Marcus Smith has been given the opportunity to play his way into England’s World Cup squad after being picked at fly-half for Saturday’s clash with Wales in Cardiff.

Smith is preferred for the first of four Summer Nations Series matches ahead of Owen Farrell and George Ford, both of whom started the Gallagher Premiership final on May 27.

Steve Borthwick names his World Cup squad on Monday and, with Smith thought to be behind Farrell and Ford in the pecking order, he has the platform at the Principality Stadium to convince his head coach that a third fly-half should be taken to France.

Danny Care joins the 24-year-old at half-back and the side is littered with fringe contenders for the final 33-man group – with no players from Premiership finalists Saracens and Sale present in the starting XV.

Ellis Genge captains the team but, apart from Care, it is an inexperienced line-up that sees fast-rising Northampton flanker Tom Pearson make his debut at openside.

Danny Care has unfinished business with the World Cup but refuses to hold back during England’s warm-up games even if it means repeating one of his career’s most crushing disappointments.

Care was considered first choice scrum-half heading into the 2011 tournament only to sustain a serious foot injury against Wales in Cardiff during the build-up, preventing him from playing any part.

The Harlequins half-back had already paid for his parents to travel to New Zealand in anticipation of his involvement and while they watched England reach the quarter-finals, he remained at home on crutches.

Four years later, he had slipped down the pecking order and was confined to a single match against Uruguay, and when 2019 arrived he was among the victims of Eddie Jones’ leftfield approach to scrum-half selection.

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France this autumn offers a final chance for the 36-year-old to realise his World Cup dream, but first England must revisit the setting for his misfortune of 2011 when they face Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

“I’m desperate to try and play more World Cup games, try and win some more games for England,” Care said.

“It will be a dream come true to get on that plane and hopefully I’ve done enough to get on the plane.

“I got named in the squad in 2011, played a warm-up game and ended up missing the tournament. Touch wood that doesn’t happen again, but it is rugby, it happens.

“One thing you can’t do going onto a rugby field is think about staying fit and no one will be doing that.

“It is the nature of the beast – you’re not playing tiddlywinks. It’s a tough old sport and you can get injured at any point, in any training session.

“It’s the way it is, there is a bit of luck involved sometimes. You try and not think about it, just crack on and put your head 100 per cent into everything and then hope for the best.

“Everyone will be flying in to win Test matches. We are going to try to win games and the best way to be prepared for France is to go and win some Test matches.”

Gregor Townsend is confident Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie will recover from injury in time for next weekend’s World Cup warm-up match away to France after sitting out this Saturday’s Test against Les Bleus at Murrayfield.

The Edinburgh flanker has sustained a minor calf strain and will play no part in this weekend’s match in Edinburgh, with stand-off Finn Russell handed the skipper’s armband in his absence.

However, Townsend is optimistic that Ritchie will be back in contention for the rematch against the French in Saint-Etienne the following Saturday.

“I would hope he will be back next week,” said the head coach. “He’s confident he will be back in full training next week.

“It was a calf strain that has required more time off. He got a scan on Tuesday just to make sure there was no more damage done, and it was felt that this week there was no need to push the injury.

“He’s confident he will be running by the weekend and back to full training next week.”

Talismanic stand-off Russell – who will join Bath from Racing 92 after the World Cup – will lead the national team for the first time, less than 10 months after being omitted from the initial squad for the autumn series.

Asked what has changed in the intervening period for the 30-year-old to go from outsider to leader, Townsend said: “Finn has played really well since he got back into the squad.

“He has always been a leader for us in terms of attack. He is older, has more experience and an opportunity has opened up where he’s the right man to lead us this week.

“It’s the right time to give him that opportunity, and it will be interesting to see how he goes. Being vice captain and our most important attack leader gives him a real confidence and I’m hoping that being captain gives him confidence too.

“The players that do most of the talking on the field are your 10, your captain and maybe one other player. Finn has certainly done that for us over the last couple of years.”

Townsend believes Russell is in his prime.

“He’s in really good physical shape and was when he came back in last November and during the Six Nations too,” he said.

“He’s hitting that sweet spot where, after playing the game for 10 years in that one position and playing against some of the best teams around, he has an understanding of where space might open up.

“If you’ve got that physical side right too, you can exploit those opportunities. That’s what he is doing. He’s really motivated about playing for Scotland and playing club rugby for the next few years.

“If you can get that mix for the next two or three years, and it’s important to note he is improving all the time, you’ve got one of the best players in the world in that position with us, which is great.”

Townsend has made 13 changes to his starting XV for this weekend’s clash with the French, restoring the majority of his big-hitters after fielding a largely experimental side for last Saturday’s win over Italy.

Ritchie and hooker George Turner are the only notable absentees from the starting line-up, with Ewan Ashman – capped seven times – the least established international in the line-up.

Townsend is hoping Scotland can show over the next two games that they have built on a strong performance in their 32-21 Six Nations defeat by France in Paris in February when they roared back from 19-0 down and threatened to pull off a famous victory.

“We want to show we are a better team than that day,” said Townsend. “I feel that what the players are showing in training is at a lot higher level than what we produced in the Six Nations. That gives us a lot of encouragement and excitement.

“We did play well and the character in the team was outstanding, but we didn’t finish off nearly enough opportunities to win the game. Three times we were over the try-line and didn’t score, and there were another four times where great creative play didn’t get rewarded.

“It’s great that France have committed to home and away fixtures like they did last time. It suits us that we were able to mix up our team last week and we now have two very tough Test matches home and away.”

Jac Morgan will captain Wales on Saturday in what is effectively the first of three World Cup leadership auditions.

The 23-year-old Ospreys flanker takes charge for Wales’ opening tournament warm-up game against England in Cardiff.

Wales then go to Twickenham seven days later before hosting reigning world champions South Africa – and there is likely to be a different skipper each time as head coach Warren Gatland considers his options.

Hooker Dewi Lake, fly-half Dan Biggar, plus locks Adam Beard and Will Rowlands are also among realistic captaincy candidates.

Should Morgan or 24-year-old hooker Lake be handed the World Cup reins, it would echo Gatland appointing Sam Warburton as skipper for the 2011 tournament, when he was just 22.

“We’ve named Jac as captain for this match, and it is a great honour for him to be leading his country,” Gatland said.

“We will be looking at probably having a different captain for each of the matches as we give as many as possible in the squad an opportunity to impress, but also mindful about potential combinations as we get closer to naming the World Cup squad.”

Gatland is set to name his final 33-strong World Cup squad later this month, and there are early chances in the spotlight for an uncapped trio of Max Llewellyn, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti, who all start against England.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Since the start of last year, players can switch to their country of birth – or their parents’ or grandparents’ birth – provided a minimum period of three years has elapsed since they were last selected for an adopted country.

Thomas, who won the last of his seven England caps against New Zealand in 2014, follows players like Jean Kleyn (Ireland to South Africa), Charles Piutau (New Zealand to Tonga) and Byron McGuigan (Scotland in Namibia).

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations after tough training camps in Switzerland and Turkey.

Gatland added: “I have been really pleased with the players’ effort and commitment in Turkey, Switzerland and the mini camps in Wales, but now it is about putting what we’ve been training into practice.

“There is some great competition among the squad in all positions, and we’ve selected a team this week with a few debutants because we want to give them the opportunity to see what they can do.

“There is a lot to play for over the next three matches, and everyone is still in contention to make that final squad for France.”

Centre Llewellyn, who is the son of former Wales lock Gareth Llewellyn, will partner George North in midfield, with Cardiff props Domachowski and Assiratti also gaining immediate chances to shine.

Swansea-born Plumtree, meanwhile, goes straight into the matchday 23 after linking up with the Wales squad ahead of last month’s trip to Switzerland.

He has played Super Rugby in New Zealand and will be part of the Scarlets set-up next season.

For Halfpenny, Saturday’s game sees him reach three figures almost 15 years after he made his Wales debut as a teenager against South Africa.

He will become the ninth Wales player to clock up a century, and only the fifth back, joining North, Biggar, Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas.

