The latest rugby news from Wales and beyond
Your rugby evening headlines on Sunday, November 16.
Jiffy urges referees to stop spoiling games
Wales legend Jonathan Davies has urged officials to stop spoiling games by showing yellow and red cards. When Wales faced Japan on Saturday night, there was a total of four cards handed out to players. Japan had three yellows during the course of the match, with Josh Adams’ yellow being upgraded to a red after bunker review.
“Feel officials are looking to use yellow and red card cards rather than give players benefit of the doubt,” said the Welsh rugby legend on X. “The game is far quicker, cleaner and safer than it’s ever been (with amazing medics) so rugby collisions will happen especially with two men in the tackle. Spoiling games.”
Steve Tandy and Eddie Jones both weighed in on the Josh Adams incident after the match, agreeing that it shouldn’t have been a red.
“I’ve been told to be careful, but I think it’s a harsh red,” said Tandy. “But if you put yourself in a position like that, you’re in the hands of the gods. We have to be better and not bring TMOs into play.
“Those are the things we can control. I did feel that the next 18 or 19 minutes, we did well to manage the game. We maybe got excited of moving something with 30 seconds of the red left and we invited Japan into our area.”
“It is almost farcical now, the sin-bin situation,” Jones added. “We are absolutely ruining the game of rugby. I don’t think any of the actions today were intentional and deserved to be sin-binned. Wales or us.
“We have to have a more sensible approach to the game. There are going to be contacts with the head. Unless it is reckless, which I didn’t see any of those actions being reckless.
“Of course we have got to have penalties. At one stage we were down to 13 men, they get a red card and we are down to 14 men. The game of rugby is about 15 players on the field and I think World Rugby should be looking at this very closely.
“I saw the Italy game and Mostert. A guy gets chopped in front of him, he is 6ft 8 and tries to drop his height and his shoulder gets contact with the head of the player and is red carded. It is becoming absurd. If I was a fan I would be asking the Welsh Rugby Union for my money back. But they can’t afford it so they are not going to give it back!”
Jarrod Evans shows his true colours
Wales fly-half Jarrod Evans, who kicked the match-winning penalty against Japan, has shown his true colours after crediting his team-mates for their contribution in the lead up to his big moment.
Evans had barely been on the field for two minutes when he was tasked with taking the game-defining kick, having replaced Dan Edwards just before the clock went into the red.
“I’ve experienced it for my club, but it’s the first time that I have done it for my country,” said Evans, who previously kicked Cardiff to glory against Leinster in 2022.
“I was pretty relieved that it went over, but that’s why you put all those hours and hard work in.
“The longer the time goes on the more you think that you might not get on, but you have to be ready to impact the game. I am just the guy that is fortunate to get that moment at the end, but I was more proud with how we worked our way up the field.
“We retained the ball and didn’t cough it up, which we probably did for large parts of the game to give Japan a leg up.
“The forwards were unbelievable with the maul and rolled us all the way – we were unlucky not to come away with the try. We did think about a quick tap, but then I took the decision out of the boys’ hands.”
England legend: I’ve never seen England on a charge like this
England legend Matt Dawson says he has never seen England on a charge like this before a World Cup.
Steve Borthwick’s team defeated New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon in a stunning result, ending the All Blacks’ hopes of an autumn grand slam.
“I am buzzing about this England team, as I have never seen England on a charge like this before a World Cup,” wrote Dawson in his BBC column.
“I don’t believe any England team has been in this good a position in terms of strength and depth, leadership and the ability for individuals to win games.
“Overall, there is now a stark contrast between where England are and where they have been over the past decade. Steve Borthwick had to develop as a Test coach himself, and that was always going to take time.”
Dawson also touched on the importance of a player like Ollie Lawrence: “Ollie Lawrence is turning into a player who is starting to offer more than Manu Tuilagi. When fully fit and firing, Tuilagi was so difficult to stop – and I don’t think Lawrence has that capability to the same extent.
“But he is showing a much wider skillset, with the soft hands for Fraser Dingwall’s try as he drew the attention of three players.”
Andy Farrell: Battle for fly-half not just two-horse race
By Edward Elliot, PA, Dublin
Head coach Andy Farrell insists the battle to become Ireland’s first-choice fly-half is not simply a two-horse race between Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley.
Prendergast marked his first start of the autumn with an impressive attacking display during Saturday evening’s 46-19 victory over Australia, including landing a long-range drop goal at a crucial stage. Crowley, who began Ireland’s 26-13 loss to New Zealand and 41-10 win over Japan earlier this month, coolly slotted a penalty and three conversions against the Wallabies after coming on for the final 20 minutes.
Ciaran Frawley is also available to Farrell but has barely featured since last November, while Harry Byrne produced a standout display for an Ireland XV team in last weekend’s 61-24 win over Spain.
Asked about the competition for the number 10 jersey, Farrell said: “It’s great, isn’t it? Honestly, I know you guys (the media) think it’s a two-horse race this, but Harry Byrne’s not sitting down either, Ciaran Frawley’s not sitting down. Everyone has to be within a shout of being able to compete in the here and now, in the not-too distant future and in the future.
“I get these two (Prendergast and Crowley) having a go at one another and playing really well and they are actually good mates and good professionals with all that. But we’re interested in seeing everyone compete. Harry played pretty well in Spain last week, so it isn’t just the two lads.”
Farrell was critical of his team’s opening two performances of this international window. Ireland raced out of the blocks against Australia at a rain-soaked Aviva Stadium and ultimately ran out convincing victors after Caelan Doris, Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw added to Mack Hansen’s first-half hat-trick.
“It’s very pleasing to be sat with a scoreline like that in those type of conditions, against a side which would have been well up for this,” said Farrell. “The start was pretty good. I thought we really let ourselves go and attacked the game straight from the word go. There were obviously some setbacks, discipline-wise, a dropped ball.
But holding our nerve and attacking the game again in the second half and keep playing the type of rugby that we did again in those conditions right until the end, I thought we gave a good account of ourselves.” Farrell expects to have Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose back from hamstring issues for next weekend’s clash with world champions South Africa.
Centre Stuart McCloskey is a doubt after being forced off against Australia due to the recurrence of a groin problem, while replacement prop Tom Clarkson failed a head injury assessment following the challenge which resulted in a yellow card for Nick Frost. “He’s been great all week and rehabbed thoroughly the week before, but obviously playing Test match rugby is a little bit different,” Farrell said of McCloskey. Not nice for Stu, but we’ll see how bad it is over the coming days.”
Asked about Clarkson, Farrell replied: “Tom is absolutely fine, but obviously he didn’t pass the test.”
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