hello and welcome along to sportsday with me ben croucher. we're live in cardiff as the six nations is set for kick off — can wales win back—to—back titles? a disappointing world cup for ireland and scotland sees a new coach and a new captain

try to turn things around. i'm here in paris when england got theircampaign i'm here in paris when england got their campaign under way against france on sunday. also coming up: a great theim effort in melbourne — and novak djokovic lies in wait in the australian open final. and we're also counting down tonight to the deadline for the january transfer window. we'll bring you up to date with the deals happening in the premier league. hello, welcome to sport stay with me, we are in cardiff on the eve of this 6 nations, the 20th edition of

the tournament and evolving 6 teams. this is has the feel of being a new era, a new phase after that were cup last year. you wonder what sort of motivation england have after reaching the final injapan. what about wales? you wonder if ireland and scotland can bounce back from a disappointing time at the world cup. plenty of challenges for the home nations. it's a new year, a fresh start, new faces at the helm, but all that has gone before and will not be forgotten, the same old rivalries, the same prize on offer— the chance for those at the top to prove themselves all over again. it's great to see a side with confidence, winning close games, knowing how to get across the finish line, for us, it will be a lot of the same. how can we add value, how can we improve an organisation that has been winning more than it has

been losing, if you like. but with a fresh start comps opportunity, an opportunity for others to rise. ireland have been at the very top, this time last year, they were the best out in at the borrow. but the 6 nations, and then japan, best out in at the borrow. but the 6 nations, and thenjapan, did not go to plan. it was not too long ago people were talking about what a great side we were. you take the rough with the smooth, we have a great squad, we make sure we still stand for that as well. every season, every competition, you try to get involved in the game, try to push forward, this year will be no different for us. the rebuilding continues further north, scotland's stronghold has been battered and broken in recent seasons, but fresh hope surrounds murrayfield once again. a new captain and renewed belief. we are looking to gather and play about a game, hopefully, show

what it means to play for scotland. we'll go out there, attack attack and move the ball. he is hoping for some wide, expansive rugby. further south, nobody knows what to expect. japan ended in disaster, thrillingly bigger scandal the sport has ever seen, english rugby is at a crossroads. but an opening win in paris would certainly get them back on the right path. it is a rugby buzz ‘s odious championship, and it is all about to begin. —— it is rugby's odious championship. we are on the eve of the 6 nations, the trophy up for grabs here, the 20th of the competition with 6 teams involved stop we had to guess here, we have austin hill boot, and former

wales captain. we are here in cardiff on the eve, wales and the defending champions, but a new era. what has the atmosphere had been like in the lead up to this?” what has the atmosphere had been like in the lead up to this? i think eve ryo ne like in the lead up to this? i think everyone is really excited, ready to embrace a bit over the change. the woods family the cupboard about adding value, not drastically shaking things up. we'd love to see a few more tries, that is what rain is all about, creativity, space, backing it up with ties. austen, from rain's selection of his first team, what style of rugby will he bring? warren gatland's will still sit on things here at the principality. in terms of rain p back's squad, it does still have a warren gatland feel, he has not made wholesale changes, he just wants to

tinker with the line—out. it is still quite a safe move, 90 caps for wales after all. it will take a while for him to escape that warren gatland and shadow. he wants to tinker with the squad, who of course what it last year, they were the best team. wales will play italy tomorrow, the rain is coming down, i wonder if it will be drier tomorrow. that will be the first game, the second will be ireland taking on scotla nd second will be ireland taking on scotland at the aviva stadium. when you think about them coming in to lash mike 6 nations, it was a dream scenario but the last 12 months have not been good, also a new year off ireland? one of the building. but unlike things here in wales, in ireland, and farrell has come in after a very pure year for ireland la st after a very pure year for ireland last year, disappointing 6 nations and finish to the world cup. perhaps

