Latest news with #DevonWilliams
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Jake White now not so ‘scared to put guys in' as Bulls eye URC title
Devon Williams Fullback Devon Williams has been a stand-out figure on attack and defence for the Bulls this season. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix One could understand the absolutely horrible feeling that was enveloping Bulls coach Jake White following the United Rugby Championship final defeat to Glasgow last year. Some fans and critics may have thought it would just be a case of the Bulls rocking up at Loftus Versfeld to clinch the URC title. But they didn't bank on the fighting spirit of Franco Smith's Glasgow Warriors, who paid tribute to their name by producing a remarkable fight-back from 13-0 down in the first half to claim an epic 21-16 victory. In the immediate aftermath, White said that 'maybe I'm the problem', mentioning that he had lost a few finals before that too. 'I lost a Super Rugby final (against the) Chiefs (when coaching the Brumbies), lost a Rainbow Cup in Benetton, lost two URC finals. So I'll probably have to look at what I have to do as a coach to try and get over the line,' the former Springbok coach said after the 2024 final. Of course, White has won the biggest prize of them all, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and has had many highs during an illustrious coaching career spanning 40 years. But crunch time has arrived in the URC, and it is all about beating Edinburgh in Saturday's quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld (1.30pm start). 'I still think I'm the problem,' White said this week when asked by the media to reflect on the 2024 final. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'What I meant is, and I say it because I can't blame effort... I mean, I'm going to look at myself as a coach. 'Pep Guardiola went from winning six titles to struggling. And now, what changed? Yes, you can say it's injuries, and is it management of those injuries? 'I look at where we are as a club, and I can't as a coach then distance myself from the fact that it can't be me. 'And there are things that I've done and selection choices I've made or recruitment choices I've made or that I need to have learned from, either work or don't work. 'And maybe the calls I made... And that's why I said what I said after those finals, am I missing something? As a coach, you have to grow as well.' White added that what makes life even more difficult is that they don't have a detailed analysis of whether their plans have worked or not – outside of looking at the final results. 'There's analysis, amazing thing. I can give you analysis on every player, on which side he tackles, which side he misses tackles, how fast he runs, how many kicks he's made,' he said. 'Who does analysis of coaches? Who does analysis of whether what you do works? 'And I'm saying for me, I've got to reflect and go, maybe it's the way I do things, maybe it's the way I could have changed things... 'And I think those are the coaches that I think grow the most. 'And I've been around long enough to know that you also need to be honest with yourself sometimes, that you might be missing a trick or two.' One thing White has definitely changed this season is rotating his squad. The likes of fullback Devon Williams, flyhalf Keagan Johannes, Sergeal Petersen, Sebastian de Klerk, Zak Burger, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese and Akker van der Merwe have benefited from regular game-time, although some of those instances were due to injuries. Despite that, there hasn't been enough rotation of certain players. Stedman Gans comes to mind as a top-class centre who has hardly featured this season, and the same goes for flank Nama Xaba, who was the Player of the Match in the recent victory over the Dragons, and No 8 Mpilo Gumede. 'I think the one thing which stands out significantly is I've rotated the squad much more than I have in the last couple of years,' White said. 'If you look at how many players we've used, there's definitely been a change in mindset from week to week, as opposed to being, I think it was a little bit more conservative last year, a little bit more scared to put guys in. 'Second area, I think that just by time, people get better. You look at (Johan) Grobbelaar, who's now 25, 26. 'You look at (Ruan) Nortjé, who's now 25, 26. They've been here five years, so over time, 20-year-olds are not as good as 25, 26-year-old guys.
Wales Online
03-05-2025
- Wales Online
Crime gang who 'caused havoc' and had £400,000 drug stash jailed for combined 31 years
Crime gang who 'caused havoc' and had £400,000 drug stash jailed for combined 31 years They were supplying drugs 'during all hours of the day and night' The group leaders were Ryan Sage (left) and Devon Williams (right) (Image: Gwent Police ) Members of an organised crime gang caught with £400,000 worth of cocaine have been jailed for a combined 31 years. Gang members Ryan Sage, 29, Devon Williams, 26, Corey Hughes, 26, Dominic Drinkwater, 20, and Presley Power, 22, supplied cocaine, crack cocaine, and cannabis in the Newport area. In September last year Gwent Police officers found nearly 4kg of cocaine with a street value of £400,000 as well as £25,000 cash, Class B drugs, and a car after they raided properties in Newport, Risca, Crosskeys, and Cardiff as part of Operation Dagger. Cardiff Crown Court was told Sage and Devon Williams were the leaders of the group. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here. The court heard the two men directed and organised the supply of the Class A and B drugs via several drug lines between Risca and Rogerstone. Dominic Drinkwater (Image: Gwent Police ) All five admitted to conspiring to supply a Class A controlled drug – cocaine, a Class A controlled drug – crack cocaine, and a Class B controlled drug – cannabis. Article continues below The defendants were sentenced as follows: Ryan Sage, from Cardiff, was jailed for nine years and eight months; Devon Williams, from Risca, was jailed for eight years and two months; Corey Hughes, from Newport, was jailed for five years and seven months; Dominic Drinkwater, from Risca, was jailed for four years and 10 months, and; Presley Power, from Newport, was jailed for two years and nine months. Presley Power (Image: Gwent Police ) Detective constable Jasmin Power, of Gwent Police, said: 'I would like to thank everyone who played a role in Operation Dagger, a lengthy and thorough investigation, which uncovered a wealth of evidence. 'This organised crime group caused havoc while they supplied illegal drugs to customers between Risca and Rogerstone during all hours of the day and night.' The detective constable also thanked people from the Rogerstone community who shared information that helped apprehend the defendants. Corey Hughes (Image: Gwent Police ) She said: 'I would like to pay tribute to members of the Rogerstone community, in particular, who provided us with vital information to help bring these five defendants to justice. 'Illegal drugs fill our communities with misery, suffering, and fear and those who prey upon the vulnerable in our society, like these five criminals, are driven by profits – they do not care about the pain they cause. Article continues below 'The public have an important role to play in providing information that can assist us in dismantling county lines drugs lines and safeguarding vulnerable individuals."
