Tonight's rugby news as Wales legend robbed of farewell and Lions hopeful suffers freak injury
Tonight's rugby news as Wales legend robbed of farewell and Lions hopeful suffers freak injury
The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
Tipuric has been ruled out of a final home farewell
(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency )
These are your evening rugby headlines on Thursday, April 24.
Welsh legend robbed of farewell
Ospreys star Justin Tipuric will miss out on making a home farewell appearance at the Swansea.com Stadium this weekend, having been ruled out of their URC derby clash with the Dragons through injury.
The 35-year-old - who will become the Ospreys defence coach for the 2025/26 campaign after hanging up his boots at the end of the current season - was due to play in front of a home crowd for the last time on Saturday.
Article continues below
However, a pectoral injury suffered in the region's Challenge Cup defeat to Lyon earlier this month means the former Wales captain will miss out - and could mean that he has played his last game in professional rugby.
The Ospreys' play-off chances look slim as they currently sit in 13th place, but they could still secure qualification with wins in all of their remaining three games. Therefore, there is still a chance that Tipuric could feature in those knockout games, which will be held in June.
Fellow Wales international Adam Beard, who will leave the region at the end of the season, is hoping to be back for selection after missing the defeat against Cardiff. 25% OFF DEAL NOW: Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Discussing the fitness of both players, head coach Mark Jones said he was hopeful Beard would return this weekend, explaining: "We're hoping that we can get some rugby into him by the end of the year. We'll see how he's looking for this week, we're not 100% sure as it stands, but we're hoping to get him back as soon as we can.
"Same with Tips, we want Tips to keep rehabbing like he is. He wants to remain a player for the end of the year which is awesome.
"We're trying to go through that process of getting him back out on the field and if we can extend our season longer and longer, we give those boys a better chance of of playing more games for us.
"There's potential," added Jones when asked if Tipuric could return if the Ospreys qualified for the play-offs. "Yeah there's definitely potential to see him on the rugby field for sure. Physios and conditioners are working hard with what that looks like and most importantly Tips, his mindset is he wants to play another few games for the Ospreys.
"That's really important isn't it? If you think you can or you think you can't, you're probably right."
Lions hopeful suffers freak injury
British & Irish Lions hopeful Ben Curry will miss his final audition for a spot on this summer's tour of Australia after being ruled out by a freak injury.
The back row - who is in contention for a spot on the tour after impressing on England duty - will miss Sale Sharks' Gallagher Premiership clash with play-off rivals Saracens due to having "a bit of metal" stuck in his leg.
'It's a bit of a scratch and sniff injury,' said head coach Alex Sanderson. 'It's a weird one, I've not heard of it before.
'There's a bit of metal in his leg, which is irritating the muscle, but nothing's torn. It's around the site of an old operation where he had the stitches. There's little chance of him tearing the muscle, but it's uncomfortable for him.'
On how long Curry will be out for, Sanderson added: 'He's running around, so hopefully it will have sorted itself out in another week. We have given him as long as we could, but he won't make this game."
Curry faces stiff competition for a place on the Lions' tour, with his brother Tom, Wales captain Jac Morgan and Ireland's Josh van der Flier all in contention for a highly competitive back row spot.
Cardiff make three changes for crucial clash
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt has made three changes to his side to face Munster in their crucial URC clash on Friday night.
The region saw their play-off hopes boosted by a bonus point win over the Ospreys on Judgement Day and could take a further step towards cementing their place in the top eight by beating the Irish province, who trail them by a single point in the league table.
The three changes come in the pack, with Danny Southworth starting in the front row and Josh McNally back from RAF duty to rejoin the Blue & Blacks' engine room. In the back row, Thomas Young will make his last appearance at the Arms Park ahead of his move to the Dragons next season.
"We are all really excited for Friday night," said Sherratt. "These are exactly the kind of games you want to be involved in.
'There's no getting away from it, it's one of the biggest games of the season. It's a game with a lot riding on it, in a league that's incredibly tight and against a brilliant team full of internationals, with massive history.
'We will need to be at our best and produce our most complete performance of the season to secure the result we need. If we can do that then we will travel to South Africa in a strong position.
'We are expecting another really good crowd and we know when we need our supporters, they come out in force and get behind us," the head coach added. "For a number of players, it will also be their last game at the Arms Park so there is a huge amount of motivation to make it a special occasion.'
