Gatland Issues Apology for Banter

Warren Gatland has apologised for referring to an abusive comment aimed at prop Samson Lee by England's Joe Marler as "just banter".

Marler apologised to Lee for calling him a "Gypsy boy" during Saturday's Six Nations match at Twickenham.

Gatland made his comment on Tuesday, but, in a statement on Wednesday, said: "I don't condone racism of any kind."

Lee added: "I personally believe the comments to have been intended as banter and accepted Joe's apology."

After Gatland referred to Saturday's incident as "banter", ex-Wales captain Gareth Thomas tweeted: "I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with this as banter. Poor excuse."

Romany Gypsy advocate and activist Shay Clipson earlier told BBC Radio Wales Gatland should be "held accountable" for his comment.

Cardiff North Welsh Assembly member and former MP Julie Morgan said on Twitter: "Gatland dismissing 'gypsy boy' taunt as 'banter' has sent rugby backwards."

Marler faces a hearing on Wednesday after being cited for allegedly elbowing another Wales prop, Rob Evans, in England's 25-21 victory.

Gatland's statement continued: "I apologise for any offence my use of the word banter may have caused.

"My intention was to take the focus away from Samson, a private individual, and enable him and the rest of squad to prepare for the final game of the championship.

"My comments were made following a discussion with Samson about the incident."

A Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) statement added: "The WRU does not condone racism of any kind. The incident is being investigated by the Six Nations and we would welcome a definitive and speedy conclusion to their investigation.

"The WRU recognises that Warren's overriding intention was to protect Samson by playing down the incident and that his comments were made following a thorough consultation with Samson and with his support."

In the same statement, Lee, who is from a Traveller background, added: "I stand beside Warren.

"Warren is fiercely protective of the team and his comments were made based on conversations with me and with the intention of deflecting attention away from me."

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Payne and Zebo Return for Ireland

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Joe Schmidt has insisted Jared Payne is too important to Ireland's defence at outside centre to consider the Ulsterman at full-back.

Head coach Schmidt revealed Ireland have not run New Zealand-born utility back Payne at full-back at all in training across the RBS 6 Nations.

Simon Zebo slots in for hamstring injury victim Rob Kearney in the No 15 jersey for Saturday's clash with Italy in Dublin, where Ireland are aiming for their first win in this year's championship at the fourth attempt.

Schmidt claimed he was never tempted to deploy fit-again Payne at full-back and hand Ulster battering ram Stuart McCloskey another opportunity in the centre.

"I don't know what calls there were on the outside for Jared to play full-back," said Schmidt.

"We haven't trained with Jared at 15 so it would be a big step for us to suddenly change that. Rob Kearney trained on Monday and Simon Zebo has played plenty of full-back for us.

"What we lack with Jared Payne not in the midfield has been particularly evident for us, particularly on the edge in defence. We're looking for him to control our defence again in the frontline."

"I've seen a lot of young players really hampered by being thrust into an environment they are not ready for." - Joe Schmidt

Reigning champions Ireland have relinquished their title after two defeats and a draw, building the pressure on boss Schmidt for a victory this weekend.

Ireland have only ever lost once to Italy in Dublin, a 37-29 defeat in 1997, so Saturday's Aviva Stadium clash ought to be the prime chance to experiment and build for the future.

Instead Schmidt has selected his strongest available starting line-up, with Payne's return at outside centre indicative of Ireland's desperation for victory.

The 30-year-old missed Ireland's 21-10 defeat to England at Twickenham with hamstring trouble but has trained without impediment all week.

Ulster powerhouse McCloskey formed a bruising centre pairing with Henshaw against England, but Schmidt has now jumped at the chance to slot Payne back into midfield.

McCloskey drops out of Ireland's matchday squad altogether, the luckless fall guy given Schmidt's reliance on calm customer Payne to bind the backline defence.

Schmidt insisted his selection policy was not "overly conservative", in light of handing McCloskey and young Leinster flanker Josh Van der Flier Test debuts at Twickenham two weeks ago.

"I think we really experimented in the last game," said Schmidt. "To put two guys into their Test match debuts at Twickenham away against a very settled and strong English side, and to have another make his debut off the bench.

"I don't think that's something that's overly conservative, it's giving opportunity and at the same time you're always looking for balance.

"I've been coaching professionally now for 15 years and I've seen a lot of young players really hampered by being thrust into an environment they are not ready for.

"They can lose their confidence and sometimes they don't quite come back in the same way.

