Dan Sheehan will captain Ireland against Wales in Saturday’s Six Nations game in Cardiff. The hooker will lead the team for the first time with regular skipper Caelan Doris ruled out because of a knee injury. Sheehan came off the bench in Ireland’s wins over England and Scotland but replaces the injured Ronan Kelleher in a team showing seven changes from the win at Murrayfield.
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Warren Gatland has left his role as Wales head coach during the Six Nations after a record 14 successive Test match defeats.Gatland, 61, was contracted until the 2027 World Cup but has departed by mutual consent, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) confirmed. Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt will take over as interim head coach for the remaining three games of the Six Nations.
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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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England snatched a dramatic victory over Six Nations favourites France as Elliot Daly glided in for decisive 79th-minute try at a rapturous Allianz Stadium. Fin Smith, making his first start at fly-half, held his nerve with the conversion and, with their last-play defeat by Australia in the autumn still fresh in the memory, his team secured France’s restart and, with it, victory.
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Italy piled more misery on Wales by dominating a cagey Six Nations basement battle in Rome. Ange Capuozzo’s acrobatic finish gave the hosts a lead they never looked like relinquishing at Stadio Olimpico. The Welsh driving line-out brought an Aaron Wainwright score, a penalty try and two yellow cards in the closing stages of the contest as Italy finished with 13 players.
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