Latest news with #SamDavies
Wales Online
39 minutes ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Welsh star 'killing it' for club side backed for Wales recall as fans stunned he's been forgotten
Welsh star 'killing it' for club side backed for Wales recall as fans stunned he's been forgotten The PRO D2 is home to a handful of Welsh players Sam Davies (R) of Grenoble (Image: Getty Images ) England great Joe Worsley has tipped Sam Davies for a Wales recall after another sensational season in French rugby's PRO D2. Davies has been a revelation for Grenoble this season and will be a key figure in the PRO D2 grand final against Montauban at the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse on Saturday. The former Ospreys and Dragons playmaker has racked up 237 points for Grenoble this season and has spearheaded the French club to within touching distance of the Top 14. Davies won the last of his eight caps for Wales in 2017 and is not even sure if he is captured by the controversial 25-cap law owing to the fact he did not receive an offer from a Welsh club before signing a new contract with Grenoble. But Worsley, who is defence coach at PRO D2 outfit Brive, has kept a close eye on Davies for the past couple of seasons and believes the next Wales coach should seriously consider selecting the 31-year-old outside-half. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "Sam Davies has been killing it for a couple of years now," the former England flanker told WalesOnline. "People in France don't understand why he's not involved with Wales. Article continues below "From what I've seen he's definitely good enough to play international rugby but you'll have to gear up a team in the style that suits him. "If you want a team that plays quickly without too much structure he'll be fantastic but if you want a team which plays structured then you want Dan Biggar mark two. "The Grenoble team really suits how he plays. He is an all-court 10 who is a very good kicker and also attacks the line while defending isn't an issue for him. "When Sam is playing Grenoble are a far more dangerous side. Sam last year was the 10 that was picked in the team of the season and he'll be picked there again this year. His kicking has been phenomenal. "Grenoble are a team who like to keep the ball in play and attack the line. He's been making the right calls, making the right passes and running the right lines. "When he doesn't play they are not nearly as dangerous and I think they'll be playing in the Top 14 next year which in large parts is down to Sam." Professional rugby is struggling everywhere apart from France which has three professional leagues, a bumper TV deal which blows everything else out of the water and packed stadiums every week. While the Top 14 is the premier competition in French rugby, the second division PRO D2 is equally as compelling and is the home for a plethora of Welsh players. Alongside Davies there is Welsh legend George North at Provence and experienced tighthead Tomas Francis, while former Dragons centre Tyler Morgan plies his trade at Biarritz and Owen Lane is at Valence Romans. "Sam Davies from all the Welsh players has had the biggest impact rugby wise," Worsley tells WalesOnline. "Ross Moriarty has had a few injuries this year but last year he was in the team of the season in PRO D2. "George North did his Achilles and had a couple of little injuries after he came back. He's only played about 10 games for Provence but the head coach there is saying he's the best player he's ever coached. "He drags up the whole team even when he was injured and he learnt French in four months. He's been helping out with the youngsters and he's just got fully stuck in, so his character is shining through." While Premier Sports have the rights to the Top 14 up until a few weeks ago the PRO D2 was not shown in the UK. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free But that has all changed after an ambitious broadcaster and podcaster named Tim Cocker set up a YouTube channel called FR-UK Rugby and bought the rights to show the PRO D2 in the UK and Ireland. The deal has allowed him to acquire the PRO D2 play-offs this season along with 35 matches next term. Worsley works alongside Cocker and is working hard to make the PRO D2 popular in the UK and Ireland. "I realised nobody was watching it and I found out the price of the rights was relatively doable," said Worsley. "I met three other guys - one is called Tim Crocker who is a presenter who does the EggChasers podcast. "I met him through a friend Dougie Andrews, who is a producer. With those two we initially got going and started making some content. "James Lewis joined us shortly after who is an industry figure who ran Sky Sports rugby. We realised it had to be free and he also believes TV is going to change because there are so many subscription models going on. "If you want to watch rugby in the UK you've got to have three different subscriptions to different channels to watch all the various rugby competitions. "We will have a number of short-form and long-form interviews throughout the week as well as showing live games. "For 18 months we negotiated with Canal+ and LNR because it's a new concept and they were really nervous about it. "Eventually we ended up with PRO D2 rights and if we prove the concept works we will be able to bid for more. "Our ambition is to have games Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday