will have a new captain for the start of the six nations after 0wen farrell suffered an injury in club training. farrell has been out since november with a seperate injury to his ankle, and was it only confirmed this week by head coach eddiejones that he'd keep the captaincy. he was hoping to return for saracens against london irish in the challenge cup this weekend. england's first game is against scotland on 15 february. —— the -- the 5th —— the 5th of february. meanwhile, scotland's women have made it into the world cup play—off final after two of their rivals withdrew. they'll take on kazakhstan or colombia in a one—off match in dubai on 25 february, with hong kong and samoa unable to play due to covid travel restrictions. if scotland win, they'll be in group a for the delayed tournament — along with australia, wales and hosts new zealand. it starts on 8 october. naomi 0saka says she's proud of her performance despite being knocked out of the australian open in the third round. the defending champion was beaten by the unseeded american amanda anisimova.