Here is your rugby news on the morning of Friday July 29
Wales Sevens go for glory
Wales boss Richie Pugh has told his sevens stars to seize the moment as they kick off their Commonwealth Games campaign today.
Wales begin at Birmingham 2022 with a game at the end of Friday morning versus Canada, before then taking on unknowns Zambia this evening. Their final pool match is on Saturday morning against sevens powerhouses Fiji, with the knockout games and medals determined on Sunday.
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The matches will take place at Coventry Stadium.
Former Ospreys and Scarlets back-rower Pugh, himself a Sevens specialist who also won a senior Wales cap in a 2005 summer tour game against the USA, has outlined what is at stake for the team.
“This is a big occasion. We don’t get the opportunity to play in multi-sports events, they are one off tournaments. It’s a huge platform to showcase what you are about as a player on the world stage,” said Pugh.
He said it would be 'special' as those close to the players will be able to watch them in action. "That is something that doesn’t happen on the world series. It’s a special one-off occasion," explained Pugh.
Reigning champions New Zealand will be favourites to lift the crown again and begin their title defence against Sri Lanka. England and Samoa are also in that pool.
Wales have lost .Olympic sevens silver medallist Sam Cross because of a knee injury, but Pugh hopes the squad he has named will still make their mark.
Leading the way will be former Wales, Scarlets and Dragons flier Tyler Morgan, who was called into the sevens squad just days after being released by Scarlets. He played in the World Cup quarter-final against South Africa under Warren Gatland in 2015 but at the age of 26 was left without a club
Others featuring for Wales include Luke Treharne, Callum Williams of the Scarlets and Dragons duo Ewan Rosser and Cole Swannack.
Wales have been based at Warwick University, sharing facilities with the bowls, judo and wrestling teams, as they prepare for today's kick-off.
New Zealand rugby chaos
The storm surrounding the All Blacks heading into the Rugby Championship has reached new levels in the wake of Steve Hansen's attack on the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Overnight, former NZR and Welsh rugby boss David Moffett has called on CEO Mark Robinson to resign after Hansen's public criticism of the way the game is being run. Robinson is currently at the Commonwealth Games, "swanning around Birmingham", according to Moffett, while rugby faces its biggest challenge in years in the country.
The All Blacks have lost four of their last five matches, with attack coach Brad Mooar, formerly of the Scarlets, and assistant John Plumtree both sacked last week.
Head coach Ian Foster remains amid a torrent of criticism, with scrum-half Aaron Smith speaking out on Friday and calling the critics "ruthless, ridiculous and hurtful".
A leaked email from NZRU's communications chief Charlotte McLauchlan also reveals staff have been ordered not to comment on the comments made by iconic World Cup winner Hansen. Stuff report the memo to staff said: “While many of the things Sir Steve has said are unfair and hurtful to many, we do not think entering into a media debate with him is the right thing to do."
Former All Blacks coach Hansen on Thursday accused New Zealand Rugby of presiding over a series of failures in an astonishing attack.
As for Moffet, he told Today FM: “We don’t need a CEO to learn how to be a CEO at New Zealand Rugby. We need somebody who knows what they’re doing, and if they make mistakes, like we all do, they can just own it.
“Don’t hide, don’t blame the board if they make decisions, it’s him, he’s the chief executive, the buck stops with him.
Asked if he felt Robinson should resign, Moffett bluntly replied: “Yes, I think he should."
Boks axe stars who failed against Wales
South Africa boss Jacques Nienaber has explained his decision to leave out flanker Marcell Coetzee and wing Aphelele Fassi for the Rugby Championship.
The two each started for the Springboks in Wales' historic 13-12 second Test victory earlier this month, but were replaced in the second-half.
They are absent as the Boks prepare for back-to-back Tests with crisis hit New Zealand, the most notable absentees from Nienaber's squad. Duane Vermeulen and Frans Steyn return from injury.
“We still have a big group and it’s unfortunate for guys like Aphelele and Marcell,” Nienaber told South African rugby writers.
“Off the field, they [Fassi and Coetzee] served the team well. They understood their roles and their responsibilities. On the field, we have a performance analysis after every game and that is shared with the players.
“I don’t think it is my place to discuss their performance assessment with the public. You are more than welcome to contact them directly and they can talk to you about it if they want to.
“In terms of their rugby stuff, I am 100 per cent confident they will know if there are gaps in their game and they will work on it."
New season fixtures announced
The four Welsh regions will begin planning for the new 2022-23 United Rugby Championship after the league announced their fixture list.
This season's competition kicks off with a West Wales derby showdown between the Scarlets and arch-rivals Ospreys in Llanelli in September.
Cardiff host Munster at the Arms Park on the opening weekend, with the Dragons travelling to Scotland to take on Edinburgh.
You can see the season's fixture list in full here
English rugby doping scandal
Former English premiership star Chris Mayor has received a four-year ban from all sport for an anti-doping rule violation.
The Rugby Football Union said that Mayor was found to have attempted to use a prohibited substance and attempted to traffic a prohibited substance.
A national anti-doping panel found the charges proven against Mayor, with a period of suspension imposed from December 2021 to December 2025. Mayor, 40, was also charged by the RFU with possession, but that was not proved.
Mayor scored a try for Sale when they won the Premiership title at Twickenham in 2006, beating Leicester 45-20. The former centre also played for Northampton and Wasps, and was latterly at Lancashire club Rossendale.
Stephen Watkins, the RFU's anti-doping and illicit drugs programme manager, said: "Mr Mayor was a respected professional player and well aware of his responsibilities. Rugby players, irrespective of level, are subject to the anti-doping rules which are in place to protect players and the integrity of our sport."
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