because in France the second division plays on Thursday and Friday and Top 14 plays Saturday and Sunday. "The PRO D2 is different to every other rugby competition in the world. The crowds watching those games are more than the English Premiership. "TV deals are also going up and it is well funded. The top budget in the league is 22m euros. "It's very hard to compare to what happens in Wales and England because of taxes and how it works but put it this way the playing budgets are more like the lower half of the Premiership in England. "One of the reasons the TOP 14 is successful is because there is jeopardy and loads of play-offs. "You create these incredible moments where everything is on the line whereas in England and Wales there's so many dead rubbers where nobody gives a damn." The PRO D2 is already the home of many Welsh players and given the lowly state of the professional game in Wales, more are likely to venture across the channel over the coming seasons. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. "There are big cultural differences so when you first come over it shocks you. "The season is really long. It's 11 months and because of that sometimes people switch off and they get encouraged to do so whereas in the UK we are always on it. "It fluctuates the level of commitment and engagement in terms of training, doing weights and eating correctly. "That's one of the aspects that is different. "If you've got a young family it's an amazing place to bring them up especially George in Provence because Aix-en-Provence is one of the best cities in the world to live in. "In France there's a lot of flair and for some foreign players that takes getting used to because it can be very abstract learning about it. "Some players struggle with what they perceive to be a vague game plan. "It would probably strike more of a cord with Welsh fans because historically you did have a team which could play instinctively. "You then went to Warren who had a very structured team but you've also had teams who play instinctively. Article continues below "Where Welsh rugby goes now I'd imagine they are going to have to introduce that side of the game to be able to have success. "I can definitely see more Welsh players coming to play in France over the next couple of seasons." The PRO D2 final between Grenoble and Montauban is live on FR-UK Rugby's YouTube channel at 4.30pm on Saturday.
Wales Online
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Today's rugby news as Welsh internationals face off in France and four Wales team members join Lions
Today's rugby news as Welsh internationals face off in France and four Wales team members join Lions The latest rugby news from Wales and beyond Andy Farrell, the British & Irish Lions head coach (Image:) These are your latest rugby headlines on Thursday, May 29. Wales internationals face off in France Wales internationals Sam Davies and George North are set to face off in the upcoming Pro 2 semi-final on Thursday. North's Provence side travel to Grenoble, who have named Davies in their starting XV, with both sides aiming to book their place in the final. Brive and Montabaun are set to contest the other semi-final on Friday night, with just one team taking their place in the Top 14 next season. Grenoble head into the contest as slight favourites, having racked up three wins in their last four games, while Provence head into the semi-finals with two wins in their last five. Kick-off at the Stade des Alpes is at 8pm BST. Four Wales members called up to Lions Four members of the Wales backroom team have joined up with the British and Irish Lions ahead of the upcoming tour of Australia. Rhodri Brown has been handed a role in the analysis team in what will be his fifth Lions campaign, and will be covered by Marc Kinnaird for the upcoming Wales trip to Japan. Meanwhile, Dr Geoff Davies, who has been team doctor since May 2012 and physiotherapist John Miles, will also join the Lions medical team for their second consecutive tours. Finally, soft tissue specialist Susie Gill, who joined the WRU earlier this year from Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins, has also been selected for her first Lions campaign. Commenting on the news WRU CEO Abi Tierney said: 'I'm delighted for Rhodri, Geoff, John and Susie having been appointed to the management team for this year's Lions tour. 'This is a special honour for each person, their family and friends who I am sure will all be extremely proud of the achievement. 'Lions tours are an incredible experience. I know everyone at the WRU will join me in congratulating them and wishing them all the best in Australia.' Welsh side tie down 'thriving' young stars Cardiff Rugby have confirmed scholarship renewals for five youngsters. Alfie Prygodzicz, Sonny McCabe, Ben Coomer, Bailey Cutts and Calen Edwards have all signed new deals to continue training full time within the club's academy set-up. Gruff Rees, head of academy, said: 'All of these players are fully deserving of further support from us. They are all really committed and proud to represent Cardiff Rugby and have progressed brilliantly from under-16 to thriving recently with our under-18s. 