Bonar back for Scotland as Konkel prop experiment is abandoned
● Coach Munro calls on team to replicate form of France game for full 80 minutes
Scotland coach Shade Munro has made just one change to his starting line-up for Friday’s Six Nations Championship match against England, restoring Sarah Bonar to the back row after injury ruled her out of the 26-3 defeat by France a fortnight ago. Perhaps more significantly, Jade Konkel remains at No 8 rather than returning to loosehead
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as Munro seeks maximum defensive solidity against opponents to whom Scotland lost 64-0 last year.
Konkel started at prop againstwales,andonlymoved to the back row to face the French after Bonar, usually a lock, was forced to withdraw shortly before kick-off. The coaching team’s aim in playing Konkel up front and centre Hannah Smith in the back row, among other positional switches, was to have all of the squad’s best ball-players on the pitch at once. Now, however, that experiment is over, at least for the time being.
“Sarah’s fit, she’s passed all her fitness tests, she comes back in – there was no hassle there, really,” Munro said, explaining that the Aberdeenborn forward’s selection did not require too much debate. “The decision we had to make was whether we move Jade back to prop.
“Jade was very effective at No 8 against France – she’s certainly effective in a retreating scrum, which can sometimes happen against the likes of France and England. We’ve gone for Siobhan Mcmillan at prop and Jade at 8, with Sarah and Rachel Malcolm either side of her in the back row.
“Hannah is on the bench as a back.we’veruntheexperiment of her being a back-row play-
0 Sarah Bonar missed the defeat by France through injury but returns to face England at Scotstoun. er, which she actually did pretty well – she’s not let anybody down there. She has a preference for playing at centre.”
Lapses of concentration proved costly at Scotstoun against the French, although Munro was encouraged by the improvement in defence. He will demand further improvement against England, while being realistic enough to know that his squad will be stretched to the limit by opponents who, at No 2 in the world, are 10 places above them in the rankings.
“It’s pretty much the same approach as against France. The question now is can they replicate what they did in that game against England – and can they replicate it for longer?
“Against France, the team defended really well for a number of phases, but they couldn’t sustain it. Our challenge will be to stop them getting quick ball, stop them getting go-forward, and then stop them going wide.” France have made five changes for their Six Nations match against Italy in Marseille tomorrow, with coach Jacques Brunel’s side looking to stem an eight-match winless streak amid disciplinary problems.
Brunel dropped several players who went out drinking in Edinburgh into the early hours without his permission following the 32-26 defeat by Scotland. Among them was winger Teddy Thomas, who has been a rare plus for a struggling France side with three tries in two matches.
Burly centre Mathieu Bastareaud returns to win his 43rd cap and will partner Geoffrey Doumayrou in midfield. Bastareaud had been dropped from the squad before the Six Nations started after receiving a three-week suspension for using anti-gay language during a match with his club, Toulon.
“Mathieu [Bastareaud] brings us his distinctive style of play and his experience,” Brunel said. “He seems to have taken on a new dimension [with Toulon].”
Hugo Bonneval replaces Geoffrey Palis at full-back, while Benjamin Fall and Remy Grosso are selected on the wings.
The fifth change sees Paul Gabrillagues come in at secondrowforarthuriturria – who was among those suspended and according to some French reports got involved in a scuffle on the streets in Edinburgh.
The match will be played at Stade Veldrome which is hosting a Six Nations game for the first time.
“We’re playing Italy amid particular circumstances, we can’t hide that, with recent defeats weighing on us,” Brunel said.