Gatland said: “I would like to make a special mention for Leigh Halfpenny, who will win his 100th cap for Wales on Saturday.

“Reaching this milestone is an incredible achievement and testament to the player and person Leigh is. I know it will be a very special day for him and all his family.”

Dylan Hartley has urged England to install Owen Farrell at fly-half for the entire World Cup and its build up in the belief it will provide reassurance to the team.

Farrell is competing with George Ford and Marcus Smith for the role of chief conductor with the alternative option to pick him at inside centre, operating alongside one of his rivals for the number 10 jersey.

Head coach Steve Borthwick used both Farrell and Smith in the position during the Six Nations, while Ford is back in contention having fallen out of favour under Eddie Jones.

Hartley, who led England to the 2016 Grand Slam, insists his successor as red rose captain should start the Summer Nations Series opener against Wales on Saturday and then be retained, to send out a message.

“I would love for Owen to play at 10 and for Steve Borthwick to make his mind up and go with him for all these opening games,” Hartley told the PA news agency.

“The team ticks when there is certainty and I love the conviction of seeing Owen at 10. If he’s at 10 then it frees up Ollie Lawrence or Manu Tuilagi, or whatever combination there is outside him.

“As the leader, heartbeat of the side and world class player when given the reins, Owen is integral to how England will perform.

“He’s not just the fly-half and goalkicker, he’s everything to that squad. He’s not a young kid any more, he’s a battle-hardened warrior.

“He’s still matching where he needs to be physically, it’s not like they’re carrying him just for his experience, whereas you’d probably argue I was just there for experience and captaincy instead of performance.

“In that regard you hit a tipping point and my tipping point came pre-30-years-old. Owen ticks all the boxes for me.”

Borthwick has four Tests – Wales’ visit to Twickenham and clashes with Ireland and Fiji complete the schedule – to fine tune England ahead of their seismic opener against Argentina on September 9.

The Principality showdown is the only match to take place before Borthwick names his 33-man World Cup squad on Monday with the management team holding their final selection meeting on Saturday night.

Hartley, who is now exploring coaching consultancy roles, having retired in 2019, believes it is crucial England use the Tests to stitch together a winning run.

“You want to roll these games into the World Cup and win them all. You don’t want to experiment and I’d like to see conviction from the off. Don’t mess around and pick the team you would for a World Cup final,” the former Northampton hooker said.

“Pick a team against Wales to win, not to work on combinations. If you experiment with a player you might learn more about him, but you get more from a winning team. You go through the gears easier when you’re winning.

“Uncertainty can keep environments competitive and honest, but you also need a little bit of comfort.

“Injuries will come, but deal with those retrospectively and go win the games which will build momentum and confidence.”

Rugby is going through a challenging period amid concerns over concussion, its laws, finances and playing numbers, but Hartley believes the coming weeks in France will provide a much-needed lift.

“The game has taken bit of a shoeing but the best of rugby is displayed at rugby World Cups, so it’s timely,” the 97-cap front row said.

“You have the underdog stories – the teams you never get to see like Portugal and Chile – that emerge and are hugely positive.

“The game is in a tough place but with the quality of teams and calibre of athlete we’ll see at the World Cup, it will be a great advertisement for the game and we can stop talking about the negative stuff.”

:: All 15 Summer Nations Series matches are available exclusively on Prime Video in the UK.

Finn Russell will captain Scotland in this Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against France – less than 10 months after Gregor Townsend left the fly-half out of his initial squad for the autumn series.

The 30-year-old will lead the team in the absence of Jamie Ritchie, who misses out with a minor niggle. Scotland medical staff hope the regular skipper will be fit to return for the rematch with France in St Etienne the following Saturday.

Head coach Townsend has restored most of his senior players, making 13 changes to his starting XV, after a largely experimental side defeated Italy last weekend.

Darcy Graham and Matt Fagerson are the only two to retain their places from the win over the Azzurri, while hooker Ewan Ashman – with just seven caps to date – is the least-established player in the XV to face the World Cup hosts.

Ritchie and George Turner – who played against Italy – are the only notable absentees from the starting XV.

