Today's rugby news as sick Sir Chris Hoy gets unique Six Nations job and Wales star 'off charts'
These are your latest rugby headlines on Friday, February 7.
'Supersonic' Wales star 'off the charts'
Ugo Monye has praised Jac Morgan for his 'supersonic' performance against France and talked up his British & Irish Lions prospects.
The Wales captain was on another level to his teammates in their opening Six Nations clash in Paris, leading from the front and putting in a huge shift in the face of adversity as Warren Gatland's side were thumped 43-0.
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Alongside Tomos Williams, Morgan has been tipped to be one of the few Welsh representatives on this summer's Lions tour and Monye, who was watching on at the Stade de France, suggested he would be a major contender to make the side, despite the back row being an "ultra-competitive" field.
"I think we're blessed in the back five of the scrum, well we're blessed in the pack," said Monye as he discussed what a potential Lions team may look like this summer. "We should have loads of options, we're four nations condensing into one so we should be ultra-competitive.
"Jac Morgan, even after a 43-0 drubbing, I was out in Paris and watched him and I just thought he was supersonic. His numbers were off the chart.
"I felt sorry for Tomos Williams," he added. "If you put Tomos Williams behind that French pack, he would look like a world-beater. Unfortunately for him, they have a world beater behind the pack in France and he looked relatively special at the weekend, didn't he?"
Chris Hoy given unique Six Nations role
Sir Chris Hoy has been given a unique role to perform ahead of Scotland's Six Nations clash with Ireland at Murrayfield this weekend.
The Olympic legend revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, with doctors giving him "two to four years" left to live.
After sharing his story, he has already prompted hundreds of thousands of men across the UK to check for prostate cancer, while his new venture Tour de 4 ride aims to alter the perception of those living with stage 4 cancer and raise funds for UK cancer charities.
Now, Sir Chris will deliver the match ball ahead of Sunday's match, while he will also drive ahead of Scotland's team bus as it makes its way to Murrayfield.
Announcing the news, Scottish Rugby said in a statement: “Six-time Olympic Gold medallist and 11-times world champion Sir Chris Hoy will be back at Scottish Gas Murrayfield this Sunday delivering the match ball for the game against Ireland.
“Sir Chris Hoy will also be driving the Lead the Legends car, brought to you by Arnold Clark, at the front of the Scotland team bus arrival. Sir Chris has recently made public a terminal cancer diagnosis in an interview with the Sunday Times.
“Having recently shared his personal health news, Sir Chris has launched a charity fundraiser to help people who also have terminal cancer to see it is possible to live well and lead a happy life alongside receiving a devastating diagnosis," the statement continued. "Sir Chris’s new Tour de 4 ride, aims to help to change the perception of people living with stage 4 cancer, while also raising vital funds for UK cancer charities.
“He is also a proud supporter of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Doddie Aid and on Sunday, the match ball he will deliver is being transported from Dublin by the champion of Doddie Aid, former Scotland captain and Doddie’s team-mate, Rob Wainwright."
Wales star signs new deal
Wales hooker Elliot Dee has signed a new long-term deal with the Dragons.
The 30-year-old, who has been named among the replacements for Wales' Six Nations clash with Italy this weekend, has spent 12 seasons at Rodney Parade, making a total of 155 appearances for the region.
An academy product, Dee has also scored 26 tries for the Men of Gwent, making him their sixth highest try scorer of all time.
After his new contract was announced, the 52-cap international said: ”I am pleased to commit my future to my home club. I’m proud to come from Gwent and to have spent my career at a team that I hold so close to my heart. I grew up on the terraces at Rodney Parade and it’s always a proud moment for me when I pull on the jersey.
“I want to play a big role in our future and the seasons ahead. I’m genuinely excited by plans to move us forward so I’m staying to help us all achieve the success and progress we want.
“We have some fantastic talent in the squad, with several exciting young players now pushing through who will be the future of our club," Dee added. “We are all working hard collectively to bring success to Dragons RFC and I’m looking forward to what we can achieve together.
"Finally, I want to thank my partner, Ruby for her incredible support and also our fans for their backing, of both me and the club. Your backing means everything, creates the special atmosphere we all enjoy at Rodney Parade, and I can assure you I will be doing all I can to bring you the success we all crave.”
Negri wary of Wales
Italy flanker Sebastian Negri has urged caution as his side head into their Six Nations clash with Wales as favourites.
The Italians have historically been the tournament's underdogs and have not beaten a Welsh side on home turf since 2007. However, having won two of their last three meetings and with Wales currently on a miserable run of 13 straight Test match defeats, the hosts will take to the turf in Rome knowing they are expected to win.
While Negri says he and his teammate must embrace their new favourites tag, he has warned that they "can't underestimate" Warren Gatland's side, who are desperate for a win to end their woeful losing streak.
"I think we've got to embrace that fact, but Wales can be at their strongest when their backs are against the wall and we're expecting a really tough battle," the 30-year-old told Reuters.
"People say we're the favourites and that's a new sort of tag for us but we have to embrace that. We're in a good cycle ourselves and looking forward to a big game but you can't underestimate Wales at any time no matter how difficult a run they're on."
Borthwick branded 'a tall Eddie Jones'
Former Ireland international Geordan Murphy has taken aim at England coach Steve Borthwick, branding him 'a tall Eddie Jones'.
The ex-full-backspent his entire professional career with Leicester Tigers and crossed paths with Borthwick during his time at the Premiership club, although they never played together.
Murphy served as the Tigers' head coach for two years before being succeeded by Borthwick and stepping into the role of director of rugby. But while the Irishman - who won 72 caps for his country and toured with the British and Irish Lions in 2005 - believes the England boss is "a good coach", he admitted in an interview with Prime Casino that they are "certainly not friends".
"I never played with Steve," he said. "I played against him. I played against him, played England-Ireland, played Leicester-Bath, Leicester-Saracens against him. I worked with him very briefly at Leicester during the pandemic. He can coach; I think he's a good coach - that's it.
"We are certainly not friends. That's all I know. When I briefly worked with Steve that was something that he made very apparent. He said to me, ‘I don’t want to be your friend.’
"That makes it very difficult when you're in a working environment and somebody comes to you and says that. He just cares about being a good coach. I only really saw him on the surface so I didn't really get to know him too well."
Murphy then added: "I know Steve has a huge amount of respect for Eddie Jones. Just from looking at the track record of the RFU employees that left under Eddie. I know that way of leading is a challenging one to get right because you're putting a lot of pressure on people.
"He effectively is a ‘Tall Eddie Jones.’ That's what I'm hearing in camp, that his behaviour is very similar to Eddie. So why would you get rid of one bloke and replace him with an English clone?
"There's a lot of people who've been involved in making that decision, so I think it looks bad for a lot of people," he continued. "So, no I don't think you do get rid of him. I don't think they can get rid of him. I think they’ll stick with him."