South Wales Argus
03-05-2025
- South Wales Argus
Newport: Organised crime drugs gang jailed for 31 years
Ryan Sage, 29, Devon Williams, 26, Corey Hughes, 26, Dominic Drinkwater, 20, and Presley Power, 22, were responsible for supplying cocaine, crack cocaine and cannabis in the Newport area. All five defendants admitted to conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug – cocaine, conspiring to supply a class A controlled drug – crack cocaine, and conspiring to supply a controlled drug of class B – cannabis, when they appeared for sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday 2 May. During Operation Dagger, Gwent Police seized almost 4kilos of cocaine with a street value of £400,000, £25,000 cash, class B drugs, and a car after carrying out warrants at addresses in Newport, Risca, Crosskeys and Cardiff in September last year. The court heard that Sage and Williams were the leading members of the group, directing and organising the supply of the class A and B drugs, through multiple drug lines, between Risa and Rogerstone. Ryan Sage (Image: Gwent Police) Devon Williams (Image: Gwent Police) Detective Constable Jasmin Power, of Gwent Police, said: 'I would like to thank everyone who played a role in Operation Dagger, a lengthy and thorough investigation, which uncovered a wealth of evidence. 'This organised crime group caused havoc while they supplied illegal drugs to customers between Risca and Rogerstone during all hours of the day and night. 'I would like to pay tribute to members of the Rogerstone community, in particular, who provided us with vital information to help bring these five defendants to justice. 'Illegal drugs fill our communities with misery, suffering and fear and those who prey upon the vulnerable in our society, like these five criminals, are driven by profits; they do not care about the pain they cause. 'The public have an important role to play in providing information that can assist us in dismantling county lines drugs lines and safeguarding vulnerable individuals." Sage, from Cardiff, was jailed for nine years and eight months. Williams, from Risca, was sentenced to eight years and two months imprisonment. Corey Hughes (Image: Gwent Police) Hughes, from Newport, was jailed for five years and seven months. Drinkwater, from Risca, received four years and 10 months imprisonment. Dominic Drinkwater (Image: Gwent Police) Power, from Newport, was sentenced to two years and nine months. Presley Power (Image: Gwent Police) If you have any concerns or information about illegal drug supply or dealing in your community, please report it to the police via the website, by calling 101 or sending us a direct message on their Facebook or X social media channels, so that they can act. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, with information or visit their website.
The South African
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Live scoring: Bulls v Glasgow Warriors
The Bulls celebrate. Image: @BlueBullsRugby. Home » URC | Live scoring: Bulls v Glasgow Warriors The Bulls celebrate. Image: @BlueBullsRugby. The URC battle between the Bulls and second-placed Glasgow Warriors is expected to be a humdinger given how closely matched the teams are on the table and in terms of their performances this season, with only four log points separating them and both sides being tied on 11 victories in their 15 matches to date. The men from Pretoria can still finish in the top two on the log, should they bag a few good results in their remaining matches, starting in Glasgow. Glasgow Warriors v Bulls Date: Friday, 25 AprilVenue: Scotstoun Stadium, GlasgowSA Time: 20:35Referee: Andrew Brace TV: SuperSport Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Ruan Nortje (captain), 6 Jannes Kirsten, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jacobus Grobler, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Willie le Roux, 23 Stedman Gans. Spicing up the clash, memories of the Bulls' heart-breaking 21-16 defeat in last year's Grand Final in Pretoria will still be fresh in their minds – a result they will be determined to avenge. As if that were not enough, second place on the table will be at stake, as a victory for the Bulls, if they win with a bonus point and deny the Warriors a point will see them leapfrog the hosts on the table. While the Glasgow Warriors will do their utmost to make the most of their home ground advantage – especially with the team on a good run this season with only one defeat suffered at the Scotstoun Stadium in the competition so far. Adding to the visitors' motivation, they will enter the match with confidence after making history with a 16-13 victory against Munster in Limerick last week and winning five of their last six matches in the showpiece. All this combined is expected to result in a battle of epic proportions. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
