Here are your rugby morning headlines for Sunday 2 April.
Wales star says state of rugby is worst he's seen
Wales fly-half Owen Williams says he's never seen rugby as bad as it is right at this moment as a job.
The Ospreys playmaker ended up back in Wales after his former club Worcester went out of business, with the financial situation here not much better given the uncertainty that has hung over the game.
“There are still some really good players who don’t have jobs. Rugby is the worst I’ve seen it since I’ve been a professional player,” Williams told the Guardian.
READ MORE: The Welsh rugby player exodus: Who's leaving, who's on the brink and the futures in the balance
He also admitted that, having come from Worcester to the situation in Wales, it was a case of out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.
“That’s the exact phrase I used in meetings,” he added. “I’ve been out of this for seven or eight seasons because I’ve been across the border. I’ve heard of things going on but not really experienced it first-hand. It has been messy and it’s an accumulation of things that have gone on for years. Boys are at the end of their tether. People don’t really see the stress behind the scenes. Boys looking for jobs now and they’re not going to get paid in a couple of months. It’s ruthless.
“There’s a lot of dark humour that goes on. If you don’t laugh, you cry. It is really stressful for some people and it’s not nice to see. Some boys are starting to sort contracts at the minute, so there is a positive, but there is less funding for the regions so there will be a lot of boys missing out. Cardiff have come out and publicly said they are in a bad spot, so there will be a lot of good players without jobs and it’s sad to see.”
Cardiff name stand after Peter Thomas
Cardiff Rugby have honoured the legacy of Peter Thomas by renaming the South Stand at the Arms Park.
The gesture was unveiled ahead of the Blue and Blacks’ European Challenge Cup clash with Sale Sharks on Saturday night.
Having sought the permission of the family, the club have chosen to honour their former chair and benefactor by renaming a stand.
Cardiff chair Alun Jones said: “We have been very fortunate to have had many great players, coaches and administrators at Cardiff such as Peter’s mentor Hubert Johnson, whom the trophy room is named after.
“But Peter is right up there in the highest pantheon of Cardiff Rugby greats and leaves an unrivalled legacy.
“It it was not for his generosity, leadership and loyalty, it is no exaggeration to say we would not exist today. Peter has delivered some of our finest moments and has stood beside us throughout the challenges.
“Peter is an enormous part of our history and while the emotion of his passing is still raw, we are delighted to rename the stand in his honour."
Cunningham praises Wales women for changes
Wales women's coach Ioan Cunningham has praised his side for the changes they've made as they kept up their winning start to the Six Nations with victory over Scotland.
Having hammered Ireland last week, they came out on top in a hard-fought match in Edinburgh. Afterwards, Cunningham was asked on the BBC's coverage to identify what had changed for his side.
"Physically, we've changed a lot," he said. "We've done a lot of work with the S&C.
"We learnt a lot during the World Cup. Playing the Black Ferns was great for us. We learned about playing flatter to the line and on top of it a bit more. Some players have really matured. Sisilia (Tuipulotu) is on fire. We're delighted she's with us.
"Shaun (Connor, attack coach) has been excellent. He's simplified it for us. It's about playing forward and the girls have bought in. We're enjoying it."
Dragons coach questions what rocket achieves after Euro thrashing
Dragons coach Dai Flanagan said he wouldn't be turning to the hairdryer treatment despite his side conceding 11 tries in a 73-33 Challenge Cup thrashing against Glasgow.
For the third match in a row, the Dragons had a player sent off as Aki Seiuli saw red - ending any hopes of progressing beyond the round of 16.
“What does a rocket achieve? We had a rocket during the week because the Ospreys performance definitely wasn’t good enough,” Flanagan told the South Wales Argus afterwards.
“There were elements at Glasgow that were better but we have a tough game up next in Ulster.
“Things don’t get any easier and good teams are peaking at the end of the season while we are limping, and that is tough to take.”
Read more:
Welsh region announce eight players have signed new deals and Springboks coach to join England
European rugby's top try scorer believes Wales chances are now over
