These are your rugby headlines on the morning of Wednesday, August 17.
Foster backed to stay in charge
New Zealand have backed under fire coach Ian Foster to take them through to next year's World Cup after major developments overnight.
A crunch meeting between the New Zealand hierarchy and their coach ended with Foster being told to carry on in the role, but with one significant change. Former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt will have a hands-on support position to back Foster.
READ MORE: Welsh rugby players speak out anonymously as 'ridiculous' situation clouds everything
The announcements were made by New Zealand in the early hours in the wake of an appalling recent run of results, before the All Blacks bounced back to win in South Africa at the weekend.
The media down under had strongly speculated that Crusaders chief Scott Robertson would take over.
However, after unanimous backing for Foster from the New Zealand Rugby board, chief executive Mark Robinson said: "Some of the steps we've seen in recent weeks give us a huge amount of confidence going forward. We've had some really fantastic conversations. We are backing the staff through to the World Cup."
Foster sat next to Robinson as the announcement was made at a Press conference in Auckland and said: "I just want to remind people it's a privilege to be in this job. I believe in the plan I've got and believe we've got great support behind us."
The news comes in the wake of a review into the performance of the team after poor recent results, former coach Steve Hansen turning on the New Zealand Rugby board and ex-CEO David Moffett slamming Robinson and branding the way he left Foster sweating on his future as "absolutely deplorable".
Moffett said: “Whether any of the fans think it should be Foster or it should be Scott Robertson, the fact of the matter remains that Foster had been left out to dry by Robinson and I don’t think that is good enough. The average person would say, ‘Well, why don‘t you make a decision and either sack him or back him?’” You can read more about this here.
Overnight, Robinson opted to back Foster and he leads New Zealand to France 2023, where they clash with the host nation in the group stages.
Scottish boss defends decision
Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Mark Dodson has defended the decision to play a Test match outside the international window in the autumn.
Scotland are set to take on Australia on October 28 and the hosts are likely field a team comprised of entirely home-based players from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
English and French teams are under no obligation to release players during club weekends - a situation Wales know all too well, with an out-of-window Test a staple in the Welsh capital over the autumn period.
And Dodson says the money involved was too good to turn down.
“We purposely stress the teams, and we purposely stress the system, so we can work out exactly what we have to do,” said Dodson.
“We generate an awful lot of players from our own system here in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, and our coaches there have got to realise that sometimes they’ll be stressed and they’ve got injuries on top of that, but we’ve also got to perform at international level.
“We’re doing three things. We’ve taken a risk against Australia by only having Glasgow and Edinburgh players. That game generates more income than a pile of URC games put together.
“Secondly, there’s a desire from the management team nationally to have four fixtures, so they can test themselves. Thirdly, Mike (Blair) and Franco (Smith) have got to understand that this happens. This is part of our strategy going forward. And it will mean they’ll have to use a squad – they’ve got decent-sized squads now.”
Wales Women v Canada on S4C
Wales Women's clash with Canada later this month will be screened on S4C. Ioan Cunningham will take his squad out to North America for a week-long training camp which will culminate in a match against Canadians on Saturday, August 27.
It will be a stern test for Wales, with the hosts currently ranked fourth in the world making for ideal preparations ahead of the World Cup later this year. Coverage begins at 8.45pm and there will also be English commentary available during the match.
Pricey calls for Dillon change of role
Wales prop legend Graham Price believes Cardiff tight-head Dillon Lewis should change roles.
Lewis is outstanding around the field, strong over the ball and busy as a carrier and as a tackler, but he isn’t as renowned for his scrummaging. That prompted Price to feel there could be scope for the 27-year-old to consider a move to the other side of the scrum.
“If you look at him, there are similarities between him and Gethin Jenkins when Gethin played,” says Price. “Gethin was very good over the ball and Dillon Lewis likes to do that as well.
"Gethin's loose play was his great strength. It helps to be bulky on the tight head, like Adam Jones. Adam was a scrummager, first and foremost. He knew what he was about and he became good at his job. He could absorb the pressure of scrummaging against two shoulders, while the loosehead packs down against only one.
“I wonder how Dillon Lewis would go if he changed to loose-head.”
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