Sherratt rings the changes as Wales start life after Gatland against Ireland
Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes.Matt Sherratt, newly installed as Warren Gatland’s replacement, however temporarily, has picked his first Wales team.No one is expecting much more from it than a 15th consecutive defeat when Ireland come to Cardiff for round three, but there is at least a feeling of the rational about his selection.Perhaps 14 losses in a row can mess with even the most seasoned mind.This is not suddenly a team bursting with experience, but where some of Gatland’s selections seemed wanton rejections of received wisdom Sherratt has responded with the selector’s equivalent of putting his foot on the ball.
Wales are not blessed with a luxury of options, but when there are simple solutions to the quandary of, for example, who to pick at fly-half, sometimes it is best to go with them.And so Gareth Anscombe, inexplicably excluded from Wales’s original squad, was not only brought back into the fold this week but is airdropped straight in to the starting lineup, one of eight changes Sherratt makes to the team that capitulated to Italy in round two.Likewise, his Gloucester teammate, Max Llewellyn, lines up in the centre.With five caps to his name, Llewellyn is hardly the most experienced but his form in the Premiership made his exclusion another baffling decision.As a result, Ben Thomas, whose talent is not in doubt, gets to swap the No 10 jersey Gatland had thrust upon him, the weightiest of all in the red of Wales, for the more familiar one with a 12 on the back.
Now, all of a sudden, Wales have a half-back pairing and midfield all in fine form, all familiar to each other, all familiar to Sherratt.Seems pretty obvious when you think about it.“It’s not a team I’ve picked thinking, this is the team that’s going to beat Ireland,” said Sherratt.“I just thought it was a team that would be cohesive.We’ve got some combinations who play together for their clubs.
They’ve got familiarity with how I want to play.“Max has been excellent this season and Gareth has played in some of the biggest games you can imagine at World Cups.These are players who could give the rest of the team the best chance to perform.”Tomos Williams, still at scrum-half, was the one player of the Gloucester triumvirate ripping it up in the Premiership Gatland did stick with.So now there is a hundred caps’ worth of experience at half-back to go with another hundred in the form of Taulupe Faletau at the base of the scrum.
It is true, none of them will see their 20s again but their presence feels like something Wales can work with in the short-term quest for respectability.Further forward, the same might be said for the return of two 50-cappers in Nicky Smith, another in fine form in England, and Elliot Dee to the front row.With captain, Jac Morgan, moving to No 6 to accommodate Tommy Reffell, Wales will walk into a sold-out stadium under a closed roof in Cardiff with a foundation of some substance at least.It is beyond No 10 that the experience falls away somewhat, not one of them in double digits on the caps front (although Thomas will collect his 10th on Saturday).Ellis Mee’s single digit is a zero, but the Scarlets winger is young and tall and talented.
His debut on the left wing means an all-Scarlets back three.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotion“Ellis has pace,” said Sherratt.“He’s shown that exuberance of youth, which can sometimes rub off on the older players.”It may distress some in Wales that more than half the starting team play their domestic rugby somewhere other than the Principality, but Sherratt knows the emphasis of the job he has been given is on the now.Well might it be, because the man opposite him in a similar interim role has already been talked up as a potential candidate as Wales coach for the longer term.
Simon Easterby has deftly deflected all questions related to his future employment.He could not be happier with the start his side have made, nor could the Irish be with the way he has filled in, with Andy Farrell off on Lions duty.He makes seven changes to the side that won so comfortably in Edinburgh in round two, some of them enforced but most no more than a reflection of the riches on offer to Ireland.Caelan Doris, captain no less, is one of those missing through injury, so Dan Sheehan assumes the leadership duties, as he does the No 2 shirt for his first start since an ACL injury on the summer tour to South Africa.All of which must make any Welshman sick with envy.
Not so long ago, it was Wales who could rotate their way to championship after championship and offer up their coach for the use of the Lions.Nowadays, their preoccupation is with the avoidance of wooden spoons.Even the most wildly optimistic cannot hope to deny Ireland the Triple Crown they will claim should they win in Cardiff.But with this selection and the je ne sais quoi of a new face in the coaches’ box, there is a chance at least.
