Tonight's rugby news as pundit points finger at Gatland and surgery ends Wales star's season
These are your evening rugby headlines on Sunday, February 2.
Pundit points finger at Gatland
Ugo Monye has pointed the finger at Warren Gatland after his side's brutal 43-0 drubbing at the hands of France, saying he got two major decisions wrong.
Wales fell deeper into the abyss in Paris on Friday night as they were outclassed by a French team that didn't really need to get out of first gear to run in seven tries and inflict a first competitive nilling for the visitors since 2007.
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With an improved set-piece and some promising individual displays, Gatland later claimed it was "not an entirely bad day at the office", but Monye says the Wales coach should be held responsible for his team selection and choice of tactics.
"I think the coach's job [is] two things really in the week, one is to select the right team and the second is to get the tactics right," the BBC pundit said in the aftermath of the match. "Gatland has got both of them wrong this week, period.
"I mentioned a couple of times in commentary, but this game screamed for an experienced fly-half who knew how to control the game and territory, something that France absolutely dominated today. I think Dan Edwards actually looked really good, mixed the game up well, put boot to ball a little bit more, but the game was done by then. So I thought [Gatland] got that decision wrong.
"Max Llewellyn I feel should have been within the squad, and who would have predicted Owen Watkin to go off after 20 minutes? That's really bad luck," he added.
"Tactically, just deciding to never kick the ball exclusively in the first half and run everything, I described it as playing rugby on a treadmill where you're working really hard and going nowhere, but that's how the Welsh looked for the majority of the game."
Surgery ends Wales star's season
Wales Women prop Sisilia Tuipulotu says her season has "come to an early end" after undergoing hamstring surgery.
The 21-year-old tighthead is a key member of the Wales squad but will be unavailable to new head coach Sean Lynn for this year's Women's Six Nations, which kicks off next month.
Tuipulotu had her thigh heavily strapped during Gloucester-Harpurty's win over Trailfinders two weeks ago, in a game which looks set to be her last in the current campaign.
Taking to Instagram, the Wales international shared a photo of her on crutches with her leg in a brace, as she wrote "Surgery (tick) and hamstring 2.0 incoming.
"Injuries suck but I will always trust in God's plan and timing! Season 24/25 has come to an early end but I’ll be back better than before. For my family, friends and most importantly my teammates!
"So for now, a little rest can’t harm anybody. Stay blessed everybody."
Wales kick-off their Women's Six Nations campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday, March 22, as they look to avoid a second successive wooden spoon.
Borthwick wants England to 'be a better team'
By Ed Elliot, PA, Dublin
Steve Borthwick has vowed to ensure England deliver an improved performance against France after taking encouragement from his side's defeat to Ireland in their Guinness Six Nations opener.
Hot on the heels of an unsuccessful autumn, England were beaten 27-22 by the back-to-back champions in Dublin as their uninspiring run of results extended to seven losses in nine matches. Since ultimately denying Ireland consecutive Grand Slams with a last-gasp 23-22 win in round four of last year's tournament, a pair of victories over Japan is all Borthwick's men have managed.
England were handed a challenging start to the current championship and are now confronted with tricky home fixtures against Les Bleus and Scotland, which could quickly imperil Borthwick's position as head coach.
"Ultimately we came up short, and I'm really disappointed we came up short because I thought we could win this game," Borthwick said of Saturday evening's setback. "Our players gave that a good go, you certainly saw a belief in the players that they could come here and win the game.
"We didn't so we'll ensure that we're a better team next week against France back at Twickenham. Immense credit to Ireland, it was a tough Test match and in that third quarter they did really well. That was probably the critical period.
"I'm very proud of the way the players attacked the game in the first half and in the final quarter the way they came back and ultimately scored a couple of tries to get us the bonus point."
Borthwick's bold decision to select twin brothers Tom and Ben Curry alongside Ben Earl in a highly-mobile back row initially paid dividends as England established a 10-5 half-time lead at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.
But Ireland, who failed to capitalise on their first-half territory against dogged opposition temporarily depleted by a yellow card for Marcus Smith, eventually wrestled control and eased to a bonus-point success.
Late consolation tries from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman, which added to an early score from debutant Cadan Murley and seven points from fly-half Smith, made the scoreline more respectable.
'Unbelievable' Ireland star hailed
By Ed Elliot, PA
Jack Conan believes "unbelievably diligent" Ireland team-mate Dan Sheehan is part of a select group of elite sportsmen following his standout return from a serious knee injury.
Replacement hooker Sheehan claimed the crucial fourth try in Saturday evening's 27-22 Guinness Six Nations win against England, having not played at Test level since tearing his ACL during last summer's tour of South Africa.
The 26-year-old's impressive cameo came only a week after he scored twice for Leinster in his first competitive outing following the long-term issue. Back-rower Conan, who was also part of the impactful bench which helped break England's resistance in Dublin, feels Sheehan looks like he has never been away.
"It's a testament to him. He's so well liked and loved within the squad because of the quality of the man that he is. He's worked incredibly hard," said Conan.
"He was off doing boxing and other things for his footwork, he was rehabbing in the wee hours of the morning and then coming back in later in the day to do double sessions.
"I think through all the tests he does, he's in the best shape of his life. He's back running top speeds he hasn't run in a while. He's unbelievably strong, everything.
"But more than anything his mentality (has been impressive) because when you're not playing for such an extended period of time it's so difficult to come back and hit your straps and just perform straight off the bat.
"To go out and perform like he never left is just incredible and I don't think there are many athletes in any sport that could just do that, so I think he's a bit of an outlier in that. He's left no stone unturned, he's been unbelievably diligent."
