6 Nations
Laidlaw Lays into Referee Poite After Loss
Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw had some words to get off his chest after Saturday’s loss to Ireland in Murrayfield and they have gone largely unnoticed.
Following his sides 22-13 loss, Laidlaw claimed that referee Romain Poite gave a couple of soft decisions in favour of the Irish directly after the match.
“Romain Poite picked us up in the middle of the field, Sean O’Brien reefed the ball out and he’s given a knock-on and it’s right on front of him,” he said in an interview to BBC directly following the game.
“He doesn’t seem to like us Romain. He refereed us against South Africa as well, and we don’t seem to see eye to eye, so,” he added.
Laidlaw’s comments could have been forgiven due to the heat of the moment in losing, as he did also say we’re not going to blame him, we’ve got to look at ourselves, and again credit to Ireland.”
However, Laidlaw continued his attack on the French referee during the post-game press conference to add fuel to the fire. Again, he pointed to the Sean O’Brien incident.
“There’s one moment in particular. We launched off a lineout in the second half and Sean O’Brien kind of reefed the ball and Romain was right there and he gave a knock on against us when it was clearly not a knock on,” said Laidlaw to the press.
“It was play on so you can understand why, with the way the game was going, we get frustrated. We talk about Test matches turning on small points and again that just allowed us to release the pressure valve [on Ireland],” he continued.
He also spoke of his team’s “disappointment” in the decision but was not 100% backed up by head coach Gregor Townsend.
“I think nines are always frustrated when they can’t get the ball away cleanly and quickly. There was an incident on the screen with two Irish hands on the ball, and Greig ripped them away from it, and he was probably frustrated having seen that picture a number of times,” Townsend said in the press conference.
“You can understand his frustration. But it’s a tough game to referee, Romain is an outstanding referee, and today was a proper test match with two teams in the way they defend and compete hard at the breakdown and is difficult for referees to manage,” he added, refusing to blame the referee.
The question now arises should Laidlaw’s comments see him face some form of punishment for questioning officials?
Only time will tell what happens but for now it would seem Laidlaw would not be best pleased if Poite referees any of Scotland’s future games especially when his side face Ireland once more in the World Cup later this year.
Another incident that went unpunished was the collision that forced Stuart Hogg out of the game early doors after what could be described as a late hit. We take a look at the kick and the reaction here.
England men’s head coach Eddie Jones has named a 45-player squad for a short training camp.
The group will meet at The Lensbury, Teddington on Sunday 26 September – Tuesday 28 September.
It will be the first time England’s new coaching staff will work with the players, after the appointments of Richard Cockerill, Martin Gleeson and Anthony Seibold over the summer.
There are eight uncapped players named in the squad (Mark Atkinson, Jack Kenningham, Louis Lynagh, Gabriel Oghre, Raffi Quirke, Sam Riley, Bevan Rodd and Ollie Sleightholme).
Nine players who made their debuts in England’s summer series of fixtures have also been selected (Jamie Blamire, Trevor Davison, Alex Dombrandt, Joe Heyes, Lewis Ludlow, Adam Radwan, Harry Randall, Marcus Smith and Freddie Steward).
There are returns to the squad for senior and experienced players, including England’s second most-capped player Ben Youngs (109 caps), alongside Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Joe Marler, Jonny May and Anthony Watson – all of who have more than 50 caps.
The camp will form part of England’s preparations for the Autumn Nations Series in November. England will host Tonga [Saturday 6 November, 3.15pm KO], Australia [Saturday 13 November, 5.30pm KO] and world champions South Africa [Saturday 20 November, 3.15pm KO]. All matches will be live on Amazon Prime.
Jones said: “This is an exciting squad made up of experienced players and young guys who did well in the summer and have earned their place again.
“We have left out some experienced players but we’re really clear that the door isn’t closed to them, and we’re looking forward to seeing them work hard to get back into contention.
“We have five campaigns now until the 2023 World Cup so each one counts, and this is a chance for this 45 to impress the new coaching staff.”
