Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, May 11.
Wales star didn't get chance he deserved
Fly-half Jarrod Evans believes he was not afforded the Wales opportunities his Cardiff form deserved at times.
The 26-year-old half-back is putting his international career on hold with a move to Harlequins next season, making him ineligible for Test duty under the Welsh Rugby Union's new 25-cap rule.
However, despite many feeling he should have been given a fair chance to make the No. 10 jersey his own, he has been unable to force his way into either Warren Gatland or Wayne Pivac's plans.
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He leaves Welsh regional rugby with eight caps, the last of which came against Argentina in July 2021.
"I would like to have got given maybe a bit more of an opportunity but it's easier said than done," he told the Scrum V podcast.
"There was feedback from both [Warren Gatland and Wayne Pivac]. I felt like I'd gone through a lot of the training and been patient biding my time, and I thought there might be a reward at the end of it, but I don't really feel like I got given the opportunity that maybe sometimes my form probably deserved."
Despite interest from across the border in 2021, Evans put pen to paper to remain in the Welsh capital but now accepts he got "drawn into what people were saying".
"The one thing I have learned is to be quite realistic about where you are and where you think you are as opposed to what other people tell you, saying I was in the plans," he added. "As a youngster maybe you're a little bit naive as well. I think you've just got to be quite realistic about where you think you are and what's best for you as opposed to what you maybe want to happen.
"Mentally, it was quite difficult for me to sometimes perform for my region. I went through a period maybe where I was maybe overthinking 'this is what they want me to do', maybe thinking too much about what people have said instead of just 'that's you' and adding little bits to your game. You want it so much you're trying too hard to impress by changing what you are as a player."
Jones to bring edge to Wallabies
Australia great Joe Roff is predicting another golden era for the Wallabies under the stewardship of Eddie Jones.
Wales will face Jones' side in the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup in France later this year, and Roff, who played under the coach in the early 2000s, believes he remains "the best coach in the business".
Australia have five Tests between now and the tournament kicking off, including against Argentina and Jones' old sparring partner Michael Cheika.
"The psychology and the one per cent wins is something that in my early days playing for the Wallabies we didn't quite have but we learnt that and we built that as a team," Roff said.
"Eddie will bring that edge, that psychological edge to the game. We know that playing against the Pumas, he's coaching against his old friend Michael Cheika and let's hope the acoustics in the respective coaches' boxes are strong because there will be plenty of noise and rivalry between those two old friends and foes.
"And this is what Eddie is great at. He's never backward in putting a strong and confident step forward and players will feel that and it will rub off on them.
"There's no question about the talent that is in this team and it's about building the combinations and the winning momentum and so these Test matches early on are going to be an exciting opportunity to get that momentum started."
England's player of year named
England centre Ollie Lawrence has been named Gallagher Premiership player of the year at the end of a season that saw him emerge from Worcester's financial ruin to make an impact at Bath.
Lawrence found a new home at the Recreation Ground in October after the Warriors were placed into administration and he took the opportunity to revitalise a career that had been troubled by injury.
Not only did the 23-year-old help Bath qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup, his powerful running saw him recalled by England and he was a mainstay of their midfield during the Six Nations.
He beat fellow nominees Owen Farrell, Jasper Wiese and Robert du Preez to win an award that was decided by experts of the game and presented at Premiership Rugby's awards dinner in central London.
Breakthrough player of the season went to London Irish's Tom Pearson, the 23-year-old back row who is pressing hard for England selection.
Saracens' Mark McCall took the director of rugby of the season award after guiding his team into the Premiership play-offs by finishing top of the table in the regular season.
Neville makes history
By Andrew Baldock, PA
Joy Neville will make rugby union history in France later this year when she becomes the first woman to officiate at a men's World Cup.
The Irish referee has been included among seven television match officials for the tournament.
Neville, 39, controlled the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup final between England and New Zealand in Belfast.
Wayne Barnes, meanwhile, will lead a four-strong contingent of English officials among the 12 referees selected.
Barnes has controlled a world-best 102 Tests and will officiate in a fifth successive World Cup, having made his tournament bow during the 2007 staging.
He is joined by Luke Pearce, Matthew Carley and Karl Dickson, with Carley and Dickson making their World Cup refereeing debuts.
The group of referees announced by World Rugby also includes Irishman Andrew Brace and Nika Amashukeli, who becomes the first Georgian to officiate at a World Cup, with England's Christophe Ridley and Welshman Craig Evans chosen among seven assistant referees.
Read more:
Eddie Jones poaches Scarlets coach in overnight announcement
The new life of Josh Navidi as he takes on very different career
The case for Wales' 10 new players as Gatland to cut nine from squad in coming weeks
Gareth Anscombe's wife pranks him and has Wales team-mates in stitches
Wales star reveals anguish and All Blacks legend warns Wales of unexpected 'danger'