some fresh blood, farrell is not to left field, he has never been another one before. everything i have heard from players, under andy farrell, he is really at the emotional, driving heartbeat of the team, he brings like emotional edge. it will be interesting to see weather he can do it in a short and tight rather than a track set. interesting for wales and ireland. philip, | interesting for wales and ireland. philip, i will get your thoughts on scotland, they still have the same coachin scotland, they still have the same coach in gregor townsend might new captain in stuart hogg. one of the things dominating the headlines for the scotland team has been the fly—half, finn russell, he has been taken away from the scot shot squad, essentially, in the build—up to their game against ireland for disciplinary matters. we will have adam hastings starting at fly—half, from the scotland head coach on decision. i think any team would

wa nt to decision. i think any team would want to go into a team and try to upset the halfbacks, key for the opposition team. how they do that, obviously, it is their strategy. adam had a real balance to his game, he has learned this year of where to kick, went to kick. he is a very good passer of the ball and an excellent run out. he does have defensive options, we have real confidence in him, he has been playing some excellent rugby, i'm sure he is looking forward to his start. gregor townsend lead. philip, it has been a really tough time for scotland, it was not the best world cup, they do have the same coach. so now kind of new coach bounce as such, a new captain, but all this around finn russell, i wonder how it will effectively squad? not the ideal preparation, you can't get

away from it, finn russell is world class. talks about that amazing comeback by scotland against england, it was really instigated by finn russell. what we found out that he broke team protocol, yes, we love mavericks and unique players, but they should never be a bigger player than the team, everybody should be on board with the team protocol. tough cold, but we willjust need to wait and see if it is the right cold. yes, always the perennial question and spot how you deal with those creative characters. we have talked scotland, wales and ireland, but we haven't thought england. remember, they were in the rugby world cup final injapan, they lost to south africa, andy swiss is light any pad is for us ahead of their game against france on sunday. andy, the build—up to the 6 nations campaignfor the build—up to the 6 nations campaign for eddie jones the build—up to the 6 nations campaign for eddiejones has been all about what kind of motivation at this england side will have after reaching the heights they did in

japan? reporter: welcome to paris, you can probably just about make reporter: welcome to paris, you can probablyjust about make out reporter: welcome to paris, you can probably just about make out the study france through the gloom here. it has not been an easy build—up for eddiejones it has not been an easy build—up for eddie jones and england, it has not been an easy build—up for eddiejones and england, the heady disappointment of the world cup final defeat to do with, a few injury problems as well. they have also had a controversy surrounding saracens also had a controversy surrounding sara ce ns to also had a controversy surrounding saracens to deal with, saracens, of course, relegated from the premiership for breaching the salary cap relegations. a number of england players, they have had that to deal with as well. that said, the bulk of the team at which they won a cup final is playing here on sunday, the most eye—catching headline in the team, george iii bank at full—back, elliot daly moving onto the wing. eddiejones likes a colourful turn of phrase, doesn't he? he said that

he was hoping to take them into the great his rugby team at the world has ever seen. he says he is ready to put france under pressure. we wa nt we want to make them feel like they have nowhere to go, put them in a box, and make them play out of that box. we know the card will be cheering them on, as they do in france, quite loudly. make sure they don't get any space. we have to put them under pressure. experience will count if we are able to put them under pressure, we can do that either through the set piece or the game confrontations. andy, i wonder what sort of opposition england are going to be facing in france, we know it will be a new era, a new coach in there, they are building towards the rugby world cup in 2023. there is a lot of inexperience in that side, that is

perhaps when they are most dangerous? that's right, sarah, with france, it depends on which french team turns up depends on which french team turns up his stock in a sense, we genuinely don't know, it is a very young and inexperienced team, but have very exciting team, as well, particularly at their black lines marshalled by the 20—year—old fly—half, roman. if they play to their potential, it could be very dangerous indeed. france are supposed to play england at the group stage at the world cup, but that match had to be cancelled because of the typhoon, they were then knocked out in the quarterfinals by wales. as you say, very much a sense of a new era coach in fabienne gauthier. certainly, the thousands of french fans that will be here on sunday will be hoping that this is the start of something very special.

