The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
These are your latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, April 16.
Welsh head coach steps down
Former Wales flanker Lyn Jones has stepped down from his position as head coach of the Netherlands after failing to lead the side to the next stage of Rugby World Cup qualifying. The 60-year-old had held the role since 2022 but has now walked away after his team blew their chances of making it to the 2027 tournament in Australia by losing to Belgium at the Rugby Europe Championship
That 31-10 defeat came in the fifth-place play-off at last month’s tournament and cost them a place at the Final Qualification Tournament in November, the winner of which becomes the final team to book their place at the next World Cup. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Prior to that loss, the Netherlands had won nine of their 17 Test matches with Jones at the helm, but it had been hoped that, with the World Cup expanding to 24 teams, they would make it to their first major international tournament.
As a result, the Welshman has decided to step down from his role this summer, with a “warm farewell” planned for him in June when he officially leaves his post.
Jones – who won five international caps for Wales and previously coached Neath, the Ospreys, London Welsh and Russia amongst others – said of his departure: “The time has come to step down as national coach. I cannot stress enough how supportive everyone has been and how much I have enjoyed my time with the Dutch national team.
“The start of a new World Cup cycle makes this the best time for all parties to embark on a new path. We have chosen a style of play that suits our qualities. We have successfully taken on the challenge for coaching and players to continuously grow with the developments!
“The way forward requires new and resilient leadership. I cannot thank everyone enough for their dedication, hard work and enjoyment during my time as national coach. I am eternally grateful.”
Friso Horstmeier, chairman of Rugby Netherlands, added: “We would like to sincerely thank Lyn for his commitment, his impact on the entire pathway and the expansion of the rugby network of Rugby Netherlands. We will not soon forget his sense of humour.”
Rugby Netherlands confirmed that it will start the process to find a new head coach in the coming months.
Rugby boss’ X-rated outburst emerges
Details of the incident that led to Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Steve Diamond being banned for the rest of the season have emerged, with the 56-year-old reportedly calling a group of matchday officials ‘c***s’ and suggesting that one of them retire.
Diamond was handed a six-week ban by the RFU earlier this month after he was found to have verbally abused the officials in the wake of his side’s last-gasp Gallagher Premiership defeat to Exeter Chiefs.
An independent disciplinary panel found that he had used language that was “inappropriate, abusive and entirely contrary to rugby’s core values” after watching the Chiefs snatch a dramatic late victory courtesy of a last-minute Greg Fisilau try.
While Diamond admitted using “industrial language” at the hearing, the full details of what occurred have now emerged. The Guardian reports that the director of rugby was angered by an incident in the build-up to Fisilau’s try – in which Exeter centre Tamati Tua appeared to elbow Newcastle’s Alex Hearle in the head – going unchecked, leading him to confront the officials.
The publication reports that he later walked past referee Adam Leal and his assistants in the tunnel and said: “I hope you c***s can sleep tonight.” Following that, Diamond reportedly approached TMO David Rose while he was having his post-match meal and told him: “You need to retire, you need to retire.”
The judgement of the disciplinary panel reportedly stated that Diamond “does not blame anyone but himself” for the judgement, but also noted that the RFU’s head of professional game officials, Paul Hull, indicated that Newcastle should have been awarded a penalty for the incident involving Tua and Hearle.
Addressing his ban on Tuesday, Diamond admitted he had made a “huge mistake” but added that rugby’s disciplinary process is “flawed” and more experienced officials may be needed.
“There’s a problem with the disciplinary system, not a problem with the referees,” he said. “There’s only people like me prepared to say things about it, but it’s not the first time these things have happened.
“I’ve got a six-week ban for saying an inappropriate comment – which I’ve apologised for – to a professional referee in complete privacy. If the ref can’t pick it up, because he can’t see everything and the assistant can’t see everything, surely for goodness sake the TMO [television match official] should be seeing these things?
“The system is flawed. Maybe they need some more investment and more experienced people doing these jobs,” Diamond added. “There’s no accountability. We understand we have to have regulation and understand I can’t say what I said, but there’s got to be some accountability otherwise people keep making mistakes.”
‘Awesome’ Wales star makes timely return
Dragons captain Ben Carter is set to return to action at Judgement Day as the club receives a double injury boost for their clash with the Scarlets.
Carter has been out of action for nearly six months, having suffered a knee injury while training with Wales ahead of the autumn internationals in October. Shortly after that setback, he underwent surgery on a long-standing ankle issue with the 24-year-old lock leaving a big void in the Dragons engine room.
However, the skipper is now set to feature in the second fixture of Saturday’s URC double header in Cardiff, with back Angus O’Brien also set to return. The fly-half/ full-back was named the region’s co-captain following Carter’s injury, but was sidelined himself in January after breaking his thumb.
Dragons coach Filo Tiatia is also set to have props Rhodri Jones and Chris Coleman back in the mix for the Scarlets clash, as he looks to put to an end to a dismal run of 13 straight losses which will see them finish bottom of the URC for the first time.
“Ben is calm around the group and is really diligent around his preparation, bringing confidence to those around him,” Tiatia said of Carter’s return. “He doesn’t waste his words and I really enjoy the way that he operates – he takes players with him.
“Ben has been great and if you look at the shape of him now to when he was injured it shows that he has worked really hard on himself.
“He was unable to play but was really diligent around the things that he could control and keep improving. He has been awesome and I am looking forward to him being involved.”
