News about George North

ALEX BYWATER: Good news has been in short supply in Welsh rugby in the last two years or more. From Six Nations wooden spoons to financial and contractual misery and the ongoing fallout of a sexism and misogyny scandal, Wales' national game has suffered all manner of ills. But in Swansea, the Ospreys and their head coach Toby Booth are showing that from scorched earth, green shoots of recovery can grow. On the face of things, the Ospreys' record of seven wins from 13 United Rugby Championship games and a place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals might not seem that remarkable. But those numbers barely tell even half the story.

Steve Diamond, Newcastle's rugby consultant, would 'definitely' welcome the Falcons as the first Gallagher Premiership club to receive Saudi Arabian funding. The city's Premier League football team Newcastle United is already 80% owned by a sovereign wealth fund from the cash-rich gulf state known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF). And there's a chance that Saudi Arabian funds will soon be available at Kingston Park, as Diamond continues to expand the Falcons' position both on and off the field.

ALEX BYWATER: On Saturday night, the sight of a battered and bruised George North wearing crutches and his foot in a protective boot in the Principality Stadium mixed zone brought up a grim, bitterly disappointing Six Nations campaign for Wales. North was the only player to face questions regarding the condition of the Welsh match after his last game of international rugby, which culminated in loss to Italy and the Six Nations wooden spoon for Wales. North deserved a lot for turning up considering that he had terribly injured his achilles with the clock in the red and that he will not be a part of Wales' future.

ALEX BYWATER AT THE PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: The Welsh fan waving a wooden spoon in the crowd before kick-off at Principality Stadium was clearly celebrating his team's recent fall from grace, although obviously jealous of his team's recent fall from grace. Now, there was absolutely nothing for Welsh supporters to celebrate as Warren Gatland's side lost in a straight defeat in 2024. It means Wales has finished last in the Six Nations for the first time since 2003. Wales' national game has seen a dramatic and sad decline.

DAN BIGGAR: I captained Wales on my 100th cap against Italy in Cardiff in 2022. On the same day, Alun Wyn Jones made his 150th Test appearance for his country. It was supposed to be a party. It became a nightmare. I'm back to it now, but much was made of mine and Alun Wyn's classic games. I'm not positive we were as focused as we should have been on the task at hand.

ALEX BYWATER: Warren Gatland and Wales have been recruited to compete for the Six Nations championship for years, but they are now trying to prevent a bottom-place finish. If Wales loses to Italy in Cardiff on Saturday, they will pick up the dreaded wooden spoon. Also a win might not be enough to prevent such a fate.

ALEX BYWATER: Since announcing a surprise retirement from international rugby, George North, a Test centurion, has revealed that he will bring the curtain down on a glittering Test career. North will cap his 121st and final Wales cap against Italy in Cardiff. His decision, at the age of 31, is a major blow to Wales head coach Warren Gatland. 'I've decided that the game on Saturday will bring my international career to an end,' North said.

Wales and head coach Warren Gatland have been used in years past to prepare for the Championship title and a Grand Slam in the final weekend of the Six Nations. This time around, the strain and apprehension surrounding Gatland and his players ahead of 'Super Saturday' is high, but for a different reason. If Wales defeat Italy in Cardiff on Saturday, they will win the 2024 Championship and finish last in the table for the first time since 2003.

ALEX BYWATER AT THE PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: Wales, as it had all Six Nations involved, sluggishly, arguing they were in the fight to begin with, despite some bad French defense. But power won the day at the end. Wales, for all their efforts, received 45 points and five attempts. They have now lost 11 of their last 12 games in the Six Nations. For the first time since 2003, the US will host Italy on Saturday, trying to prevent finishing last place. Victory is far from guaranteed following Azzurri's win over Scotland. France will finish their tournament at home to England.

DAN BIGGAR: Wales has a young team right now, but their back-line pick has been fairly consistent, which is saying a lot in Test rugby. Owen Watkin and Joe Roberts are both excellent players, but in a huge game, they'll have to come right in from the cold and banging the ground running. Roberts will be looking for his second cap in Cardiff. It's a big chance for him. I don't quite get the decision's time frame. Wales has a good chance of being upset, according to my opinion. It would be difficult to beat France and to insist that a big scalp would be needed for the young players in the squad.

Warren Gatland said it wasn't a difficult call to drop Test centurion George North - as well as fellow centre Nick Tompkins - for the crucial Six Nations match against France. When leaving out the veteran midfield pairing and selecting Owen Watkin and Joe Roberts to face Les Bleus on Monday, Gatland stunned Wales fans at the start of the week. After being selected over North, Roberts will win his second cap at Principality Stadium.

ALEX BYWATER: The Wales camp's messages on Wednesday contradicted the truth that had been posted. Everyone was square in the face, according to the Welsh camp's. We were told that Nick Tompkins and George North hadn't been dropped. Games in the Six Nations, the crown of the northern hemisphere's rugby crown, were not sacrificed in favour of experimentation and player growth, according to the next page. Despite the rhetoric, it was impossible not to leave the Vale Resort at least confused and at the most staggered by the Wales team's pick for Sunday's crucial Cardiff match against France. Despite being 100% fit, head coach Warren Gatland's decision to call off established center pairing Tompkins and North entirely. On the surface, it is one of the most baffling Wales pick calls for many years.

