Here are the latest rugby headlines on Friday, December 9.
Ken calls for stability
Ken Owens has called for a period of stability between the Welsh Rugby Union and the four regions.
Both parties have been at loggerheads for a number of months trying to thrash out a long-term agreement. This week the Professional Rugby Board, which runs the pro arm of rugby in Wales, announced both parties have verbally agreed a six-year financial framework but a freeze on offering players new contracts has not yet been lifted, with the deal yet to be rubber-stamped.
"It's nothing new, really," said Owens. "We've got to trust the people making decisions that they will get to a resolution and it will benefit the game long-term. We've been in and out of eras like this of disagreement between the union and the regions and back and forth. I think we need a period of stability. I feel with the PRB statements this week that hopefully the extra bit of time to get it thrashed out will result in a long-term plan to ensure we are not in this situation regularly again."
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Owens admits it has been hugely frustrating for players who have to play despite the uncertainty.
"It has been frustrating for a lot of players for different reasons, especially a lot of the younger players who wouldn't have experienced this before," said Owens. "But hopefully the extra time and uncertainty is for a positive that we have a long-term resolution to really kick on Welsh rugby as a whole.
"If the [Welsh Rugby Players Association] statement that went out kickstarted people into a bit of a reaction then hopefully it's a positive one but the players have conducted themselves really well over this period. Hopefully, we can draw a line out of it. We've got a resolution and hopefully we can all work together going forward, players, administrators, coaches, the union to really strengthen Welsh rugby."
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said the club is waiting for a formal financial agreement to be reached before they can definitively plan for next season. Speaking ahead of the European clash against Bayonne this Sunday, Peel said: "I think we're waiting until everything gets sorted and we know exactly what the budget looks like, what the contracts will look like, there's a lot to wait on so it's still in the same boat for us. The news around the verbal agreement, hopefully that can get signed off and then we all know where we are and we can move on because it's obviously a tricky time, trying to plan for next season for players, staff and the club itself."
'Alun Wyn Jones a long way from throwing it in'
Former Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones is "a long way from throwing it in" and continues to have "plenty of desperation to do well", according to his Ospreys head coach Toby Booth.
Despite the final result, Jones performed strongly when he returned to the starting line-up for the autumn finale against Australia - carrying, offloading, winning lineout ball and assisting a try, all in the first 10 minutes. He conceded the odd penalty too many thereafter, but it was a defiant performance from Jones, a message to those who have been writing him off.
Ahead of that Wallabies encounter, Booth had talked up his second-row as one of the region's most consistent performers, saying: "People take easy shots on things that they don’t know very much about. The person who knows where Alun is before he went into camp with Wales is me. He was one of our most consistent players. People can talk about whether that’s enough for international rugby, but he was playing exceptionally well."
Now, asked for his reaction to that spirited outing, Booth told a press conference on Thursday ahead of their European Champions Cup season opener at home to Leicester this Sunday: "The first one is I told you so. Being fully fit and being in the situation to show what he can do and getting that opportunity, and he got an opportunity, which shows that he's a long way from throwing it in, for sure. Obviously he knows Warren Gatland well and I'm sure those conversations will go on. All we can construct is Alun Wyn's performances for us and creating that environment that he wants to be here, and we'll see where that takes it."
Pressed further on Gatland's early comments as new Wales coach that he would have to assess the ageing profile of the squad, Booth replied: "All I can comment on is how he's performed for the Ospreys, and how he's performed 25 minutes ago, and there's plenty of life in Al, and there's plenty of leadership, and there's plenty of desperation to do well, because the thing that's got him the caps he's got is he has his own standards of performance. He still has the same desire to improve.
"I'm fairly certain when he decides enough is enough, he'll be the person deciding that and not too many others. Obviously I'm not talking about from a Welsh point of view, but Al is very honest about what he can and can't do, and for us I find him a very good challenge and good to deal with."
Johnny Williams approaching return
Wales centre Johnny Williams is approaching a return to fitness but is not ready to face Bayonne for the Scarlets this weekend.
Williams suffered a calf injury in October and has been badly missed by the Scarlets and Wales. Experienced Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies is also unlikely to be fit for the Scarlets' European Challenge Cup opener.
"Cawdor (Gareth Davies) came off with a sore leg last week which we picked up in the game against the Lions so we we will see how he is," said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel.
"Johnny Williams and Joe Roberts are also in return to play so they won't be available. We've got internationals returning as well and there's always that balance of it being a short week and they haven't been with us for a while.
"We are making sure we are getting selections right but it's nice to have some experience back. Josh Macloed hasn't played too much during the autumn campaign so he's chomping at the bit to get back into it."
Dupont takes swipe at new-look Champions Cup
France and Toulouse scrum-half Antoine Dupont has taken a swipe at South African teams' inclusion in the Champions Cup for the first time, saying their introduction had been "difficult to grasp".
Three South African sides – the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers – join the Champions Cup from this season while the Lions and Cheetahs are in the Challenge Cup.
Dupont did not hide his displeasure at the route European club rugby’s flagship tournament was headed down when he spoke to the media at a press conference on Thursday ahead of his side's pool opener against Munster at Thomond Park, according to Planet Rugby.
“For purists, it’s a bit difficult to grasp,” Dupont said. “Our whole generation has known the legendary European Cup. It’s a new competition now. It’s no longer the European Cup.
“We have to approach it like that and try to see the positive by telling ourselves that we will play new teams. But it’s a bit hard to understand.”
However, Dupont is still relishing the prospect of locking horns with some of the best club sides in the world. “We feel that there is an excitement, a particular flavour,” he added. “Everyone wants to raise their level and the intensity of their game to be able to compete.”
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