Versatile Edinburgh back Blair Kinghorn has been given a chance to establish himself as the first-choice number 15 following the recent retirement of Stuart Hogg.

Russell being handed the captaincy marks a significant turnaround in fortunes for a player whose international future looked in serious jeopardy just under a year ago after he was a surprise omission from the autumn series squad, with Townsend citing concerns about his form and consistency levels.

However, following an injury to Adam Hastings that left him short of dependable options at stand-off, Townsend held clear-the-air talks with Russell and recalled him for the third of the four autumn Tests at home to New Zealand.

The number 10 – who has moved to Bath from Racing 92 this summer – shone against the All Blacks and Argentina last November and continued to flourish in the Six Nations, rediscovering the faith of Townsend who has rewarded him with the honour of leading the team this weekend, just five weeks out from their opening World Cup match against South Africa in Marseille.

Tadhg Beirne admits the scars of the last World Cup took a long time to heal and insists Ireland will do everything possible to avoid making the same mistakes.

Andy Farrell’s side go into the tournament in France at the top of the world rankings and buoyed by clinching a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam on the back of a historic tour success in New Zealand.

Ireland were buzzing with similar belief under Joe Schmidt in 2019 before suffering an emphatic quarter-final exit to the All Blacks following a shock pool-stage loss to hosts Japan.

Munster lock Beirne believes the tone for that forgettable campaign was set during an underwhelming build-up, which included a record drubbing by England, and is determined to help prevent a repeat outcome as he prepares for Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy.

“It was really disappointing to be honest, we had such expectations of ourselves and we probably felt like we didn’t fire on all cylinders,” he said of the 2019 tournament.

“Overall, just disappointment from the get-go.

“Even when you talk about warm-ups we didn’t particularly play well in them, did we? And that fed into the World Cup in terms of our performances over there.

“I think afterwards it took a long, long time to get over it so I’m certainly hoping that’s not the case this year and we’ll be doing everything we can to change that.”

Ireland begin the World Cup on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

After hosting Italy, preparations continue when England visit the Aviva Stadium a fortnight later before a fixture against Samoa in Bayonne the following weekend provides a final chance for fine-tuning.

Beirne says the three upcoming matches are far from friendlies and acknowledges that any player not up to scratch is at risk of being dropped when head coach Farrell cuts his squad from 42 to 33 at the end of the month.

“You can certainly lose your spot in a World Cup squad if you don’t play well,” said the British and Irish Lion, who was restricted to a peripheral role for his country in Japan in 2019.

“As a squad we have a record at home that we are proud of at the moment, we are playing a certain type of rugby that we want to continue doing.

“We are looking at it very much as we would a Six Nations game or a November international game.

“It’s a Test match we want to win and we are going out there to prove a point, 100 per cent.”

Mike Phillips has urged Wales to inspire their fans at what he considers the most important World Cup in the nation’s rugby history.

The Welsh game has spent 2023 in crisis off the field due to a sexism and misogyny scandal at the Welsh Rugby Union and in dire straits on it, with Warren Gatland struggling to transform the team’s fortunes during his second spell in charge.

Wales, World Cup semi-finalists in Japan four years ago, have fallen to ninth in the global rankings, with supporters expecting Gatland’s side to make a major impact at the tournament in France next month very much in the minority.

“It’s more important this time,” former scrum-half Phillips said of Wales’ forthcoming World Cup campaign.

“The public needs it. It seems that it has just been a constant negative about Welsh rugby over the last 18 months. The public needs some inspiration.

“We all want to support success, just as with the football team reaching the World Cup.

“The Welsh people want to be inspired and there’s nothing like the national team to galvanise the game, all the way down to the grassroots.

“It would be nice to have people excited about what’s happening on the pitch.”

Wales play two warm-up games against England – the first in Cardiff on Saturday – and another at home to South Africa before embarking on their World Cup adventure.

British and Irish Lions trio Alun Wyn Jones – Test rugby’s most capped player – Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb have all left the international scene in recent months and there will be several new faces in France.

“There’s no pressure on these players but my only concern is that they’re not winning often, either for club or country,” said Phillips, who won 94 caps for Wales and another five for the Lions.

