![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_GettyImages-2281440852.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe latest rugby news from Wales and beyond<\/p>\n
Dafydd Jenkins (R) and Andrea Zambonin of Exeter Chiefs celebrate (Image: David Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Here’s your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for the morning of Monday, June 15.<\/p>\n
Jenkins forced to delay Wales return<\/p>\n
Dafydd Jenkins looks set to delay his return to international rugby after helping Exeter Chiefs to a place in next week’s PREM Rugby final.<\/p>\n
Jenkins and countryman Christ Tshiunza were instrumental in Exeter’s stunning 27-26 comeback win over Bath, with the latter producing a brilliant try on the day as his side came back from 26-10 down at half-time to claim victory.<\/p>\n
The win sets up a mouth-watering final with Northampton Saints, but also means Jenkins will have to wait before linking up with his Wales team-mates.<\/p>\n
Tshiunza wasn’t included in Steve Tandy’s squad for the summer, and his upcoming move to Sale means he would likely be unavailable under the current 25-cap rule.<\/p>\n
Win free tickets to watch Fiji v Wales in Cardiff this summer<\/a><\/p>\n He could, however, still be eligible if it is determined he was not made a fair and reasonable offer from a Welsh region.<\/p>\n Wales kick off their summer schedule by facing the Barbarians on June 27 at Twickenham, one week after the PREM Rugby final at the same venue.<\/p>\n The semi-final victory rounded off a remarkable turnaround for an Exeter side that previously endured its worst-ever Premiership campaign last year.<\/p>\n \u201cTo look at players on the field fighting to a standstill like they did today, and some of those lads are the same lads who were losing by 80 points at Gloucester at the end of last season,\u201d said director of rugby Rob Baxter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the same players, but it\u2019s different men, and that makes me incredibly proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Francis loses in final<\/p>\n Welshman Tomas Francis suffered defeat with Provence as the French club lost 24-47 in their access match against USAP.<\/p>\n It means another season in Pro2 for Provence, with Perpignan preserving their top-flight status – for the fifth time in a row.<\/p>\n The Catalan side proved too strong for their opponents, who saw the game change with the introduction of flanker Peceli Yato, who bagged a brace of tries.<\/p>\n Defeat brings an end to Francis’ time in France, with a move to Sale already wrapped up, having spent three years with the continental club.<\/p>\n Francis has been given the summer off Wales duty as Steve Tandy looks to preserve him for next year’s Rugby World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pollock energy fuelling Saints’ title charge<\/p>\n By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent<\/p>\n Fin Smith insists Henry Pollock is energising Northampton\u2019s Gallagher Prem title march through his \u201clarger than life character\u201d.<\/p>\n Saints will collide with Exeter in Saturday\u2019s final at Allianz Stadium following two gripping play-offs that saw Leicester and Bath bow out with their pride intact.<\/p>\n Smith was named man of the match against Tigers with Steve Borthwick watching at Franklin\u2019s Gardens and the England head coach will also have been impressed with a seismic contribution from Pollock.<\/p>\n Pollock made 26 carries on a night of hard graft from the rookie number eight, but England and Lions team-mate Smith insists his lively personality is also playing an important role.<\/p>\n Smith said: \u201cCredit to him for such a young guy. Last week we were a little bit tight and there was a little bit of nervousness, but he definitely wasn\u2019t feeling that at all.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not worried about him tightening up, that\u2019s for sure. Probably the opposite, we have to try to chill him out a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hugely helpful for a 21-year-old to sit in a meeting room when there\u2019s a load of internationals that might be going \u2018hopefully we win this week\u2019 and to just sit there taking the piss out of everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a larger than life character and really is invaluable. He brings people with him, not with words but just with the energy he gives off. It\u2019s really useful.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was absolutely unbelievable against Leicester \u2013 like a proper, proper world-class number eight.\u201d<\/p>\n Trailfinders edge champions to set up Saracens final<\/p>\n Trailfinders booked their place in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) final for the very first time by beating reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury 29-26.<\/p>\n Hosts Gloucester-Hartpury had won the title for the past three seasons, and looked well on their way to competing for a fourth after taking the lead with a Tatyana Heard try.<\/p>\n However, Trailfinders hit back with four tries to take a 24-7 lead at half-time.<\/p>\n Two tries after the break saw the hosts battle back to within three points, but Isla Norman-Bell’s second try of the afternoon gave the visitors some all important breathing space.<\/p>\n Hannah Dallavalle’s try for Gloucester-Hartpury did keep the pressure on, but Trailfinders did enough to hold off their opponents to claim the victory.<\/p>\n Trailfinders only joined the PWR in 2023, and had previously never finished higher than sixth.<\/p>\n They now face Saracens in the final, who battled back to claim a thrilling 40-38 win over Exeter in the day’s other semi-final.<\/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 beyond Dafydd Jenkins (R) and Andrea Zambonin of Exeter Chiefs celebrate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[79263,79323,5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-639531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-exeter-chiefs","tag-northampton-saints","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\/639531","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=639531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}