Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Monday, April 18.
New URC 'B' Division
The United Rugby Championship is on the brink of expanding to a 'B' Division, according to the coach of a South African side.
Cheetahs boss Hawies Fourie hopes news will be announced by the end of the month, with hopes high his side will be offered a route back to the top competition after being ditched when the PRO14 became the URC and the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers were chosen as the four South African representatives.
“They will call it the United Rugby Shield,” the Cheetahs coach revealed in an interview with South African newspaper Rapport, adding that it has been “coming a long time”.
“We have been promising since December 2020 that this will happen and it is now ‘two years’ down the line. It looks promising. We really hope it will materialise and they will finalise it at the end of the month.”
Read next: Welsh team robbed of 22 players
Details of the proposed 'B' Division are currently very thin and it is not clear which other teams would be included and whether any sort of promotion and relegation would be involved.
The Cheetahs are currently unbeaten in the Currie Cup.
Ed Sheeran gig set to move Champions Cup tie
Munster have announced that their Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulouse is set to be moved to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with their own ground set to host two Ed Sheeran concerts.
Munster are set to to face the reigning champions on the weekend of May 6 following a 34-23 win over Exeter Chiefs on Saturday, but now face a change of venue with Sheeran booked to play in Limerick on May 5 and 6.
The game is now set to head to the capital, with no other venue in Muster available. Munster's chief operating officer Philip Quinn said: "While it wasn't a decision that was made lightly, we have been vocal in our support for securing large-scale concerts for the venue for several years.
"It has been nine years since we hosted concerts of this scale and we are fully aware of the huge economic benefit to the local economy, along with the stadium itself, that these concerts bring.
"We understand it's frustrating for our committed and loyal support base, and we would love nothing more than to be playing in Thomond Park, however this decision was made prior to the season commencing and came at a time when economic factors were central to the decision-making process given the impact of the pandemic.
"We are now working through our plans to make our quarter-final as accessible as possible to all our supporters and will confirm details of these plans in the coming days once EPCR confirm the fixture details for the Aviva."
Navidi eager to focus on positives
Josh Navidi says Cardiff must focus on the positives from their defeat to Saracens in the European Challenge Cup and finish their United Rugby Championship campaign on a high.
The Blue and Blacks bowed out Europe after a 40-33 defeat at the Stonex Stadium in what was a vastly improved performance from the recent derby defeats to the Scarlets. While frustrated, Navidi was pleased with the efforts of his side, and believes it now has to represent the benchmark for the remainder of the season.
He said: “We spoke about a reaction but it was also concentrating on ourselves and we could come here in a different competition, knockout rugby, and do a job.
“We came close, we’re obviously disappointed and can’t fault the boys’ work ethic today. We were working hard and we just need to take this forward for the rest of the season.
“We always know what we’re capable of and its just having that 80 minute performance. We delivered it at times but obviously Saracens scored those late tries and we were on the back foot and chasing the game.
“I thought maybe we might nick it at the end and we’re disappointed but you can’t fault the boys’ attitude. We have to take that forward and keep building week-on-week."
