Here are your rugby evening headlines for Wednesday, 18 September.
Dragons signing Wales star was ‘never really an option’
Dragons boss Dai Flanagan has said that signing Wales star Liam Williams was “never really an option”.
WalesOnline reported last week that the Lions full-back was heading back to Japan for a second year at Kubota Spears, despite having been interested in returning to Wales.
It’s understood talks never went too far, with Flanagan now saying it was always unlikely the 33-year-old would end up at Rodney Parade.
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“Liam is a fantastic guy and I am a big fan,” said Dragons head coach Flanagan, who coached Williams at the Scarlets. “I worked with him for many years and have reminded him that his two Lions tours were off the back of being coached by me!
“He is a great guy but has a contract in Japan that he has to honour because he is a loyal man. There was never really an option of him coming here directly but you read certain rumours and somehow we are said to be in the mix for every player.
“We must have an unlimited budget with the amount of players we have been linked with in the last two years!”
Former England prop denies rift with Ireland captain
Munster coach Graham Rowntree has denied a rift with former captain Peter O’Mahony.
The Irish skipper stepped down as Munster’s captain suddenly last November, amid contract negotiations between player and province as the back-row was not retained on his IRFU deal.
The saga was resolved later in the season when he signed a one-year deal with Munster. However, speculation around the pair’s relationship has remained rife – leading former England prop Rowntree to address it directly.
“By the way, on that (referring to his relationship with O’Mahony), we didn’t fall out,” he said. “I didn’t raise my voice once. I raise my voice a lot in various contexts, but I’ve never raised my voice in any contract negotiations.
“It just took a long time. It’s complicated, that scenario was complicated, but we got to a greater agreement.”
Wales women name team for final WXV warm-up
Wales have made six changes for their final WXV warm-up match against Australia at Rodney Parade on Friday.
Scrum-half Keira Bevan once again captains the side as Hannah Jones recovers from a calf strain. Hooker Rosie Carr starts at Test level for the first time, having made her debut against Scotland earlier this month.
Wales are looking to bounce back from the 40-14 defeat in Edinburgh, while the Walleroos were beaten 36-10 by Ireland last weekend.
Ioan Cunningham’s side begin their WXV2 campaign against Australia in Cape Town on 28 September.
“With the WXV squad selected, we have named a side full of experience,” said Cunningham. “The players have worked hard in training and this is a great opportunity to see where they are from a physical point of view.
“Bryonie King and Hannah Bluck have really impressed in camp, and we are expecting big performances from Abbie Fleming and Georgia Evans in the second row. We had a good training day with the Black Ferns in midweek before they played England and it gave us a good benchmark of where we are as a squad.
“Australia approach the game in a similar manner and we had a close game with them the last time the two sides met out in New Zealand. The Wallaroos will be hurting after the defeat to Ireland last weekend, but they are a top-six ranked team, and we know the challenge they will pose.”
Wales: Jenny Hesketh; Jasmine Joyce, Carys Cox, Hannah Bluck, Nel Metcalfe; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan (capt); Gwenllian Pyrs, Rosie Carr, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Bryonie King, Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis
Replacements: Molly Reardon, Abbey Constable, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Alisha Butchers, Sian Jones, Kayleigh Powell, Courtney Keight.
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In-demand Welsh-qualified centre doesn’t need surgery
In-demand Welsh-qualified centre Zack Wimbush’s foot injury is not as bad as feared, with the 20-year-old unlikely to need surgery.
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter issued an injury update ahead of this Saturday’s Premiership opener against Leicester, with the centre – who also qualifies for England and is wanted by Cardiff, Dragons and Scarlets – still needing time to recover – having last featured against the Ospreys in pre-season.
“Zack Wimbush has got a foot injury,” said Baxter. “We are still waiting on a surgeon’s input on that, on his opinion, but it looks like it’s unlikely to need an operation. That’s just going to have a good rehab period.”
Baxter also offered an update on some of the club’s long-term injuries – with Wales second-row Dafydd Jenkins currently sidelined alongside Henry Slade and Tommy Wyatt.
“They could all be back in and around the same period, which is around that autumn international/our Prem Cup period. That is what we are hopeful of,” he added.
“Some guys might be a couple of weeks forward, they might be a couple of weeks back but we are taking roughly those timescales for those three which is surprising how quickly it starts to feel it is coming around.”
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