“Winning in sport is tough, it doesn’t just happen. Sometimes you need to grind it out. A few years ago that’s what they were doing.

“Gatland will have them fit but the game has moved on from when he was first in charge. There’s far more kicking now so the tactics need to be spot on, strong defence and discipline is key because games turn on a moment.

“You can’t keep picking the same guys forever. Ideally you would have a core group with 30 or 40 caps but we seem to have players either with lots or none.”

Phillips starred as Wales reached the last four of the 2011 World Cup, losing agonisingly 9-8 to France after skipper Sam Warburton had been sent off in the opening quarter.

He said: “The youngsters have to learn to become leaders, that’s how they will grow. Perhaps it’s good to throw them in the deep end.

“It feels similar to 2011 when Wales brought in a load of new young players like George North, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland, Taulupe Faletau and Sam Warburton.

“They came back from the World Cup experience and won a Grand Slam, another title, and all went with the Lions in 2013.

“We may not know a lot about these lads now but they can be household names by the time they return.”

Wales meet Fiji – who famously knocked them out the last time the World Cup was held in France 16 years ago – in a crunch Bordeaux opener on September 10 before further group games against Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

England or Argentina are potential quarter-final opponents.

“Fiji is a monumental game,” said Phillips. “Getting that first win gives you momentum and takes a bit of pressure off.

“But Fiji are very physical and athletically they are absolute monsters. They are strong and powerful and seem to have a more tactical game now with their driving maul.

“Their scrum is pretty solid, they play in that Super competition (Super Rugby Pacific franchise Fijian Drua provided 19 of the most recent national squad), and they are going to be tough to break down.”

:: Mike Phillips was speaking at S4C’s 2023 Rugby World Cup launch.

Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up clash against England at the Principality Stadium.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has yet to announce his World Cup skipper, though, and says each of the preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa in Cardiff, could have a different player at the helm.

Centre Max Llewellyn, plus props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti will make their Test debuts on Saturday.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations.

Paul O’Connell has no reservations about the possibility of Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley or Ciaran Frawley starting a World Cup match in place of influential Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.

Suspension has ruled fly-half Sexton out of his country’s warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa, leaving a trio of inexperienced understudies vying to stake their claim for the role.

Frawley remains uncapped at international level, while his Leinster team-mate Byrne and Munster man Crowley have just four Test starts between them.

Veteran Sexton will complete his three-match ban in time to feature in Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania on September 9 but he is short of match fitness having not played since March due to injury.

Although forwards coach O’Connell acknowledges the stand-in options are Test rookies, he would back each of them to perform on the biggest stage if required.

“I’d be confident in all of them,” he said, ahead of Saturday’s Dublin clash with Italy.

“One of the strengths we have is that we’ve good clarity on how we’re trying to play the game and the players have to take ownership of that clarity quite a lot.

“You do figure out a guy that’s unsure very, very quickly. But all of our guys know how we want to play.

“They don’t have as much practice at it or as much experience as Johnny has of taking ownership of it but that’s why these few weeks will be great for them.

“We play differently to Munster and to Leinster and the guys that are there but there is a lot of similarities as well so it’s nothing massively new to them.

“They’ve all driven the ship for their provinces in big, big games and done really well. There’s a little bit of a tweak to how we do things and they’ve got to pick that up.”

Sexton’s last competitive action was four and a half months ago when he limped off with a groin issue during Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching win over England.

The 38-year-old, who has 113 caps for his country, has been training fully with Andy Farrell’s 42-man preliminary squad this summer ahead of his last competition before retirement.

Ireland’s selection is due to be cut to a final 33 on August 28 and O’Connell has urged those who do miss out to not feel too disheartened.

“It’s not all or nothing,” said the 43-year-old, who represented Ireland at four World Cups between 2003 and 2015.

“You hope that by being in here, training with us, training with good players, that players are improving and they’re looking at their opportunity to get a chance, to try to get picked for the World Cup and, if they don’t, that they break in in the future.

“They all want to go to the World Cup for sure, but selection for the World Cup is not an all-or-nothing thing.

“I’m sure plenty of guys are going to be disappointed.

