Tonight's rugby news as Davies picks 'dream' Wales coaching ticket and Ireland hit with triple blow
These are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, February 18.
Ireland hit with triple injury blow
Ireland have suffered a triple injury blow ahead of their Six Nations clash with Wales this weekend.
Captain Caelan Doris, hooker Ronan Kelleher and prop Tadhg Furlong have all been ruled out of Saturday's meeting at the Principality Stadium. Doris is out with a knee issue, while Kelleher and Furlong have been sidelined with neck and calf problems respectively.
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Doris and Kelleher were both injured during Ireland's 32-18 win over Scotland in the last round, while Furlong has yet to appear in this year's Championship having also missed the autumn because of a torn hamstring.
The triple setback comes after Iain Henderson and Cormac Izuchuku were also ruled out of this weekend's match in Cardiff.
Confirming the news, attack coach Andrew Goodman said that the trio of Doris, Kelleher and Furlong would play no part against Wales but it is hoped that they will return in time to face France in a huge clash on March 8.
"We're hoping they'll be available for France," he said. "They're just going through their processes that they do with the physios, but they're all making good progress."
Doris' absence means Ireland will have a new captain for their visit to Cardiff, but Goodman believes they are blessed for options in their current squad.
"There's some good leaders in the squad," he said. "The leadership group's been growing well over the past couple of years and there's a number of players who have captained their provinces, so we have some good options there."
Davies throws new name into Wales coaching mix
Welsh centre Jonathan Davies has called for his former Scarlets coaches Simon Easterby and Lee Blackett to lead Wales following Warren Gatland's departure.
The 36-year-old played under both men at Parc y Scarlets and says they would make up his "dream set up" to succeed the New Zealander in the Wales hotseat.
While interim Ireland boss Easterby emerged as an early frontrunner to take the permanent Wales job following Gatland's departure, Davies is the first to mention Bath assistant coach Blackett's name in relation to joining the Welsh coaching staff.
"Simon was my first captain at the Scarlets, and I have a huge amount of respect for him, how he started as a young coach," Davies told JeffBet. "He has been in the Ireland set up for a while, worked under coaches like Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell.
"He would have so much knowledge and understanding of what works and he could bring that across to Welsh rugby.
"I would love to see Lee Blackett involved too," the former Lions star added. "He coached us at the Scarlets for six months, and he was brilliant. My dream set up would be Simon and Lee."
Last week, it was confirmed that former Wasps boss Blackett had been appointed as head coach and attack coach for England A's clash against Ireland A on Sunday.
Wales 'a sleeping beast'
Incoming Wales Women head coach Sean Lynn has described his new team as a "sleeping beast" and admitted he is "super excited" to start in the role.
The Gloucester-Hartpury boss will depart the Premiership Women's Rugby side after 24 years next month as he prepares to lead the Welsh team in their Women's Six Nations campaign.
While they finished bottom of the table last year under former coach Ioan Cunningham, two-time PWR champion Lynn is confident that they can perform better this time around, with the Women's Rugby World Cup coming up later this year.
“I’ve been on calls with the girls on a Wednesday for the last three weeks, and they know that I am super excited in the talent we’ve got," he told RugbyPass. “I’m sending them highlights about how proud I am of the family and just some highlights of what we’re doing.
“Look, I think we’re a little bit of a sleeping beast and I’m really excited about taking on board and getting stuck into the Six Nations, travelling [to] Australia, really spending some good time with the family and then building into that World Cup.”
On preparing to leave Gloucester-Hartpury after nearly a quarter of a century, Lynn said: “I’m an emotional guy, so I’m pretty sure there will be some [emotion] coming to the end of it.
"However, fingers crossed, I can finish this chapter on a massive high and then I’m really excited to start a new beginning with something I take super pride in being a proud Welshman.”
Wales international signs new deal
Wales Women international Kayleigh Powell has signed a new contract with Harlequins.
The 26-year-old joined Quins from Bristol Bears last summer, having helped Team GB to seventh place in the rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics.
Powell has made 10 league starts for her new side at fly-half so far this campaign and has now put pen to paper on a new deal, the length of which has not been specified.
"I've really loved my time at Quins this season," she said as the agreement was announced. "This is a really special group and I'm so pleased that I get the opportunity to do it all over again as part of this team next year."
Powell, who can also play at full-back, has 20 international caps for Wales and previously represented the Ospreys before moving to Bristol in 2020.
