rob howley is stuck with the same back row, despite the return to fitness and sharpness of faletau, howleyric and ross moriarty, who was exceptional against england. it is all building up, this game, scotland and wales, both teams with a victory and wales, both teams with a victory and a loss and it feels like a make 01’ and a loss and it feels like a make or break kind of much for either team. and 0wen farrell, will win his 50th cap for england. and someone who becomes increasingly influential in england's side. very much so. he has become england's talisman, he made his debut five years ago under stuart lancaster in 2012 and since then, he has gone from strength to strength, kicked over 560 points, second only to the greatjonny wilkinson in the list of all—time england record points scorers. much more of a leadership role over the past year as well. very modest and bashful. he says he never expected five years ago to go on and win 50 caps but i spoke today to the england forwards coach steve borthwick who was at saracens in 2008 when 0wen farrell burst onto the scene as a teenager. he sa

the interesting point rob howley making there.ening game but neither were the best and it was only when sam davies came on as a replacement substitute fly—half for wales that the odds that a couple of years against italy. still concern as to whether dan biggar officially started for wales is fit to play, simile george north. some interesting conundrums for rob howley to be pondering in the build—up. before we get to wales against england we have ireland in rome and they dare not lose again in the 6—nation shop in chip. tomorrow high—flying scotland are in paris. if they were to win there, how well they would be set up. lots to ponder but we are here in a beautiful winter ‘s day in cardiff with the roof wide open and history may be about to be proved wrong or right. absolutely! with the welsh crowd behind them and the green grass at home. as tom jones wants song about. thank you. the big football news this morning is confusion over the future of the rangers manager mark warburton this morning. rangers said in a statement that he ha

coach rob howley makes two changes with props rob evans and tomas francis taking over from nicky smith but as for north and biggar, it's still a bit of a waiting game. we have tried to prepare as best we can. those two players will be given every opportunity to be fit. they are two experienced players and important for us. we are giving them every opportunity to be fit. scotland were the other winners on the tournament's opening weekend and their captain, greig laidlaw, says his team have learned how to handle pressure since coach vern cotter took over. after holding off a late comeback from ireland last saturday,

wales interim coach rob howley has recalled sam warburton to his side to face italy in rome on sundayhad been speculation he may miss out, having been dropped as captain in favour of alun wyn jones. scrum half rhys webb is also recalled after injury. scotland play ireland on saturday. glasgow pairjosh strauss and fraser brown and stormers centre hquones come in to vern cotter‘s starting 15 for that match, as they try to end a run of 11 years without a win in their tournament opener. the players have a vision for the six nations tournament. they are working hard to dry and achieve and become better. that is the only way you can approach it. get through the scheme. there are no guarantees in sport. that desire that we have seen for the last few seasons is there. injured ireland fly—half johnny sexton has an outside chance of being fit to face italy next weekend according to coach joe schmidt — but paddy jackson will play against scotland with sexton sidelined with a calf injury. he has played 82 minutes for the national team in the last eight test matches. that is a real frustration for

coach rob howley makes two changes with props rob evans and tomas francis taking over from nicky smithee. but as for north and biggar, it's still a bit of a waiting game. we've tried to prepared as best as we can, those two players will be given every opportunity to be fit. i think that's they are two experienced players, they are important players for us. george in the right channels and down through his experience and leadership. we will give them every opportunity to be fit. scotland were the other winners, on the tournament's opening weekend... and their captain greig laidlaw, says his team, have learned, how to handle pressure since coach vern cotter took over. two wins out of two, when they play france this weekend... even though it's 18 years, since they last won in paris. when you travel away to france, the first instance in the game, the first instance in the game, the first thing you do in the game is very important psychologically for them as it is for us. we need to stay in the game, play in the right areas and not muck about for the first 20 minutes then we'll put them und