At the Principality Stadium, they take over from seasoned midfield pairing George North and Nick Tompkins, who have 155 caps between them. It will be Llanelli centre Roberts' first Six Nations debut after being thrown out of Test mode against England last summer in a World Cup warm-up match. Dafydd Jenkins, the Welsh captain, has been switched from lock to blindside flanker, with Will Rowlands as Adam Beard's second-row partner, while hooker Ryan Elias replacing Elliot Dee.

CHRIS FOY: How about fine margins? England has won two games, totaling five points, to set up a potential Six Nations championship shot. Wales has lost by two points out of three, and is in last place in the depths. With all the pre-match talk about transforming Twickenham, there was heightened tension on the air on Saturday as the home side recovered from a 14-5 deficit to snatch the spoils. However, by doing so, they have already matched their win count in three of the last three Championship campaigns, so there is a great opportunity to ensure that this year will be a success.

CHRIS FOY: As the hosts attempt to resurrect their Twickenham citadel and their rivals fight for a dozen years of Six Nations pain, England and Wales beckons. Despite a thrilling, logic-defying comeback, rugby's top players will revive hostilities this afternoon in the midst of an English mission to recover lost home advantage. Both hope and enthusiasm are on the line, and new-era optimism is shaky. Something has to give. England has won three, drawn one, and lost six in the last ten Tests at Twickenham, including a surprise loss to Fiji in late August last year. Five months ago, France was being put to the sword by France, who romped to a historic 53-10 triumph.

SIR CLIVEWOODWARD: In the Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon, old rivals Wales and England will face each other once more. Both teams will know what is at stake, with pressure on both sides heightened after disappointing performances in the tournament in recent years. Following their narrow loss to Scotland, Wales will welcome George North back from injury for the game, which will bring a major boost to the team.

ALEX BYWATER: George North and Dafydd Jenkins are at opposite ends of their Test careers, but both Wales players are well aware of the repercussions of defeating their old adversary England. Warren Gatland's rookie team has hoped for a surprise victory in round two of the 2024 Six Nations on Saturday in Twickenham. "It is probably one of the biggest rivalries," North, who will win his 119th Welsh cap and his 50th Championship appearance at the home of English rugby.

Given the head coach's outstanding performance at Twickenham, Warren Gatland told England and his youthful Wales team that they will have no fear travelling to Twickenham. At the home of English rugby, Wales has lost seven games in the last seven games before the two teams meet in South West London on Saturday. However, Gatland maintained that he had a lot of confidence considering his Twickenham experiences.

On Saturday, England will face Wales for the first time in more than four years, while the visitors have gone the other way by redesigning almost half of their lineup. Although England's Steve Borthwick is expected to stick, Warren Gatland has chosen to twist. The Wales head coach announced his Twickenham team a day early and it featured seven starting changes, while his England counterpart is expected to select the same XV that began with the victory over Italy in Rome on the first weekend of the Six Nations. The team will be announced at 1 p.m. today at 1 p.m. If, as predicted, it will be the starters that defeated Italy, the first time England has gone unchanged since the World Cup final in 2019. Borthwick's pick, in part, and partially due to the postponement of casualties.

ALEX BYWATER Warren Gatland said Wales will go to Twickenham full of hope despite him tearing up his team and making a total of seven changes from the one that was defeated by Scotland. Wales put on a spectacular first-half display before falling 27-0 behind Gregor Townsend's men in their 2024 Six Nations opener, but they fell just short of a near-miraculous comeback. Gatland, the head coach, was unimpressed with the first 40 minutes and has wielded the selection knife for England.

The Six Nations rookies in Wales have been told they should arrive in Twickenham with a no-fear attitude, but they also warned that there will not be any repeats of their first-half performance against Scotland. After beginning their 2024 Championship with a dazzling but ultimately losing fashion, Warren Gatland's team heads up the M4 for a meeting with their oldest and bitterest rivals England on Saturday. Wales scored 26 points in a row last weekend at Principality Stadium, bringing an inch closer to what would have been a landmark Six Nations comeback. Before waking up, they had already conceded 27 points, including 20 in the first half, and the problem was not that complicated.

After the Racing 92 lock joined Warren Gatland's crew, Wales looks set to be boosted by Will Rowlands' return to Twickenham for their match against England. Rowlands, 32, has 29 caps and is a first-choice starter for Wales as available. He has been an international regular since his Test debut in 2020 and captained Gatland's side briefly at the World Cup last year.

When he learned earlier this month that he was going to be the youngest Wales captain since 1968, it was just a normal day of Exeter training at Sandy Park for Dafydd Jenkins. However, when Wales head coach Warren Gatland rang him one of the best awards a player can be given in rugby, there was just one problem - Jenkins didn't have Gatland's number. Cue inconsistency. Jenkins, who appeared as his country's leader before the media for the first time, was 'I was very surprised.'

ALEX BYWATER: With the country's regions still fighting budget cuts, Wales head coach Warren Gatland faces the possibility of yet another mass exodus of his international stars to England and abroad. Last season, when Welsh rugby was plagued by financial instability and financial uncertainty, Will Rowlands, Tomas Francis, Ross Moriarty, Jarrod Evans, Dillon Lewis, and others left the country. Now, after Test centurion George North announced that he would be serving prop Francis on French second division team Provence and Liam Williams' transfer to Japan, other players are expected to follow suit.