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Christian Coleman (right) is facing a spell on the sidelines (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\nThe latest rugby stories from around Wales and around the worldChristian Coleman (right) is facing a spell on the sidelines (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n
These are your headlines on the evening of Thursday, December 4.<\/p>\n
Dragons receive URC apology after Leinster controversy<\/p>\n
Dragons have received an apology from the United Rugby Championship after match officials admitted they made an error during last weekend\u2019s defeat to Leinster.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred late in the game as the Welsh side pushed for what could have been a third draw of the season. With Dragons trailing by seven, lock Levi Douglas charged towards the line before being met by a high tackle<\/a> from Scott Penny.<\/p>\n Referee Morne Ferreira reviewed the collision but deemed the Leinster flanker\u2019s actions legal, ruling out foul play despite clear head contact with the falling Douglas.<\/p>\n Head coach Filo Tiatia revealed this week that URC referees boss Tappe Henning contacted the region to apologise and acknowledge the decision was incorrect.<\/p>\n “We heard back from Tappe Henning and received an apology. They got it wrong, but it’s been a challenging moment for the referees in the middle,” said Tiatia.”We are still working through what the game looks like in terms of head collisions, but the first thing we speak about is player safety. That has to be at the front of the mind, but we have moved on.”<\/p>\n Despite the frustration, Tiatia insists Dragons have moved on as they prepare to launch their Challenge Cup campaign away at Perpignan on Sunday.<\/p>\n Wales international suffers injury blow<\/p>\n Dragons are bracing themselves for a challenging festive period after Wales tighthead Chris Coleman was ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained on international duty.<\/p>\n The prop injured his right hamstring during Wales\u2019 clash with South Africa last weekend while winning his second cap from the bench. Having since visited specialists, Coleman is set to miss the start of the Challenge Cup and is unlikely to return before the new year.<\/p>\n \u201c”He has had a scan and it looks pretty positive, but he needs another consultancy catch-up and we will see where he is at and a projection of how long he will be out,” said Tiatia.<\/p>\n Coleman joins fellow Wales tighthead Dillon Lewis on the sidelines, with the latter suffering a calf injury that rules him out of upcoming European fixtures against Perpignan and Lyon, as well as URC matches against Connacht, Cardiff<\/a> and Scarlets.<\/p>\n South African Rob Hunt is expected to start at tight-head this weekend, supported by Luke Yendle, who hasn\u2019t played competitively in more than a year, and 20-year-old Owain James.<\/p>\n There is mixed news elsewhere in the squad. Ben Carter, Brodie Coghlan and Rio Dyer return after featuring against the Springboks, while Aaron Wainwright has been rested following a finger-in-the-eye injury picked up in Test duty.<\/p>\n However, the region are monitoring Seb Davies after the lock suffered a \u201cnasty\u201d ankle injury against Leinster, with Tiatia admitting he faces a spell out.<\/p>\n As Dragons prepare for Sunday’s European opener in Perpignan, Tiatia warned his players not to be misled by the French side\u2019s low position in the Top 14.<\/p>\n \u201cPerpignan are a good side,\u201d stated Tiatia. \u201cThey are in a similar place to us in the league ladder and they have a proud history in European rugby.\u201cI\u2019ve dealt with Perpignan a few times from when I played for Ospreys. When they play at home, they are a very proud team – it will be a good challenge for us.\u201cThere is some rich DNA in terms of where Perpignan are from and we know how they are going to play.\u201cIt\u2019s a special place to play. I\u2019m looking forward to getting down there and getting amongst it.\u201d<\/p>\n Parry lands Neath coaching job<\/p>\n Wales international Sam Parry has joined the Neath RFC coaching team as the Ospreys<\/a> and Welsh All Blacks look to build on their relationship.<\/p>\n Ties between the two clubs were strained last year when Neath were refused entry to the SRC, leading The Gnoll club to criticise the Ospreys and WRU in a statement and pivot towards a closer working relationship with the Scarlets<\/a>.<\/p>\n But in a statement from the Swansea-based club this week, collaboration appears to be very much on the agenda between the two clubs.<\/p>\n As such, hooker Parry has joined The Gnoll outfit, “further strengthening ties between the professional and semi-professional games”, the Ospreys said, adding that “Ospreys\u2019 academy players will also be allocated to Neath RFC throughout the season where possible, providing invaluable competitive experience and supporting their long-term development”.<\/p>\n Age-grade teams will also play their home games from the famous ground from the 2025\/26 season.