Here are your rugby headlines for Thursday, April 25.
LRZ in Texas with Patrick Mahomes
Louis Rees-Zammit’s cope with the Kansas City Chiefs isn’t any PR gimmick, the top of the NFL’s International Player Pathway has insisted.
Rees-Zammit was picked up by the Super Bowl Champions after impressing throughout his stint with the IPP Program and is bidding to make the enjoying roster subsequent season.
And IPP chief James Cook has revealed that Rees-Zammit is at present in Texas with NFL nice Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs “actively recruited” the previous Wales wing.
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“As we speak Louis is in Texas catching balls with Patrick Mahomes,” he informed Planet Rugby. “No quantity of promoting could make that occur.
“The group that simply received back-to-back Super Bowls not solely signed him, they actively recruited him. The head coach was calling his telephone day-after-day, the overall supervisor was calling his telephone day-after-day. You can’t purchase that.
“There’s nothing the NFL can do to make that occur. Absolutely nothing. I can’t get Andy Reed to name anybody. Neither can any of the individuals above me in our business.
“I firmly believe Kansas brought him with the intent of him at some point being a contributing player for them. They didn’t bring him in with the idea that he’s going to be a marketing guy and we’ll just kind of sit him on the practice squad. They’ve got too many good players and they win too many matches for them to think that way.”
When requested about his life like probabilities of making the beginning squad, Cook stated: “As a lot because it’s nice Louis has signed and we’re very enthusiastic about it and it’s a vital first step, our aim this complete time has been for Louis to be a beginning participant for the Kansas City Chiefs and to go and rating touchdowns on Sundays. That hasn’t occurred but.
“But I think his age is in his favour. He also displays a level of athleticism you don’t often find anywhere in the world. On top of that, he works hard and is a great person who has his priorities straight. So I feel very optimistic.”
Battle for ‘bragging rights’ for Plumtrees
Scarlets’ Taine Plumtree has stated there isn’t a hostility forward of dealing with his father’s Sharks group this weekend, however bragging rights are certainly on the road.
Wales worldwide Plumtree qualifies for Warren Gatland’s facet because of being born in Swansea, owing to his father John enjoying for the St Helen’s facet in 2000.
Plumtree made his debut for Wales final 12 months and, after months out, will face his old man’s facet in what is certain to be an intriguing conflict on Friday night at Parc y Scarlets.
“There’s been a little bit of chat between me and dad over the last couple of weeks in the lead-up to it, no doubt,” Taine informed the URC media group.
“I stayed at their lodge on Sunday simply because I haven’t seen them since September and it was actually good catching up. It goes to be fairly a cool event for us. It will likely be a pleasant household affair with him upstairs and me down on the pitch.
“There’s no hostility in any respect. It’s extra a little bit of a joke between us now. I suppose there’s a little bit of bragging rights on the dinner desk. If I’m able to stand up, I’d lastly get the top of the desk at dinner when I’m again in New Zealand!”
Taine added that he is “all the time seemed as much as” his father John, who himself admitted that he wished his son to play for the South African facet so they may work collectively.
“I wanted him to come to the Sharks, but as soon as Warren Gatland got involved, it was all over, he was heading for Wales,” stated the previous All Blacks assistant coach.
“I am really proud of him. He is loving it at the Scarlets. He loves the Welsh people and he is happy. So if he’s happy, I’m happy.”
Varsity winners topped
Swansea University claimed the varsity bragging rights after defeating their Cardiff counterparts on the Swansea.com Stadium.
Thousands of scholars descended on Swansea for the annual occasion, with greater than 50 sporting occasions taking place all through the day.
The rugby matches between the boys’s and the ladies’s groups are all the time the head of the date and the hosts made home benefit rely, beating their rivals 44-28 in SA1.
In the ladies’s it was a rout for the guests, who emerged victors by a 12-71 scoreline.
Halfpenny’s message
Leigh Halfpenny posted on Instagram that it was “good to be again on the grass with the boys” as he makes his approach again from damage.
The Wales legend has been on the sidelines for the previous two and a half months following a knock he acquired in a pre-season pleasant with Munster in February.
Halfpenny tore his pectoral muscle and required surgical procedure and was given a timescale of 4 months to return to the fray. But he is now again in coaching and seemingly raring to go. The Crusaders posted yesterday: Great to see Leigh on the grass.”
