![\"Ronan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_ronan-ogara.png\")
<\/p>\nThe latest rugby news from Wales and around the world<\/p>\n
Ronan O’Gara had to pause during his press conference<\/p>\n
Here are your rugby morning headlines for Saturday, January 31.<\/p>\n
Wales have James Haskell ‘worried’ as he makes Wales World Cup prediction<\/p>\n
Former England back-row James Haskell admits he is \u201cconcerned\u201d Wales could derail England\u2019s Rugby World Cup<\/a> campaign \u2014 and says he has already earmarked the fixture in his calendar.<\/p>\n With the two rivals drawn together in the same pool, Haskell believes Wales have talent coming through and may be building towards the tournament with one specific target in mind: beating England when it matters most.<\/p>\n JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRight, England v Wales, World Cup. I’m concerned Wales will beat us in that pool stage,\u201d Haskell told The Good, the Bad, the Rugby podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just a bit worried. I think they\u2019ve got a number of years to plot, to plan, and that\u2019s going to be their goal.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s probably on the peak of their resurgence. One game is all it takes to ruin everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Wales famously knocked England out of their own World Cup in 2015 with a dramatic Twickenham victory, and Haskell admits that history adds to his unease.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve done it once, they\u2019ve got a track record. There\u2019s some talent coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Wales having endured a difficult spell in recent seasons, there is growing belief that a new generation \u2014 allied with long-term planning \u2014 could see them rise again by the time the global tournament comes around.<\/p>\n For Haskell, the prospect is clearly playing on his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve earmarked it in my calendar!\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ve got all the machinations, like Minority Report, scanning through it \u2014 I\u2019ve looked at it all.\u201d<\/p>\n O’Gara chokes up in press conference<\/p>\n La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara became hugely emotional during a press conference, pausing as he choked up amid the tragic news of Uni Atonio’s heart attack that has ended his career.<\/p>\n The news about the France star, who was due to play in this year’s Six Nations<\/a>, has rocked French rugby, with Six Nations pundit O’Gara revealing “it is not over yet” as the prop faces more surgery.<\/p>\n O’Gara revealed he has visited the stricken 35-year-old in hospital, admitting: “Seeing him hooked up to electronic devices in a hospital bed is an image that will stay with me forever.”<\/p>\n He also disclosed several warning signs had been noticed before the heart attack.<\/p>\n “I think Uini played Harlequins in difficult conditions. He told me on the day of the match that he hadn’t really recovered from the match against Leinster a week earlier. It gives me chills to think that he played Harlequins. What if he had played against Clermont?”<\/p>\n La Rochelle will face Lyon at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday in what promises to be a hugely emotional occasion.<\/p>\n “Regardless of the result against Lyon, I can go to the hospital and see Uini, O’Gara added. ” That’s enough for me right now. We’re all thinking of him.”<\/p>\n The club announced the shocking news on Wednesday morning. A statement read: “Uini Atonio was admitted yesterday to the La Rochelle Hospital Center following a suspected heart problem,” read the statement from La Rochelle. ” Medical examinations confirmed a cardiac event. His condition is now stable, and he remains in intensive care under observation.<\/p>\n “Following his hospitalization, Uini will have to undergo a long period of convalescence. It is now established that he will not be able to continue his playing career.<\/p>\n “Uini holds a special place in the history and in the heart of our Club. This news deeply saddens us.<\/p>\n “The entire Club wishes to express its unwavering and total support to him and his family during this difficult time.”<\/p>\n Lloyd moved to wing but says ’10 is my best position’<\/p>\n Ioan Lloyd has delivered his verdict on switching to the wing as Cardiff<\/a> Rugby prepare for a crucial URC trip to Ulster tonight, insisting fly-half is his best position.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old, who returned to his home club in the summer, has been deployed across the backline in recent weeks and is set to feature out wide in Belfast on Saturday night.<\/p>\n While fly-half remains his preferred role, Lloyd says his versatility is a strength rather than a frustration.<\/p>\n \u201c10 is probably my best position, but I love playing across the backline,\u201d he explained. \u201cParts of my game suit other positions as well, especially the running side. Any opportunity to get out there and play for Cardiff, I\u2019ll take it, whatever position that is.\u201d<\/p>\n Lloyd played a key role in last weekend\u2019s gritty win over Benetton, slotting important points in difficult conditions to secure the victory and deny the Italians a losing bonus point.<\/p>\n Since returning to the Arms Park after spells with Bristol Bears and Scarlets<\/a>, Lloyd has spoken openly about how much it means to be back in Cardiff colours.<\/p>\n Still only 24, he has already packed in significant top-level experience, something he believes is now paying dividends.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m loving it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m really enjoying being back at my home club, seeing familiar faces and building on the results we\u2019ve had so far this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky to play a lot of rugby early on and that\u2019s helped me massively. Physically I feel really good, and it\u2019s nice seeing how that experience is starting to come together now.\u201d<\/p>\n Attention now turns to Ulster, who have impressed with ball in hand this season and pose a formidable challenge at the Kingspan Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re playing some really good rugby this year and it\u2019s always physical up there,\u201d Lloyd added. \u201cHopefully if we get any dry ball, there\u2019ll be a bit of expansive rugby on show, but either way we know it\u2019s going to be a big challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Blair Murray: We saw glimpses of Tandy improvement in autumn<\/p>\n Blair Murray insists Wales are beginning to show signs of growth under Steve Tandy \u2014 even if results have yet to follow.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old full-back\/wing has been one of the brighter sparks during a desperately difficult period for Welsh rugby, with heavy November defeats to Argentina and New Zealand extending a painful run for the national side.<\/p>\n But Murray believes there are clear foundations being laid behind the scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cHis bedrocks are just being tough, being brave,\u201d Murray said of head coach Tandy to Rugby World<\/a> magazine. \u201cWe want to be brave and stick to our game plan. We don\u2019t want to shy away and I think we\u2019ve shown good growth in that.\u201d<\/p>\n Wales were criticised for conceding over 50 points against both the Pumas and the All Blacks, yet there were spells \u2014 particularly against New Zealand \u2014 where their attacking intent was clear.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started to play a bit more, shift the ball more,\u201d Murray added. \u201cWe saw it against the All Blacks, we were still in it until probably the last 20 where we had a couple of yellow cards.<\/p>\n \u201cRog (Tom Rogers) scoring a hat-trick is a perfect example of us backing our game plan, shifting it to an edge and getting our good athletes with the ball in their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Murray himself fits that mould. Labelled a \u201cpocket rocket\u201d for his explosive style, he has the ability to slice through defensive lines in a flash \u2014 drawing comparisons in some quarters to great attacking full-backs of the past.<\/p>\n He downplays the hype but acknowledges acceleration is a key part of his game.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m more of an off-the-mark kind of guy, and then I hope my pace is good enough where I won\u2019t get caught from behind,\u201d he said.<\/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 news from Wales and around the world Ronan O’Gara had to pause during his press…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-400496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400496","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=400496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}