The latest rugby news from Wales and around the world
These are your latest rugby headlines on Monday, January 26.
Woodward: ‘Priceless’ player must start against Wales
Former England head coach Sir Clive Woodward says Steve Borthwick must include George Furbank in his starting line-up to face Wales in their Six Nations opener next month.
Borthwick’s side are widely seen as genuine title contenders as they head into this year’s championship on an 11-Test winning streak, with their opening game at the Allianz Stadium seeing them face Wales, who have not won a Six Nations match since March 2023.
The two sides’ contrasting run of form means Woodward believes there is “simply no way” Steve Tandy’s side can spring an almighty surprise and defeat the old enemy on their own turf on February 7.
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As a result, the 70-year-old believes that the Wales clash is the perfect time to reintroduce Furbank to international rugby. The Northampton Saints star was previously England’s first choice full-back but hasn’t played since November 2024, having suffered a nasty broken arm a month later.
He also has been limited to just five senior appearances for Northampton so far this season due to calf issues, but Woodward says the 29-year-old offers Borthwick a “priceless option” and simply must start against Tandy’s men.
“The return of [George] Furbank only serves to make England an even stronger team and I would certainly start him at full-back for the opening game with Wales,” he wrote in his MailOnline column.
“The Northampton man has had a pretty tough 18 months since breaking his arm, but there is no doubt to me that when fit, he provides a real point of difference from No 15. Furbank offers England the priceless option of a second playmaker alongside George Ford as the likely fly-half.”
Woodward went on to say that Marcus Smith is “not an international 15”, while Freddie Steward “does not have the out-and-out pace required or the passing ability” for the second playmaker position.
“With Furbank in [Steward’s] place, I believe England can rival the likes of South Africa and France,” he continued. “To me, international rugby has always been about playing with pace and Furbank’s presence can only help England do that.
“[He] is key to getting the ball to the likes of Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in the wide channels. As No 10, Ford will guide the ship. But Furbank can come in alongside him when needed and spread the ball both left and right.
“Crucially, he is also a specialist in his position, which I think is essential if you want to win at the very highest level,” the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning coach added.
“Unfortunately, given Wales’ awful struggles both on and off the field, there is simply no way they can beat England in round one. So, even if Furbank hasn’t had much game time, he has to play the opener.”
Welsh stars arrive in camp
The Wales-based players in Steve Tandy’s Six Nations squad will join up at the team’s Vale Resort base today, with their championship opener away to England now less than a fortnight away.
Tandy, who announced his selection choices for the tournament last week, will have at least 25 members of his 38-man squad with him in training on Monday, with English and French clubs not duty-bound to release players yet.
That means the likes of new call-up Gabriel Hamer-Webb, uncapped Louie Hennessey and the returning Tomas Francis won’t be expected in camp until later this week, with Rhys Carre, Olly Cracknell, Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkins, Nicky Smith, Freddie Thomas, Jarrod Evans, Louis Rees-Zammit, Tomos Williams and France-based Adam Beard also set to join at a later date.
Wales face a daunting opener at the Allianz Stadium on February 7, with England viewed by many as tournament favourites. The last time the two sides met, Steve Borthwick’s side inflicted a record 68-14 defeat on the hosts in Cardiff, on one of the darkest days in Welsh rugby history.
Asked what would constitute a successful championship for his side, Tandy told reporters last week: “I thought there were lots of green shoots in the autumn. I think the important thing for us is building on that.
“Large parts of the New Zealand game is how we want to do it and how we want to play. I think there were elements against Japan, the last 90 seconds of the game in how they ground that out and probably moments against Argentina as well, although there were lots of tidy ups.
“There’s learnings around that in how we’ve got to grow and the catching up we have to do,” he added. “So, for me, the minimum and the expectation is we want to be better and there’ll be a clearer identity in how we want to play.
“Scoring four tries against the All Blacks, but also you see the discipline lens of how we were in the autumn, working hard on how we can make sure that’s much better, so we give ourselves a chance of being more competitive in these big games in the Six Nations.”
Sheedy: That was one for the purists
Cardiff star Callum Sheedy admits his side’s clash with Benetton in the URC on Saturday night was “one for the purists” after grinding out a 17-8 win at Cardiff Arms Park.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Blue & Blacks came out on top in a scrappy, stop-start affair with a try from Josh McNally and points from the boots of Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd moving them up to third in the table.
After the full-time whistle, the full-back praised his side’s control and composure in wet conditions in the capital, as he highlighted the importance of game management, territory and getting points on the board from the tee.
“It was definitely one for the purists,” said Sheedy. “In games like that it’s really important to be ahead on the scoreboard. We took the threes early on and that was massive because it’s so hard to chase a game with a greasy ball.
“We wanted to play the game as much as possible in their 22, which is why we played fairly minimal rugby around halfway. I thought we did that really well and managed the last 15 to 20 minutes especially.
“Ben Thomas was outstanding with those little kicks from the edge,” he added. “It was about constantly turning them. They’re a big pack and when they get momentum, they’re really hard to stop.”
“We talk a lot about fight and enjoyment. It’s not always going to be pretty. At the end of the season, no one’s going to care what that game looked like – it’s four points and that’s the important thing.
“We were six-nil up at half-time and probably could’ve been further ahead, but it is what it is. It’s a big four points for us.”
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