These are your rugby headlines on Monday, February 3.
Warburton 'feels for Wales coaches' amid damning statistics
Former Wales captain Sam Warburton believes it has been years since a Welsh half-back or centre has "really put their hand up" to make the red jersey theirs, as he admitted he 'feels for' Warren Gatland and his coaching team.
Warburton described Wales' attacking performance in their 43-0 loss to France as "confused" and "scrappy", admitting he was "not 100% convinced that [they] know what they want to do" going forward.
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Appearing on the BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special, he went on to say that a reason for the apparent confusion could well be down to the number of different combinations that Gatland has played in his midfield and half-back pairings. Since 2023, there have been 12 different combinations in the centres and 13 in the half-backs, with scrum-half Tomos Williams the only real constant.
Analysing the eye-opening statistics, Warburton said: "This is probably why they’re not 100 per cent with each other. In years gone by, there would be centre combinations, half-back combinations that played a lot together.
"Tomos Williams is probably one of the main constants as a half-back. He's been a brilliant number nine and he's probably missed games due to injury. But I mean, look at that, 13 different [half-back] combinations since 2023, in the half-backs and 12 combinations at centre. You can't build any continuity with that.
"When you're in certain areas of the field and you just need those key decision makers, you just know what your default option is, what your kick strategy is, what you’re likely to do, and communicate that to the team," he added. "That’s just not there, because the combination is not there."
The former skipper went on to say that, unlike some of those that he played with, no player in recent times has really staked a claim for the jersey in those positions, making things harder for Gatland and his coaching staff who he admitted "don't know their best team".
"To be fair to the coaches - they are probably thinking ‘come on, throw us a bone’ - excluding Tomos Williams, I don’t think anyone has really put their hand up and said ‘I’m the Wales No.10’, or ‘I’m the best 12 or 13’," Warburton admitted.
"I don't think anyone's done that blatantly. In years gone by, you've had a Jamie Roberts or a Jonathan Davies or a George North, these players come and you go, wow, okay, they’re different level, these are world class guys and that's their shirt.
"We’ve not had that for years and that's why I feel for the coaches. They don't know their best team because no one's really owned that position yet."
England call in Jamie George
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent
Jamie George has been summoned back to the England squad after returning from a hamstring strain ahead of schedule for their crucial Guinness Six Nations clash with France on Saturday.
George missed the 27-22 defeat by Ireland in Dublin because of the injury sustained on club duty for Saracens last month and was also expected to sit out the round two fixture at Allianz Stadium.
But he has been restored to Steve Borthwick’s squad sooner than expected and will challenge Luke Cowan-Dickie and Theo Dan for a place in the matchday 23 against France. England's side looked short of experience in defeat to Ireland, with George fast-tracked back to provide some much-needed influence.
Cowan-Dickie started against Ireland and performed well until England fell away following a rousing opening half hour while Dan came in the second half as part of a bench that made little impact.
George’s return will be welcomed as England reflect on a bitterly disappointing opener at the Aviva Stadium that saw the final scoreline distorted by late tries from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman.
The 34-year-old brings 97 caps worth of experience and was the team’s captain until Maro Itoje was placed in charge for the Six Nations.
England have now lost seven successive matches against tier-one opposition and must beat France to save their tournament heading into the first fallow week.
Wales star reveals changing room message
Josh Adams says he and his Wales teammates are under no illusions about the importance of next weekend's "huge" clash with Italy.
Warren Gatland's side will train in Nice for the next week ahead of the visit to Rome, with the fixture seen as a must-win game - not only for their hopes of avoiding a second successive Six Nations whitewash and wooden spoon, but also to finally start to turn things around after a humilating record losing streak of 13 Test matches.
Wales' tournament got off to a miserable start in Paris as they were subjected to a 43-0 thumping at the hands of France, but Adams hopes that his team can rise to the challenge for the "battle" with Italy. However, the experienced wing admits it won't be easy as he said improvements have to be made this week.
"It’s huge, isn’t it?," he said when asked about the importance of the trip to Rome after the France defeat. "We said that in the changing rooms after the game. We’ve got to be a lot better in certain areas. Italy are a very good side actually.
"They’ve got nice continuity. They have a 12 and 13 who have played together a lot with Benetton. They have some dangerous runners in their back three and their pack seems cohesive. They’ve been together for a couple of campaigns now.
