Tonight's rugby news as Welsh team's former captain jailed after 139mph motorway chase
These ae your rugby headlines on the evening of Tuesday, January 28.
Former Welsh rugby captain jailed
A former Welsh rugby captain who turned to drug dealing has been jailed after a 139mph motorway chase saw him try to escape police.
While doing so, packages were thrown from the car before he collided with another vehicle, injuring its passenger.
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Maredudd Francis, aged 31, who is the former captain of RGC rugby team in north Wales, admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis and dangerous driving.
He was jailed at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday for a total of four-and-a-half years.
Prosecutor Joshua Gorst told how a police officer on mobile patrol, acting on information that it may be involved in drug offending, decided to stop a grey BMW car on the M56 motorway on Sunday, September 29, last year.
It was being driven by the defendant, of Coed Aben, Wrexham, as he travelled from Manchester towards north Wales near Junction 11. Francis failed to stop and packages were thrown out of his passenger window.
Reaching a speed of 139mph, he exited the motorway at Junction 11 and when Francis headed back onto the M56 heading east he collided with a Toyota Hilux at a roundabout. Francis crashed into a safety barrier and he got out. He knelt down and put his hands into the small of his back and was arrested.
The officer believed he was under the influence of drugs. When the BMW was searched, £2,000 in cash and a receipt for a bicycle worth £3,481 were found.
Upon searching Francis' flat, a Rolex watch and other designer items were found. There were also several bags of white powder which was identified as 668.5g of cocaine with 80 or 81 per cent purity. Police found other drugs and a total of £18,121.96 in cash including the money in the car.
The judge His Honour Judge Parry said: "I suspect I don't need to tell you the harm that these drugs cause in our communities not only to our health but to householders, businesses." He also falls to be sentenced for possession with intent to supply £3,500 of a Class B drug.
Francis was jailed for 40 months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply and for 12 months consecutively for dangerous driving, making a total of four years and four months' imprisonment. He is banned from driving for two years on his release and must pass an extended retest.
There was no separate penalty for the Class B offence. The court heard there will be a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing later this year.
Ireland allay Prendergast fears
Ireland have allayed fears that Sam Prendergast could miss their Six Nations opener against England on Saturday.
The fly-half was spotted with heavy strapping on his leg at the team's training session at their Portugal camp on Monday
Assistant coach Andrew Goodman subsequently confirmed the 21-year-old has been managing a dead leg.
"Yeah, he trained fully today, just a little dead leg I believe. I'm sure he'll be all right," Goodman said following Tuesday's session.
Prendergast has enjoyed a rapid rise, having made his international debut for Ireland in November.
"It's been a great couple of months for Sam, just the game experience he's managed to gather up both with Ireland, first with Emerging Ireland, then Ireland, then some big Champions Cup games away to La Rochelle, home to Bath, so it's been a great period for him to get real game experience," added Goodman.
"I know he valued the time at Leinster when he was training alongside the senior squad as an academy member but to get out there and feel it for himself, there's been huge growth in his game."
Along with Prendergast, Ireland have Jack Crowley and Ciarán Frawley competing for the No.10 shirt.
England spring Ireland surprise
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent
England have sprung a surprise by uniting the Curry twins in their back row for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin.
For the first time, Tom and Ben Curry will feature together in the starting XV, filling the flanker positions either side of number eight Ben Earl. Tom Curry is given the number six jersey.
In another selection twist, Cadan Murley will make his debut on the left wing after being given the nod ahead of Ollie Sleightholme, who filled the position in England’s most recent outing against Japan in November.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has opted for a six-two split between forwards and backs on the bench with Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South and Tom Willis set to provide heavyweight reinforcements in the second half.
The Curry brothers’ only previous appearance in an England matchday 23 came against New Zealand in November but with Ben replacing Tom in the second-half, they were not present on the field at the same time.
Borthwick has thrown selection curve balls throughout his 26 months in charge and the inclusion of the Sale forwards from the start is the latest example.
Both are primarily opensides, as is Earl, and while all three are able to fill multiple roles in the back row, Borthwick is effectively fielding a trio of sevens in the hope of challenging Ireland’s strength at the breakdown.
They will also offer England extra speed and dynamism around the field against the Six Nations favourites, albeit at the cost of ball-carrying heft and a standout line-out jumper at blindside flanker.
However, in Chessum, Cunningham-South and Willis they have powerful options to summon off the bench.
Willis is poised to win his second cap and first since 2023 after starring for Saracens this season, showing power in the carry and in defence, while Chessum will be making only his second appearance since suffering a knee injury in October.
Murley has been chosen ahead of Sleightholme, Tom Roebuck and Elliot Daly to provide a clinical edge out wide as reward for his rampant form for Harlequins.
The 25-year-old was the Gallagher Premiership’s top try scorer for the 2022-23 season and has already touched down eight times in 12 matches in the current campaign.
Apart from being a superb finisher who punches above his weight close to the line, he has developed a strong understanding with Quins fly-half Marcus Smith, who has held off the challenge of Fin Smith to continue as chief conductor.
Marcus Smith is joined at half-back by Alex Mitchell after the Northampton scrum-half recovered from a knee injury in time for the Aviva Stadium showdown, having sat out the autumn because of a neck issue.
Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie makes his first England start for over two years following a career-threatening battle with a nerve issue in his neck, taking over from hamstring strain victim Jamie George.
Maro Itoje captains the team for the first time as England look to open the tournament with the upset victory that will give Borthwick breathing space after a poor 2024 piled pressure on to the head coach.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing the tournament favourites,” Borthwick said.
“We know it’ll be a tough contest against a team that’s very familiar with each other. We’ll need to work tirelessly and maintain our discipline from the first whistle to the last.
“England versus Ireland in Dublin is a huge occasion, and we’ll be ready to face it head-on.”