absolutely, andy, it is a theme for all these teams, a new edo, a new phase, post thatwork up injapan. philip, austin, thank you so much for the moment. we will be live here in cardiff towards the end of the show but we will talk things women six nations. will have a chat with england scrum—half, may hunt. but let's get back to ben crouch out with the rest of the day sports news. that other major deadline at 11 o'clock tonight is the closing in the transfer window in england, scotland's is at midnight. in previous years we've had the likes of pierre emerick abaumeyang, luis suarez and fernando torres all moving at this time of year. what's been happening today? joe lynskey‘s been following the comings and goings with a man very much in the know. joe? ian then it is with us to take us through the deal. still four hours of this transfer window to go, but i think it's fair to say it's been

quieter than years gone by in the premier league. let's start by looking at spurs and manchester united — who both need signings, really, judging by their season. this morning, tottenham were reportedly still in the hunt for olivier giroud, the french world cup winner, and gareth bale, theirformer superstar who moved to real madrid. neither of those deals looks like they are happening. this, also. united, though, set their sights a lot lower than we're used to — josh king, the bournemouth striker. that deal‘s not happening, but they may still be looking for a striker. they might still go for a striker in at the hours they have left, perhaps. yes, they did read their interest with josh king perhaps. yes, they did read their interest withjosh king late last night, but nothing today. on brexit day, it has very much been a case of a domain, an underwhelming day in the deal that has not happened. you talked about olivier giroud, that was a distinct possibility at this morning, but it depended on chelsea getting somebody in for him to go to totte n ha m getting somebody in for him to go to tottenham hotspur. you mention gareth bale, let out of the real

madrid squad this weekend but totte n ha m madrid squad this weekend but tottenham have been quite consistent with their stand throughout the whole week. i would host a collision about gareth bale, but tottenham have been insisting it is not happening, despite all the speculation. they are at the deals that hasn't happened. sometimes, you need that domino effect. some deals have happened but have not brought like domino effect. one was cedric soares' loan move to arsenal. this not gone through yet but looks pretty likely. further down the table, west ham look to be closing in on a dealfor hull city's jarrod bowen. this will go down to the wire. i wouldn't be surprised if it still has been done with an elbow of the deadline, negotiations are still go shot ongoing with the player. he has been linked with crystal palace and bournemouth, i think that domino effect had bournemouth been able to

get him, allowing josh king to go to manchester united. but i think west ham are hopeful to get guided bowing before the end of the deadline. finally, to a great story for one young man playing in league two. luke matheson, the 17—year—old at rochdale, passed his driving test yesterday. today he's got a move to the premier league. what a year he's had. it has been a dream come true for him, this is against manchester united earlier in the season. he only turned pro in october, this is the week before that, scoring at old trafford. now, wolverhampton wanderers have come in for him a £1 million deal, then he will be loaned back to the ligue one cloud. but what a win for him, a very humble

young man as well. i think a lot of people were pleased to see that he has a breakthrough deal to go to wilkes. brilliant for him. finally, any other names to keep and i on? manchester united still looking for a striker. merrimack still scrambling, still looking around. aston villa are going to sign bastogne. that looks like that will be done between now and 11 o'clock. watford are still looking for a defender, they had been heavily with burnley boss mike ben gibson. there really has it been a great deal today. now, this is the last transfer window where premier league and scottish premiership clubs will be operating inside the european union. now, historically, players moving to the uk from outside the eu have had to get a work permit to play domestically. so how will that change after brexit? earlier i asked the sports lawyer, daniel gee.

