The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond today
Bristol Bears’ Joe Jenkins(Image: 2025 CameraSport)
These are your rugby headlines on Wednesday, April 1.
Wales target Jenkins joins Leicester
Welsh-qualified centre Joe Jenkins has signed for Leicester Tigers, the English PREM club have announced. Jenkins is seen as a huge talent and is a player the Welsh Rugby Union have been monitoring for year.
The former England U20s centre was born in Halifax but is eligible to represent Wales through his father, who is from Llanharan. He has impressed during his 33 appearances for Bristol Bears but his progression has been curtailed by injury problems.
Jenkins went to Monmouth School and was initially involved with the Dragons before being picked up up by Bristol. He became the Bears’ youngest ever starter in the Gallagher Premiership against Saracens in November 2022, aged just 18.
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling said: “Joe is a big powerful body with huge potential. He made his starting PREM debut at just 18 and whilst he has consistently performed well, he knows that there is much more to come from him.
“We’ve been open in that we are looking to move the ball more and Joe will add another dimension, whilst also being a great age to build understanding and cohesion with our current young and exciting back line.”
Jenkins said: “Having met with Geoff, it was clear that moving to Leicester was the correct rugby move for me to develop further as a player. I believe the way that Geoff wants his centres to play will suit my style of play.
“I’m very excited about the coming seasons and playing a big part in future success at Leicester.”
He joins fellow Wales internationals Tommy Reffell, Olly Cracknell and Aaron Wainwright at the club next season.
Back in 2023 the-then Wales U20s head coach Byron Hayward said Jenkins wanted to wear red at senior international level.
“I spoke to Joe’s dad back in November because he is definitely a player we are interested in,” revealed Hayward.
“He said Joe felt obligated to England because he’d come through their U18s programme, and they had rehabbed him through a knee injury which is totally explainable. I understand and quite admire his loyalty.
“He is 100% Welsh and assured me that Joe wants to play for Wales at senior level and sees himself as a Welshman. However, at this moment in time he felt a loyalty to England because they’ve looked after him.”
WRU EGM decision
Welsh rugby clubs will meet later today to decide whether to continue with the planned EGM on April 13. The crunch meeting had been called in a bid to oust WRU chairman Richard Collier-Keywood and halt the union’s plans to restructure the Welsh game.
However, following Friday’s announcement Collier-Keywood will step down in July, it is understood the request for the EGM could now be pulled. The other part of the same motion to remove Professional Rugby Board chair Malcolm Wall had already been made redundant after he stepped down last month. You can read the inside story on how Collier-Keywood was forced out here.
Two other motions around how council members are selected to the 12-strong WRU board are still on the table but require 75% of the vote to pass.
Central Glamorgan Union (CGU), who led the push for an EGM, will meet to discuss options on Wednesday. They had also been calling for a pause to the WRU’s plans to cut the number of professional sides from four to three.
The WRU board’s intentions around that proposal remain unclear, but the entire board backed them and CEO Abi Tierney is adamant the plan is the best one for Welsh rugby. Collier-Keywood’s departure is likely to lead to a period of reflection now as a new chair is sought, with little likely to happen until the new person is in place. You can read the latest on the whole situation here.
CGU must decide now whether to continue with the EGM or halt the proceedings and see how things develop. There is nothing to stop an EGM being called in the future if enough clubs remain unhappy with how the situation develops from here.
Springbok to miss Wales game
RG Snyman has suffered a devastating ACL injury, ruling the Springbok out of the majority of 2026.
Snyman ruptured the ACL in his right knee in Leinster’s game against Glasgow Warriors. He has suffered two ACL ruptures in the past, although the current injury is to the other leg.
He will now miss South Africa’s summer schedule in the Nations Championship, including the Test with Wales in Durban.
With the timeframe for ACL injuries ranging from six to nine months, the autumn could also be a push for the 31-year-old to return to action.
“It’s devastating for us and for him,” Leinster’s Jacques Nienaber said at Tuesday’s news conference.
“He had a couple [of ACL injuries] when he was with Munster, but he has shown [he can come back from injury] over and over.”
It’s a huge blow for Leinster coach Leo Cullen, who will be without the double World Cup winner for their Champions Cup round-of-16 clash with Edinburgh Rugby at the Aviva Stadium this Sunday and the remainder of the URC and European campaigns.
Itoje backs Borthwick
England captain Maro Itoje has thrown his backing behind under pressure Steve Borthwick and says the buck stops with the players on the field.
The Six Nations ended with England in fifth place – their worst finish since 2000 – following four defeats. After beating Wales on the opening weekend of the tournament, England went on to lose to Scotland, Ireland, Italy and France in a crazy game in Paris.
A review is currently ongoing within the corridors of power at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, with RFU chief Bill Sweeney offering no guarantees on Borthwick’s future.
Itoje, though, says the players must also stand up and accept the criticism of the recent campaign.
“I take responsibility alongside the senior players. We need to make sure that the team is ready to go. There is truly no need for a revolution,” Itoje told The Times.
“Steve didn’t want us to play the way we were playing. That wasn’t part of the plan. That wasn’t part of how he coached throughout the week. But we unfortunately couldn’t handle it. We spent way too much of the games with a man in the bin. And we weren’t executing.
“We were getting into the opposition 22 but we weren’t converting. We weren’t giving that extra pass. We weren’t offloading like we did throughout 2025 [and 12 straight Test wins]. Looseness around the breakdown when we were in control. All of those things we didn’t do as well as we should have done.”
van der Merwe joins Glasgow
By Gavin McCafferty, Press Association
South African forward Ruwald van der Merwe admitted he realised an ambition he never thought was possible after agreeing to join Glasgow on a two-year contract.
The 27-year-old back-rower will meet up with Franco Smith’s Warriors ahead of next season from the Pumas, who he captained to SA Cup glory last year.
He will follow some famous but unrelated namesakes in moving to Scotland. DTH van der Merwe scored 54 tries over two spells for Warriors and Duhan van der Merwe has been a huge success with Edinburgh and the national team.
“I’m incredibly excited and very grateful to have signed with Glasgow Warriors,” he said.
“I’ve followed the club for a while and I never imagined I’d get the opportunity to be part of such a prestigious set-up. I’m looking forward to giving my best and contributing wherever I can.
“I spoke to Franco before signing, who told me a lot about the environment and his coaching approach.
“What stood out is how much he values the individual and focuses on developing areas of your game that need improvement.
“I also spoke to (flanker) Henco Venter, who had nothing but great things to say about the club and life in Glasgow, which made the decision even more exciting for me and my family.
“Supporters can expect a physical edge from me. Coming from South Africa, that’s something I take pride in.
“I enjoy carrying hard, using a mix of strength and speed, getting my hands free for offloads and contributing physically on defence and at set-piece time.
“I want to make an impact in all areas and add as much as I can to the team.”
Head coach Smith added: “Ruwald is a player that we have been keeping an eye on for a while, having identified him as someone that we believe can bring real value to what we are aiming to build here.
“He is a strong carrier who brings a real work ethic to everything he does and he is excited to become a Glasgow Warrior from next season.”