"So it's just about getting to know the players and trying to have a balance of opportunity and, at the same time, experience."

Munster wing Keith Earls hailed Payne as the glue in Ireland's backline, insisting the former New Zealand Under-21s star has the knack of helping those around him to shine.

"JP's been brilliant since he's come in," said Earls. "I suppose he took a bit of stick during the World Cup and maybe the last few months, but he's very important to our backline.

"He's a typical Kiwi; really calm, he performs under pressure, makes things look easy and makes players around him look good. And that's great for those of us inside and outside him."

Ireland

S Zebo; A Trimble, J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath, R Best (capt), M Ross; D Ryan, D Toner; CJ Stander, J van der Flier, J Heaslip.

Replacements: S Cronin, C Healy, N White, U Dillane, R Ruddock, K Marmion, I Madigan, F McFadden.

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Italy Win Keeps England on Course

England Women stayed on course for their first grand slam in four years with a five-try, 33-24 win over Italy in Ivrea.

A week after their 32-0 win in Scotland, England were made to work hard but triumphed thanks to tries from Lauren Cattell, Katie Mason, Lotte Clapp, Abbie Scott and Bianca Blackburn.

Italy, who had never scored more than one try against England, crossed four times themselves and led after 30 seconds, with Maria Grazia Cioffi poaching a try that Veronica Schiavon converted.

Cattell converted her own try to bring England level before Mason nudged the visitors ahead with a second try, which was also converted.

Wing Sofia Stefan cut the gap to two points with Italy’s second try, but Clapp went over to give the Red Rose a 19-12 interval lead.

England had to stay focused, particularly when the margin was again trimmed to two points early in the second half after Cioffi scored again.

Scott charged over for a converted try to hand England a 26-17 cushion, which Blackburn stretched further after some incisive play – before Silvia Folli brought Italy closer on the scoreboard late on.

Sarah Hunter, the England captain, said: “All credit to the way Italy played today, they played some great attacking rugby. They’ve got some physical forwards and some really fast threatening backs.”

She added on the England rugby website: “Of course we are happy with the win but I think we didn’t manage to get full control of the game. We know we are going to have to improve.”

England, who won only twice in last year’s Six Nations campaign, next face Ireland at Twickenham on 27 February, in a match scheduled to take place after the men’s fixture.

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Stander Makes Ireland Debut

South Africa-born flanker CJ Stander will make his Test debut in Sunday's RBS 6 Nations opener against Wales, with Sean O'Brien and Rob Kearney taking Ireland's injury toll to nine frontline stars.

Munster back-rower Stander will start at blindside at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, the 23-year-old having completed his Ireland qualification on residency grounds.

Leinster duo O'Brien and Kearney have both failed to beat hamstring trouble in time to face Wales, so Tommy O'Donnell slots in at openside flanker and Simon Zebo at full-back.

O'Brien and Kearney sat out training on Friday, but Ireland will hope to have two of their most experienced men fit in time for the second-round clash against France in Paris.

Flanker O'Donnell dislocated his hip in Ireland's 35-21 warm-up victory over Wales in Cardiff in August.

The 28-year-old has hit back to fitness and form with Munster however, and will be a popular selection among Ireland's squad given his rotten injury luck in missing the World Cup.

Even leaving aside former captain Paul O'Connell, now retired from Test rugby, Ireland are still shorn of six regulars in their pack this weekend.

Props Cian Healy and Mike Ross, lock Iain Henderson, and flankers Peter O'Mahony and Chris Henry join O'Brien on the treatment table.

Only new skipper Rory Best, vice captain Jamie Heaslip and Devin Toner have retained their starting berths from Ireland's 43-20 World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina.

Stander's debut has been accelerated due to O'Mahony's absence, but the former Springboks Under-20s star has excelled in his three years with Munster.

The Thomond Park province's European Champions Cup captain would have risen to Test prominence earlier had he not had to bide his time for residency qualification.

Kearney's absence in the backline hands Munster's livewire attacking talent Zebo a chance to impress, with Ireland boss Joe Schmidt refusing to stray from a tried and tested midfield line-up.

Schmidt has restored his preferred midfield partnership of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne, refusing the temptation to pitch bullish Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey in for a Test debut.

With Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald both long-term absentees, Keith Earls partners Andrew Trimble on the wings. 

Ireland team: 

S Zebo; A Trimble, J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath, R Best (capt), N White; D Toner, M McCarthy; CJ Stander, T O’Donnell, J Heaslip.

