around this game ignites everyone to the top level. The concentration levels are there and the excitement is there.
“There will always be outside noise going on, that’s the nature of this game.
“It’s high-stakes, it’s Six Nations, and if you don’t get results, fans out there will be disappointed and people will obviously look into things and maybe want change.
“But for us nothing changes in terms of what we do on a day-to-day basis.
“Yes, we would have liked a better result but this weekend is a perfect opportunity to go and do it in a high-stakes game where both teams will be very passionate and driven to deliver a result.”