Here are your rugby morning headlines for Friday, February 5.
Wales players test negative
Wales' rugby players have all tested negative after a second round of Covid-19 testing following the Josh Adams controversy this week.
As per tournament regulations, the Welsh team underwent the checks on Thursday morning after first being tested at the start of the week.
The Welsh camp was thrown into turmoil after training on Tuesday when it emerged winger Adams had broken the team's and national lockdown rules by attending a family event.
Adams had trained with his team-mates without telling anyone what he had done. Wales' players are generally required to stay in the team bubble at the Vale hotel but are allowed home occasionally as long as they follow strict protocols.
He has been suspended from selection for Wales' matches against Ireland and Scotland.
WRU begin process to replace Ryan Jones
The WRU have started looking for a new performance director after former Wales captain Ryan Jones resigned from the role back in October.
Three-time Six Nations winner Jones decided it was the right time to step away from his role as he looked to plough his energy into different ventures following a 20-year association with Welsh rugby.
At the time, WRU chief executive Steve Phillips said the union had no plans on replacing Jones, with many elite programmes having been put on hold while sport was in the vices of the pandemic.
A review subsequently took place to allocate workstreams among existing executive board staff and coaching teams in order to fill the void most efficiently.
However, Phillips has now revealed the process to find Jones' replacement is indeed underway.
Phillips said: "We have commenced the process to fill the current vacancy for the role of performance director and we exploring all the options available to us."
Folau's new team-mate 'bombarded him with gay pornography'
Disgraced former Australia international Israel Folau was "bombarded with gay pornography" when he joined Catalans Dragons, claims rugby league coach Andrew Webster.
Folau was sacked by Australia following a homophobic social media post in which he claimed gay people go to hell.
The former Wallabies full-back switched codes after his sacking, eventually linking up with Catalans Dragons last year.
However Webster claimed that one of the players gave him a rough time following his arrival.
Webster told SEN1170 Radio, via LadBible: "When he first joined Catalans, he joined the players' WhatsApp group and Jimmy Maloney, God love him, couldn't help himself and started bombarding him with gay pornography."
Eddie Jones ramps up Scotland mind games
Eddie Jones has lit the fuse ahead of England's Six Nations opener by questioning whether Scotland will be able to deal with the pressure of their "biggest game of the year".
England and Scotland will battle it out for the 150th installation of the Calcutta Cup this weekend and both sides will be keen to steal the bragging rights.
But Jones believes the expectations which come with this historic tie will weigh far more heavily on Scotland and had no qualms in lumping all the pressure on his opponents.
“You listen to the Scottish, how much it means to them (playing England),” Jones said.
“It’s their biggest game of the year, it’s their most important game of the year, they are playing for trophies and that is a huge expectation for them and maybe with 15 minutes to go in the game the expectation is going to get pretty heavy for them.
“We know for Scotland this is their most important game of the year. They talk about it all the time, but Scotland don’t have a monopoly on pride.
"Our players get an opportunity to play in this historic game, the 150th time the Calcutta Cup is being played for, and they are going to be ready for it. We know Scotland is going to be up for it but so will we, so it should be a great occasion.”
Josh Macleod's Wales welcome
Scarlets back-rower Josh Macleod has opened up on what life has been like during his first Wales camp as he pushes for his first Test cap.
The 24-year-old was rewarded for a stellar start to the campaign with a call-up by Wales boss Wayne Pivac and is currently the only uncapped player in the squad.
Here is what he has made of his experience in camp so far.
"Being the only uncapped player in the squad isn’t something I’ve really thought about – although some of the players have reminded me that I haven’t done my 30-Second Intro yet. New players have to get up and talk about themselves for half a minute in front of everyone," Macleod wrote in his WRU column.
"So that’s going through my head more than the fact that I’m the least experienced player here! If I’d been asked to do it on the first day of camp I may have suffered from stage fright, but I feel a bit more relaxed now.
"Wayne has emphasised the results-driven mentality we need to have for tournament rugby. We know we’ve got a lot of pressure on our shoulders this Six Nations. We want to win every game, which is the approach you need to take. That said, with the amount of talent we have in the squad, there’s no actual reason why we can’t achieve great things this year.
"Personally, all I can do is give a good first impression of myself: work as hard as I can; try and fit in as best as possible; if a chance arises, then I’ll get stuck in and push on."
Alun Wyn Jones relishing Principality return
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones is relishing the prospect of returning to the Principality Stadium this weekend.
Pivac's men took on England, Georgia and Italy at Parc y Scarlets for last year's Autumn Nations Cup as Wales' usual home ground in the capital city was being used as the Dragon's Heart field hospital in aid of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Jones admits that the edge might be taken away slightly by the lack of fans, he is eagerly anticipating striding out at the Principality once again when Ireland come to town this Sunday.
“From a professional point of view our preparation will be back to normal. We don’t have to do things a little bit earlier and don’t have the extended drive down the M4," he said.
“Part of me is disappointed we didn’t make international history at Parc y Scarlets. We did for a bit of it, but probably wanted some more positive history.
“It’s going to be nice to go back to Principality Stadium. It served a purpose. It’s where I like to play rugby for Wales for obvious reasons.
“Don’t ask me if I want the roof open or closed – I just want to be back in Cardiff!
“If you’re asking me whether we’ve got the best fans in the world then I’d say yes. To be in the middle of the pitch with 75,000 Welsh fans is a very special place to be. Will we miss them? Yes.
“Are they the best in the world? Most definitely.”
