Rugby Union Today: Loose Pass and Six Nations newbies

Colin Newboult
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England's Kyle Sinckler (left) and Joe Marler at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Quarter Final match at Oita Stadium, Oita, Japan.

Another busy day in the rugby union game as Loose Pass returned to Planet Rugby to provide its unique take on several topics in the sport.

What’s on the site

The salary cap once again takes centre stage in Loose Pass this week, but this time the column delves into the negative aspect of it following Kyle Sinckler’s move from Harlequins to Bristol Bears.

Elsewhere, the Six Nations build-up continues with our ‘Seven newbies to watch,’ which includes the exciting Ben Earl and Louis Rees-Zammit, while we also discuss the individuals to look out for in the 2020 Super Rugby campaign.

What’s in the news

Luke Cowan-Dickie has been replaced by Jack Singleton in the England squad after the Exeter Chiefs hooker left the team’s training camp in Portugal for family reasons.

Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has defended his team selection for the Scotland game in Dublin after including Conor Murray over the in-form John Cooney.

Finally, in Super Rugby, Rieko Ioane will play his 50th game for the Blues when he starts against the Chiefs on Friday and Reds wing Henry Speight will line up against his former side the Brumbies.

What’s on social media

It has been confirmed that Japanese star Kotaro Matsushima will be joining French side Clermont Auvergne and, as a result, they will be seeing more of this in Europe.

What’s on TV

The biggest annual international tournament returns on Saturday and it will once again be split between the BBC and ITV. This weekend, the former will show Wales versus Italy and France taking on England while the latter has Ireland’s clash with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.

Super Rugby also begins and it starts on Friday as the Auckland-based Blues take on the Chiefs on Sky Sports. That channel will also broadcast the World Rugby Sevens Series, which comes from Sydney this weekend.

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