In an interview with Amazon Prime Video Sport Stade de Reims’ on-loan Arsenal man Folarin Balogun spoke about how he’s been settling in to the club, dealing with the cultural differences playing abroad whilst performing at the highest level: 

“I’ve spent my whole career in London so when I came here I knew it was going to be different, I didn’t know the language and I’m still trying to learn – but for me it’s important to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. This is the reason I’m here and hopefully this decision will be good for me and pay off.”

So far Balogun has been a key figure for Stade de Reims, having scored five goals in six appearances for Oscar Garcia’s side since joining in early August. He becomes part of Arsenal’s emerging loan strategy  of focusing on sending players to Ligue 1 (Saliba, Tavares, Balogun) which may prove to be something that Premier League clubs consider going forward – the leagues are most common in style with the players’ stocks rising with every game.

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Warren Gatland has admitted that he may have made the wrong call in omitting fly-half Johnny Sexton for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

Current Wales head coach Gatland took charge of his third Lions tour in 2021 as they faced the Springboks in a three-Test series.

Dan Biggar, Finn Russell and Owen Farrell were his preferred options at fly-half, with Sexton controversially left out.

When there were doubts of Russell’s fitness, Gatland decided to bring in the inexperienced England fly-half Marcus Smith as cover.

The Lions went on to succumb to the Boks 2-1 and the New Zealander conceded that Sexton’s performances since that tour have made him doubt his initial decision.

One of Ireland’s greats

“It was a big decision for him to be left out of the last Lions tour. That was a tough call,” Gatland said ahead of Wales’ Six Nations clash with Ireland.

“He has probably proved me wrong in terms of the way he has been playing and the way he has been leading as a player for Ireland. He should be proud of that in terms of what he has achieved in the game because it is pretty special.

“He will go down as one of the great players of Irish rugby when he does decide to hang up his boots. I think he has been playing some great rugby in the last year or so.”

Gatland believes that Sexton’s drive and determination are what sets him apart and has helped him to become one of the world’s best players.

“He’s so demanding and has such high expectations. That’s what drives him and he’s vocal,” Wales’ boss added.

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“I can remember Johnny once having a crack at the forwards (in 2013) and Paul O’Connell just turned away — he didn’t answer him back — and said, ‘I’m going to kill him one of these days!’”

Sexton’s Ireland are heavy favourites for this weekend’s Six Nations clash but Gatland will seek to take Wales out of the doldrums and cause a shock in Cardiff.

The 59-year-old has taken over following a dreadful 2022, which saw the Welsh lose home Tests to Italy and Georgia, and led to the sacking of Wayne Pivac.

With Gatland returning as head coach – having led them to four Six Nations titles and three Grand Slams in his previous time in charge – hopes have been raised of a revival ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

However, the Wales boss sees this encounter as a “free hit” and insists that all the tension will be in the opposition camp.

The favourites tag

“I suppose it is a free hit for us in that the expectation and pressure is on them as favourites to win. It hasn’t always been the easiest tag to carry for Irish and Welsh teams in the past,” he said.

“You can get an upset, because there is a huge amount of history and rivalry between those two nations and there’s been a lot of close games.

“The secret, and I’m sure Andy Farrell will be talking about this, is that you don’t run away from that, you look to embrace the expectations of being the number-one team in the world.

“That’s definitely the attitude I’d be taking in if I was in the Ireland camp. I’ve had that experience in the past with Wales.

“For us, it is very much focusing on ourselves for this weekend and putting things in place that we’ve been working on in the last couple of weeks. You get such a short amount of preparation in the Six Nations and obviously with new coaches and a new squad that is challenging.

“But I’ve been really pleased the way the players have applied themselves both on and off the field in terms of preparation.”

