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England lock Launchbury out for entire Six Nations

(Photo by Bob Bradford - CameraSport via Getty Images)

England look certain to be without Wasps lock Joe Launchbury for the entire Six Nations Championship following his fibia stress fracture.

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It was hoped that Launchbury, who pulled out of the championship just before it kicked off, would be back for the final two England matches against France and Ireland but Lee Blackett, the Wasps director of rugby, today confirmed that a time scale of three to six weeks was still in place.

Launchbury had formed a highly effective double act with Maro Itoje and his work rate and maul destroying skills have been badly missed by England who have used Exeter’s Jonny Hill to fill the void in the second row.

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Blackett who needs Launchbury back to help halt a poor run insisted the lock would only be cleared to play when the medical staff were completely happy with his recovery from the leg fracture. Blackett said: “It is going well with Joe and he could potentially be available in three to six weeks. From the start we hoped Joe could be back for the last two games of the Six Nations but that was always going to be a push and we are going to try our best.

“Our medical guys are in contact with England and the key is to make sure he is fit. I am sure a fully fit and raring to go Joe is someone they would want involved but it looks like it will be a push.”

Blackett has hit back at Steve Borthwick, the Leicester director of rugby, who claimed Wasps players were calling for red cards during a match that saw the Tigers win 27-8. Leicester players Jasper Wiese and Hanro Lienbenberg plus Wasps Kieran Brookes were sent off and Blackett said: “It is an emotional sport and I have too much respect for other clubs to talk about what other clubs do.

“I wouldn’t be using the media to get a point across to another club.”

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S
SK 1 hour ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

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J
JW 6 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

147 Go to comments
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