Tickets for England v Tonga are on general sale priced from £37 for adults and £22 for children. Tickets can be bought via EnglandRugby.com/Tickets.
Tickets for England v Australia and England v South Africa are on sale now to the rugby family.
FULL SQUAD
FORWARDS
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps)
Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 33 caps)
Trevor Davison (Newcastle Falcons, 1 cap)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 1 cap)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 23 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 2 caps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 48 caps)
Jack Kenningham (Harlequins, uncapped)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 87 caps)
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
Lewis Ludlow (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 72 caps)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Gabriel Oghre (Wasps, uncapped)
Sam Riley (Harlequins, uncapped)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 7 caps)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 44 caps)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 24 caps)
BACKS
Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 93 caps)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 4 caps)
Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 7 caps)
Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped)
Max Malins (Saracens, 8 caps)
Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 6 caps)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 66 caps)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, 1 cap)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Dan Robson (Wasps, 14 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 40 caps)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 2 caps)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 43 caps)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 51 caps)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 109 caps)
ENDS
Andy Farrell and his coaching team have assembled a group of 50 players for a one day camp at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin.
The Ireland men’s squad have an action packed 12 months ahead with games against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in the Autumn Nations Series in November.
In February and March there are tricky away games against England and France in the 2022 Six Nations Championships while Ireland host Wales, Italy and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.
In July 2022 the team are also due to play a three Test tour against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
Robert Baloucoune scores a try against the USA in the Vodafone Summer Series at the Aviva Stadium
During the summer Ireland recorded victories over Japan (39-31) and the USA (71-10) while capping nine new players – Robert Baloucoune, Caolin Blade, Paul Boyle, Harry Byrne, Gavin Coombes, James Hume, Tom O’Toole, Nick Timoney and Fineen Wycherley
Also during this period Jack Conan, Tadgh Furlong and Robbie Henshaw started all three Tests for the British and Irish Lions against South Africa while Conor Murray featured in all three games starting the second Test. Tadhg Beirne was a replacement in the first two Tests and Bundee Aki started the series decider.
Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series games at the Aviva Stadium will be televised on RTE (ROI) and Channel 4 (NI). The IRFU will finalise stadium capacity for these games following direction from government in October.
Backs (23)
Will Addison (Ulster/Enniskillen) 5 caps
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 31 caps
Robert Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen) 1 cap
Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) 1 cap
Billy Burns (Ulster) 7 caps
Harry Byrne (Leinster/Lansdowne) 1 cap
Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 24 caps
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 3 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 25 caps
Shane Daly (Munster/Cork Constitution) 2 caps
Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 93 caps
Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 15 caps
Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 10 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 52 caps
James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 30 caps
James Lowe (Leinster) 6 caps
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 5 caps
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 89 caps
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 34 caps
Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 99 caps
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan) 35 caps
Forwards (27)
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 5 caps
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 16 caps
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 22 caps
Paul Boyle (Connacht/Buccaneers) 1 cap
Ed Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 6 caps
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 20 caps
Will Connors (Leinster/UCD) 9 caps
Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) 2 caps
Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 19 caps
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 9 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 49 caps
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 109 caps
Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) 6 caps
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 63 caps
Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 22 caps
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 13 caps
Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 45 caps
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 76 caps
Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster/ Banbridge) 1 cap
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 1 cap
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps
Rhys Ruddock (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 27 caps
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps
John Ryan (Munster/Cork Constitution) 24 caps
Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps
Fineen Wycherley (Munster/Young Munster) 1 cap
Autumn Nations Series
IRELAND v Japan
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 6th November, 2021
IRELAND v New Zealand
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 13th November, 2021
![](https://www.hugerugby.news/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/hire-class-advert-Smyth369c-small-.jpg")
IRELAND v Argentina
Aviva Stadium, Sunday 21st November, 2021
2022 Guinness Six Nations Championship
IRELAND v Wales
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 5th February, 2022
France v IRELAND
Stade de France, Saturday 12th February, 2022
IRELAND v Italy
Aviva Stadium, Sunday 27th February, 2022
England v IRELAND
Twickenham Stadium, Saturday 12th March, 2022
IRELAND v Scotland
Aviva Stadium, Saturday 19th March, 2022
2022 Summer Tour
New Zealand v IRELAND
TBC
New Zealand v IRELAND
TBC
New Zealand v IRELAND
TBC
Source – Irish Rugby
RTÉ and TG4‘s live free-to-air coverage of the new United Rugby Championship begins with Connacht live on TG4 on Friday, September 24, followed by an action-packed Saturday (September 25) as Leinster are live on TG4, and Munster live on RTÉ.
