These are your headlines on the evening of Sunday, July 13
These are your headlines on the evening of Sunday, July 13.
Davies facing four months out
Sam Davies is facing up to four months on the sidelines with shoulder surgery on the agenda after a “cruel” end to the season for the fly-half.
The Welshman suffered heartache again with club side Grenoble as they narrowly missed out on a place in the Top 14 in agonising fashion for the third year in a row.
The 31-year-old helped the Pro D2 side to top of the table but defeat to Montauban and then Perpignan in the access final meant heartbreak again for Grenoble and Davies. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
His pain was compounded by the fact he suffered a serious shoulder injury just minutes into the match against Perpignan in controversial circumstances, and he now faces surgery to correct the issue.
Posting a clip of the moment of impact, Davies said: “After such a great season, sport can be cruel! 4 minutes into the final and this happens.. let me know your thoughts? Penalty? Card? Nothing? Now for surgery to fix up the shoulder and recover to come back with the same goal ! Top 14.”
Replying to a concerned fan asking about his recuperation time, Davies replied: “3 and half months /4 months.”
The former Wales man, who was capped 11 times for his country, was inundated with messages of goodwill from supporters.
Jones: Wales narrative has to change
Former Wales captain Gwyn Jones says the narrative around Wales must now change after their winless run came to an end.
Matt Sherratt’s side finally got a victory on the board at the 19th time of asking, beating Japan in the second Test in the Far East.
Speaking on the BBC’s Scrum V podcast, Jones says the win was huge and believes the record must now change if Wales are to move on from this sorry chapter in their history.
Wales are edging closer to appointing a permanent successor to Warren Gatland, with Jones believing the new man has a clean slate from which to work.
“It’s massive,” he said. “They came off last week and you just wanted to give them a hug.
“You felt so sorry for them, they’d come so close – ‘when is this ever going to end?’ That’s the most important thing, the narrative has to change, the headlines have to change now.
“The series of losses has gone, it’s a new slate for the incoming coach, whoever that may be. We’re getting closer to World Cup time, that shouldn’t cloud our decision making too much.
“But the team needs a proper head coach and a coaching team around that can work together with the regions.
“It will be constantly spoken about until the decision is made, and then that’s always going to drive the narrative.
“For the players themselves, if they don’t know their future how can they commit to what they’re doing.
“There’s no tight timescale for it, but you do expect it to happen over the next two months, you’d expect something to be announced.”
Lions want whitewash – Pollock
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Brisbane
Henry Pollock has revealed the British and Irish Lions have set their sights on whitewashing the Wallabies as they target an unbeaten tour of Australia.
The Lions enter the first Test bolstered by an eight-try demolition of an AUNZ Invitational XV, with Andy Farrell scheduled to name his team for the Brisbane opener on Thursday.
Farrell’s tourists are strong favourites to win the series and Pollock, who is competing for a place on the bench at Suncorp Stadium, insisted they were aiming for greatness.
“We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We’ve been talking about that loads and 3-0 is definitely on the table,” Pollock said.
“Whether you’re playing or not playing in the Tests, we’re all just trying to strive to be the best team we can and get that 3-0 win. If that’s playing or not playing, then I’ll adjust and be the best team-mate I can be.”
Pollock – at 20-years-old, the youngest player in the squad – has been rooming with a veteran of four Lions expeditions in Owen Farrell, who made his first appearance of the tour off the bench against AUNZ.
The England back row was just eight when Farrell’s odyssey with the elite of British and Irish rugby began in Australia 12 years ago and he has been mining the veteran playmaker for advice.
“It was good to get chatting to him, learning from him. He’s an amazing player and an amazing person as well,” Pollock said.
“We’ve had a few conversations. He’s got kids, so we talk about his kids, but I’m sitting there going ‘I’m still 20’!
“He’s been great and I’m learning so much from him. He’s so experienced in this game and in this kind of environment.
“It’s still quite cool but at the same time, in this environment, we’re all striving for the same thing.
“We want to come here and dominate as a team and he’s been amazing since he’s come in. He’s been on top of everything.
“To be able to bring him off the bench and have his experience and his words has been amazing. You can definitely see what he brings on the pitch.”
The Lions have come through a bruising schedule of four matches in 11 days and while they remain unbeaten since arriving in Australia, the injury count is growing with Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly forced home, Garry Ringrose and Luke Cowan-Dickie ruled out of the first Test and Blair Kinghorn a major doubt for the opener.
Now the schedule settles down to whole weeks spent in the Test host cities Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, enabling the squad to train properly for the first time in a fortnight.
“You have to be mentally strong as well as physically strong. Your body is the reason you get picked and you have to stay fit,” said Pollock, who withdrew from the side that faced the New South Wales Waratahs because of a calf injury.
“With these short turnarounds, you learn a lot about what you can do and what you can’t do in terms of gym, running and extras and making sure that on the pitch you’re 100 per cent where you want to be.
“You’re just trying to get as fit as you can for these games. With the short turnaround, it’s just always trying to be available for the coaches and saying ‘I’m fit, I’m fit’. It’s something different and I’ve loved the experience.”
O’Connell feels for Portugal
PA Staff
Ireland interim head coach Paul O’Connell admitted he felt sorry for Portugal after his side’s record-breaking 106-7 win in Lisbon.
O’Connell’s side, without 17 players currently on British and Irish Lions tour duty, ran in 16 tries in a one-sided rout to eclipse their previous biggest win when they scored 13 tries in an 83-3 defeat of the United States in 2000.
O’Connell told Virgin Sports: “I feel sorry for Portugal, but we were very clinical and took our chances.
“It is a unique summer tour given the Lions tour is on at the same time, but I am very happy with how our squad applied themselves.
“It is great to get some guys capped and scoring tries and training in an international environment.”
Connacht pair Hugh Gavin and Shayne Bolton went over twice apiece on their debuts and there was also a brace each for club team-mate and flanker Cian Prendergast and Leinster wing Tommy O’Brien.
With fly-half Jack Crowley landing 12 of his 15 conversion attempts – Ireland were also awarded a penalty try – the tourists also racked up 100 points for the first time.
Captain Craig Casey, who went over for Ireland’s ninth try early in the second half, told Virgin Sports: “Our major takeaway from today is our mentality. We were very professional and played our game to get the result.
“It’s a shame the stadium wasn’t full, but seeing the amount of Irish fans here was special to get the result for them.”
Ireland had 11 different try-scorers in addition to the penalty try, with centre Stuart McCloskey, forwards Thomas Clarkson and Alex Kendellen and replacements Calvin Nash, Ciaran Frawley and Ben Murphy also touching down.
Ireland next face New Zealand in Chicago in a one-off Test on November 1.
