RU Today: Six Nations previews and Super Rugby reports
Another busy day in the rugby union game as we preview round four of the Six Nations where Ireland will hope to seal the championship.
What’s on the site
With the Six Nations reaching its penultimate round, we have previews of the Ireland-Scotland, France-England and Wales-Italy encounters. We also look ahead to this weekend’s Top 14 and Anglo-Welsh action.
In Super Rugby, the Highlanders took on the Stormers while the Rebels went head-to-head with Australian rivals Brumbies and we have reports of those games.
What’s in the news
Italy were the last to release their team for this weekend and they made just one change with Giulio Bisegni taking the place of Tommaso Boni at centre.
The Reds received a boost with the news that Taniela Tupou has signed a new contract, while former South Africa boss Allister Coetzee has a new job, taking the head coach role at Japanese side Canon Eagles.
What’s on social media
Any concerns that Ben Smith would be rusty following his return from a sabbatical have certainly been allayed.
Ben Smith is still the best fullback in the world.
That’s a fact.
— Paul Williams (@thepaulwilliams) March 9, 2018
What’s on TV
Round four of the Six Nations takes place this weekend with ITV broadcasting Ireland’s clash against Scotland, while France-England and Wales-Italy will be shown on BBC.
There is also plenty of action on Sky Sports and BT Sport. The former has a packed Super Rugby schedule but will also televise the France v England women’s Six Nations match, as well as two Top 14 encounters and the Vancouver Sevens.
On BT, the Anglo-Welsh Cup returns for the semi-finals as Bath and Northampton Saints go head-to-head on Friday, with the Exeter-Newcastle contest taking place on Sunday.