wales interim coach rob howley has recalled sam warburton to his side to face italy in rome on sundaylation he may miss out having been dropped as captain in favour of alun wyn jones. but howley has gone for an experienced side, which also sees scrum half rhys webb recalled after injury. our goal, as always, is to start well. that is the challenge. when you look at the squad that has been selected, i think across—the—board they have a winning ratio in the six nations. and that is the challenge on sunday. scotland and ireland play each other on saturday. glasgow pairjosh strauss and fraser brown and stormers centre hquones come in to vern cotter‘s starting fifteen for that match, as they try to end a run of 11 years without a win in their tournament opener. ulster‘s paddy jackson will start at fly—half for ireland at murrayfield. johnny sexton was ruled out of the match after picking up a calf injury in a champions cup game for leinster. jackson will be making his sixth start in eight games for ireland but head coachjoe schmidt is hopeful sexton will be returning soon, saying he has an

dan biggar and george north are both named in the sides, but both are nursing injuries and rob howleyhem as long as possible to recover. toby fowler tao is on the bench and he could make a really big impact. for the trip to paris, just one change to the 15 who started against ireland last week. that is upfront and it is because of injury. wilson is out with an infected elbow, so he is out with an infected elbow, so he is replaced byjohn barclay. the scots, buoyed by an opening weekend win over ireland, now looking for the first victory here in paris since 1999. it has improved and is becoming a dangerous team to cause anybody problems. we need to understand why we beat them last year. we need to develop new ways of being clever and smart, being able to score points. we looked at that this weekend. martin, the scots are in flying form, but can they beat them in france? interesting, ithought they we re france? interesting, ithought they were outstanding last weekend, but this is different. the french are an improved side and they are juggernauts, huge team. if scotland can get parity up

wales interim coach rob howley has recalled sam warburton to his side to face italy in rome on sundayalun wyn jones. but howley has gone for an experienced side, which also sees scrum half rhys webb recalled after injury. a goal of ours is to start well and i think that is a challenge. it's all about you pick the experience, they have to go out and play. when you look at the squad selector get on the side that started —— that starting, they have about a 70% winning ratio in the six nations. they know what winning looks like, smells like in the six nations and that's a challenge. after a 21 year career, the former england and chelsea midfielder frank lampard has announced his retirement from football. he became the london club's all time leading goalscorer in a spell which saw him win three premier league titles and one champions league trophy back in 2012. he joined manchester city before ending his career in the united states with new york city. he won over 100 caps for his country and announced his retirement on social media earlier today. bournemouth striker callum wilson has been

rob howley, far less experienced.s is an experience for him to show that he is the permanent welsh coach. we will hear from that he is the permanent welsh coach. we will hearfrom him in a moment. all the focus and history in the build—up to this game. england came here last year with an inexperienced side and came back to win. there are some elements of that tea m win. there are some elements of that team who will be playing this afternoon, notably george ford at fly—half. it was a good night for us. we managed to come away with a great result. it was a great place to play, and as a player, you would back on games like that —— look back, and they stick out in your memory. and building up to it like this, you can only be excited about it. they have gone 15 games unbeaten, they play with confidence, a huge amount of self belief, and they have got across the line against france. i think that in the first games of the weekend, there is a rustiness about you, and certainly we saw elements of that. but i have no doubt that

coach rob howley has made two changes. see if both north and biggar will be ready in time. we have tried to prepare as best as we can. those two players will be given every opportunity to be fit. they are too experienced players, they are imported players for us. george in the wide channels and down, for his experience and leadership. we will give them every opportunity to be fit. great britain, have beaten latvia, to make it two wins out of two, in their fed cup, round robin group. both heather watson and johanna konta, won their singles matches in straight sets. so britain had an unbeatable, 2— 0 lead, heading into the doubles rubber which they've also won. the final pool c fixture, is against turkey tomorrow. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in sportsday at half past 6. let's get more now on the safety failures that forced several edinburgh schools to close. an independent report has highlighted a lack of proper scrutiny of the construction work and criticised the council and the partnership which managed th

