England to face Wales twice ahead of Rugby World Cup Qatar enjoy rare respite from high pressure WC isolation camp France get boost as Coman returns to Bayern training
London: England and Wales will meet in a double-header as part of their preparations for next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, it was announced on Monday.
Wales host Eddie Jones’ side on August 5 before a return match at Twickenham the following weekend, with a clash against world champions South Africa in Cardiff on August 19.
“These matches will be crucial as we enter our final preparation stage for the Rugby World Cup,” said England coach Jones.
“It’sourchancetodevelopourtacticalapproach, improve our game fitness and to say thank you to the supporters for the last four years.”
The Australian, looking to go one beter ater guiding England to a 2019 World Cup final in Japan where they were beaten by the Springboks, added: “We’re very fortunate to have such a tough opponent in Wales and to play them both home and away, along with the atmosphere we always experience in Cardiff.”
England will also face Fiji on August 26 -- their final fixture before they travel to France for the World Cup, which starts on September 8.
They will play a further away match the previous weekend, with the opposition yet to be announced.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac said with less than a year to go until the start of the World Cup: “we have a clear programme set out for the squad in readiness for the tournament”.
“I’m pleased we are able to confirm warmup matches against England -- home and away -- and at home against South Africa as part of this,” he added.
Wales pushed the Springboks close in their three-test series in July but eventually lost 2-1.
Southafricacoachjacquesnienaberwelcomed the challenge of locking horns again in Cardiff.
“Wales have always proven to be tough competition for us and our results against them in the last few years are evidence of the quality of the side they are,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jamie George has withdrawn from an England training squad ahead of the autumn internationals due to injury, the Rugby Football Union announced on Sunday.
No specific reason was given for George’s exit. He did, however, appear to suffer an ankle problem that forced him off at half-time while playing for Saracens in a 51-18 rout of reigning champions Leicester on Saturday that took the London club to the top of the English Premiership table. doha: Qatar’s World Cup squad trained on home territory for the first time in four months Sunday as they seek to overcome some nervy displays in preparatory matches.
Hundredsoffans,mainlymigrantworkers,turned out to see the players make their rare appearance in a Doha stadium ater being kept under wraps at camps in Spain and Austria.
Qatar, which has spent billions of dollars on new stadiums for the first World Cup in an Arab country, is desperate to see the side get past the first round group against Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador.
But the national team, who will make their World Cup debut against Ecuador on November 20, lost 3-0 to Croatia’s under 23 team, 2-0 to Canada and this week drew 2-2 with Chile in their last three games.
“We are fully aware of the need to develop certain tactical and technical aspects that didn’t unfold as we wanted,” said coach Felix Sanchez.
“And we are working to correct the errors that were apparent,” added Sanchez, who will take the team back into more weeks of isolation on Wednesdaywhentheyheadbacktohisnativespain.
The players remained upbeat despite the disappointing results and being kept away from their Qatari homes.
“I think we needed this long period without the pressure that we feel here, I think all the players are ready,” said midfielder Assim Madibo, who has more than 35 caps.
Madibo also acknowledged that there were “details” to correct but believed the camps were a success.
“We played a lot of games and a lot of training sessions, we boosted our body fitness,” he said.
“We miss our families. I miss my family but we are happy to be back,” said French-born defensive midfielder Karim Boudiaf, who has more than 110 appearances to his name.
Boudiaf acknowledged the batle that Qatar will face in Group A.
“We know that the World Cup is a very difficult competition. Our group is also tough.
“We have Senegal, Holland and Ecuador and they are very difficult teams. But we are a good team and anything is possible in football.”
All said it had been a boost to play in front of a home crowd ater the empty stadiums in Europe for most of their recent games.
“Today in the open training session we saw the fans supporting us and that’s proof that they motivate us to give double our capacity,” said Madibo. munich: Kingsley Coman gave world champions France a much-needed boost ater the forward returned to training with his club Bayern Munich on Monday following an absence of almost a month.
The 26-year-old missed France’s Nations League matches against Austria and Denmark in September due to a torn thigh muscle.
Coman certainly has the requisite speed and disruptive offensive ability to play the position and his defense is an underrated asset of his game.
However, on Monday Coman was able to pass the ball around with team-mates Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano and Mathijs de Ligt, earning a slap on the back from coach Julian Nagelsmann and applause from his team-mates.
Bayern will be expected to make it three wins from three Champions League group matches when they host pointless Czech side Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday.
Nagelsmann said, though, he will save Coman for Saturday’s high-profile Bundesliga clash between his third-placed side and Borussia Dortmund -- who are fourth level on points with Bayern.
“’King’ (Coman) is fine, he does not feel any pain,” said Nagelsmann at his eve of match press conference.
“Ater the group training session, he trained on his own.
“Tomorrow is not an option.
“We will increase his training programme and he will be an option for us for Dortmund.”
Coman’s return is welcome news for France who are struggling both on the pitch and off it with several stars injured and batling to be fit for the World Cup finals which begin in Qatar in less than two months.
Paul Pogba, who scored in the 4-2 win over Croatia in the 2018 World Cup final, is among the players sidelined and another key midfielder N’golo Kante also missed the recent Nations League matches through injury.
Presnel Kimpembe, Lucas and Theo Hernandez, Lucas Digne and captain and first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris were other absentees from the Nations League matches which were coach Didier Deschamps final preparation games before the World Cup.
The ever-increasing injury list somewhat exonerates that performance but it is also a cause for concern. The mainstays of Deschamps’ reign are entering the twilight of their careers and the manager does not seem to know what to do next.