'They all have bespoke individual development plans and we will work closely with our school and college partners to ensure that they can follow their high performance aspirations with us while getting the appropriate educational support for their individual needs.' Scarlets ready for 'different animal' Leinster Scarlets captain Josh Macleod says his side are prepared to face a different challenge from Leinster in Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final. The Welsh side pulled a stunning 35-22 win out the bag when the two sides last met at the Parc y Scarlets last month, although the runaway leaders had admittedly made 11 changes for the trip to south Wales. But after seeing their European dreams dashed by Northampton Saints, Leinster's focus now shifts back to the URC. "We're certainly expecting a bigger challenge this weekend with personnel," said Macleod. "Yes, they're going to be a different animal - we're preparing for that - but we've built nicely as well." Star opens up on Lions snub By Anthony Brown, PA Scotland back-rower Jamie Ritchie insists he is comfortable with the feeling that he did everything he possibly could to put himself in with 'a real shout' for British and Irish Lions selection. The 28-year-old Edinburgh forward was disappointed not to be included in Andy Farrell's squad for the summer tour of Australia after bouncing back strongly this season from a tough start to 2024 when he lost the Scotland captaincy. Speaking for the first time since his Lions snub three weeks ago, Ritchie told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast: 'Personally, I feel like I'd done all I could in terms of how I performed and stuff, so I was comfortable with that. 'At the end of the day, it's down to someone's opinion and decision-making and what they feel they need in their squad. At that point, it's outside of my control. For 2021, I feel like I was further away than I was this year, but I was more upset then. 'I'm a bit more mature now in terms of how I react to these things. Obviously, it would have been nice to have that moment, but I'm comfortable with the performances that I've put in to put myself in the mix. I said this to my wife because she was quite upset when we watched it together. 'I said to her, if you look at the position we were in a year ago after Six Nations, where it hadn't gone the way I wanted to in terms of selection and missing out on the captaincy and humming and hawing about whether or not I was going to go on the summer tour, if we'd said we'd be sitting here at the Lions announcement day, feeling like we were in with a real shout and then disappointed when it didn't happen, we would absolutely have taken it. 'That's the perspective that I'm taking on at the moment. I felt like I did all I could. The call didn't come, and that's OK.' Article continues below Asked if he had been given any indication that he might be on a standby list, Ritchie said: 'I spoke to JD (Lions and Scotland coach John Dalziel) afterwards around some of the thinkings around selection. 'I've not heard about anything official, but I'm just trying to stay fit and concentrating on playing well for Edinburgh.'
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
1 in 6 Over-50s Feel Unsafe in Their Bathroom During Winter, New Survey Reveals
Concerns around bathroom safety are rising among older adults in the UK, according to new research. Chesterfield, UK - Concerns around bathroom safety are rising among older adults in the UK, according to new research commissioned by Age Care Bathrooms and carried out by YouGov. The nationally representative survey of 1,008 UK adults aged 50 and over found that almost 1 in 6 either feel unsafe in their bathroom during winter or have already made adjustments to reduce the risk of falling. The findings shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of ageing at home: maintaining safety and independence in spaces like bathrooms, which can become hazardous in colder months due to cold surfaces, reduced mobility, and increased fall risk. 8.2% of over-50s said they sometimes feel unsafe in their bathroom during winter. A further 9.1% have already made modifications to reduce risks such as installing grab bars, slip-resistant flooring, or accessible showers. This means 17.3% of older adults are either experiencing anxiety about safety or have taken action to prevent falls. 'The bathroom is one of the most dangerous rooms in the home — especially in winter when cold conditions and mobility issues can turn daily routines into real hazards,' said Sam Davies, founder of Age Care Bathrooms. 'What this survey shows is that many older adults are already aware of the risks, but too often they're left without the means or support to act on them.' The survey also revealed stark differences between regions. Wales had the highest level of concern, with 11.7% feeling unsafe in their bathroom during winter. The East of England was the most proactive, with 13.6% reporting they had already made safety adjustments, the highest of any region. These findings suggest that while concern is high, awareness and action vary significantly across the UK. The survey also explored what home improvements would most improve winter living conditions for over-50s. While heating and insulation were top priorities, bathroom accessibility and safety ranked as a concern for many. 10.7% of all over-50s said easier-to-use bathrooms, such as walk-in showers, grab bars, or seating, would make the biggest difference to their winter living experience. In London, this figure rose to 14.3%, the highest of any region. In Wales, 15.4% said easier-to-use showers or baths, and 8% wanted safer bathroom flooring — also the highest in the UK. 