Latest news with #GeraldDavies
Wales Online
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Tonight's rugby news as Wales legend knighted and Lions star hits back at barbs
Tonight's rugby news as Wales legend knighted and Lions star hits back at barbs The latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyond Sir Gerald Davies is knighted by the Prince of Wales (Image: PA ) Here are your rugby evening headlines for Wednesday, June 25. Wales leave for Japan Wales have left for Japan ahead of their two-Test tour against the Brave Blossoms. Matt Sherratt's side flew from Heathrow earlier on Wednesday, flying direct to Japan ahead of their first Test in Kitakyushu on July 5. Wales are likely to receive a warm welcome in Kitakyushu, having made it their base in the 2019 World Cup. Looking to end their run of 17 straight Test defeats, Wales have two opportunities to do so against Eddie Jones' Japan next month. Following the first Test in Kitakyushu, they face Japan again in Kobe on July 12. Sir Gerald Davies calls for more support for volunteers on receiving knighthood By Harry Stedman, PA Article continues below Former Wales rugby star Sir Gerald Davies has called for greater national recognition and support for volunteers after receiving a knighthood at Windsor Castle. Davies, 80, played for Wales for 12 years in the 1960s and 1970s and won three Grand Slams, and went on to serve as president of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). He was honoured by the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony on Wednesday for his services to rugby union, but also for his voluntary and charitable service in Wales. The former British and Irish Lions wing has been chairman of both the Wales Youth Agency and Cardiff Business Club, while he has also helped out at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in St David's. Speaking about his work after being knighted, Davies told the PA news agency: 'I've done a lot of local things, nothing in a major international sense I don't think, but giving my time, when it's asked for, for small institutions, voluntary contributions to whatever is going on in the community.' He continued: 'What people don't often recognise or give credit for is the amount of voluntary work that's being done by people right throughout the country, in small clubs, small institutions, but they give up their time freely, without payment, and I think we need to support those in far more than we have done. 'If you put a price on a voluntary contribution, it becomes a huge burden on that institution. 'We need to recognise and praise them more than we do at the moment.' Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. Davies said receiving a knighthood was 'a bit overwhelming', but that he was delighted as it represented 'a major honour' in his life. Asked about his conversation with William, who is patron of the WRU, he said: 'When I was [WRU] president I was in his company a good deal, because he followed the game and he quite liked rugby, he quite liked the position that he held with Wales and he turned up for the games. I sat next to him so I got to know him quite well. 'We covered a little bit about the Welsh rugby and how wonderful it was to see him again. 'He is great company and very knowledgeable about rugby.' Wales have finished bottom in the last two editions of the Six Nations, failing to win a match in either tournament, while the side are currently without a permanent head coach following the departure of Warren Gatland. Davies said the team needed to rediscover 'a winning frame of mind' to start competing for major honours once again. 'The trick is to get that one game, one successful game under your belt, so you can get out of this rut, to gather the momentum to go on to get better results in the future, and that has to happen pretty quickly, I think, in the Welsh set-up at the moment,' he added. Reflecting on his own playing career, Davies said it was 'a wonderful time altogether' to play rugby for Wales, where he earned 46 caps, as he appeared with the same team-mates for many years. Lions star hits back at overseas player criticism British and Irish Lions prop Pierre Schoeman has hit back at criticism over overseas-born tourists, maintaining he has every right to represent the Lions in Australia this summer. The likes of Lions great Willie John McBride and former England scrum-half Danny Care have questioned the number of foreign-born players selected by head coach Andy Farrell, with McBride saying he was 'bothered' because squads used to consist exclusively of 'native' players. Scotland prop Schoeman is one of eight Lions players who were born, raised and educated in South Africa, New Zealand or Australia but qualify for their home unions through residency or family lineage. 'If you're good enough to play for your country, you're good enough to play for the Lions and you're selected, then obviously you're going to do that,' said Schoeman. 'Playing for the Lions is massive. Scotland is home for us, my wife and myself. I know that's for the other players as well, like Mack Hansen has made Ireland home. 'You embrace that. You fully take that on. It's like the series Outlander – you move to a different country and now that's your house. You live there. 'If you work for one of the big four in finance, you get the opportunity, you're going to go for it. And you can really make that home. 'But this is much different. To represent the British and Irish Lions, you fully buy into that and its culture. You fully submerge into that. Nothing else matters. Not your past, not the future. It's about the now. 'Yesterday is gone forever, tomorrow might never come, now is the time to live. That's what we do as Lions. It's about the now, this tour. This is what really matters.' Lions welcome release of Australia duo for Reds duty amid availability dispute By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby union correspondent, Perth The British and Irish Lions have welcomed Australia's decision to release two Wallabies back to the Reds amid rising tension between the rivals' top brass. Hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami will face Andy Farrell's side in Brisbane next Wednesday following a row between Australia head coach Joe Schmidt and Lions chief executive Ben Calveley. Schmidt was previously only allowing a number of his Western Force players to feature against the tourists in Perth on Saturday, resulting in a warning from Calveley of the hosts' contractual obligations to ensure the Super Rugby franchises field the strongest possible sides. Calveley and Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh met on Wednesday to discuss the situation, leading to Schmidt's decision to release Faessler and Paisami. 'It's exciting,' Lions assistant coach Andrew Goodman said. 'Hunter is a great player. If you look at the Force players who've been released, I've watched a lot of their rugby this year and they've got an exciting group. 'If you watch a Force team or a Reds team during Super Rugby, it's not an indication of what you're going to get against a Lions team. Article continues below 'It's a once-in-a-life opportunity for most of those guys, so the level of intensity is going to be through the roof.' Ireland duo Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan are the only doubts ahead of Saturday's showdown with the Force at Optus Stadium because of respective glute and calf injuries. The Lions on Thursday morning name their team for the Perth opener and Goodman said: 'A couple of them are still in return-to-play and we'll see how they pull up after today (Wednesday).'
