These are your rugby headlines on Tuesday, March 19.
Morgan and Lake close to return
Ospreys coach Toby Booth says he’s hoping to welcome Wales co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake again from damage subsequent month.
The duo have been each dominated out of the Six Nations by damage, with Morgan present process knee surgical procedure over the Christmas interval and Lake injuring his hamstring simply days earlier than Warren Gatland named his squad.
But regardless of the lack of George North with a suspected Achilles downside, Booth is now welcoming again a bunch of gamers as his facet push for an enormous finish to what has been a optimistic season to this point. Morgan and Lake are anticipated to be the following to return, in time for subsequent month’s European Challenge Cup conflict with Sale Sharks.
“We’re hopeful to get even more people back, Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan probably being the next two, which is really exciting for everybody,” he mentioned. “To get some real quality back when it really matters will be great, but the next three weeks are really critical around that. So we need to focus, control the controllables and get on with what he can.”
Asked once they have been more likely to return, Booth added: “The short answer is I don’t know. We’re hoping potentially for the European game, certainly one of them. But we’ll see, they’ve not resumed training yet so that’s normally at least a two week window. With long term injuries, you at least want a couple of weeks out in the middle.”
Looking forward to this weekend’s conflict with Munster, the coach confirmed three members of Wales’ Six Nations facet would play no half however one other star was pushing to be concerned.
“We’ve regarded on the worldwide programme and who performed. The three boys, clearly George went off injured, however Gareth [Thomas] and Adam Beard have performed a hell of lots, so that they received’t be concerned.
“Owen Watkin is keen to play, he’s made that clear. We obviously need to make sure we get a balance there as he’s still been in the training programme. Max Nagy has come back, Garyn Phillips has come back, so we’re getting some bodies off the physio bench and onto the pitch, which is great.”
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Welsh head coach to step down
Rygbi Gogledd Cymru (RGC) head coach Ceri Jones will depart his position on the finish of the season.
Former Wales worldwide Jones will depart the Welsh Premiership facet after practically three years having joined in September 2021, with the choice made by mutual settlement. With the membership sitting eleventh within the desk, its normal supervisor has mentioned it’s “the appropriate time for a change”, whereas the 46-year-old says he will likely be trying to “discover new alternatives”.
“I have nothing but positive words to say about Ceri,” mentioned RGC normal supervisor, Alun Pritchard. “He is a real gentleman who has helped create a optimistic working surroundings throughout the area and sacrificed lots within the pursuits of RGC.
“However, I feel it is the right time for change, with new emphasis and a fresh approach, particularly with the revitalised proposed EDC league structure. RGC will continue to fight for the remainder of the season, and I have full faith in Ceri, as the true professional he is, to give his all and help RGC finish as high up the league table as possible whilst continuing to develop our young squad.”
Reflecting on his time on the membership, Jones added: “I’ve completely loved my time with RGC and I’m extraordinarily pleased with the participant improvement that has taken place throughout my time right here with the likes of Efan Jones and Brodie Coghlan happening to realize skilled contracts.
“I’ll do all I can now to make sure we have now a optimistic end to the season, and I can’t thank the gamers and the workers sufficient for all their effort and time throughout the previous three years”.
The membership is now set to start out its seek for a brand new coach, with Pritchard including: “We will likely be going out to advert within the close to future to seek out the following head coach who will assist proceed the event of rugby for RGC and throughout North Wales”.
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Georgia ‘too good’, says coach
Georgia head coach Richard Cockerill says his facet are “too good” for the Rugby Europe Championship after they received the event for the seventh yr in a row.
Cockerill – who took over because the nationwide crew coach following final yr’s World Cup – led his crew to a different championship crown as they defeated Portugal 36-10 in Paris on Sunday night time. They have received the event yearly aside from its first in 2016, once they completed runners-up, whereas they both received or completed second yearly between 2004 and 2016 within the previous European Nations Cup.
Georgia’s long-standing dominance of second-tier rugby, coupled with their well-known wins over Wales and Italy in 2022, must led to requires them to play extra frequently on the highest degree. While he accepts that there’s nonetheless a spot between them and the world’s high groups, Cockerill acknowledges that his facet is simply too sturdy for his or her common opposition.
“There was an actual edge as a result of Portugal have been a crew that have been positively adequate to beat us and possibly ought to have overwhelmed us within the World Cup,” mentioned Cockerill. “With respect to all the opposite groups we’re most likely too good for this event and in the intervening time possibly we’re not fairly adequate to be eating on the similar desk because the Super Rugby groups or the (UR) Championship groups or the Six Nations.
“There’s a real balance there where we just need to try, the politicians above me will decide where is best for us to play moving forward at some point. The thing we have got to do is just keep improving and playing a good brand of rugby and being as successful as we can.”
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Ireland Six Nations winner impressed by Itoje
By Ed Elliot, PA
Ryan Baird was decided to savour Ireland’s latest Guinness Six Nations title success following inspiration from a framed Maro Itoje jersey and the motivational phrases of his mom.
The Leinster ahead struggled to totally embrace final yr’s triumph as a result of preoccupation with analysing his personal efficiency within the quick aftermath of the Grand Slam clincher in opposition to England.
Baird took home the match shirt of rival star Itoje following that memorable 29-16 St Patrick’s weekend win in Dublin.
In the wake of final weekend’s last-gasp loss at Twickenham, the memento supplied a well timed reminder of the magnitude of championship glory forward of Saturday’s decisive 17-13 victory over Scotland.
“I struggled to take pleasure in it final yr as a result of I used to be so annoyed about a few of the errors I made and it form of ruined it for me,” mentioned Baird. “Only after we misplaced final week and I used to be again home, my mum for Christmas had framed my jersey with the Maro Itoje jersey for me and he or she was like, ‘simply keep in mind how particular that was and the way arduous they’re to win’.
“So when the ultimate whistle went, I’d made a number of errors within the recreation however I put that apart. “I keep in mind being on the bottom because the ball was being kicked out and I believed ‘you realize what, respect the final eight weeks of arduous work you have got put in, respect the time you spent along with your team-mates’.
“It did not give me a loopy excessive,” he added. “It simply gave me a satisfaction. I labored arduous, all of us labored arduous.”
