These are your evening rugby headlines on Wednesday, February 14.
Six Nations star walks away
Italy star Tommasso Allen is out of the Six Nations after asking to "observe a period of rest" from international rugby.
Head coach Gonzalo Quesada today named the 33 players in contention to face France on February 25, with Harlequins star Louis Lynagh - son of Wallabies legend Michael Lynagh - called up for the first time. However, not selected in the squad is 79-cap international Allen.
The Perpignan fly-half, who became Italy's all time highest points and try scorer in the Six Nations on the opening weekend of this year's tournament, will play no further part in the Championships after it was decided he would step away from Test action for an indefinite period.
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A statement from the Italian Rugby Federation on Wednesday read: "The Italy coaching staff, after a discussion with the player following the match in Dublin, decided by mutual agreement with him not to select Tommaso Allan for the third [round] of the tournament.
"The Perpignan midfielder has asked to observe a period of rest from international activity after taking part seamlessly in the World Rugby windows of the entire 2023, including the summer preparation for the Rugby World Cup.
Confirming Allen's decision, Quesada added: “Tommaso is an excellent professional and, even more importantly, a person of unquestionable value. Men, even before athletes, are at the centre of our evaluations and this is why, after having discussed with Tommaso and having fully understood his needs, we decided together with him for an additional period of rest".
The Italian star's move comes after England captain Owen Farrell announced he was stepping away from international duty for the foreseeable future, in a bid to protect his and his family's wellbeing.
Cuthbert and Tipuric back
Wales international Alex Cuthbert is set to return to action for the Ospreys this weekend after almost a year on the sidelines, while Justin Tipuric is also available for the first time since November.
The 33-year-old winger was ruled out of the final two games of the 2023 Six Nations with a foot injury, before sustaining a calf injury prior to the naming of the Rugby World Cup squad. However, after nearly a year out, he is now gearing up for a return against Ulster on Sunday.
"I'm fit," he announced on the latest SportIn Wales podcast. "I'll find out this week if I'm playing. My first game in a long time, so I don't know how long I'll play if I'm playing!".
Toby Booth's side host the Irish province as they look for their fifth successive win in all competitions. The Ospreys recorded derby wins over the Scarlets and Cardiff during the festive period before beating Perpignan and the Lions in the Challenge Cup.
Booth has also confirmed Tipuric is back from thumb surgery, as well as Nicky Smith, Toby Fricker and Dom Morris.
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World Rugby will not give public explanation
By Anthony Brown, PA
World Rugby has no plans to issue any public explanation regarding the controversial decision not to award Scotland what would have been a match-winning try in last Saturday's Guinness Six Nations defeat by France at Murrayfield, the PA news agency understands.
The Scots - trailing 20-16 - thought they had secured victory when replacement lock Sam Skinner pushed through and appeared to ground the ball on the line under a ruck of bodies as the clock ticked past the 80-minute mark.
Referee Nic Berry's on-field decision was "no try", and after several minutes of high drama while footage was reviewed from various angles, TMO Brian MacNeice, having initially suggested he could see the ball on the ground, advised that there was "no conclusive evidence" to change the original call, much to the hosts' dismay.
"I just don't understand how the referee didn't see it," former Scotland international Craig Chalmers told PA on Monday. "He should have got in closer to it and put his hands in and had a better look."
Head coach Gregor Townsend was similarly bewildered by the process that led to the try not being awarded. "I don't understand the rationale," he said in his post-match media briefing on Saturday.
"When you see the pictures, and when you also see the conversation, they have already said between them that the ball has been placed on the tryline."
When asked last weekend if Scotland would be seeking further explanation from World Rugby, Townsend said: "It doesn't really matter.
"We'll get feedback, we do regularly, and that'll be one of some incidents we'll ask for clarification on, but it doesn't change the outcome, unfortunately."
Townsend regularly liaises with World Rugby regarding issues arising from matches and he wrote to the governing body after the France game, as he had done the previous week when seeking clarification over the number of penalties that went against his side in their victory away to Wales.
The head coach spoke with referee Berry after the France match and communication lines remain open between Scottish Rugby and the sport's governing body, but Scotland are not demanding or expecting an apology or an admission that a mistake was made regarding Skinner's disallowed try.
Despite the ferocity of the backlash, World Rugby will be sticking to their stance of not commenting publicly on specific officials' decisions and are not expected to issue any clarification to clear the situation up in the public domain.
Although there remains a deep sense of injustice among Scotland's players, coaches and supporters, the furore surrounding Saturday's pivotal last-gasp flashpoint appears to be subsiding.
Curry's 'car crash' injury
England star Tom Curry has detailed his ongoing recovery from the 'car crash' injury that has ruled him out of this year's Six Nations.
The flanker has not played since England's bronze final win at last year's World Cup, undergoing a six-hour operation in November having suffered arthritic change and tears to the labrum and cartilage in his hip. He opted for the surgery rather than having a metal hip inserted like tennis great Sir Andy Murray.
Having realised that surgery was required following the win over Argentina, Curry has now revealed the devastating extent of the injury, which has left him needing to relearn how to walk and run.
“We thought it was tight hip flexors, but the time it took to play the games got less and less,” Curry said in an interview with Sharks TV. “I came back and tried to play for Sale and couldn’t really do that so we had it scanned, and found out that there was an arthritic change within the hip; labrum and cartilage tears. The radiologist’s report was a long list, a bit of a car crash. But the surgeon went in and was very happy when we came out which gave me a lot of confidence.”
Detailing his options to deal with the injury, he added: “One was to leave it; that wasn’t going to happen the way I was walking and running. Two was [the surgery], and then three was the resurfacing where they put the metal in. I wasn’t ready for that, I wanted to keep my hip. The surgery was the best option of the three.”
No deadline has been set for the 25-year-old's return, with Curry not wanting to think too far ahead. However, he admitted it was frustrating not to be out on the pitch during the Six Nations.
“In terms of coming back to play, I still don’t really know," he said. "It is day by day. If you take a step and your hip feels bad, your mood goes down. If you do that and your hip feels good, your mood goes up. So it is about trying to get rid of all that stuff and keeping it as simple as possible.
“It’s definitely frustrating, but it gives you a bit of an edge going into your next training session, you have a jump in your step. You have something that you want to go for and, watching England, it gives you that drive to push on and work a bit harder.”