probably one of the most significant elements is going to be what the work permit restrictions are going to be. at present, this applies to non—european football is coming into the uk, which will presumably apply to all non—uk workers. that's a significant period of time going forward. the current criteria for non—eu players playing in the premier league is, effectively, usually to do with the country and that they play for, obviously, the higher wages, the more likely you will be able to demonstrate that the player is an exceptional talent and should therefore be granted the work permit. that is a query as to what the football association is going to do in association with the home office, to allow a certain amount of places for non—uk players, so it doesn't matter weather the player is from bolivia or belgium, really, if the team thinks the player would fit

their squad size, i should be regardless of nationality. that is one of the contentious elements being discussed at present. the standout deal of the season, bruno fernando is going to manchester united, in what has been a pretty quiet transfer dave all delayed host on the bbc sport website. here's a few other sports stories you should know about: jason roy hit a century as england's men won a 50—over warm up match against a south african invitational 11. ahead of the t20 world cup, england's women are playing a tri—series against india and australia. they lost their opening game to india by five wickets, with harmanpreet kaur hitting the winning runs in the final over. graeme mcdowell has slipped back to two shots off the lead at the halfway point of the saudi international. a second round 68 leaves him on eight under par. france's victor perez leads.

the racing point formula one team will be rebranded to aston martin from next year. its after the team's owner bought a stake in the luxury car company. the controversial trainers used by eliud kipchoge to break the two hour marathon mark will be banned by world athletics. some of nike's other controversial running trainers will be allowed though — with some restrictions. and snooker‘s china open, in march and april, has been cancelled due to the threat of the coronavirus. world snooker says it is looking into rescheduling the tournament at a later date. let's catch up on the australian open next then, where austria's dominic thiem is through to his first final in melbourne thanks to a four—set win over alexander zverev. there's been double doubles delight in the wheelchair events, whilst jamie murray stands on the verge of a record breaking triumph, too. with all the details, our man on the ground isjohn watson.

it will be dominic thiem against novak djokovic in a sunday's men's final. dominic thiem coming pass alexander is a germany. he ran away for quite impressively to book his place in his first australian open final. we know his pedigree, seeing him ina final. we know his pedigree, seeing him in a french open finals. but having come pass rafael nadal in at the quarterfinals, perhaps the tide is turning in the men's game. a really impressive performance, but as we know, dominic thiem will have to be at the top of his game if it is to beat novak djokovic, he was looking to reach a record extending eighth australian open title here at melbourne park. there has been british success today, we seenjamie murray because plays any mixed doubles final, alongside his partner. he is hoping to end what will be an eighth grand slam title

here at the australian open, they have had previous success before, they are hoping to add to that with an australian open title he had. in the men's wheelchair doubles, alfie hewett and got reid came through at their manage to win a first australian open, a really impressive performance for them. gordon reid looks to add another singles title overnight later. jordanne whiley came through to win the women's wheelchair doubles title with her partner. a superb performance from them, a tenth wheelchair doubles title 40 them, a tenth wheelchair doubles title a0 jordanne whiley. of course, are we waiting to see whetherjamie murray will win another title tomorrow. just a reminder, tomorrow morning, as well as jamie murray taking part in the mixed doubles, we have the women's singles final, between sophia kenning and former

wimbledon champion from spain, garbine muguruza. dominic thiem against novak djokovic on sunday. all the time have home theresa may that's all from the bbc sport centre. back to sarah and the team in cardiff. welcome back to cardiff, it is the eve of the six nations, much as for the men's, also for the women's. but england go to this as defending champions, they were so dominant last season as full—time professional players, the only team in the tournament to have that advantage. i was speaking to the scrum—half week, now hunt, on the build—up to this tournament. they will be facing france, such a big game, the showpiece game for england, really. it always brings a good atmosphere, she sat on looking forward to that part of its. as a squad, we are in a great place, we have had a lot more time together, we have been in for the last few weeks here at layer, the girls are

