The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond
Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, June 11.
Sherratt’s speech to Wales squad
Interim Wales head coach Matt Sherratt has laid down the gauntlet to his players and urged them to “be brave” in a speech to the squad ahead of this summer’s tour to Japan.
Sherratt is desperate to finally end the 17-Test losing streak that has felt like a suffocating cloud hanging over the squad since their last win at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Although he will be replaced by a new permanent head coach following the July double-header against Eddie Jones’ side, he has told the players they have to be the group that starts to turn things around.
The coach gathered the chosen squad at the team’s Vale hotel base this week, laying out the plan for the next two weeks ahead of the first match on July 5, asking his players to make sacrifices and pledging they will go out and play attacking rugby despite the pressure weighing on them.
“I reckon the opportunity for us as a group and the whole staff is can we be the group that gets us back on track and lays the foundations,” he told them.
“We want to get a win but we are still going to play, so we want to be brave with the ball. Let’s make sure we’re enjoying how we’re playing and we are enjoying all the off-field stuff too.
“We are practicing to perform. Let’s go back to basics a little bit. We’ve got 12 sessions until the first Test so there are sacrifices you boys have got to make today, from minute one.
“We need to be right on it, good energy, good basics. We’re on for 12 sessions because it will fly by this tour.”
Lions tour gets $5m boost
The Lions tour has been handed a big boost after Australia’s $5m superstar Joseph Suaalii confirmed he will be fit for this summer’s Test series.
The former rugby league player, who is the biggest marketing tool the Wallabies have by some distance as they look to generate huge interest in the tour, admitted he was nervous about his prospects at one stage after fracturing his jaw three weeks ago. He is also seen as a generational talent and player who could be decisive in the outcome of the series after his big money code switch.
But he is now “97 percent” right after initially losing 5kg following surgery and hopes to feature in a warm-up match against Fiji on July 6.
“It’s really good. The face was really big for a while, so I was wearing a face mask everywhere, but it’s slowly coming down,” Suaalii said.
“I’ve still got a bit of baby fat around, but it’s really good. I’m like 97 percent, but I’ll be fully fit.”
The former State of Origin star suffered the break in an accidental collision with the knee of Waratahs and Wallabies team-mate Andrew Kellaway during a match.
“Yeah, nobody wants to crash the Ferrari. That’s definitely not what anybody wants,” Kellaway said on Wednesday.
“I was worried I was going to go viral as the guy who damaged Joseph before the Lions series.”
Suaalii admitted he had fears about the impact of the injury, adding: “It’s all part of my growth as a human and then as a rugby player too, so it’s all part of the game.
“Because obviously it’s such an important time for myself and rugby and I want to be playing so, yeah, obviously there’s a little bit of nerves.
“But they [doctors] came back straight away and then I had surgery maybe three weeks ago now and, yeah, I lost around 5kg, but I’ve put it all back on now.
“I’ve been eating heaps, thanks to my mum and my family around me with the support to help me stay on track.
“Just going back home and there’s always food there, so Mum and Dad always try to feed me as much as possible when I’m back home, so that’s good.”
South Pacific tour ‘crucial’ to Scotland seeding for World Cup – Gregor Townsend
By Ronnie Esplin, PA
Gregor Townsend stressed the importance of Scotland’s summer tour of the South Pacific after naming his 36-man squad for the three fixtures.
The Scots kick off with a match against the Maori All Blacks in Whangarei, New Zealand on July 5 before they take on Fiji a week later, with the match marking Scotland’s first game on Fijian soil since 2017.
In their final game, Scotland take on Samoa in Auckland, New Zealand at the historic Eden Park on July 18.
Head coach Townsend, who named Rory Darge as captain with George Turner returning to the fold after missing the last year of international rugby following his move to Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Japan, said: “We know that playing Test matches for Scotland and winning Test matches for Scotland is really important, so we have to pick a strong squad to take on the likes of Fiji and Samoa.
“It’s an even more important issue with the world-ranking points. The World Cup draw gets made after November, so these games are crucial to make sure we’ve got the best chance of being in that top six and getting a better seeding.
“There’s always, maybe one or two players that we decided not to select not because of form, but because we think it’s not right for them to go into tour at this time.
“But other than that, it’s as strong as a squad as we could select, and the benefit of having that third game of the game against Maori All Blacks will mean that we will everybody in tour will get game time, and players that maybe haven’t played as much for us in the past are going to get game time on the tour and game time for Scotland.”
There are three uncapped players named by head coach Gregor Townsend – stand-off Fergus Burke, back-row Alexander Masibaka and tighthead prop Fin Richardson – although all three have been involved with the squad before.
In the back row, Matt Fagerson has been included despite missing the end of season with Glasgow through injury but there is no place for Jack Dempsey, who had been sidelined since the Six Nations win over Wales in March. Forwards Andy Onyeama-Christie and Max Williamson are back in after injury.
Finn Russell hoping for strong showing from Bath fans at Premiership final
By Jim van Wijk, PA
Scotland fly-half Finn Russell is looking forward to running out at the Allianz Stadium to the roar of Bath’s sell-out support rather than with the jeers of England fans ringing in his ears.
The British and Irish Lions number 10 kicked 14 points to help Bath beat rivals Bristol and secure a return to the Gallagher Premiership final.
Russell, who has recovered from cramp which forced him off during the closing stages at The Recreation Ground, hopes to feel plenty of positive vibes from the Twickenham stands on Saturday – in stark to his previous visits when in Scotland blue.
“From what I have heard, a lot of Bath fans bought tickets a while back to make sure they had them, as they did last year,” Russell said.
“A lot of them will be getting the train over to Twickenham at the weekend and it is always good playing in front of a sold-out stadium.
“Having your home fans there, hopefully the majority of tickets are Bath fans, that will be special.”
Scotland vice-captain Russell added: “I know the other side of playing at Twickenham – usually when I am there, it is 70-odd thousand fans against me.
“But it is always special playing in that stadium and hopefully our fans can make as much noise as possible.”
Russell, 32, remains determined to see Bath put last season’s defeat by Northampton behind them and land a first title since 1996.
“I think that motivation has been there for everyone,” said Russell, who has been called up for his third successive Lions tour this summer.
“After getting that final and losing it last year, it is always quite tough to come back in that next year.
“But I think everyone came back in pre-season in good shape and kind of ripped in straight away.
“At the start of the year, the goal was to win the Premiership. We have gotten ourselves in a good spot just now to hopefully go and do that.
“We have almost got back to where we wanted to be and hopefully can go one step further this year.”
Bath finished 11 points clear of Leicester at the top of the Premiership table, having won 14 games.
Johann van Graan’s side have already lifted the Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup this season as they look to close out the campaign with yet more silverware.
