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Wales' outlook for 2020 has just got a whole lot brighter with Taulupe Faletau's long-awaited club return

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Fears that Taulupe Faletau might not make it back it in time for Wales’ 2020 defence of its Six Nations title have been allayed by his Bath inclusion this weekend for the first time in nearly twelve months. 

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The back row hasn’t featured for club or country since a Champions Cup fixture last January versus Wasps. Having only returned for that game from a right forearm break, Faletau broke it again and was ruled out of the Six Nations and the run-in to Bath’s season.

He was then ruled out of the World Cup with Wales after breaking his collarbone during pre-season training with the Welsh, but he is now finally back in the mix for his Gallagher Premiership club following a considerable lay-off that amounts to one single match played in 14 months.   

There were concerns about how his rehabilitation was going as recently as the start of December, as Bath boss Stuart Hooper told local media there was yet no definitive timeframe set for the back row’s return.  

“He is there or thereabouts,” he told Somerset Live. “We will start to integrate him and hopefully we will have him back into the rugby programme sooner rather than later but there is still no determined time frame for his return.”

(Continue reading below…) 

RugbyPass went behind the scenes with the Barbarians before their recent match with Wales 

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Faletau is one of two changes for Bath to the side that beat London Irish 38-10 at the Madejski Stadium last Sunday as World Cup winner Francois Louw also returns for the round seven tie on Saturday versus fourth-placed Sale at the Rec.

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Beno Obano, Tom Dunn and Will Stuart maintain their spot in the front row, with Josh McNally and Elliott Stooke again starting at lock. Tom Ellis retains his spot in the back row with Louw replacing Sam Underhill and Faletau coming in for Josh Bayliss.

The backline that scored four of the six tries last weekend are unchanged, with Will Chudley and Rhys Priestland commanding the nine and ten channels. Anthony Watson and Semesa Rokoduguni will occupy the wide passages with Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Joseph in midfield, whilst Tom Homer props up the back three.

Sale boss Steve Diamond has made just one change to his starting XV, with Simon Hammersley the only omission from the Sharks side that beat Northampton last weekend. The full-back is replaced by Denny Solomona due to injury. Solomona takes the No14 shirt with Chris Ashton moving to full-back.

BATH: 15. Tom Homer; 14. Semesa Rokoduguni, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 12. Jamie Roberts 11. Anthony Watson, 10. Rhys Priestland, 9. Will Chudley; 1. Beno Obano, 2. Tom Dunn, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Josh McNally, 5. Elliott Stooke, 6. Tom Ellis, 7. Francois Louw (capt), 8. Taulupe Faletau. Reps: 16. Jack Walker, 17. Lewis Boyce, 18. Christian Judge, 19. Matt Garvey, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Freddie Burns, 23. Aled Brew.

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SALE: 15. Chris Ashton; 14. Denny Solomona, 13. Sam James, 12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11. Byron McGuigan; 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Faf De Klerk; 1. Coenie Oosthuizen, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Will-Griff John, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. James Phillips, 6. Jono Ross (capt), 7. Tom Curry, 8. Daniel du Preez. Reps: 16. Rob Webber, 17. Ross Harrison, 18. Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19. Jean-Luc du Preez, 20. Ben Curry, 21. Will Cliff, 22. AJ MacGinty, 23. Marland Yarde.

WATCH: RugbyPass travelled to Brecon to see how life after rugby is treating Andy Powell, one of Wales’ biggest characters on and off the pitch

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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