Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, June 16.
France start life without Shaun Edwards
France have started life without Shaun Edwards, with the former Wales defence coach absent as Fabien Galthie named a 28-man squad, heavily dominated by nine players from European Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Bègles, to face an England XV in an upcoming uncapped fixture in Vannes.
Players and coaches have gathered at the national training base in Marcoussis this week ahead of the summer matches. Edwards is still negotiating his exit after being let go 18 months before the end of his contract.
His departure is thought to be complicated as France are wary of him joining another international side ahead of the World Cup given his intimate knowledge of the French players and tactics. Ideally, the French would like to insert some sort of non-compete clause into his exit deal that would stop him joining a Test rival until after next year's tournament.
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The dominance of Bordeaux players in the first French squad of the summer — including midfielders Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Depoortere, and seven forwards — is a direct result of the club failing to reach the Top 14 play-offs.
The squad sees the return of loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot, a former French skipper who had announced his retirement from Test rugby six years ago due to a lack of motivation.
Star players Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey were left out for the uncapped match, having been given an extra week of rest. Gregory Alldritt also remains absent.
The 28-man roster injects fresh talent with the inclusion of nine uncapped players from various clubs. The match is a warm-up fixture ahead of France's Nations Championship campaign in July, where Les Bleus are scheduled to face the All Blacks, Australia, and Japan.
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Wales women 'are improving'
Wales Women's defence coach Tyrone Holmes is adamant there are signs of progress within the national side despite another disastrous Six Nations that saw them lose every match and concede a record 31 tries.
Despite the apparent struggles of the women's team over the past year or so under Sean Lynn, Holmes believes they can turn the corner after being appointed to the defence role earlier this year.
"It was difficult for the group," he said. "There were three new coaches, some new faces in the squad, new processes to implement and new ways in which we're wanting to play. On review, we could see a lot of that stuff being implemented and pushing us forward. Unfortunately, it's not reflected on the scoreboard just yet."
"We became the second most effective tackling team in the competition and we created the second slowest ball in the competition," he said. "These are two things we went hard after in terms of up-skilling us in the contact area and the numbers showed that. Unfortunately, there are still areas where we aren't good enough. We still miss too many one-on-one tackles and need to become more effective in wider spaces."
Pollock praised for behaviour change
Henry Pollock has been backed to start for England against South Africa in this summer's Nations Championship opener, with former international Andy Goode insisting he is making a mockery of the critics.
Pollock was outstanding as Northampton powered into the Gallagher Prem final with victory over Leicester on the weekend, making 27 carries, 110 metres and beating nine defenders to top a raft of match statistics.
Goode was mightily impressed with his performance at number eight, insisting Steve Borthwick should deploy him there this summer. The controversial back rower has only started once for his country, making nine appearances from the bench.
"If he was from New Zealand, and he isn’t a million miles away from Ardie Savea in style, everyone would be waxing lyrical about him, rallying behind him and there wouldn’t be a negative word said," Goode wrote in his RugbyPass column.
"There are plenty singing his praises on these shores, of course, but there is a tendency for our media to want to tear a player down when they stick their head above the parapet regardless of the sport they’re in. He may only be 21 years of age but the next step is getting a consistent run in the England team at one of the most attritional positions in number eight."
Northampton boss Phil Dowson praised Pollock’s growing maturity after the England back row played an influential role in Saints clinching a second Gallagher Prem final appearance in three years.
A month ago the 21-year-old British and Irish Lions player was criticised for a fiery cameo off the bench in a 41-17 rout by Leicester that saw him become embroiled in several flashpoints.
But Dowson said: “Henry was excellent and what pleases me most is that – I’m not going to use the word vilified – a lot of flak came his way after the game at Welford Road. You can talk about loads of things that Henry does really well but his ability to learn from experience and apply that very quickly and effectively, how he talks to referees has changed in probably about three weeks. How he deals with confrontations has changed a little bit as well. I hope that gets noticed, as well as how quickly he matures and makes those decisions. I’m really pleased that he’s a bright lad.”
“His power per kilogramme is nuts, as are his ability to beat players with his speed and his ability to understand when to pass the ball and when not to. He’s never looked for controversy. I don’t think he’s gone out there and gone, ‘I’m going to wind up Ollie Chesham and see what happens here’. He’s under more scrutiny than probably anybody else potentially in the league and I think he’s dealt with it really well.”
