SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

England and Wales scrum down in novel training session

LONDON (Reuters) - Six Nations rivals England and Wales scrummed down with some venom on Monday in an unprecedented joint training session in Bristol as they prepare for their weekend tests.

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Skip to article content

There was also lineout practise between the two packs - overseen by Welsh referee Nigel Owens - as England readied to face Argentina on Saturday and Wales prepared to host Australia.

“There was a little bit of an edge but nothing serious,” said England scrum coach Neil Hatley of the morning session as the two packs practised against each other, looking ahead to a month of internationals mainly against southern hemisphere opposition.

“The way we’re trying to drive training, we want to make it as unbelievably competitive as possible so I suppose it is the non-familiarity of it all - there were different players that you don’t scrummage against week in, week out," Hatley said.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

“It was good, very worthwhile. Obviously, it is good to get live competition early on in the week and it was a very worthwhile session, a lot to be gained from it,” he told reporters.

The idea was proposed by England assistant coach Steve Borthwick and backed by Wales coach Warren Gatland.

"It shows the spirit of rugby that can put your hat on one side and do it for the greater good of northern hemisphere rugby,” Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards said.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson,; Editing by Ed Osmond)


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world