“They’ve their sights set on getting their chances and taking it but I think they’re all going to be better on the back of this pre-season.”

Ollie Chessum is in contention to win a place in England’s World Cup squad after making a successful early comeback from the ankle surgery that had jeopardised his tournament hopes.

England feared they had lost their breakout star of the Six Nations after he was ruled out for between five and six months with the injury sustained during preparations to face Ireland in March.

But on Tuesday he took part in a live scrummaging session during training as he closes in on making a complete recovery that should see him named in Steve Borthwick’s 33-strong squad on Monday.

England had made it clear Chessum would not be risked in Saturday’s opening warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff if not fully fit, but would be willing select him for the World Cup on the strength of his performances this year.

“Ollie’s close to a return. He’s done incredibly well and has been so diligent with his rehab. He looks really good,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said.

“He’s definitely a great character and I’ve enjoyed working with him over the last few years, but he’s also a top-quality player who we are keen to get fit.

“The medics said that if he’s free of complications then there’s a very good chance of him being ready for the World Cup. He’s had no complications and flew into his rehab.

“I don’t think we’re going to rush someone back from that injury and say ‘you have to play (against Wales)’ – it’s up to us to make a decision on the best 33 on the back of all the evidence we’ve had.

“Ollie has obviously given pretty strong evidence that he’s a top international player when he was fit.”

Chessum won the first of his nine caps under Eddie Jones but it was during the Six Nations that he announced his arrival as a high-calibre Test player through a series of imposing displays in an otherwise-underperforming team.

The 22-year-old can play lock or blindside flanker and made a big impression on Wigglesworth, who played alongside him and coached him at Leicester until leaving to join Borthwick’s coaching team at the end of the season.

“When Ollie’s fit and firing he brings an energy with him that’s infectious and he’s someone who’s just going to get better and better,” Wigglesworth said.

“He’s got a great attitude, great athletic ability and he’s got the mind to be in an England shirt for a long, long time if he keeps progressing the way he wants to.”

Billy Vunipola has also provided a fitness boost as he shows no adverse effects from his recent knee surgery, nudging him closer to regaining his place as England’s number eight.

“Billy looks highly motivated and he’s had a big impact in training, coming back in straight away,” Wigglesworth said.

“He’s shown his class and his form. His training is slightly modified but not much.”

Borthwick will oversee the final selection meeting in Cardiff on Saturday night before telling each player individually on Sunday whether they made the cut for the World Cup.

The date of the announcement means that the Principality Stadium clash will be the final opportunity for players to play their way into the 33.

“We pick a team to try and win a Test match, without a doubt, but it would probably be disingenuous to say we aren’t trying to get a squad ready for the tournament as well,” Wigglesworth said.

“We have to have a squad that is ready to play in France to the best of its ability. Will the same team play four weeks in a row? No, absolutely not. There will be changes throughout the four weeks.”

Paul O’Connell believes suspended Ireland captain Johnny Sexton will be concerned about his lack of game time ahead of his World Cup swansong.

Fly-half Sexton, who is set to retire following the tournament in France, will miss each of his country’s warm-up matches after being hit with a three-match ban for misconduct.

The 38-year-old has not played competitively since March, having been forced off by a groin injury in the final match of the Guinness Six Nations against England.

Forwards coach O’Connell insists Sexton’s extended absence is not a major worry for Ireland’s management team but concedes his former team-mate is likely to feel uneasy about the situation.

“Whenever he’s come back from injuries (previously), he rarely needs a lot of games to get back up and running,” said O’Connell.

“It’s a real strength of his. He’s trained since the start of pre-season pretty much, he hasn’t missed a training session.

“He seems to watch an awful lot of rugby, he thinks a lot about rugby, so I think that kind of helps him hit the ground running when he comes back.

“(But) I’d say it’s a worry for him, you know. He wants to finish playing really, really well, and I’d say he’d love to have a few more games under his belt.

“It is what it is. It’s not something I’m worried about.”

Ireland face Italy, England and Samoa this month before beginning their World Cup campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

Sexton’s prolonged spell on the sidelines – in the wake of his behaviour following Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat by La Rochelle on May 20 – has opened the door for rival number 10s Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley and Ciaran Frawley.