Article continues below
Cardiff: Cam Winnett; Josh Adams, Harri Millard, Ben Thomas; Gabe Hamer-Webb; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Liam Belcher (capt), Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, James Botham, Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Corey Domachowski, Rhys Litterick, Rory Thornton, Alun Lawrence, Ben Donnell, Aled Davies, Tinus de Beer.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
28 minutes ago
- Metro
Craig Bellamy reacts passionately to heart-breaking Wales defeat to Belgium
Craig Bellamy was full of pride in his Wales team despite a painful 4-3 defeat to Belgium in a dramatic World Cup qualifier on Monday night. The amazing game saw the home team race into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku before the half-hour mark. There was a scrap of hope for Wales when Harry Wilson scored a penalty just before the break and the visitors were sensationally level by 69 minutes thanks to goals from Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson. It looked set to be a famous draw for the Welsh but an 88th minute Kevin De Bruyne winner broke their hearts and ultimately left them unrewarded for their efforts. Bellamy was only looking at the positives, though, and was thrilled with the fight his players showed after a nightmare start. 'Since September when I first came in, I've felt immensely proud to be their coach,' he told the BBC. 'Every training session, every game they've left me with that. 'To come here, I hope second half they've seen what they can do. They have to understand how good they are. That was pleasing. I hope this gives us the belief to be the team we want to be. We move on from here.' He added: 'To come to a top eight team in the world and play that well, that's going to give us so much. 'I don't like the defeats and I don't feel like 'unlucky Wales.' No, we need to win these games. But after being 3-0 down when we could have gone the other way, for them to believe in themselves, I believe that will give us so much going forward.' Fulham's Wilson took a similar stance and knows there is plenty more football to play in Group J after picking up seven points from the first four matches. 'It's a tough one to take,' he said. 'We didn't start great giving them a three-goal lead, but we have to take positives from the way we reacted. 'We felt we were always in the game and once we got the goal before half-time we just kept believing and kept being patient. 'We showed we can go toe-to-toe with a top-10 team and we're just gutted at the end. 'It shows what we're about, we've pulled it back before. We'd rather not give a team like Belgium a three-goal lead, but we scored three goals and we probably should be leaving with something. 'The group is far from done and if we perform like the second half we will still have a big say in this group, and if we win every game it's still in our hands.' Wales are second in Group J, one point behind North Macedonia with Belgium in third place but having only played two matches while the two teams ahead of them have played four. MORE: Retired Chelsea icon favourite for major international job ahead of World Cup MORE: England v Senegal odds: Three Lions must respond to Thomas Tuchel's criticism after poor show against Andorra MORE: Why Bukayo Saka is not playing for England against Andorra
Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Robin Goodfellow's racing tips: Best bets for Tuesday, June 10
Mail Sport's racing expert Robin Goodfellow delivers his tips for Tuesday's meetings at Salisbury, Catterick, Wolverhampton and Fontwell. Salisbury Robin Goodfellow 2.00 Too Darn Good 2.30 Wojtek 3.00 Safari Dream 3.30 Competizione 4.00 Marnier 4.30 Casa De Salinas 5.05 Honest Courtesan Gimcrack 2.00 Too Darn Good 2.30 Wojtek 3.00 Safari Dream (nb) 3.30 REVELANCE (nap) 4.00 Marnier 4.30 Schemaya 5.05 Equalised NEWMARKET – 2.30 King Of Chaos (nb); 3.30 COMPETIZIONE (nap). Catterick Robin Goodfellow 5.10 Duskaura 5.40 Vibrant Pearl 6.10 Stellarmasterpiece 6.40 Canaria Sun 7.10 Little Keilee 7.40 Myboymax (nb) 8.10 Kalganov 8.40 Rain Cap Gimcrack 5.10 Duskaura 5.40 Vibrant Pearl 6.10 Stellarmasterpiece 6.40 Lima Sierra 7.10 Crown's Lady 7.40 My Harrison George 8.10 Kalganov 8.40 Rain Cap NORTHERNER – 5.40 VIBRANT PEARL (nap); 8.10 Kalganov (nb). Wolverhampton Robin Goodfellow 2.45 Ninth Crusade 3.15 Azure Zain 3.45 Chillhi 4.15 Sixcor 4.45 Prince Hector 5.15 Anificas Beauty 5.50 Epicurian Lad Gimcrack 2.45 Ninth Crusade 3.15 Peregrine Falcon 3.45 Educate 4.15 Bankrupt 4.45 Sunset In Paris 5.15 Rampant 5.50 Blue Train Fontwell Robin Goodfellow 6.20 She Is For Me Boys 6.50 JACK SPARROW GREY (nap) 7.20 Junkanoo 7.50 Belgarum 8.20 Justice Roll 8.50 Getoverthathill Gimcrack 6.20 She Is For Me Boys 6.50 Henry Box Brown 7.20 Chicago Storm 7.50 Onethreefivenotout 8.20 Justice Roll 8.50 Blue In The West
Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Andy Farrell faces front-row crisis as Zander Fagerson is ruled out of Lions tour of Australia with calf injury
Lions head coach Andy Farrell has been confronted by a pre-tour injury crisis in his front row as one tighthead prop was ruled out of the Australia tour on Monday and another is struggling to regain full fitness. Scotland's Zander Fagerson has been forced to withdraw from the squad to travel Down Under after failing to recover from a calf injury. Irish titan Tadhg Furlong, who has started the last six Tests played by the Lions – in South Africa in 2021 and in New Zealand in 2017 – has been hampered by a calf problem of his own and is considered a major doubt for Leinster's URC Final against the Bulls from South Africa in Croke Park, Dublin on Saturday. As forecast, Ireland's Australia-born tighthead Finlay Bealham has been called up to the full squad, as the chosen replacement for Fagerson, while Sale's explosive rookie, Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also travel to Portugal with the Lions today, as cover. Jamie George is also heading to the Algarve as expected, given the absence of two Irish hookers – Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher – who will be on duty for Leinster. England tighthead Will Stuart is unavailable for the Lions training camp this week as he is preparing with Bath to face Leicester in the Premiership Final at Twickenham on Saturday, but he is now emerging as the front-runner to wear the No 3 shirt in the Test series against the Wallabies. The loss of 29-year-old Fagerson – a cornerstone of the Scotland pack – is a savage blow for Farrell snr and his coaching staff, and if Furlong were to be ruled out of the tour too, it would constitute a crisis. The head coach faces an anxious weekend ahead, as he waits and hopes to avoid any further untimely setbacks – having already lost Leinster and Ireland No 8 Caelan Doris, who had been a prime captaincy contender, to injury. However, the superpower Irish province have injury doubts about three other Lions this week; centre Garry Ringrose and full-back Hugo Keenan (both calf) and flanker Josh van der Flier (hamstring). Fagerson hadn't played for Glasgow since early April and reacting to his removal from the Lions squad, Farrell acknowledged that such disruption is inevitable, saying: 'It's tough on Zander to miss out so close to the tour, but now Finlay gets an opportunity to come in and add to the group. This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that. 'But it's great to be finally at the stage where we can get onto the training ground and get to work with these players. Portugal will be really important for us as we look to get our house in order with only a few training sessions before we take on Argentina in Dublin.' The Lions will hope that Furlong pulls through to be available Down Under. Australia are not the scrum push-overs they were in the past, with Kiwi scrum guru Mike Cron on the Wallabies staff and Angus Bell emerging as one of the world's pre-eminent looseheads last year. However, they have front-row problems of their own, with Taniela 'Tongan Thor' Tupou enduring an untimely crisis of confidence, having resigned himself to being left out of Joe Schmidt's squad to face the Lions. Meanwhile, proposed rebel league R360 has been dismissed by a leading sports broadcaster as a 'delusional' concept. Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director of TNT Sports' parent company, Discovery Sports, said: 'If these folks believe that they are going to grow the revenue by putting this thing on, I think they're delusional. 'What it will do is further complicate what is already a well-functioning rugby ecosystem. The fact that it's being likened to LIV Golf, I think is a perfect analogy. It's commercially unsustainable.' Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor gave his own reaction to news of the R360 mission to form a global league with the world's leading players, adding: 'It's not a threat per se, but we have no idea how it could ever work, definitely for the club game. 'Rugby needs roots, it doesn't need pop-ups. Without those roots, it's very difficult to understand how a system could ever work.'
