-Credit: (Image: © Huw Evans Picture Agency)
These are your rugby headlines on Saturday, November 23.
Saracens want Wales star back
Saracens have enquired about re-signing Wales star Liam Williams, according to reports.
The 33-year-old back previously represented the English Premiership side between 2017 and 2019, playing 31 games for them and winning both league and European titles before returning to Wales. He now plays in Japan with Kubota Spears and is due to return to them next month ahead of the start of the new Japan Rugby League One season.
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However, RugbyPass report that Williams is being eyed as a potential injury replacement for Saracens’ veteran full back Alex Goode, who is set for around three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a quad injury.
The publication reports that Sarries boss Mark McCall is now on the lookout for short-term injury cover, with the 92-cap Welshman highly regarded by his former club. The report adds that the English giants are “keen to get a deal done” in time for their return to Premiership action against Newcastle Falcons on Friday evening.
Former Scarlets and Cardiff star Williams had been linked with a return to Wales over the summer, with the Dragons rumoured to be interested in signing him. However, the move never materialised. Williams’ wife, Sophie, is expecting their first child soon.
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Biggar issues warning before Springbok clash
Former Wales captain Dan Biggar says he sympathises with Warren Gatland’s current squad but has warned that things “could get very, very ugly” if they don’t raise their game against South Africa
The fly-half was part of long winless runs during his international career, but admits the current record of 11 successive Test defeats is “the darkest time” he can remember in Welsh rugby. Biggar has also said it will take “something catastrophic” from South Africa for that run to not stretch to 12 this weekend but has called on Wales to restore pride in the jersey with their performance.
Writing in his MailOnline column, he also admitted that Saturday’s match “may well be” Gatland’s last as head coach but questioned whether replacing him would make much of a difference.
“I’m very, very close with a lot of the players and staff with Wales and what they’re going through now is painful,” he wrote. “I don’t think it’s disrespectful to say that while there is always a chance in professional sport, Wales are hugely unlikely to win this weekend against a stacked Springboks side.
“When do you say enough is enough? If Warren stays for next year’s Six Nations, which begins with a daunting trip to France on opening night, the winless run will likely be at 13 matches by the time Wales go to Italy on February 8.
“Can the Welsh Rugby Union wait that long?,” Biggar added. “Changing the coach won’t solve all the issues in the Welsh game, but clearly anyone who has lost 11 in a row will find themselves under pressure. A fresh coaching voice may get an extra 10 or 20 per cent out of this current group of players. But it also might not. We just don’t know.
The Welshman added that if Wales don’t play at their best against the Springboks, the scoreline could get “very, very ugly,” and said if he was in Gatland’s shoes he would be “firing the boys up for a scrap”.
“It will very much be about producing a performance that will put pride back in the shirt and keep the team in the game,” he wrote. “You can never fault Wales’ effort. But South Africa will almost certainly be a step too far. And it may well end up being Warren’s 149th and final game in charge.”
Bevan: We can beat Springboks
Wales scrum-half Ellis Bevan is adamant Warren Gatland’s side can beat world champions South Africa on Saturday.
The hosts will be fighting to avoid becoming the first Wales side since 1937 to lose every Test match in a calendar year while Gatland’s future is also in doubt. But Bevan insists the squad are confident they can make an impact against the Springboks.
“At the end of the day have the first two games gone how we wanted? No, not at all,” said the Cardiff number nine. “You don’t need me to say that but we are playing South Africa on Saturday. We’ll go hard at that and make sure we are there to put a performance in.
“That’s first and foremost. What will happen will happen. We do honestly believe and I can tell you I honestly believe that on our day we can beat them.”
This will be the second time in five months Bevan will have faced the world champions having made his Test debut against the Springboks at Twickenham in June.
“Looking at myself I’ve definitely learnt,” said Bevan. “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m a much better player. That’s up to you guys to decide and fans and coaches. Despite results not going our way, you learn.
“Every time you go onto that pitch there’s feedback from coaches and what not. There’s also feedback out on the pitch. I can come away thinking okay I haven’t seen that before and I’ll learn from it. That’s what I pride myself on how I learn from different scenarios.
“100% I’ve learnt loads and I would say I’ve become a better player but again I’m not going to sit here and say that. That’s up for you to decide.”
Rowlands: This is a brutal situation
By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
Will Rowlands accepts that Wales find themselves in “a brutal situation” as they prepare to face South Africa following 11 successive Test defeats and raging speculation about their head coach’s future.
Wales and Warren Gatland are behind the eight-ball ahead of an Autumn Nations Series finale that has landslide defeat written all over it.
The double world champion Springboks arrive in Cardiff as Rugby Championship title holders with 10 wins from 12 Tests this year. Wales, in contrast, have not claimed a Test match victory since the 2023 World Cup, and there are huge question marks over whether Gatland will be at the helm for a Six Nations opener against France in Paris on January 31.
“We are all very aware that we are the players. Ultimately, we are the people who are playing the game and who control whether we win or lose,” Wales lock Rowlands said. “Yes, you absolutely need good coaching input, good support staff, you need everything else around it, but ultimately, the buck falls with us.
“We are the ones responsible. Everyone is aware that we are the ones who have let ourselves down, probably, so far. It matters a huge amount to us to be able to play for Wales. When you lose any game, particularly when you feel you haven’t given the best account of yourselves, you feel you have let down yourselves, the public and the whole group. It is a horrible feeling.
“Gats is a very good man and he has done a great job for Wales. It is a brutal situation for everyone to be in. Sport is always a roller coaster, and sometimes there are more ups than downs. We are in one of the down periods.”
Wales are 17-1 with some bookmakers to beat South Africa, underlining a gulf between the teams in terms of form. The Springboks have lost on four of their previous six Cardiff visits but, overall, it is six wins from the last seven against Wales.
“We need to leave a performance we can feel proud of,” Rowlands added. “At the beginning of the autumn we talked about the three games and targeting to have at least two wins. We haven’t delivered on that, but the last game can be really important, result aside, just from the performance that leaves a taste in everyone’s mouth.
“I have full belief that if we play well we can beat South Africa, but having a good performance will give us something to build on moving forward. They are not unbeatable. They are obviously a fantastic side, and are world champions for a reason, but there are guys in our team who have beaten them before.
“We are the players on the pitch, we are the guys who are pulling on the shirt and trying to give the best performance to back up everyone else – the coach, the other players who aren’t playing, the support staff, the fans, the people who come to the stadium.
“So, I hope that in tough times is when strong characters are made. I’ve got confidence in the group that will be the case.”
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