The British and Irish Lions touched down in Australia with head coach Andy Farrell revealing there are lingering injury concerns over Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan. Farrell’s squad arrived into Perth after a 20-hour journey from Dublin via Doha ahead of Saturday’s opening fixture on Australian soil against the Western Force.
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Richard Wigglesworth, Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman, John Fogarty and John Dalziel have all been confirmed as part of Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions coaching team for the tour of Australia this summer. England senior assistant coach Wigglesworth is a surprise selection formerly solely in charge of England’s attack he now also works with a focus on kicking strategy.
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Ireland held off a spirited Italy to secure a bonus-point win in Rome and keep alive their faint hopes of winning a third consecutive Six Nations. Hugo Keenan’s first-half score and Dan Sheehan’s hat-trick ensured a win that took Ireland to 19 points in the table, three clear of France and four ahead of England. Italy scored tries through Monty Ioane and Stephen Varney, but ultimately paid the price for ill discipline.
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Rampant France took control of the Six Nations title race as they scored 34 unanswered points to thrash Ireland in Dublin and end the home side’s Grand Slam hopes. Despite losing captain Antoine Dupont to a suspected “serious” knee injury after 30 minutes, France scored three second-half tries to move two points clear of Ireland at the top and avenge last year’s defeat in Marseille.
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Ireland kept their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes firmly on track with an 11th victory in a row over a disappointing Scotland at Murrayfield. The visitors blew away their hosts when speeding into a 17-0 lead with tries from Calvin Nash and captain Caelan Doris, both converted by Sam Prendergast, who also added a penalty. Duhan van der Merwe’s spectacular finish at the end of the opening half gave Scotland some respite but Ireland responded in style in the second half to keep their three in a row bid alive.
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