Here are your rugby morning headlines for Friday April 15
Premiership best place for LRZ says Gloucester boss
The Gallagher Premiership is the best place for Louis Rees-Zammit to grow, says Gloucester boss George Skivington.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac once again put pressure on players with international ambitions to play their game here with a Welsh region when addressing the matter during the Six Nations campaign. When asked whether those remarks had resulted in any conversations between himself and Rees-Zammit, Gloucester head coach Skivington replied: “Zam loves playing for Gloucester and I love having Zam in the team.
READ MORE: WRU finally break silence on Six Nations flop under Pivac
“I think he gets the best of two worlds by playing in the Premiership which is a relentless league week to week; I know Dan Biggar has said it. It is relentless and it makes you a better rugby player.
"And Gloucester is a great rugby club, make no mistake. When you have got 16,000 screaming at Kingsholm it is a great experience.
"I know Zam loves the club for giving him his chance, he is very respectful about that and I hope he is with us as long as possible."
Young admits Cardiff task tougher than expected
David Young admits the task he's faced on his return to Cardiff has been tougher than he expected.
The director of rugby is currently in the dark about his budget for next season, making recruitment virtually impossible. He confirmed the lack of clarity on finances once again this week, ahead of Cardiff's Challenge Cup clash with Saracens.
"The truth is, most of the squad are tied up for another year," he said. "As far as I'm aware, I've not had any indication of any budget for next season, let alone the season after.
"Well, it's quite simple. You can't (plan your future). I've just walked in and done it.
"On paper, I've been here 12 months but it doesn't feel like 12 months as we've had so much disruption - no different to anyone else, mind - that we've not really had a run at everything. There's certainly been lots to talk about in the Welsh game but all I want to do is get my head down and work hard with this squad to try and improve the areas that need to improve.
"When it comes to an opportunity to strengthen the squad, that's my job. But until then, it's just working with the people we've got and making them better players. If we can improve individually, we'll improve collectively."
Asked if the task at hand was tougher than he'd first expected, having come back from a spell at Wasps, he said: "Yeah, probably so.
"I certainly felt probably a year ago that there were lots of things that looked like they were changing for the better across the board in Wales but I think we're all still waiting for any sort of news on how the game will move forward.
"I probably got too involved in that to be honest. What I want to do is concentrate on my job in improving the team individually and collectively.
"You've got to get the best out of this team. We're not in a position where we'll change lots of personnel, certainly for the next 18 months. The next 18 months is about getting the best out of this team and then judging in 12 months whether we need strengthening in certain areas. Whether we have a budget to do that, I'm not sure."
"It's completely different down here," he answered when asked about the clarity English sides have with budgets compared to the Welsh outfits. "That is bit of a frustration.
"Other directors of rugby have probably struggled with that before me. I know people like Dean (Ryan) and Toby (Booth) have voiced similar frustrations. What we don't want to do is get tied up too much in that.
"We have to concentrate on what we can do. Certainly, from my experiences of the Premiership, you could have a succession plan in place for squad development. Here, certainly since I've come on board, it's nigh on impossible to do that."
Wales U18s proud after clean sweep
Wales Women enjoyed a clean sweep at the U18s Six Nations Festival in Edinburgh this week.
Liza Burgess' side defeated Scotland and Italy in 35 minute matches, before beating Ireland in a 70-minute match. The inaugural festival has provided the opportunity for progress as assistant coach Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin pointed out.
“It was a great finish for the tournament and what the girls deserve given the work they’ve put in," said Nicholas-McLaughlin.
"The players’ game understanding has come on so much this week and they’ve put what they’ve learned on the training park into practice in matches. It’s honestly the proudest I’ve felt as a coach, not only for the performance gains but for the group’s cohesion and team spirit throughout the week.
“They will kick on from here, they’ve experienced a higher standard and intensity of rugby and gained so much from the developmental format of this festival. That can only help them be the best players they can be in the future."