Replacements: S Cronin, J Cronin, T Furlong, D Ryan, R Ruddock, K Marmion, I Madigan, D Kearney.

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IRFU Thinking Outside the Box

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne has said the organisation needs to box clever to compete with their cash-rich English and French rivals ahead of a Six Nations that is "absolutely fundamental" to the resources of the game at every level in the country.

Browne admitted Ireland's performance in the upcoming RBS 6 Nations will determine how much money will be pumped into the game in this country.

Joe Schmidt's side begin their quest for a third Six Nations crown in a row next Sunday against Wales at the Aviva Stadium, and although the IRFU budget for a fourth-placed finish, Browne backed them to, once again, go above and beyond that target.

“What happens over the next six or seven weeks is absolutely fundamental to the resources of the IRFU and fundamentally impacts the resources available for the professional game in the provinces and indeed the amateur game," Browne told RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.

“We sometimes have unrealistic expectations in this country – it’s a feast or a famine."

"Probably over 80 per cent of our income is generated off the back of the national team. It’s the bread and butter competition for the national team. We have a great team and a great coaching staff.

"We budget to come fourth and over the last number of years we've obviously been very fortunate in that we've done better than that.

“We’d certainly hope that we’re going to come in the top half of the competition but when you look at the fixtures and the way they’re aligned, Wales, France and then England, that’s a difficult set of opening fixtures. Having said that I think everyone is up for the challenge.”

Browne admitted the IRFU are facing a huge challenge to keep their brightest stars away from wealthy clubs across the water.

“The money that’s going into the Premiership and the Top 14 is significantly greater than the money that’s going into the Pro12," said Browne. 

"It’s highly unlikely that the Pro12 is ever going to match the money going into the Premiership and the Top 14.

"Of course we’re concerned about what the consequences of that are, which is that there’s more money available in England and France for players. They can have bigger squads, they can buy players from around the world and obviously some of our players are on the shopping lists of some of the French and English clubs.

“We need to be a lot cleverer about how we use our money. We need to make sure our academy systems and pathway is as efficient and effective as possible so we produce more players of a high quality than we have done up to now.

“I have no doubt we have the athletes capable of playing at the level we need them to play at; what we need to do is make sure we have the systems in place to help them realise their potential.

“We sometimes have unrealistic expectations in this country – it’s a feast or a famine. Whilst people may think there’s a famine going on at the moment, it doesn’t take too long to turn that around into a feast."

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Madigan Leinster Depart Oficiel

Leinster  Rugby

Leinster have confirmed that Ian Madigan will leave the province at the end of the current season to join Bordeaux Bègles in the French Top 14.

Madigan has played 135 times for Leinster, scoring 765 points (24 tries) since his debut in May 2009 against the Newport Gwent Dragons and has won two Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and two Pro12 titles during his time with Leinster. He has also won 25 Irish caps and two Six Nations titles.

Commenting on the announcement Leinster Rugby Head Coach, Leo Cullen said, “Ian has been a tremendous servant to Leinster and Irish rugby and we wish him well with his move abroad. We fully understand his motivations for deciding to join Bordeaux. Ian has come through the Leinster Academy and age grade system and at 26 still has a huge future in the game and we may see him return to Leinster at some point.

“The key thing for us all now is that we are fully focused on a huge game on Friday against Connacht. After some really pleasing parts to our last performance it’s vital that we build on that and look to continually improve.”

Ian Madigan said “while this was a very difficult decision for me to make, leaving the club that I have represented my whole professional life, I feel that the timing is right and it is a challenge that I’m looking forward to.

“Bordeaux Bègles are a team that are making strides in the Top 14 and in Europe and I look forward to being part of that journey and to experiencing a new style of rugby and a new life in France.

“I’d like to thank everyone in Leinster Rugby for their support over the years. I’ve played with some brilliant players and have worked with some exceptional coaches and while I am reluctant to single one out I want to mention Richie Murphy who has been by my side from my days in the Sub-Academy and has been a huge influence on me. Also to Mick Dawson who has been very supportive throughout my career and it has not gone unnoticed.

“I also couldn’t have played as often as I have without the excellent work of the medical and S&C team in Leinster who go above and beyond for the players on a daily basis.

“Finally to the Leinster Rugby supporters, who have been hugely supportive of me in good times and in bad, thank you. There is a huge few weeks and months ahead with Leinster, and I look forward to playing my part and trying to finish the season out as strongly as possible for them.”