The Independent
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Gerald Davies calls for greater support for volunteers on receiving knighthood
Former Welsh rugby star Gerald Davies has called for greater national recognition and support for volunteers after receiving a knighthood at Windsor Castle. Sir Gerald, 80, played for Wales for 12 years in the 1960s and 1970s and won three Grand Slams, and went on to serve as president of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). He was honoured by the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony on Wednesday for his services to rugby union, but also for his voluntary and charitable service in Wales. The former British and Irish Lions wing has been chairman of both the Wales Youth Agency and Cardiff Business Club, while he has also helped out at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in St David's. Speaking about his work after being knighted, Sir Gerald told the PA news agency: 'I've done a lot of local things, nothing in a major international sense I don't think, but giving my time, when it's asked for, for small institutions, voluntary contributions to whatever is going on in the community.' He continued: 'What people don't often recognise or give credit for is the amount of voluntary work that's being done by people right throughout the country, in small clubs, small institutions, but they give up their time freely, without payment, and I think we need to support those in far more than we have done. 'If you put a price on a voluntary contribution, it becomes a huge burden on that institution. 'We need to recognise and praise them more than we do at the moment.' Sir Gerald said receiving a knighthood was 'a bit overwhelming', but that he was delighted as it represented 'a major honour' in his life. Asked about his conversation with William, who is patron of the WRU, he said: 'When I was [WRU] president I was in his company a good deal, because he followed the game and he quite liked rugby, he quite liked the position that he held with Wales and he turned up for the games. I sat next to him so I got to know him quite well. 'We covered a little bit about the Welsh rugby and how wonderful it was to see him again. 'He is great company and very knowledgeable about rugby.' The Welsh men's national team have finished bottom in the last two editions of the Six Nations, failing to win a match in either tournament, while the side is currently without a coach following the departure of Warren Gatland. Sir Gerald side the team needed to rediscover 'a winning frame of mind' to start competing for major honours once again. 'The trick is to get that one game, one successful game under your belt, so you can get out of this rut, to gather the momentum to go on to get better results in the future, and that has to happen pretty quickly, I think, in the Welsh setup at the moment,' he added. Reflecting on his own playing career, Sir Gerald said it was 'a wonderful time altogether' to play rugby for Wales, where he earned 46 caps, as he appeared with the same teammates for many years.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gerald Davies calls for greater support for volunteers on receiving knighthood
Former Welsh rugby star Gerald Davies has called for greater national recognition and support for volunteers after receiving a knighthood at Windsor Castle. Sir Gerald, 80, played for Wales for 12 years in the 1960s and 1970s and won three Grand Slams, and went on to serve as president of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). He was honoured by the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony on Wednesday for his services to rugby union, but also for his voluntary and charitable service in Wales. The former British and Irish Lions wing has been chairman of both the Wales Youth Agency and Cardiff Business Club, while he has also helped out at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in St David's. Speaking about his work after being knighted, Sir Gerald told the PA news agency: 'I've done a lot of local things, nothing in a major international sense I don't think, but giving my time, when it's asked for, for small institutions, voluntary contributions to whatever is going on in the community.' He continued: 'What people don't often recognise or give credit for is the amount of voluntary work that's being done by people right throughout the country, in small clubs, small institutions, but they give up their time freely, without payment, and I think we need to support those in far more than we have done. 'If you put a price on a voluntary contribution, it becomes a huge burden on that institution. 'We need to recognise and praise them more than we do at the moment.' Sir Gerald said receiving a knighthood was 'a bit overwhelming', but that he was delighted as it represented 'a major honour' in his life. Asked about his conversation with William, who is patron of the WRU, he said: 'When I was [WRU] president I was in his company a good deal, because he followed the game and he quite liked rugby, he quite liked the position that he held with Wales and he turned up for the games. I sat next to him so I got to know him quite well. 'We covered a little bit about the Welsh rugby and how wonderful it was to see him again. 'He is great company and very knowledgeable about rugby.' The Welsh men's national team have finished bottom in the last two editions of the Six Nations, failing to win a match in either tournament, while the side is currently without a coach following the departure of Warren Gatland. Sir Gerald side the team needed to rediscover 'a winning frame of mind' to start competing for major honours once again. 'The trick is to get that one game, one successful game under your belt, so you can get out of this rut, to gather the momentum to go on to get better results in the future, and that has to happen pretty quickly, I think, in the Welsh setup at the moment,' he added. Reflecting on his own playing career, Sir Gerald said it was 'a wonderful time altogether' to play rugby for Wales, where he earned 46 caps, as he appeared with the same teammates for many years.
ITV News
13 hours ago
- Sport
- ITV News
Wales and Lions rugby great Sir Gerald Davies receives knighthood
Wales rugby legend Sir Gerald Davies has been knighted at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. He receives the honour from Prince William for his services to rugby union and to voluntary and charitable service in Wales. Sir Gerald, 80, played for Wales for 12 years in the 1960s and 1970s along with the British & Irish Lions, and won three Grand Slams. He later went on to serve as president of the Welsh Rugby Union between 2019 and 2023. 'It comes out of the blue. I was dumbstruck in many ways, but you don't achieve these things on your own.'
