Tonight's rugby news as Wales identify the problem and Welsh star vows to 'come out all guns blazing'
These are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, February 4.
Wales identify the problem
Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys has identified the "big thing" that his side must work on ahead of their huge clash with Italy in Rome.
The Six Nations got off to the worst possible start in Paris on Friday night, as Warren Gatland's men were hammered 43-0 by hosts France. It was Wales' first nilling in any competition since 2007, with the visitors to the Stade de France barely troubling the French tryline over the course of 80 minutes as they were forced into a committed defensive display.
READ MORE: The new lives and jobs of the Wales players who've left huge holes behind
READ MORE: The five Wales youngsters those in the know in Welsh rugby think will become Lions
If they fall to defeat in Rome on Saturday, it will be a 14th straight loss for this Welsh side and could lead to a new nadir by the end of March, namely a run of 17 Test losses and a second successive Six Nations wipeout and wooden spoon.
But Humphreys says Wales are now focused on "playing in the right areas" and avoiding defending in their own half as they prepare for the Italian clash at their camp in Nice this week.
"There’s clearly disappointment in terms of how the game finished," said the coach. "There were opportunities for us. We talked a lot about game management and making sure we do play in the right areas. After a tough loss like that, there's always a period of being down, but a couple of days later, there's a big game around the corner and we know how big this is for us.
"It's tough, losing. Anybody who is involved in professional sport knows that it's tough," Humphreys added. "The thing with us, what we don't lack is fight. The boys fight and work hard. As a group of coaches, we can't say we didn't try or work hard enough.
"The big thing for us is trying to get that energy and work-rate, playing in the right areas, so we are getting rewards for that, and not defending a lot inside your own half, inside your own 22, which is tough to do against quality teams."
He continued: "It's easy to talk about it's a must-win, the pressure is massive. We know that, and it is about us trying to get the players to focus on what we can control.
"We can't control the press, what is said about it and who says it. All we can do is find something we are going after that we are hanging our hat on, something we can improve on from the last game.
"That is the only thing we can control that will actually help us. If we start talking about outcome, outcome, pressure, it is a whole different scenario that is not going to help us in anything that we are trying to achieve."
Botham: We'll come out all guns blazing
Wales back row James Botham has urged his team-mates to "come out all guns blazing" against Italy as they look to end their torrid run of defeats.
Having started at blindside flanker in Paris, the Cardiff star played over an hour at No.8 against France after Aaron Wainwright was forced off with a gruesome facial injury. Botham admits the heavy defeat "hurt" but has insisted the squad must move on to their next challenge in Rome as they desperately target a winning result.
"It's tough, obviously, getting a loss," he said during a press conference at Wales training camp in Nice. "We knew there was going to be a tough game for a lot of the boys. For some, it was their first time playing there. We knew it was going to be loud with the crowd and everything like that.
"Any loss is going to hurt with people saying it's one of the biggest losses we had, with no points scored. But we've got to move on to the next thing now... you can't bog yourself down."
"Italy will be passionate about it and it'll be a good battle between the back rows. We need to get a win now and see if we can finish off in a better position than last year," Botham added. "We've got to come out all guns blazing in the first 20 (minutes) and show what we can do. The performance and result is what we want."
Calls for 'balanced approach' over Six Nations TV deal
By Richard Wheeler, PA Parliamentary Editor
Six Nations Rugby must take a "balanced and considered" approach over its next broadcast deal, the Government has said amid calls to keep the tournament on terrestrial television.
Culture minister Stephanie Peacock said the organisation "understands the strength of feeling" among rugby union fans who want free-to-air coverage to remain for the annual competition involving England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Ms Peacock added the Government has "no plans" to change the listed sporting events regime after MPs suggested that moving the Six Nations to group A could better protect terrestrial TV access.
The BBC and ITV have shared the Six Nations TV rights since 2016 but their contract ends after the current tournament and coverage could move behind a paywall. TNT Sports has confirmed it is considering bidding for 2026 onwards. Responding to a parliamentary debate, Ms Peacock said: "It is understandable that the potential of the Six Nations moving away from free-to-air television does attract a great deal of scrutiny and concern from fans.
"The Government and I are very, very aware of that and it's right that RFU and Six Nations Rugby take a considered and balanced approach, recognising the need to achieve reach with existing and new fans, the importance that the Six Nations has for cultural pride of each of the home nations all while maximising the much-needed broadcast revenue."
Six Nations matches involving home countries are currently listed in group B, which means live coverage can be on subscription television provided that secondary coverage - such as highlights - are offered to free-to-air broadcasters. Rights to full live coverage must be offered to the main free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters on "fair and reasonable terms" for group A events, although it does not guarantee they will be purchased.
England captain Maro Itoje is among the figures in the game who have called on organisers to prioritise the game's reach when considering the next broadcast deal.
Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst, who previously worked for the Rugby Football Union (RFU), said a new deal must maintain free-to-air coverage as he opened a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday. The MP for Bridlington and The Wolds said: "The tournament itself attracts around 120 million viewers in total, a clear demonstration of its popularity. My own view is the Six Nations matches involving the home countries should be moved from group B to group A to ensure that this much-loved tournament continues to have the broadest possible reach.
"This is vital for the health of the game from elite level down to the grassroots. Watching our international teams through free-to-air coverage of the Six Nations is often the only exposure fans will have to professional rugby."
Plaid Cymru MP Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) said: "Win or lose, as has been our case at the moment, rugby brings us all together in Wales and should be included in group A." Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower), who won nine caps representing Wales at rugby union, said: "The Six Nations really do need to ensure that there is a balance between reach and revenue when entering into these conversations with broadcasters."
Replying for the Government, Ms Peacock said she would not comment on ongoing commercial negotiations. She said: "I did recently meet Six Nations Rugby to discuss this issue further and it was clear to me that Six Nations Rugby understands the strength of feeling among rugby fans relating to this issue and appreciates the significant cultural and financial contribution that the Six Nations makes to each nation's rugby union governing body, including the RFU.
"Indeed, the Government recognises the importance of broadcasting sporting events, like the Six Nations, to attract significant audience interest."
On changing the listed events regime, Ms Peacock noted that rights holders are "not required to sell live rights for listed events and free-to-air broadcasters are not obliged to purchase them". She said: "Conversely the example of the Six Nations demonstrates that putting an event in group B does not prevent a rights holder from selling full live coverage rights to a free-to-air broadcaster or broadcasters.
"The Government believes that the current list of events does work well and it strikes an appropriate balance between access to sporting events and allowing sports to maximise broadcasting revenue and therefore the Government has no plans to review the list at this time.
"But when discussing the Six Nations it's important to consider that broadcasting income is a significant revenue stream for rugby union, important for the financial sustainability of all the home nations unions. The current broadcasting rights are said to be worth £90 million-a-year, a significant revenue stream for the six rugby governing bodies."