O’Connell says the opportunity for the three understudies is a significant “silver lining” of the undesirable circumstances.

“They’re all playing for places – Johnny’s selection allows those guys to own it a little bit,” said the 43-year former lock, who represented Ireland at four World Cups.

“It puts us in a good position heading into the World Cup because those guys get to accumulate more experience; not just of playing on the big day, but of owning it and running the week, driving some of the detail as well.

“Johnny’s suspension is unfortunate for us. But there’s a real good silver lining for us as well.”

England’s new scrum coach Tom Harrison has revealed his passion for rugby helped him overcome some of the challenges of living with dyslexia.

The 32-year-old likens the learning difficulty, which mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling, to running a 100-metre race “but your lane’s got hurdles in it”.

He would often lean on twin brother Sam for help during childhood but eased his literacy issues by devouring match-day programmes bought during trips to watch Premiership club Bath.

Harrison joined the national team from Leicester at the start of June to reunite with head coach Steve Borthwick and is tasked with ensuring England’s forward pack is firing in time for the forthcoming World Cup.

“I’m hugely dyslexic, so found school hard,” he said.

“If you don’t like doing something, the majority of the time you don’t do it and I wasn’t very good at reading.

“But then when you find a love for something, you’re like, ‘OK, I can do this’. The bit for me was I found a love in rugby.

“I’m not saying had I not bought a match-day programme or had I not bought a rugby magazine I would never have been able to read or write.

“But what it allowed me to do is hone other skills that were underdeveloped.”

People with dyslexia often have strengths in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem solving.

Harrison feels that could prove advantageous to his country during the upcoming showpiece tournament in France, which England begin on September 9 against Argentina in Marseille.

“You have to coach players equally but differently,” he said. “Everyone has a different way of retaining information.

“For me personally, I see it as a positive. It’s almost like you are in a 100-metre race but your lane’s got hurdles in it.

“Over the course of growing up, I’ve developed different ways of thinking – some call it cognitive diversity. Sometimes they are brilliant ideas, sometimes they’re horrendous but I probably think slightly outside the box to different people.

“I see that as a problem-solving tool, it can be very beneficial. (But) I’m not the biggest fan of writing on a whiteboard and people probably can’t read my notes!”.

Harrison replaced Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill in the England setup by following Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick along the well-trodden path from Welford Road to Twickenham.

Having never played the game at the top level, he has taken a less conventional route into elite coaching.

The former prop studied a sports coaching degree at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire, where current England stars Jonny Hill and Ellis Genge were among his contemporaries.

Alongside teaching the game, he went on to play for French PRO D2 side Auch – Antoine Dupont’s club as a junior – and Plymouth Albion in the Championship.

“It’s a quick route in some aspects because I’m young but actually if you go career experience, I’ve been coaching for a long time,” said Harrison, who helped Leicester win the Gallagher Premiership title in 2022.

“I do have moments where I go, ‘wow, I’ve got one of the coolest jobs in the world, I get to coach my country in a sport that I love’.

“But it’s very much you’re then back down to work and actually let’s do the job rather than be in that honeymoon period.

“If we want to get England back to being one of the world’s best, then the scrum is an aspect where you do have to improve.”

Wales young gun Louis Rees-Zammit insists he has only shown a fraction of his talent in his short career to date as he targets a World Cup debut.

The Gloucester winger has scored nine tries in 25 Test matches and earned British and Irish Lions selection since making his debut as a teenager in late 2020 but, still only 22, he wants to take his game to another level.

After a season in which he was hampered by injuries, Rees-Zammit is itching to get onto the pitch for Wales’ World Cup warm-up fixtures – home and away against England before a Cardiff date with South Africa – and remind everyone what he is capable of.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot to give,” he said. “You’ve probably only seen a little bit. I’m ready to showcase my skills on the field whenever I get the chance. I don’t think you’ve seen the best of me. I’ve got a lot more to give.”

Rees-Zammit made his name on the wing but has also been seen in a 15 shirt for Wales, and he wants to develop that side of his game as he takes the next steps in his career.

