The Alun Wyn Jones mistake that has led to Nick Tompkins getting a Welsh nickname
Nick Tompkins has described life with Wales as “a nice distraction” following events at crisis club Saracens. The Saracens centre will make a first Wales start in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations appointment with Ireland.
It follows a memorable try-scoring debut off the bench when Wales beat Italy 42-0 last weekend. Reigning English and European title holders Saracens will be relegated to the second-tier Championship at the end of this season.
It follows salary cap breaches that saw them docked 35 league points – and then an additional 70 – plus a £5.36milion fine. And asked on Thursday if his new Wales situation had proved a welcome relief, Tompkins said: “Yeah, it is.
“I still keep in touch with all the boys (at Saracens) and hear what the mood is like. It has been a nice distraction because it’s been pretty tough over there. I am here and focused on this.”
Tompkins, 24, played for England Under-20s and England Saxons but Wales boss Wayne Pivac was the national coach who came calling, knowing that his potential midfield newcomer was Welsh-qualified through his Wrexham-born grandmother.
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Nick Tompkins can’t wait to start for Wales against Ireland
“No. There wasn’t any contact from Eddie (Jones),” Tompkins added. “I just had contact with Wayne. He called me, and I was more than happy to meet him and get the opportunity. I couldn’t have accepted it quick enough.”
For a young man, he’s a seasoned professional. He handles himself very well. He is very impressive. I wasn’t expecting to play for Wales at international level, but then I don’t know if I was expecting to play international rugby at all. But when it came along, there was no chance of me saying no to it.”
Tompkins has even been in the Wales camp long enough to land a new nickname – albeit one that was handed to him in confused circumstances. “At the moment, it’s Neil,” he said. “Alun Wyn (Jones) got it wrong at the captain’s (Six Nations) launch when he spoke to Owen (Farrell).
“He said ‘Neil’s a good lad’. Owen got very confused and didn’t understand what he was talking about until it dawned on him that he got my name wrong. It’s sticking now, unfortunately.”
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Tompkins will partner Hadleigh Parkes in midfield on Saturday, while George North – a centre starter against Italy – moves back to his familiar wing position, replacing Johnny McNicholl.
And Pivac said, of Tompkins: “It was a very good piece of business! But what the public saw on the field on the weekend, we’ve been seeing in training every day, and the way he conducts himself off the field. For a young man, he’s a seasoned professional. He handles himself very well. He is very impressive.”
Switches among the replacements see McNicholl being joined by prop Rhys Carre, who is available again after being banned following his sending off in Saracens’ Champions Cup victory over the Ospreys last month.
One change to Wayne Pivac's XVhttps://t.co/nAkziNPbKK
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Scrum-half Gareth Davies and Gloucester back Owen Williams are also on the bench, together with Ospreys lock Adam Beard, who replaces an injured Cory Hill. Wales head to Dublin on the back of a Welsh record-equalling eight successive Six Nations victories since losing to Ireland two years ago.
But they have not won a Six Nations game at the Aviva Stadium since 2012, which underlines the challenge facing Pivac’s team. “They [Ireland] are a very physical team, and if you let them get on the front foot they are very dangerous,” Pivac added.
“We’ve got to be careful with the areas in which we play and make sure we match that physicality that is going to be there. We know it’s not an easy place to go – the record speaks for itself there.
“It’s going to be a big challenge, but we certainly have to front-up physically and make sure we play at the right end of the field.”
– Press Association
WATCH: The Rugby Pod sets the scene ahead of the second round of Guinness Six Nations 2020 fixtures
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments