The latest rugby news from Wales and around the world
Tom Rogers, Max Llewellyn and Ben Thomas sing the anthem.(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
These are your evening rugby headlines on Wednesday, September 10.
Wales centre returns to fitness
Wales centre Max Llewellyn is nearing full fitness after missing the back end of last season with a hamstring injury.
One of Matt Sherratt’s first acts after being appointed interim Wales head coach midway through the Six Nations was to call Llewellyn into his squad.
The 26-year-old picked up an injury after the conclusion of the Six Nations which kept him out of Wales’ summer tour of Japan.
But Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington has revealed the powerful centre is nearing a comeback. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
“Max hurt his hamstring just after the Six Nations in the first game back,” Skivington told Gloucestershire Live.
“So he ended up missing the whole of the season after the Six Nations.
“He has had a shoulder issue for a while, so once the hamstring wasn’t going to recover, we got the shoulder done as well.
“It’s nice to see him back out there because he did have a long stretch out of the game.”
Farrell makes statement on potential England return
Owen Farrell has not ruled out a return to international rugby with England.
The 33-year-old’s England career appeared to be over when he joined French big spenders Racing 92 for the 2024/25 season which made the prolific goal kicker ineligible to represent his country.
But after failing to settle in Paris Farrell has returned to Saracens, meaning he can represent his country again if selected by Steve Borthwick.
Farrell previously stepped away from playing for England to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being having been subjected to a huge amount of vitriolic criticism over the course of his career.
But having returned to Saracens he has not ruled out stepping back into the international arena having had another taste of it with the British & Irish Lions in Australia this summer.
“Well I’m going to get myself back to playing hopefully well for Saracens and enjoy myself and see where we’re at,” Farrell told Sky Sports.
“I’m not retired. But the only thing I’m looking at now is getting back to feeling good.
“I don’t ever want that [struggling with criticism] to be what people think it’s like to play for England. It’s not. I’ve loved my England career. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
“I’ve loved my time in camp. Some of the more special games I’ve played have obviously been with England.
“It was just what I was going through at that time, and the accumulation of stuff. I just wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.
“This time dealing with myself and having time to reflect on myself has just made me more clear on what I want, what I want to be, how I want to be, and I’m working towards that.”
Wales Women boss maps out plan to recovery
Wales Women Sean Lynn has outlined the next steps for his squad after a disastrous World Cup campaign.
It has been an extremely disappointing season for Wales who picked up the Wooden Spoon in the Six Nations and didn’t win a single game at the World Cup, losing to Scotland, Canada and Fiji.
He has already identified the key next steps with the cross-border Celtic Challenge tournament between two sides from Wales, Ireland and Scotland at the forefront.
Welsh Rugby Union-contracted players who have registered with English clubs and who are not playing will have the opportunity to play regular rugby in Wales.“We are in a tough place, there is no getting away from that,” said Lynn.
“All of us are part of the Welsh rugby family and all of the players, coaches and staff are proud Welsh people.
“We will have a robust review of the tournament, the tour of Australia and pinpoint what we need to get right as we head into the 2026 W6N campaign.
“We did record a first win against the Wallaroos on Australian soil in the summer and showed we have the talent to win Test matches.
“Fiji was arguably the game of the World Cup so far and we scored five tries, had one disallowed and created enough opportunities to win that game.
“So, we can see we have developed from the 2025 W6N campaign.”
Lynn blooded a host of young Welsh talent in Australia and in RWC 2025, with scrum-half Seren Lockwood, backrower Branwen Metcalfe, lock Tilly Vucaj, who are all still teenagers, making their debuts for their country.
And another batch of the young guns to have experienced the Test match rugby environment, including the likes of lock Alaw Prys, 19, prop Maisie Davies, 20, hooker Molly Reardon, 21, full-back Nel Metcalfe, 20, and backrower Bryonie King, 22, all playing at the World Cup.
All of those players have played Celtic Challenge rugby for Thunder or Lightning. Lynn believes the league holds the key to developing players and growing the strength in depth in his squad.
“The Celtic Challenge is key for us, and we have to be strategic about how Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning provides game-time for our players, “said Lynn.
“We need players to be regular playing rugby and not just training, so that means if they do not play for an English club, we want them to play in the Celtic Challenge.
“There is no substitute for playing regular games at the highest level possible and that will mean we will have players battle hardened and ready for the Six Nations.
“It will also put them in a better position to claim a place in the starting line-up for the Six Nations.
“Players who are not playing regular rugby in the PWR will be expected to play and train with one of the Celtic Challenge sides.
“We will hold regular coaching and S&C sessions at the NCE so we can monitor where players are and what support and guidance they need.
“One area we do intend to tackle is to increase the training load on WRU contracted players to mirror that of PWR clubs.
“We intend to be much more hands on with the Celtic Challenge and to be part of the strategy heading into the next Test match window.”