“I want to be versatile,” he said. “I want to add more strings to my bow and if that means playing 15 as well then I’m ready for it. I’ve trained at wing and full-back so wherever I get played I’ll try my hardest.”

Rees-Zammit said the biggest thing he had to work on to play full-back was his defensive positioning, but he feels he has the attributes to excel in the backfield.

“In Test rugby there are a lot of kicks and you’ve got to be ready,” he said. “You’ve got to be in the right position at the right time. That’s a lot different to being on the wing but in attack you get more of a licence to go and look for the ball and get more touches.

“We do have a licence and freedom on the wing as well but stepping up as a first receiver from full-back I quite enjoy. I’d say I get my hands on the ball more at 15.

“I’d say my kicking game is pretty strong but obviously I do love running with the ball. Being a threat on the counter attack is also there.”

So much has come so fast for Rees-Zammit to date, but his dream as a boy was always to play in a World Cup for Wales, and this autumn’s tournament offers him a first opportunity.

He remembers watching the 2019 tournament with his team-mates at Hartpury College, never imagining he would be a Wales international himself a year later.

“Everything has come so quick and I’ve tried riding the wave in a sense,” he said.

“I absolutely love it here. I love rugby and playing for Gloucester and Wales and obviously I got on the Lions tour as well which was unbelievable. This is the next step and I haven’t been to a World Cup yet. That is a dream.”

The 33 players that make Warren Gatland’s final selection for France will have had to work hard for their places as Wales continue a punishing summer of training camps, spending the last week in Turkey where temperatures have been hitting 40 degrees.

Rees-Zammit described the training camp as “brutal” and “probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically and mentally”, but it is just what he needed to put his injuries behind him.

“My body feels as sharp as ever,” he said. “I feel the best I’ve ever felt so I’m really looking forward to these games coming up and showing what I can do.”

Scotland rookie Ben Healy was delighted to land the man of the match award against Italy on a day when he knew he had to deliver a big performance to keep his hopes of going to the World Cup alive.

The 24-year-old Edinburgh fly-half appears to be vying with Gloucester counterpart Adam Hastings for a place in Gregor Townsend’s 33-man squad, which is due to be finalised over the next couple of weeks.

And Healy – who made his Scotland debut as a replacement in the Six Nations match against Italy in March – stepped up and marked his first start by kicking 10 points from a possible 12 and playing a prominent part in two of his team’s three tries as they defeated the Azzurri 25-13 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

“Probably a little bit, yes,” he said when asked if he felt pressure to produce the goods.

“It was more important that we got the win and put into practice a lot of things we’d been working on throughout pre-season.

“But without question, I knew I had to have a good game against Italy because there are only four warm-up games and there are other lads that need to play games.

“Realistically, I knew I had to put my best foot forward.”

Healy played at Under-20 level for his native Ireland, but he qualifies for Scotland through his Scottish-born mother.

The stand-off was called up to Townsend’s squad for the first time for the Six Nations earlier this year just after his impending transfer from Munster to Edinburgh this summer was announced.

Having been involved with the national team for the best part of seven months, serving as back-up to the talismanic Finn Russell, he was delighted to finally make his first start.

“It was great to get the start,” he said. “You have a bit more control of the week when you know you’re starting rather than coming off the bench.

“The boys were brilliant to work with all week. It’s been really good to build all those connections with the boys over the past few weeks and then put it into practice.

“It was far from perfect as a team performance but it was a step in the right direction.

“It was great to play in front of a crowd like that at Murrayfield and get across the white line with a result.”

Healy – who will begin life with Edinburgh once his World Cup commitments are over – has enjoyed the opportunity to get to know his new Scottish colleagues during their gruelling summer training camp.

“I’ve loved being part of the squad for the last couple of months,” he said. “It’s my first World Cup pre-season and it’s probably the hardest I’ve done.

“It doesn’t really compare to any I’ve done at club level in terms of the intensity and the volume of work you get through.

“It’s been great to be in camp and build connections, which is something we’ve put a real emphasis on in the last few weeks and months.”