Tonight's rugby news as Wales coaches deploy brutal tactic again and Lions star pulled from team

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19 hours ago

Tonight's rugby news as Wales coaches deploy brutal tactic again and Lions star pulled from team
The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond
Dewi Lake empties the tank on the rowing machine.
(Image: WRU )
Your rugby evening headlines on Saturday, June 14.
Lions scare as player pulled from final
Andy Farrell and his British and Irish Lions coaches will be concerned after seeing Jamison Gibson-Park withdrawn from Leinster's matchday squad for the URC final on Saturday.
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The Ireland scrum-half has been named in the Lions squad for the Australia tour, and is expected to start the first Test against the Wallabies. The tour begins on Friday with a match against Argentina in Dublin before the players fly out. Those not involved in end-of-season finals have been in camp for the past two weeks, including Wales players Tomos Williams and Jac Morgan. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
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In a concerning new development, Leinster issued a statement on Saturday afternoon, revealing Gibson-Park had been removed from their team ahead of their huge match against South African outfit Bulls.
"Unfortunately Jamison Gibson-Park has been ruled out this morning. Best of luck to Luke McGrath who starts and academy scrum-half Fintan Gunne named on the bench," the short statement read.
Details about this removal have not yet been revealed, but Lions fans will be hoping it isn't anything serious.
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Wales players face brutal training tactic again
Wales' players have been beasted in suffocating conditions yet again ahead of their tour to Japan.
Japan is very humid country, especially in the summer months, and Wales must adjust to playing in these conditions ahead of their two-Test visit next month. Humidity levels are expected to be around 85%, with the temperature set to feel like 40°C.
Footage posted by the WRU shows players absolutely dripping in sweat in a confined space, with the temperature in the gym turned up. The players were tasked with the exercise bike, assault bike, SkiErg and rowing machine.
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Sweat could be seen dripping from the walls as players rested after emptying the tank. The WRU's cameras even got steamed up in the process of filming the content.
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The squad were put through similar conditioning on Monday, training at 38°C at their Vale Resort gym.
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Wales face Japan in the first Test on Saturday, July 5 at Mikuni World Stadium in Kitakyushu, before the second game in Kobe on Saturday, July 12.
Welsh stars gutted in final
Wales duo Nicky Smith and Tommy Reffell were on the losing side in the Premiership final as Bath beat Leicester Tigers 23-21 at Allianz Stadium.
Their tries came from Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh on a brilliant afternoon for Scotland captain Finn Russell, who kicked three penalties and two conversions.
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Jack van Poortvliet opened the scoring with a try for underdogs Leicester, while tries from Solomone Kata and Emeka Ilione – the latter with less than five minutes remaining – dialled up the drama, Handre Pollard adding three conversions but missing a penalty of his own.
The Tigers twice had men sent to the sin bin – departing captain Julián Montoya late the first half, while it was not an ideal send-off for the retiring Dan Cole, who saw yellow late in the second.
Van Graan's side ended the club's 17-year trophy drought earlier in the campaign by lifting the Premiership Rugby Cup, before then winning the European Challenge Cup last month with victory over Lyon in Cardiff.