Tonight's rugby news as Welsh club sign Italy international and Jamie Roberts calls result
These are your rugby headlines on Friday, February 7.
Cardiff sign Italian international
Cardiff Rugby have signed Italy international Callum Braley on a short-term deal.
The 30-year-old scrum-half arrives at Cardiff Arms Park as cover for the number nine jersey, following injury to Aled Davies and Ellis Bevan’s Six Nations call-up.
READ MORE: WRU and four regions in major announcement as agreement finally reached
READ MORE: Italy v Wales exact scoreline predicted as crunch clash to go to the wire
Braley has won 15 caps for the Azzurri and has represented Bristol, Gloucester, Benetton, Northampton Saints and Saracens at club level.
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt said: “I’m delighted to have Callum in with us for the next three months. He is someone I worked with right at the start of his career at Bristol and have kept in touch with.
“He is a quality player and person, has been in some quality environments and will provide great cover and experience to us following the loss of Ellis to Wales and Aled to injury.
“Alongside Johan (Mulder), who has been excellent the last few weeks, Callum will give us a great option over the Six Nations period.”
Speaking of his move to the Welsh capital, he added: “I’m really excited to join such a great team and club, a team that’s also performing at such a high level this season.
“I’ve obviously worked with Jockey before and I can’t wait to work with him again, and learn more about the game while I am at the club with him and the other coaches.
“It’s a big few months for the club and I hope I can help in anyway that is needed. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be back in this kind of environment again and push myself to be better.”
Roberts: Wales to pip Italians
By PA Sport Staff
Jamie Roberts has backed Wales to end their record run of Test match defeats by beating Guinness Six Nations opponents Italy in Rome on Saturday.
The former Wales and British and Irish Lions centre feels it will be a tight contest at Stadio Olimpico, but he predicts a long overdue win for Warren Gatland’s team.
Wales have not won a Test since they beat World Cup opponents Georgia in October 2023, and Italy are favourites to pile further misery on them.
Roberts, though, believes Wales will have enough in the tank, with influential number eight Taulupe Faletau’s return from long-term injury likely to be a key factor.
“I think off the back of a wooden spoon and losing to Italy at home last year, we owe them one,” Roberts told the PA news agency. “It doesn’t need me to say what is at stake.
“I just hope they can get the job done in Rome, but they are facing a formidable team who have been on a huge upward curve, and if there is one game Italy target, it is this one.
“There is a lot of pressure on Wales and no doubt the bookies will have Italy favourites. I have just got a feeling that this is where the tide is going to turn for Wales.
“They have gone through a lot of pain in the last 15 months or so, and I guess that run is going to have to stop at some point.
“I see Wales sneaking it. I think there is a real desire to kind of turn the ship, per se, and get back to winning ways. I see Wales as just going to have enough.
“It is hard to to call because this is not an Italian side of old, this is an Italian side where you look through the (matchday) 23 and it is seriously impressive, but I just think Wales are going to pip it by one or two.
“He (Gatland) would have been hurt by the result in Paris last week (Wales lost 43-0 to France), but you know more than anyone he will be desperate to put that right with his playing group this weekend.”
Faletau won the last of his 104 Wales caps against Georgia 16 months ago, suffering a broken arm in that game and then fracturing his shoulder when he returned to action for Cardiff in April 2024.
And as a former international team-mate, Roberts knows exactly what Wales will get from a truly world-class operator.
“He (Faletau) is a game-changer and one of those players who is going to lift everyone around him,” Roberts said.
“Taulupe is an immense player and he has always been able to show that even if he hasn’t played in a while. Even at the top level, he just fits back in.
“He will be blowing for the first 10 minutes, but once he gets into his stride you know this guy is so influential with or without the ball and how smart he is as a player.
“He is a wonderful rugby player and I think not just his ability, but what he brings out from others around him. I think when people are in a team with Taulupe, you just know what he brings and it kind of lifts everyone around him.
“And you know the impact that he is going to have on the opposition, so when they are planning against Wales they will just know how big a threat he is and they have to plan and adjust accordingly.