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Western Force coach Simon Cron admits there's plenty to fix in his new-look Super Rugby Pacific side after they suffered a pummelling from the Queensland Reds.The Force went into Saturday's trial in Perth with high hopes, only to see them dashed 45-10 by the Reds.Cron was quick to identify areas that need to be fixed before his side's next trial against Fijian Drua on February 16."We didn't get past one or two phases. We'd get stripped, drop it, or try to throw a miracle pass," Cron said."As a team we've got to learn what it looks like to build pressure."To build pressure you've got to make them tackle you and to make them tackle you, you've got to hold the ball."We had a tendency to not look after the ball and throw it away. Patience is critical and we lacked that."We go back and look at the critical few things. Why we didn't build pressure through phase play and why we were slow in our transition defence."Reds coach Brad Thorn was happy with the result, having seen his side outscore the Force six tries to two.But he wasn't getting carried away. "We got a hit out," a circumspect Thorn said."You don't get too excited around trial games. It's a trial game. Guys are coming off and on."We're working on our game."Thorn did throw out a veiled crack at the Waratahs ahead of their pre-season clash on Saturday."They are the team everyone's talking about in Australian rugby," he said."They've got a lot of, I guess, strength."They've brought new players in. They are going to be a good challenge for us."Meanwhile, Reds captain Liam Wright backed No.8 Harry Wilson for a return to the Wallabies under new coach Eddie Jones after a strong performance and two tries in oppressive heat at the UWA Sports Ground.Wilson was dropped by former Wallabies coach Dave Rennie for the European tour at the end of last year, but Wright said: "He's just ready to put his hand up."He's had a really good pre-season trying to work his way back into the fold."He knows the best way to do that is by playing his part out here."You saw the carry he does. He's got the heart of a lion. Pretty glad he's in our side."Click Here: qld maroons rugby store

Quoted by Goal France, in speaking with DAZN, PSG forward Neymar explained his impressive start to the new season and discussed his relationship with Lionel Messi. Of his form, which has included nine goals and seven assists already this season, the 30-year-old said: “I’m in good physical shape and I’m happy. We started the season well by winning a trophy, and I scored goals and made assists. I don’t think it could be better.”

On Messi, the Brazilian explained: “I’ve known Leo for a long time. I was able to help him on the pitch and in training by talking with him. It’s hard to make such a change because he was at Barcelona for several years, and now everything has changed for him and his family. It’s hard, but I think he’s getting better now, he feels at home. I want him to have fun, and I want us to have fun together. We know we have a lot of challenges ahead of us, but I’m sure we can overcome them.”

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Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton confirmed that he is fit and ready to play against France for the first time in three years ahead of the massive showdown on Saturday.

Sexton has passed a head injury assessment (HIA) and recovered from a dead leg in time for Saturday’s game, which could be definitive in the title race.

The playmaker has not played against France since Ireland lost 35-27 in 2020, where the veteran was frustrated for being subbed off during the game.

“No more hiccups”

The Irishman is looking for “no more hiccups” ahead of the massive clash and is looking forward to running out at the Aviva Stadium.

“I was saying this morning, the last two Wednesdays before France over the last two fixtures, I’ve ended up pulling out, so to get through today is great,” said Sexton.

“I can look forward to the game, hopefully no more hiccups.

“Obviously, the confusion around the HIA and stuff like that, there’s nothing I can control about that, but I’ll be ready to go for 80 this week if needed.

“It feels like a huge game. There’s no point in saying anything otherwise.

“You can’t just come in here and say ‘it’s just another game’ because it’s not, it’s one we’ve waited a long time for and I’ve read that they want this test – to come to the Aviva and try and overturn us. It’s a huge game.”

Fixing past memory

Sexton knows it is a big clash against their biggest title rivals this year and wants to set memories from years gone straight with a win on Saturday.

“They are always big weeks, often for me something comes out of the woodwork in French week and I’m expecting something later in the week,” he said.

“It’s always a big game; I grew up in an era of watching Ireland lose to France, heavily, to then sort of see the first teams beating them and then to be part of teams beating them has been amazing.

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“But you still have those memories from a young kid of France coming and demolishing Ireland. You probably naturally feel the underdog at my age, whereas the younger lads probably don’t. It’s a strange mixture in the squad.”

Favourites tag

France fly-half Romain Ntamack labelled Ireland as favourites for the clash, which does not bother Sexton.

“I don’t really mind, the favourites tag is not something we mention internally,” he said

“Being number one in the world, the public or the press will do it or the opposition will, but it comes down to the performance on the day.

“If we’re favourites, we’re favourites. It doesn’t really bother me if that’s what he says.”

Speaking before Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League group fixture against Maccabi Haifa, Brazilian club captain Marquinhos spoke about centre-back partner Sergio Ramos – and how he has learned a great deal from the experienced spaniard since his arrival to Paris Saint-Germain, as transcribed by L’Équipe.

“I am someone who is always looking to improve. Even more so when you have great champions next to you. I’ve seen great champions come and go here, I’ve tried to take a bit of each one. I still have the opportunity to play with a great champion. Last year, he didn’t play much (12 matches) but even in training, even in everyday life, you could see that he was a champion. He manages to play one match after another. It’s a pleasure to have him next to me. I really like his qualities: the desire, the rage he has on the field. I try to draw inspiration from him.”

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