"They’re a very improved team. Teams probably don’t give them credit for how physical they are. It’s going to be another battle like we had today, especially up front. But there’s areas we need to get better at, especially with the ball."
Despite their torrid run since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Adams believes Wales are now moving in the right direction, adding "I think so. I honestly do as well. It’s easy to say that standing here isn’t it but deep down, I do.
"The licence we’ve been given to maybe play a bit more rugby with the players we have I think definitely suits us. I hope at the beginning of the game, we showed that. We did it in parts, but we definitely need to get better at it.
"I’m sure previously you’d have seen us kick the ball a lot more. Maybe that’s something we could have done a bit more of today – played a little bit smarter at times. But I’m pleased with the progression from day one until today. I know that might sound mad because we lost, but it’s a continuous improvement."
Whiffin: We'll pick the bones out and move on
Wales U20s head coach Richard Whiffin insists there were plenty of positives to take out of their heavy defeat to France.
Whiffin's side slipped to a heavy 63-19 defeat in Vannes but despite the one-sided scoreline were arguably the better side in the first-half. Wales U20s face an Italy U20s side who beat Scotland 22-10 on Friday night.
But Whiffin has urged his players not to dwell on the scoreline and insists they must take the positives into the clash with Italy. "I'm disappointed with the scoreline but I don't think it reflected the game," he said. "It was a closer battle than it was and you certainly saw that at half-time. I thought there were lots of good facets of play in that first-half. In that first-half we dominated possession. We had 60% possession in that first-half and probably left a couple of tries up there.
"We felt we should have come in at half-time with the lead and then it's a different atmosphere coming into the second-half. The area we need to work on is that 10 minutes after half-time where we let the ascendancy drop a little bit and fair play France took the ascendancy after that."
Whiffin insists Wales need to learn to put together an 80 minute performance over the next couple of months.
"The learning for the boys is how do we turn 40 minute performances into 80 minute performances? How do we manage to stick in games when they are starting to drift away?
"How do you claw yourself back into a game like that? So, the boys will take plenty of learnings. It was one of the loudest games I've ever been at. Our players need to get used to being in these environments and understand how they can compete in what was a bear pit.
"In the scrum and maul we competed incredibly well in what was a strong area of the game for France. We spoke about taking the positives out of the performance because there were plenty.
"We could see it in the boys' eyes. They were obviously disappointed. They put a lot of preparation into it. We were speaking about a short turnaround to Italy so we have to take the positives out, stick together and rip into Italy next week. We will pick the bones out of this game and move onto Italy when we get in next week."
Prendergast rubbishes Crowley 'rivalry'
By Ed Elliot, PA
Rookie Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast has little interest in the "outside noise" surrounding his rivalry with Jack Crowley after celebrating his Guinness Six Nations debut with victory over England.
Much of the build-up to Saturday evening's 27-22 bonus-point success in Dublin centred on the decision of interim boss Simon Easterby to select Leinster playmaker Prendergast ahead of Munster's Crowley.
Prendergast, who won his maiden Test cap as a replacement against Argentina in the autumn and then started the subsequent wins over Fiji and Australia, slotted a long-range penalty but missed his two conversion attempts before being replaced by Crowley with 22 minutes to go.
The 21-year-old rated his own performance as "mixed" as he played down the significance of the ongoing debate about Ireland's number 10 jersey, which, as in the days of Ronan O'Gara versus Johnny Sexton, has been heighted due to the two players representing opposing provinces.
"The only pressure I feel is what is inside the group and inside me," said Prendergast. "Obviously you want to be the starting 10 for Ireland and Leinster. But I wouldn't be listening to too much outside noise or the pressure of that. It's internal pressure. You want to be starting but there is not too much of a rivalry between us."
Crowley, whose impact from the bench on Saturday evening was praised by England head coach Steve Borthwick, emerged as the natural successor to the retired Sexton following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The 25-year-old played every minute of last year's Six Nations title-winning campaign before slipping down the pecking order in November. Easterby also has Leinster's Ciaran Frawley as an option at out-half as he leads the team in the temporary absence of British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell.
"Me and Jack get along very well but there is also Frawls who we get on very well with also," said Prendergast. "Tens do a lot of kicking together and when there's an off day and there's only the three of us kicking, it would be a bit awkward if we didn't get on.
"We travel in the same car to and from kicking. We give ideas to each other in training or in meetings. It's good to learn off each other."