“It is great to see a player like that back in the Wales side and I hope his influence is one that brings back results.”
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Sutherland to start for Scotland
By Anthony Brown, PA
Rory Sutherland will make his first Six Nations start in three years after being selected ahead of Pierre Schoeman at loosehead for Scotland in Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations showdown with Ireland at Murrayfield.
The 32-year-old Glasgow forward, who has 38 caps to his name, comes in for only his seventh international start since representing the British and Irish Lions in the summer tour of 2021. It will be Sutherland’s first start in the Six Nations since the victory at home to England in 2022.
Schoeman, Scotland’s first-choice loosehead since his debut in 2021, is on the bench in one of three changes to the side that started last weekend’s 31-19 win at home to Italy.
The other two additions are versatile Glasgow back Tom Jordan, who replaces club-mate Stafford McDowall at centre, and Jack Dempsey, who starts at number eight with Jamie Ritchie – who agreed a deal this week to join Perpignan from Edinburgh – dropping to the bench.
Edinburgh lock Sam Skinner, added to the squad this week after recovering from injury, is named among the subs alongside fellow forwards Ewan Ashman, Schoeman, Will Hurd, Gregor Brown and Ritchie in a 6-2 split – with McDowall and scrum-half Jamie Dobie the two backs on the bench.
The Scots are aiming to stop a 10-game losing streak against the Irish, stretching back to February 2017.
Scotland: B Kinghorn, D Graham, H Jones, T Jordan, D Van der Merwe, F Russell, B White; R Sutherland, D Cherry, Z Fagerson, J Gray, G Gilchrist, M Fagerson, R Darge, J Dempsey.
Replacements: E Ashman, P Schoeman, W Hurd, S Skinner, G Brown, J Ritchie, J Dobie, S McDowall.
Prendergast retains No 10 jersey
By Ed Elliot, PA
Ireland interim boss Simon Easterby has backed rookie fly-half Sam Prendergast to rise to the challenge of showcasing his “unbelievable talent” in his first Test match outside of Dublin.
Following a Guinness Six Nations debut in last weekend’s 27-22 bonus-point win over England, 21-year-old Prendergast has been retained ahead of Jack Crowley for Sunday’s Murrayfield clash with Scotland.
Easterby admits it was a “tough selection call” on the back of Crowley’s impressive cameo against Steve Borthwick’s side and suggested the number 10 jersey may change hands during the remainder of the championship.
Prendergast, whose four previous international caps came at the Aviva Stadium, has faced hostile atmospheres at provincial level in recent months, helping Leinster to victories away to Munster and La Rochelle.
“We saw when he left Ireland camp in November and had the opportunity to play away from home with Leinster, he handled those pretty well,” Easterby told reporters on Friday morning.
“It’s early days for him, we know that he has unbelievable talent and the expectation on him probably from himself, but also from the outside world, is pretty high at the moment.
“We’re trying to support him in the best way we can, to allow him to keep growing, keep enjoying those experiences, learning from them, and they’re not always going to be perfect.
“Unless you have them, you won’t know how to handle them in the future.”
Munster player Crowley played every minute of Ireland’s Six Nations title-winning campaign in 2024 and was praised for his impact against England by opposition head coach Borthwick.
“It was another tough selection call but we felt like the right decision in terms of continuity but also the growth of Sam,” said Easterby.
“We know as well that Jack is itching to get a start in the 10 jersey.
“I’m not saying we’ll keep that selection right throughout the championship but this week we feel it’s the right thing to do.
“Jack is clearly disappointed but he’s an unbelievable person.
“He’s so supportive. His own disappointment doesn’t reflect on the way he trained yesterday, the way he is in camp, the way he’s supporting Sam and the other players.
“We’re in a position where we’re trying to grow both of them and trying to grow Sam’s experiences, not just at home last week in a huge game for him and for us as a team, but also now going away from home.”
Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Bealham; Ryan, Beirne; O'Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).
Replacements: Sheehan, Healy, Clarkson, Baird, Conan, Murray, Crowley, Ringrose.