BMW pauses £600m upgrade to Oxford Mini plant as electric car demand falls
BMW Group has paused a £600m investment into a Mini car assembly plant on the outskirts of Oxford, amid a declining demand for electric vehicles.In 2023, the German carmaker, which has owned Mini since 2000, announced the investment to upgrade its Cowley plant for electric production of the Mini. It was supported by government-backed investment, and was forecast to secure 4,000 jobs in electric vehicle production.BMW will now review the plans to manufacture battery-powered Minis at its Cowley site. “Given the multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry, the BMW Group is currently reviewing the timing for reintroducing battery-electric Mini production in Oxford,” the company confirmed in a statement
Far-right links and Putin praise: fears over £600m UK history theme park plan
French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building ‘Tsarland’ in annexed CrimeaWith its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world’s best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece Cinéscénie show, which depicts 700 years of French history, features more than 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks.Now the company has set its sights on bringing its brand of immersive history to the UK via a £600m investment to build its mock medieval castles, hotels and restaurants on farmland just off the M40 in Oxfordshire. It has asked the upmarket property firm Savills to help with its planning applications and is expected to look for British co-investors for a project that it says will create thousands of jobs.Some who live near the site, however, are dismayed at the lack of attention given to what they see as the French company’s dark underbelly, including ties to the far right and a past flirtation with Vladimir Putin
Crypto and big tech’s backing pays off as Trump makes tech-friendly moves
The millions that US tech companies invested in currying favor with Donald Trump seemed to pay off this week as the new administration issued a flurry of directives that relaxed regulations and dropped lawsuits previously aimed at holding the industry to account. Crypto, AI and social media companies, many of which made donations to Trump, are all expecting to benefit.At the center of the administration’s moves is Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Over the past week, federal agencies under the president’s authority dropped legal fights against his rocket company and the US’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The White House also issued a “deregulatory initiative” aimed at loosening tech-sector regulation by empowering Musk’s Doge
Elton John calls for UK copyright rules rethink to protect creators from AI
Sir Elton John has called on the government to rethink proposals involving the relaxation of copyright rules in the hope of protecting creative talent from AI.The singer and songwriter is among a growing list of public figures to express concerns about plans that would allow tech firms to use online material, including creative work, for AI without permission.Under current government proposals, creators would need to opt out of their work being used, however some of the campaign’s advocates, including Simon Cowell and the author Kate Mosse, have called for an opt-in system to be put in place.“We only achieved that success with the backing of our longstanding copyright protection – the world’s gold standard,” John told the Daily Mail, while highlighting the industry’s impact on creating jobs and economic growth.“The music community has always been quick to adopt new technologies … but adoption of this copyright exception would destroy the UK’s leadership that has been hard won, and what’s worse, it would give it all away
England set Australia 352 to win Champions Trophy opener after Duckett hits 165 – live
36th over: Australia 241-4 (Inglis 65, Carey 44) Rashid, for the breakthrough. A single, then a lucky escape for Inglis who gets an inside edge past the stumps, past Smith and nearly past the footwork of Duckett on the rope. It brings up the hundred partnership from 79 balls. Seven from the over, as Carse lets one pass through his fingers uncharacteristically in the deep.35th over: Australia 234-4 (Inglis 61 Carey 41) Archer returns
The New York Yankees’ repeal of their facial hair policy is simply business
One of the last vestiges of George Steinbrenner era is finally over. The in-house (that Ruth built) rule that denied New York Yankees players the right to wear beards on baseball diamonds from the 1970s on is done and dusted, not unlike like The Boss himself, who died at 80 back in 2010. It’s the latest move showing that the new boss, George’s son Hal, who axed the 49-year-old rule on Friday, will do everything he can to differentiate himself from the old Boss, his dad.“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees – spanning several eras – to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Steinbrenner said in a statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years
‘A huge day out’: Lachlan Morton makes history with 648km Auckland to Wellington ride in less than a day
Time for England to end Calcutta Cup blues and show France was no fluke | Robert Kitson
Sherratt rings the changes as Wales start life after Gatland against Ireland
England to show ‘nastiness’ as Itoje backs side to wrestle back Calcutta Cup
Scotland happy to let England play favourites before Calcutta Cup clash
Dubois’ absence hurts ‘fight card of the century’ but Bakole brings danger