'We talk a lot about heating support and energy bills, but personal safety is just as critical,' Davies added. 'It's not enough to stay warm — older adults need to feel safe and confident moving around their own homes, especially in the bathroom.' The findings add to the growing national conversation around ageing and the importance of adapting homes to match the evolving needs of an older population. Bathroom safety often goes unaddressed until after a fall or injury has occurred despite being a leading cause of hospital admissions in older age. With the UK's over-50 population now numbering over 22 million, Age Care Bathrooms is calling for greater awareness of safety risks in the home, improved access to advice and funding for adaptations, and joined-up policy approaches to ageing at home that include bathroom accessibility as a core priority. This research was commissioned by Age Care Bathrooms and conducted by YouGov. The online survey was completed in March 2025 and polled a nationally representative sample of 1,008 UK adults aged 50 and over. All figures are weighted to be representative of the UK population aged 50+. About Age Care Bathrooms Since 2012, Age Care Bathrooms has been dedicated to improving the lives of older adults through innovative, accessible bathroom adaptations that enhance safety, comfort, and independence. Alongside their products and services, the company is committed to helping customers navigate challenges like rising energy costs through practical advice and advocacy. Media Contact Company Name: Age Care Bathrooms Contact Person: Sam Davies Email: Send Email Country: United Kingdom Website: Source: PR Company
Japan Today
28-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
China says wind and solar energy capacity exceeds thermal for first time
China's wind and solar energy capacity has surpassed that of mostly coal-powered thermal for the first time By Sam Davies and Luna Lin China's wind and solar energy capacity has surpassed that of mostly coal-powered thermal for the first time, the national energy body said. China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases that drive climate change, has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. While around 60 percent of China's energy comes from coal, the country is also a renewable energy powerhouse, building almost twice as much wind and solar capacity as every other country combined, according to research published last year. "In the first quarter of 2025, China's newly installed wind and photovoltaic power capacity totalled 74.33 million kilowatts, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 1.482 billion kilowatts," the national energy body said. That surpassed the installed capacity of thermal power (1.451 billion kilowatts) for the first time. President Xi Jinping said that "no matter how the international situation changes", the country's efforts to combat climate change "will not slow down". Xi also said China would announce its 2035 greenhouse gas reduction commitments, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), before COP30 in November and that it would cover all greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide. President Donald Trump meanwhile has pulled the United States, the world's second-largest polluter, out of the Paris climate accord while pledging a vast expansion in fossil fuel exploitation. China's new milestone comes as the country experiences explosive growth in renewable energy. Last year, China added a record 357 gigawatts of wind and solar, 10 times the U.S. additions. It met a 2030 target to install 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity almost six years early. The announcement said that wind and solar additions in the first quarter had "far exceeded" China's total increase in electricity consumption. "This trend is very likely to continue in the following months and quarters in 2025," Yao Zhe, Global Policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia, told AFP. That suggests China's power sector is undergoing "structural change and the sector's carbon emissions are one small step away from peaking". However, coal continues to play a key role in China's energy mix. "The intermittency of variable renewables like wind and solar... means it's generally inappropriate to compare them to firm, dispatchable power sources like coal," according to David Fishman, senior manager at the Lantau Group. "There is indeed some combination of wind plus solar plus storage that equals one coal plant, but the determination is different everywhere in the world." And China's energy consumption continues to grow –- by 4.3 percent last year. Covering that growth with renewable power is a "tough proposition for a developing country with a huge heavy industrial segment and a residential population that frankly doesn't even use that much electricity on a per capita basis", Fishman said. Despite the renewable energy boom, China also began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power projects in 2024, 93 percent of the global total, according to a February report from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) in the United States. China's coal production has risen steadily in recent years, from 3.9 billion tons in 2020 to 4.8 billion tons in 2024. That is despite Xi pledging to "strictly control" coal power before "phasing it down" between 2026 and 2030. © 2025 AFP
