Take Six: Sexton to skipper, Biggar’s back and England heal old wounds

Jacques Brunel felt that Louis Picamoles has taken on a different role in this France squad after naming him captain for the first time.

And while the man himself does not feel like he has changed, he admits that he is perhaps a more positive force within the squad than in the past.

Picamoles will lead Les Bleus against the USA on Wednesday as they look to make it two wins from two to stay on track for the quarter-finals.

And the No.8 is desperate to extend France’s tournament, and the good feeling surrounding it, as long as possible.

He said: “I don’t feel like I have changed. But the impression I give off is perhaps more positive than in the past.

“I want to make the most of this, to enjoy. The fact I think less about negative stuff on the inside perhaps means that I seem more positive from the outside. I just want to give everything I can do the team.

“The young players bring a sense of fresh air to the team and I try to add my experience. We’re having a good time and we want to make sure it lasts as long as possible.”

Jamie Ritchie’s stand-out showing against Samoa on Monday was a real boost for Scotland.

Having lost Hamish Watson to a tournament ending injury, the No.7 shirt was very much up for grabs and his Edinburgh teammate stepped up to the mark.

He did a little bit of everything in the 34-0 victory, making 11 tackles and beating three defenders in nine carries while also chipping in a breakdown turnover in each half.

He was part of a re-modelled back row alongside clubmate Magnus Bradbury and Scarlets No.8 Blade Thomson.

Ritchie said: “We’re delighted – we got the reaction we were looking for.  Samoa are a team full of talented, physical, very big men.

“Speaking to a couple of their boys afterwards, they were talking about how physical we were – which was how we wanted it to be.”

“The conditions were muggy and sweaty and really hot. The ball was very slippery, and when it’s not going to hand it’s very difficult to play in these conditions.

“But when we did have the ball, and when we executed, we looked dangerous. It bodes well for when it’s a drier ball.”

On the do or die nature of Pool A, Thomson added: “We didn’t read into any of the external pressure – it was all internal pressure. We just had to stay cool and calm and a lot of the boys did that. I’m just proud.”

Biggar should be back

Dan Biggar is making good progress on his return to play protocols after his head injury in the first half against Australia on Sunday night.

With over a week until their clash with Fiji, Wales kicking coach Neil Jenkins is confident that Biggar will be available.

But Jenkins was quick to praise his understudy Rhys Patchell who stepped up in Biggar’s absence.

Both fly-halves drilled drop goals at the start of each half in the win over the Wallabies and Jenkins is expecting more of the same.

“It is an important part. Shaun (Edwards) is always on to me. Every clip he sees of some big World Cup game, there is pretty much a drop goal in it, and obviously it proved vital for us on Sunday.

“It is a skill in itself. If you can nail those three points and keep ticking the scoreboard over – three, six, nine – it makes a big difference, and it did for us on the weekend.

“On most occasions that we were in Australia’s half in the first half on Sunday, we managed to come away with points. There were a couple of instances where we didn’t, but more often than not, we did.

“I am sure as the tournament progresses we will see a few more (drop goals).”

Italy wait on Leo the lionheart

Italy are hoping that Leonardo Ghiraldini can prove his fitness in time for their key clash on Friday night with South Africa.

Ghiraldini has been out of action since March with a serious knee ligament injury sustained during the 2019 Guinness Six Nations.

But in his absence, the versatile Federico Zani has stepped up to the plate.

Capable at both prop and hooker, Zani came of the bench for his World Cup bow last time out and scored a try in the win over Canada and is confident there is more to come from this Azzurri squad.

He said: “We are all happy with what we have done, and we are all aware of the challenges to come. We have taken stock of what we have done, and we must be aware of what we need to do on Friday.

“Our focus has always been always been 100 per cent. First against Namibia, then Canada and now South Africa.

La #RWC2019 ha marcato l’esordio di molti giocatori di #Italrugby nella rassegna iridata

Tra questi, Federico #Zani:

‘Segnare la meta durante #ITAvCAN è stato il coronamento d una vita di lavoro’#insieme #rugbypassioneitaliana pic.twitter.com/CgQyXpJPDy

— Italrugby (@Federugby) September 30, 2019

“We need to take note of what we need to improve from the match against Canada.

“We are trying to prepare better than we did for the previous two matches and small details will make the difference.”

“In every match the front row are always a little nervous ahead of the first scrum because that is where they find out what their direct opponents are like.

“In a match of this nature we need to focus on imposing our game and physicality on the South Africans.”