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Preview - Republic of Ireland v Bosnia

Republic of Ireland host Bosnia-Herzegovina in Dublin on Monday with their Euro 2016 qualifying play-off with the tie delicately balanced.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the fog in Zenica on Friday evening, a result that gives the Republic a slim advantage heading into the return clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Republic manager Martin O'Neill knows that a goalless draw will be enough to see his team progress to next summer's European championship in France.

However, O'Neill has warned his players that relying on their away goal to seal their place in France next summer would be a "recipe for disaster".

"Obviously, it would be terrific if we could do it, but I have to be very, very mindful of the fact that we are a long way away from doing that," he said.

"We have to put things into perspective: Bosnia are capable of scoring, they could wipe that advantage, that away goal that we have within minutes of the game, and then suddenly they are on the front foot.

"If we think that we can keep them out for 90 minutes and camp ourselves just outside our own penalty area, that would be a recipe for disaster.

Martin O'Neill believes his players can't afford to rely on their away goal against Bosnia

"We have to consider being really on the front foot, genuinely, and going and trying to win this game, and that's it.

"If you'd thought that we'd have to win in the Aviva for the final time, you probably would have taken that."

Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark said he is fully focused after his side scored a crucial away goal in their 1-1 draw with Bosnia

Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark said he is fully focused after his side scored a crucial away goal in their 1-1 draw with Bosnia

One player the Republic will need to keep a close eye on is Bosnia winger Edin Visca, who produced an impressive display in the first leg at the Bilino Polje Stadium, creating Edin Dzeko's late equaliser.

"They raid down the right-hand side because they've got a very, very fine right winger," O'Neill added. "What they want to do is try to get it out to the little lad, who is exceptionally talented.

"I think he could cause problems to anybody."

Forward Shane Long and defender John O'Shea trained with the Republic squad on Sunday morning and the duo could now be fit to face Bosnia after knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Meanwhile, Stoke City striker Jonathan Walters will be back from suspension after missing the game in Zenica.

However, Daryl Murphy, who led the line in Long's absence in the first leg, was the only man to sit out the warm-up, while veteran goalkeeper Shay Given misses the match with a knee injury.

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Republic of Ireland v Germany - Preview

Seamus Coleman has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2016 qualifier against Germany with injury.

Manager Martin O'Neill confirmed on Wednesday that the Everton defender has a hamstring injury which will keep him out of Thursday's tie in Dublin.

However he is hopeful Coleman, who has not trained all week, could be available for the final Group D clash against Poland on Sunday in Warsaw.

Fears over Wes Hoolahan's fitness have eased after he trained on Wednesday.

The Norwich midfielder has a heel problem but is expected to start with midfielders Glenn Whelan and James McClean suspended.

Coleman has missed recent games for Everton with the hamstring injury which also kept him out of the Republic's win over Gibraltar last month.

Cyrus Christie could again deputise for Coleman in the crucial Group D clash.

The Derby County player scored his first international goal in the 4-0 qualifier win over Gibraltar, although Coleman was back in the side that beat Georgia.

Defender Marc Wilson is a major doubt having stayed at his club Stoke City for treatment on a calf injury.

Martin O'Neill's side face a tough double-header, but victory in just one of the matches would guarantee at least a third-place finish and a play-off spot.

Two draws would not be enough for the Republic if Scotland, who trail them by four points, win their final games against the Poles and Gibraltar.

Midfielder Wes Hoolahan should feature against Germany after recovering from a heel injury

At Tuesday's training, assistant manager Roy Keane said he expected the Republic's record goalscorer Robbie Keane to be ready to face Germany if selected days after the birth of his second son.

The 35-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy striker was not due to arrive in Dublin until Tuesday evening after his wife Claudine gave birth on the other side of the Atlantic.

Asked whether his former team-mate would be available for the showdown with group leaders Germany, Keane said: "Yes, why wouldn't he be?

"He didn't have the baby. Unless he's breast-feeding he should be all right."

The younger Keane was part of the team that secured a famous 1-1 draw with the world champions courtesy of John O'Shea's injury-time strike in Gelsenkirchen in October last year.

That result came amid an uncharacteristically slow start to the campaign by Joachim Low's men, who have since put together a run of five successive qualifier victories.

Assistant boss Keane said the world champions would be a different proposition this time around, but he was confident Ireland had improved too.

He said: "I think we are a stronger team. Like you would expect with any campaign, teams improve.

"Germany were a bit sluggish at the start, but with all the qualities they have it was only a matter of time before they started winning matches and topped the group.

"But we will be ready

#IRLGER

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