in great shape. we are not looking at it as a reigning champions, we are looking to win the title again. the atmosphere they create when we go away to them is always a very hostile place to go and play, they get massive crowds, we want to play in front of packed out stadiums. yes, we are super excited for this one. they do get big crowds, i suppose our rugby is still on the way up in terms of the amount of people who go to the women's games? i think every single time we play, we get more and more support, more and more fans. it is super exciting. i know in france they televise quite a lot of club games, that is why they have quite a big following at they have quite a big following at the moment. it is especially special when we got there and play them. how is it working with the sevens, as well, we know rugby sevens is on at the olympics. it can of slightly, doesn't it? for us, when the 15

contacts came in, there is a decision for those who played both, it was a case of you either play sevens and go to the olympics as the aim, or deeply fifteens and focus on at the world cup. obviously, six nations and all of that that comes with it. england have done a good job in splitting their assets, making sure that whichever squad are m, making sure that whichever squad are in, you are building towards that. that is the key focus because the game has moved on so much at the moment. we all know what we're doing, what we are aiming for, there are so much clarity in at the moment, hopefully, it will out on the pitch. the big game, france against england at this weekend. philippa is back with us, former wales captain. let's talk about england because they are the dominant force, last season, we saw how far ahead of the game that they have gone because of this professional setup. yes, and they had onlyjust become professional but it took immediate effect on its

impact. now this team has been professional for a years. i hate to say it, but we thought we saw the best, i think the best is yet to come from them. such an exciting team, but what a big game the first game is, against france, absolutely massive. as mao said, playing against france away, it is one of the features i dreaded and love in equal proportions. anyway, it is a bit of a shame, is the first one, isn't it? yes, that has been some talk about that, seeing as people do say they are the top runners. let's not forget that italy came second, they beat france, so let's look at it with a positive angle, starting off the six nations with a real buying. hopefully, it will be like what about wales, they come into this with a bit of a cloud over them, the coach has stepped away, there has not been a lot of communication about why or when he

may be back. i wonder how that he may be back. i wonder how that he may be back. i wonder how that he may be dealing with that? yes, i've touched base with a couple of the girls, they have been told that chris hocking will be in place until the end of the six nations. for them, they are happy with that, they're happy with the way things are not running. autumn was a successful time for them, so they took some real improvements form that, i'lljust looking forward to get to the six nations. we'll see what happens with the coaching post six nations. very quickly before we 90, six nations. very quickly before we go, if you had one team as a stand—up pick for these women six nations, who would it be? for the women six nations? i hate to say it, but italy, they are on the rise, look out for them. thank you very much, philip r, lovely to have your company. that is certainly a different and new feel to most of these teams after that last world

cup in france. traditionally, this is at the start of a new era, a new four—year cycle, a0 new coaches, what will eddie jones four—year cycle, a0 new coaches, what will eddiejones and the england side turn up with? so many storyli nes england side turn up with? so many storylines to play out, you will be able to follow it all across the bbc in the coming weeks, whoever you are supporting, just enjoy it. bye—bye. hello. this evening, very little change on the weather front, very mild for sure, at least for the time of the year. some rain in the forecast, maybe later on overnight in the south and south—east, showers across scotland and northern ireland, maybe one or two around the lake district. a very mild night, 10 celsius the overnight low in the south, around 8 celsius

in the lowlands of scotland. tomorrow, across scotland, northern ireland and the north of england, it will be blustery with showers, whereas across the midlands and further south, there will be a decent amount of sunshine, actually, very pleasant day the south coast, sunny skies and lighter winds, temperatures of around 11 celsius. a different story on sunday, in the morning, for many of us — overcast, probably some rain, again, very mild, south—westerlies meaning temperatures in the south—east will get up to 1a, colder in central scotland, only around 6 celsius.

welcome to a bbc news brexit night special. in just four hours' time the uk will formally leave the eu — the first member state to exit the club. the curtain will come down on a7 years of membership — the dawn of a new era, says the british prime minister. it was never an easy marriage. as flags are removed in brussels, we'll look back and we'll look forward, to what the future relationship might be like. not just a significant night for the uk — as the third largest economy in europe departs, this marks