These are your rugby morning headlines on Monday, August 7.
Shane: Halfpenny could miss out
Shane Williams says Leigh Halfpenny is in good shape and has all the attributes to make another World Cup with Wales – but says his selection may come down to the wire.
Halfpenny led his team out at the Principality Stadium on Saturday to a standing ovation on the occasion of his 100th cap for his country.
His experiences in a Welsh jersey haven’t all been positive, though, with serious injury blighting his time in the red shirt.
READ MORE: Leigh Halfpenny pays special tribute to where it all began as he earns 100 Wales caps
Williams points to the competition within Warren Gatland’s squad and the fact he is likely to only pick 14 backs as a potential problem for Halfpenny and for team-mate Owen Williams.
“If the victory was good for confidence and morale, it was also exactly what Leigh Halfpenny would have wished for as he celebrated his 100th cap,” Williams said in his Rugby Paper column. “What a player, what a servant and what a humble man. He would have hated running out on his own to wave to the crowd before the game kicked off, but he would have loved the feeling at the end after helping his team to win.
“I hope there are a few more caps for him before he ends, and he thoroughly deserved the standing ovation he received. Is there another World Cup in him? He is certainly in good enough shape and has all the attributes. The problem is Gatland is only going to take 14 backs.
“Three scrum-halves and three outside-halves will go, leaving only eight places to fill. Liam Williams is the No.1 pick at full-back, Josh Adams, (Louis) Rees-Zammit and (Rio) Dyer are the top choices on the wing and George North is an automatic choice. That leaves three places to fill. Mason Grady, Nick Tompkins and Max Llewellyn seem lined-up to join North at centre, so Halfpenny and the versatile Owen Williams could miss out. Nice problems to have after a few lean years for Wales.”
Seven miss England cut
Steve Borthwick names his England World Cup squad this morning with various media outlets reporting the seven players who have failed to make the cut.
Borthwick is whittling down his training group to the 33 players who will travel to France. The main shock is the omission of Henry Slade, with Borthwick choosing to go with a 19-14 split to favour his forwards.
Alex Dombrandt, Jamie Blamire and Joe Cokanasiga have reportedly not been selected, while Tom Willis, Tom Pearson and Jonny May are also omissions.
Mako Vunipola will also miss the tournament after failing to recover from injury.
“At this stage Mako is not going to be in a fit enough state to be selected this Monday,” said Borthwick. “That’s something we are always monitoring.
“I know the 33 will be announced on Monday but we also know that through the tournament changes will happen.”
Costelow working with a legend
Sam Costelow says he’s been working with fly-half legend Neil Jenkins to improve his kicking game.
Costelow was handed the keys to No.10 at the weekend and impressed in the main against England, pulling off an impressive cross-field kick for Wales’ opening try.
The overall experience of starting a Test match for Wales – let alone against England – will have helped the Scarlets man in the long term, who will be hoping for another opportunity to impress before Gatland names his final World Cup squad.
Leaning on Jenkins – who knows a thing or two about kicking and high-pressure environments – will only help in that regard.
“I will take a lot of learnings from it,” he said of the match at the weekend. “It showed me where I want to be and where I can get. There is a lot of room for improvement, but on the whole I thought it was good. I have been doing a lot of work with Jenks in the training week, helping me with kicking and the game-management side of things. It is about keeping improving.”
Of his hopes for a place on the plane to France, he added: “You have just got to work hard every day, and when you get the opportunity to try and perform. That is the biggest mindset, really, turning up every day and trying to improve.”
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Wales to open gates
Wales will open the gates of the Principality Stadium on Monday afternoon (August 7) to allow supporters to watch an open training session.
The opportunity comes almost 48 hours after Wales sealed a confidence-boosting win over old foes England in their first World Cup warm-up Test of the summer.
Warren Gatland’s men head to London next weekend for the return fixture at Twickenham before welcoming South Africa to Cardiff on August 19.
But before that, the WRU are inviting fans into the home of Welsh rugby to get an up close and personal look at the players being put through their paces.
Richard Collier-Keywood, WRU chairman, said: “We’re delighted to open this magnificent stadium to Welsh supporters free of charge to watch Wales train. In the past we’ve seen a huge number of supporters attend these sessions and I know the players appreciate the support ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
“The team have been working incredibly hard, and got through some gruelling sessions but they’ve truly galvanised as a squad. It promises to be a great day out and I’m hoping we’ll see plenty of families and young fans in the stands, ready to cheer on our rugby heroes.”
The session starts at 2.30pm. If tickets – limited to four per person – are still available, they can be found at wru.wales/tickets and supporters who require accessible tickets via public sale are advised to contact the WRU on 02920 822432 and select option two. Children below the age of two will not require a ticket but will need to sit on the lap of a parent/guardian.
While the tickets are free, it is being hosted in support of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust so ticketholders are invited to make a donation which can be done here.
Russell expecting France’s big guns
By Anthony Brown, PA
Stand-in Scotland captain Finn Russell expects France to restore their big-hitters for next weekend’s rematch in Saint-Etienne.
A second-string Les Bleus side were ripped apart by the rampant hosts in the second half of Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match at Murrayfield.
French head coach Fabian Galthie started debutant trio Paul Boudehent, Emilien Gailleton and Louis Bielle-Biarrey in Edinburgh, while Antoine Dupont, Gael Fickou and Romain Ntamack were among a raft of established players given the day off.
The experimental nature of the team did not hinder the visitors in the first half as they raced into a 21-3 lead at the interval.
But Scotland, despite having prop Zander Fagerson sent off in the 50th minute, roared back to win the second half 22-0 and claim a morale-boosting 25-21 victory five weeks ahead of their World Cup opener.
“It was not their strongest team, a lot of their players will come back next week,” said Russell. “It will be a different team we face.
“It was tough to prepare as a lot of the (French) boys have not played before, especially against us in the Six Nations, so we focused mainly on ourselves this week.
“Next week against them we can look at their players that come back and look back to the game from the Six Nations (in February) and analyse how they play and we will go from there. Next week will be a very different French team we face.”
Despite the fact it was not against France’s strongest side, Russell feels Scotland’s relentless second-half performance – in which Darcy Graham, Pierre Schoeman and replacement Dave Cherry got the game-changing tries – will stand them in good stead ahead of the World Cup.
The Scots will spend this week at their tournament training base near Nice before travelling to Saint-Etienne on Thursday for their next warm-up match against the hosts.
“The first half we did some good things but gave away some soft penalties and turnovers and the skills weren’t there,” said Russell. “In the second half we got a try early on that got us back into the game and got the momentum for us.
“It was great to have had that second half and play the way we wanted to. It showed the rugby we can play.
“From last week it was a step forward and we go to France next week. It will be a very different French team we face but it will be a very good challenge for us heading towards the World Cup.”