coach rob howley has made two changes. if both north and biggar will be ready in time. england have also made two changes. harlequins flankerjack clifford, will make, just his second start, replacing tom wood, who drops to the bench. clifford will be part of an inexperienced back row, which will have a total ofjust 20 caps to its name. jack nowell also comes in forjonny may on the wing. scotland were the other winners, on the tournament's opening weekend, and their captain greig laidlaw, says his team, have learned, how to handle pressure since coach vern cotter took over. after holding off a late comeback, from ireland last saturday laidlaw feels his team have an excellent chance, of making it of two when they play france this weekend — even though it's 18 years, since they last won in paris. it's massively important when you travel away to france, the first insta nces travel away to france, the first instances in the game, the first thing you do in the game is psychologicallyjust as important for them as it is for us. we

wales interim coach rob howley has recalled sam warburton to his side to face italy in rome on sundaymiss out, having been dropped as captain in favour of alun wyn jones. scrum half rhys webb is also recalled after injury. injured ireland fly—half jonny sexton has an outside chance of being fit to face italy next weekend according to coach joe schmidt — but paddy jackson will play against scotland at murrrayfield on saturday, with sexton sidelined with a calf injury. itt has played about 82 minutes, in the last test matches. for us it is a real frustration. no the last test matches. for us it is a realfrustration. no different the last test matches. for us it is a real frustration. no different for him. in the six nations, that i have been involved in, he has dominated the number ten position. we are still hopeful that he can come back in and potentially do that for us at the same time. he has trained really well! brighton have their chance to extend the lead huddersfield, but they have got off to a poor start, the home side took the lead inside nine minutes through tommy smith. but a

wales interim coach rob howley has recalled sam warburton to his side to face italy in rome on sundayptain in favour of alun wyn jones. scrum half rhys webb is also recalled after injury. injured ireland fly—half jonny sexton has an outside chance of being fit to face italy next weekend according to coachjoe schmidt, but paddy jackson will play against scotland at murrrayfield on saturday, with sexton sidelined with a calf injury. i think he has probably played about 82 minutes for the national team in the last eight test matches. for us, it isa the last eight test matches. for us, it is a real frustration. no different for him. in the six nations, johnny has dominated the number ten position. we are still hopeful he can come in and potentially do that. at the same time, paddy has trained really well. former england and chelsea midfielder frank lampard has announced his retirement from football, calling time on a 21 year career. lampard won three premier league titles and four fa cups with chelsea, scoring in the final here against everton in 2009. he also won the 2012 champions leagu

i wonder if it could be another shenanigan mind game from rob howley?am davies could come on and make an impact like he did last weekend against italy. it is interesting, rob howley‘s position, because he is like the caretaker coach or the supply teacher. does he do something different to changing into his team or does he hand them back to warren gatland and say not too much damage done? i cannot wait for it all to begin! the coverage begins at 4:15pm on bbc one this afternoon. away from the six nations and history was made in the premiership last night, as bristol's tom varndell, became the league's all—time, top try scorer. the division's bottom side were thrashed by harlequins, but varndell scored his 91st premiership try, to take him beyond mark cueto's record. a last gasp penalty from, rhys priestland, gave third place bath, a one point victory over northampton. elsewhere sale sharks beat newcastle. scarlets moved into the top four of the pro 12, after an important win over glasgow. tom williams scored one of their two tries. the top two of munster

rob howley has named sam warburton in his starting 15 for their match with italy on sunday.ls. and frank lampard has announced his retirement from football. he remains chelsea‘s all—time leading goal—scorer and won the champions league once during his spell with the club. i will be back with more on those at around half past. a controversial human rights lawyer who took up the cases of thousands of iraqis who alleged they‘d been abused by british soldiers during the iraq conflict has been struck off. phil shiner was found to have acted dishonestly in bringing murder and torture claims against the soldiers. caroline hawley has the story. phil shiner was once regarded as one of this country‘s best human rights lawyers. but his firm has had to close, his reputation is in shreds, and he‘ll now never work as a lawyer again. it was from the aftermath of the iraq war that phil shiner rose to public prominence. suing the british army over allegations of abuse defined his career and became a personal crusade. in all, he‘s brought more than 2000 claims. i don‘t know whether people wer