Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Wednesday, March 30.
Wales trio return
Wales back-row trio Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright are in content for Dragons duty against the Sharks on Friday evening having returned to regional duty after the Six Nations.
They are in the mix for the United Rugby Championship clash but are facing fierce competition from two rising stars.
Captain Harri Keddie has been a regular in the back row and last time out joined forces with Ben Fry, who started, and Lennon Greggains, who played most of the second half as a replacement for Ollie Griffiths against the Bulls. The 23-year-olds were both in the same Wales U20s squad as Basham.
Read more: Famous Welsh rugby club rises from the ashes five years after losing everything
Welsh back-rower in 'truck smash' injury
Dragons back-rower Ollie Griffiths is facing a battle to play again this season after a "truck smash" injury in South Africa. He was forced off after 44 minutes in the defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria last weekend.
Dean Ryan said of the Wales international who has one cap to his name: "His game was incredible with his intensity and leading of the line physically against a side that was so much more powerful and heavy than we were. Credit to him. His injury came at a moment where it looked like he had been caught in a truck smash.
“We’ve had a scan and he’s got an issue with his groin which isn’t as bad as first feared. It’s something that doesn’t require surgery, which is always positive when it comes to Ollie. He’ll work as hard as he can across the next few weeks to try and get back before the end of the season."
Elsewhere, Wales lock Ben Carter has withdrawn from the Dragons squad to face the Sharks this weekend after suffering a concussion. Carter picked up the problem early on during the recent defeat to the Bulls, and has now been ruled out by boss Dean Ryan.
“In reality, Ben could be back but I don’t think it’s in his best interests, so I’ve ruled him out," said Ryan. “I wouldn’t want to have a young athlete on a six-day turnaround in the situation we find ourselves in here. I’ve ruled him out of being in contention.”
McCall and Farrell tipped to succeed England boss Jones
Alex Sanderson has urged the Rugby Football Union to appoint Mark McCall or Andy Farrell as the successor to Eddie Jones in the England hot seat.
Jones is set to lead his team into one more World Cup before his contract expires next year, and the search for the next head coach has clearly already begun. The chosen candidate could reportedly shadow Jones throughout the global showpiece in France before being installed in time for the Six Nations campaign.
Sanderson, who is currently director of rugby at Sale, has also been linked with the role recently, but has identified Steve Borthwick as the favourite for the job. However, he says two of his former Saracens colleagues would also be ideally suited to the role.
Ex-Ireland fly-half McCall is in his 11th year as Saracens boss while Farrell is currently overseeing an impressive resurgence in charge of Ireland.
"I think Mark is ready for it now," Sanderson said. "He's got my vote, he'd be great for it. If Ireland don't want him, or maybe they could do a swapsies between Andy Farrell and Mark! I don't know how those things work.
"They're both really good coaches. Any international team would be lucky to have them. It's important that the powers that be get an understanding of what that head coach role looks like, and needs to be.
"I'll go back again and wax lyrical about Mark McCall, who's just a bona fide legend in my eyes. He's got to be one of the most underrated coaches. How has he not picked up international honours in his tenure at Sarries when he's won everything multiple times over?"
South African centre to leave Munster
South Africa centre Damian De Allende has revealed that his two-year spell with Munster will conclude at the end of the season.
De Allende, a hard running inside centre, has ruled out following Munster head coach Johann Van Graan to Bath next season with his destination most likely to be Japan. The 30-year-old 2019 World Cup winner has made 31 appearances for the Irish province since joining from the Panasonic Wild Knights in 2020.
"I'm not staying at Munster, but it hasn't been confirmed where I'm going," he said. "I'm not staying in Europe, so I'm definitely not going to Bath, I haven't spoken to anyone at Bath. I will not be staying in Europe as of the end of the season, which is unfortunate, but I'm looking forward to ending the season on a high."