<\/p>\n Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley said: \u201cThe partnership with Neath RFC represents everything we want to achieve as a region by developing young talent, supporting our communities, and building sustainable rugby pathways. The Gnoll has a proud history and provides a fantastic stage for our next generation to grow and perform.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyn Jones, Neath RFC’s head of rugby, said: “For a town with such a rich rugby heritage, it\u2019s imperative that Neath once again provides the foundations for the success of our Region and Welsh rugby. We\u2019re proud to help bridge the gap between community and professional rugby. We reaffirm that The Gnoll, the Neath brand, and our districts should always be the hotbed for developing young Welsh talent. We look forward to working closely with the Ospreys, learning together, and creating the best possible environment for the next generation to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuipulotu excited to skipper Scotland to RWC<\/p>\n By Anthony Brown, Press Association<\/p>\n Sione Tuipulotu is excited about leading Scotland on their \u201cjourney\u201d towards what he hopes will be a fruitful World Cup in Australia in just under two years.<\/p>\n The Melbourne-born captain will be 30 when the global showpiece kicks off in his homeland in October 2027.<\/p>\n Scotland learned on Wednesday that they will face Ireland, Portugal and Uruguay in their pool, and Tuipulotu is intent on ensuring Gregor Townsend\u2019s side are in the best possible shape when they head Down Under.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does feel strange talking about it, with it being so far away, but I suppose it\u2019s something we have to start thinking about because that is the path that\u2019s been laid out for us now,\u201d said the British and Irish Lions tourist, who got his first taste of a World Cup in France two years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole focus now turns to the Six Nations<\/a> and all the rugby that we\u2019re going to play before that World Cup in Australia, but I think that is the journey now.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go into a World Cup to show everything that you\u2019ve learned over the last World Cup cycle. It\u2019s right there for our group.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of rugby to be played between now and then, and it\u2019s up to myself and the playing group to make sure we\u2019re in the best position to go and have our best World Cup ever in a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuipulotu believes Scotland\u2019s World Cup prospects will be enhanced by increased exposure to Southern Hemisphere teams in the new Nations Championship.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s something that we probably need, in terms of playing top-level opposition every single year,\u201d said Tuipulotu. \u201cI know we get that in the Six Nations, but I think experience against some of the Southern Hemisphere teams matters when you go to a World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be experienced against the Southern Hemisphere, because for the last two World Cups, they\u2019ve been the teams to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuipulotu is optimistic that Scotland will also benefit from a recent autumn series that left them reeling after they lost to both New Zealand and Argentina from positions of strength.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still angry,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd why shouldn\u2019t I be angry? I care about winning for Scotland and I know the players do as well.<\/p>\n \u201cMy feeling coming out of those two games is that what we\u2019re chasing is closer than what we think.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s important that we take the lessons that we needed to learn after that Argentina game specifically. And I think maybe that (collapse from 21-0 up) needed to happen for us to address what\u2019s possibly been either holding us back or also just be realistic and accept our flaws.<\/p>\n \u201cStand there as a team, as players, as individuals and say what I did wrong as a captain or what we did wrong as a playing group for us not to get those results. And I felt like we did that in the last week and looked at each other honestly. We can\u2019t prove that that\u2019s solved anything until we get to the Six Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to go show everyone that we have \u2013 not necessarily that we have learned, but that we have grown.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest rugby stories from around Wales and around the worldChristian Coleman (right) is facing a spell on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[26923,5903,101,56,54,55,42626],"class_list":{"0":"post-299011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-dragons","9":"tag-rugby","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-wales-rugby-union-team"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}