Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Tuesday, February 7.
Shaun Edwards apology
Shaun Edwards has publicly apologised to Sunday's Italy v France referee for the indiscipline shown by his team.
France's defence coach opened his latest Daily Mail column with the message to Matthew Carley after the defending champions scraped through 29-24 to avoid a Six Nations shock. The French conceded a remarkable 18 penalties in the match, slipping well below the standard they have set over the past year.
Edwards admitted there was plenty to review post-game, writing: "You end up spending more time speaking to your analyst than the other coaches. Together we dissect the information and deliver it in a simple and concise manner for the players to remember.
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"It didn’t take any time to see that our penalty count was too high. I’d like to start this column by making a public apology to the referee, Matthew Carley, because our discipline wasn’t good enough.
"We created the most turnovers in world rugby last year. We practise jackalling a lot. Things like making sure you get a clear release. Sometimes we get it right but on Sunday we didn’t. We overcommitted at the ruck, a lot of natural aggression, and didn’t attain our normal high standards."
Edwards was impressed with the opposition, adding: "Italy are a much different team to a few years ago, when they relied heavily on their scrum and maul. They still have a strong set piece, going head to head with ours despite having a lighter pack, but there is much more balance.
"They play from all over the pitch. Sometimes that works for them and sometimes it gets them in trouble. I’m sure England will have taken note. Steve Borthwick doesn’t miss much! "
Grand Slam star wants Moriarty recalled
Former Wales wing Mark Jones has called on Warren Gatland to recall Ross Moriarty for this weekend's clash with Scotland, and says the heat needs to be turned up on those who started against Ireland in Cardiff last weekend.
Jones believes recalling players like Moriarty into the fold could help push the rest of the camp to take their performance to a higher level, with Wales in need of a marked improvement when they take on a Scotland side still buzzing from a sensational win over England at Twickenham.
Speaking on the Scrum V podcast, Jones said: "I definitely think there's one or two players you can add in there that will put instant pressure on the incumbents in the jersey, and you can rotate those players.
"I'd like to see Ross Moriarty back in there, I think he's somebody who could be that person you can go to off the bench or if Faletau's not playing well you can go to him.
"There are one or two out there. When I look at the backline, I'm a big fan of Johnny Williams but he's injured, he's not looking like he's going to play for the Scarlets.
"There's not much heat coming into those positions that you can say 'he should be playing instead'. It's very difficult at the moment. There's not many players who are fit that Gatland can go to to make a clear decision on."
Giggling van der Merwe focused on Wales
Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe admits he "giggles" whenever he watches his sensational first try from the win over England, but insists focus has already turned to Wales. The Edinburgh star skipped his way past five England tacklers to score during the 29-23 win, a try that will likely go down in Scottish rugby folklore.
"I've obviously seen it a couple of times - I still can't believe I've done that," he told BBC Scotland Sport. "I giggle when I watch it. Looking back at it, I'm just absolutely buzzing. Obviously for me personally it's the best try I've ever scored."
The euphoria of that win may well remain unblemished heading into the week ahead, but van der Merwe says attention has already turned to the visit of Wales, the first of three home games for Gregor Townsend's men at this year's championship.
"We have to take it game by game," he added. "We have to focus on Wales this weekend. But also we believe that we can go and beat every single team out there because we're a really, really tight group and we play for each other. So why not, is my question."
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Slade recalled for England
Henry Slade has been included in England's 36-man squad for their upcoming clash with Italy at Twickenham. The 29-year-old withdrew from the squad before the defeat to Scotland due to a hip injury picked up while in action for Exeter, but is now back in contention, as Steve Borthwick bids to get his team's Six Nations campaign back on track.
Borthwick will trim his squad again later in the week when he announces his matchday 23.
Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Jonny Hill, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Bevan Rodd, Sam Simmonds, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis
Backs: Henry Arundell, Owen Farrell, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs.
SRU launches fresh measures to battle discrimination
Scottish Rugby has launched a new email support service designed to encourage members of the game to raise concerns over racism, homophobia and misogyny. The new scheme, which has been named Tell Us, aims to make it easier for players, officials and volunteers to draw attention to concerns by way of a dedicated messaging platform on the homepage of the Scottish Rugby website.
Gavin Scott, the governing body’s director of rugby development, acknowledged that the sport needed to do more to combat incidents of discriminatory behaviour.
“Recent reports have highlighted that we still have some distance to go both as a society and a sport to ensure equality is respected when men’s and women’s teams co-exist,” he told The Scotsman. “The more we can understand the issues being raised and address them, or support clubs to affect change, then hopefully the faster we can achieve that objective.
“Tell Us is a practical way we can listen and learn, from particularly women and young female players, and we hope it proves to be a useful resource. We’ve created Tell Us as a means of opening up an additional accessible channel of communication between our participants and Scottish Rugby, with the hope that we can act quickly and provide appropriate support where required to anyone who has been affected by examples of sexism, misogyny, homophobia or racism.”
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