RTÉ will broadcast live television, radio and online coverage of 26 games featuring the provinces in the league, plus additional knockout matches. There will also be extensive highlights and analysis each week on Against the Head on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player.
TG4’s Rugbaí Beo will continue to be the station’s flagship rugby programme and will broadcast 26 games involving the Irish teams, and an additional 16 games featuring international club sides.
Spórt TG4 will also have exclusive behind-the-scenes action from the competition across its social media channels.
The United Rugby Championship final will also be delivered free-to-air with RTÉ and TG4 broadcasting it live on alternate years.
The RTÉ/TG4 joint broadcast output contract has been awarded to Iris Productions. The Galway-based production company spearheaded many innovations in their previous rugby coverage on TG4, including behind-the-scenes referee briefings and audio-snoops on coaches and players. NEP Ireland will provide OB facilities.
Rónán O Coisdealbha, TG4’s Head of Sport, commented: “TG4 has been bringing interprovincial rugby to Irish audiences since the first days of the Celtic League in 2001, and we are looking forward to taking this next step with the URC and to see the South Africa ‘Super’ teams become part of our Rugbaí Beo line-up.
“This partnership with RTÉ galvanises TG4’s commitment to provide the best of sporting action to our audiences, and to making that coverage free-to-air and accessible to all fans.”
RTÉ’s Group Head of Sport, Declan McBennett, said: “Being in a position to provide free-to-air coverage of the provinces to our audience in the newly reconstituted URC allows us to ensure our best rugby players are seen, and seen to inspire future generations who want to one day wear their provincial and national jersey.”
Martin Anayi, the United Rugby Championship’s CEO, added: “The widespread return of URC and the provinces to free-to-air television in Ireland is a real cause for excitement.
“We can’t wait for that energy to be unleashed on the opening weekend with some cracking games on RTÉ and TG4 involving Leinster and Munster against two of South Africa’s heavyweights in the Vodacom Bulls and the Cell C Sharks.
“We have talked about the potential of our new partnership with RTÉ and TG4 and now we get to see if come to life in a week’s time.”
TG4’s Rugbaí Beo
TG4’s Rugbai Beo, led by presenter Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill, will feature expert analysis from Eimear Consideine, Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird, Niamh Ní Dhroma, Marcus Horan, Ronan Loughney, Eoghan Ó Neachtain and Eamonn Molloy along with a host of others.
Match commentary will be provided by Garry Mac Donncha, Gemma Ní Choinnaith will take over presenting duties from Máire Treasa while she is on maternity leave later in the year.
URC coverage will get underway on TG4 with a bumper weekend of action. On Friday, September 24,,Connacht travel to Wales to take on Cardiff Rugby (kick-off 7.35pm, TG4 & TG4 Player).
On Saturday, September 25, Leinster take on the Vodacom Bulls at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 5.15pm, TG4 & TG4 Player).
RTÉ URC Live
RTÉ’s URC Live will be presented by Jacqui Hurley and Daire O’Brien with a top-class line-up of panellists.
RTÉ’s URC Live kicks off on Saturday, September 25 on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player with Jacqui Hurley live from Thomond Park as Munster begin their campaign against the Cell C Sharks. Donal Lenihan will be alongside Hugh Cahill on commentary.
RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm will have full live commentary on the key games involving the provinces as well as reports, analysis, and interviews throughout the season.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
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