![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_JS323659745.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyond<\/p>\n
Nick Tompkins, Ioan Lloyd, Mason Grady, Teddy Williams and Alex Mann of Wales(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency )<\/p>\n
Here are your rugby evening headlines for Thursday, May 28.<\/p>\n
Forgotten man backed for Wales recall<\/p>\n
Cardiff<\/a> head coach Corniel van Zyl believes Ioan Lloyd\u2019s ability to shine in several positions could boost his hopes of forcing his way back into the Wales squad.<\/p>\n Lloyd joined Cardiff from the Scarlets<\/a> aiming to make the No.10 jersey his own, but with Callum Sheedy established as first-choice fly-half he has spent much of the season operating in the back three.<\/p>\n However, the 24-year-old produced a superb display in the win over the Stormers and is now expected to start at fly-half in Saturday\u2019s URC quarter-final rematch in Cape Town due to an injury to Callum Sheedy.<\/p>\n “He’s blessed with many talents. He’s a very versatile player and I think at the moment that’s the biggest focus we have,” said van Zyl.<\/p>\n “He’s played on the wing, he’s played at full-back and he’s played at fly-half.<\/p>\n “I think the amount of time at fly-half was a little bit setback by his injury during the season and ultimately the form of some other players pushed them ahead of him.<\/p>\n JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n “I think he’s versatile and he can play a few positions so I don’t want to pinpoint him into one specific position.”<\/p>\n Lloyd has not figured for Wales since 2024 and van Zyl refutes the claim it is down to his inability to nail down one position.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t say one position,” he said.<\/p>\n “Because he’s so versatile I don’t want to put a cap on one position.<\/p>\n “I think he’s a very good rugby player, I think he’s got amazing talent and I think he needs to be on the pitch as many times as possible.<\/p>\n “It doesn’t matter what jersey he wears. It’s an ongoing discussion with him and for him to try to understand it might be in a different position.”<\/p>\n Springboks dealt another injury blow<\/p>\n The Springboks’ lengthy injury list has grown further, with reports suggesting back-row Kwagga Smith is out for the remainder of 2026.<\/p>\n According to News24<\/a>, Smith won\u2019t play this year due to a knee injury he sustained while playing for Shizuoka BlueRevs in Japan earlier this month.<\/p>\n Smith has been crucial when it comes to South Africa using a 6-2, or even a 7-1, split on the bench in recent years – given his ability to cover not just the back-row, but positions in the backline too.<\/p>\n The two-time World Cup winner is seemingly the latest player unavailable to Rassie Erasmus ahead of this summer’s Nations Championship – with Wales taking on the Boks in July in Durban.<\/p>\n Currently, the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, RG Snyman, Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Ruan Venter, Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit are all sidelined – although Etzebeth, Kolisi and du Toit are expected back in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Erasmus is also without a number of backs too, with Ethan Hooker, Aphelele Fassi, Jaden Hendrikse, Cobus Reinach, Grant Williams and Morne van den Berg all currently injured.<\/p>\n In terms of a replacement for Smith, one of Cameron Hanekom, Evan Roos, Vincent Tshituka or Siba Mahashe could feasibly step up.<\/p>\n ‘Absurd’ URC scenario slammed<\/p>\n Former Scotland captain John Barclay has slammed the “absurd” scenario that could see Glasgow Warriors have to play a potential United Rugby Championship final in Belfast.<\/p>\n Were the Scottish side to get through Friday’s quarter-final against Connacht and then a semi-final against the Bulls or Munster, they would be unable to play on home turf.<\/p>\n Their regular ground Scotstoun is being used for preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. While a semi-final could be played at Murrayfield, country music star Zach Bryan has a gig at the home of Scottish rugby the week before the final – making it unlikely it will be available.<\/p>\n Celtic Park and Ibrox are also either unavailable or unsuitable – with Belfast\u2019s Affidea Stadium is the preferred option if Murrayfield isn\u2019t free<\/p>\n \u201cUnless I\u2019m mistaken, the issue was with getting the rigging down and the stage down after a concert,” Barclay told Rugbypass<\/a>. “If that is the reason, then I would imagine there are a couple of thousand Glasgow fans who would drive across and help.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that would almost be unthinkable if it were a logistical thing rather than a cost issue. Home finals don\u2019t happen very often, so you have to do whatever you can to make sure it happens. The thought of playing a home final in Belfast or wherever is absurd to me.\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 news and headlines from Wales and beyond Nick Tompkins, Ioan Lloyd, Mason Grady, Teddy Williams…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[10579,5903,30347,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-608836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-cardiff-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-south-africa-rugby-team","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608836","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=608836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}