Here are your rugby headlines for Saturday, 7 December.
Gatland casts eye over 'very explosive' hooker right up his street
Wales coach Warren Gatland has been told that "very explosive" Bradley Roberts would be right up his street after watching the Dragons hooker at Rodney Parade on Friday night.
Gatland arrived back in the country from New Zealand earlier this week and was in attendance for the Dragons' defeat to the Bulls alongside forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys.
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While there, he'd have seen the likes of Rio Dyer and Roberts impress, with Gatland mulling over the final spots in his Six Nations squad.
Former Wales wing Mark Jones, working on BBC Wales' coverage, said that Roberts would be Gatland's type of player.
"Rio Dyer has got the shirt at the moment and has been a starter for Wales and has done very well. He'll want to continue that and he'll want Warren to keep picking him," said Jones.
"With someone like Roberts, I think he's a Gatland-type player. He's very explosive. Gatland's not a huge set-piece coach.
"He likes to avoid them a lot when he's on defence, but he obviously likes to have a good percentage rate when he's winning ball.
"Roberts is a very, very explosive player and he's definitely up Gatland's street."
Farrell sweats on Six Nations ban
England captain Owen Farrell faces an anxious wait to discover if he is cited for a shoulder-led high challenge during Saracens' 19-16 Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester.
The Saracens fly-half's hit on Gloucester replacement Jack Clement came near the end of an intense encounter at Kingsholm, before he landed a drop-goal with the game's final kick to edge his team home.
He escaped sanction on the pitch, with play carrying on, but citing commissioner James Hall could take a different view over the next 24-48 hours after Farrell's right shoulder made contact with Clement's chin.
England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 4, and Farrell, whose tackle technique has often been questioned in the past, could run a risk of missing that match if he is cited and suspended.
He was banned for five games in 2020 following a high tackle on Wasps player Charlie Atkinson.
England boss Steve Borthwick was among a 13,400 crowd, and the new head coach will also be keeping a keen eye on any developments.
Asked about the incident, Saracens rugby director Mark McCall said: "I was pitchside for the last three or four minutes, so I haven't seen it yet. I have heard there is a potential high tackle that I will have to look at."
Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: "It is really tricky to comment on it. I don't want to end up in a judiciary myself, so I have to keep shtum. I will just say that consistency across games will be good."
Farrell had endured a miserable night with his goalkicking, missing four shots at goal from six attempts, including three from around Gloucester's 22-metre line. But he came up trumps when it mattered as Saracens moved 14 points clear at the Premiership summit.
Young Welsh scrum-half plans to put injury nightmare behind him
Harri Morgan — the former Wales age-grade star once tipped for big things — will hope his injury demons are behind him after returning to training with the Ospreys.
The scrum-half had been identified as having the potential to make a major mark in Welsh rugby after a glittering teenage career that included standout displays in wins over England and South Africa at U18s level.
But a succession of injuries have checked his progress in the senior game, restricting him to just one appearance over the past season-and-a-half with the Ospreys.
The region’s head coach Toby Booth believes it may be a case of too much, too young for Morgan after the rugby he packed in as a youngster. He reported: “Harri’s trained this week. He’s getting his confidence back, which is great.
“I think his body’s catching up. We play the sport we do, and if you’re young and you’re not developed you sometimes get exposed. The difficult thing is if you’re good enough and people want to pick you, you are not going to say no. The challenge is to try to [acquire] that resilience and body toughness that allows you to withstand what a professional rugby player needs to do.”
Frustrated Lions ace ready to make statement against Ospreys
Lions No. 8 Jack Conan wants to make a statement against the Ospreys on Saturday after growing frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities with Leinster.
Ireland international Conan fought past Taulupe Faletau to start on the 2021 Lions tour in South Africa, but starts have been hard to come by with Leinster this season given the competition in Leo Cullen's back-row. Facing the Ospreys in Swansea tonight will be just his fifth start of the campaign, which has left him changing his approach in recent weeks.
"I can’t think of a time when the standard was higher than it is right now," said Conan. The training sessions are getting to a higher pace, with a higher level of skill. It really is such a competitive place to be at the moment.
"Rugby is attritional and people pick up knocks, everyone isn’t fit at the same time, but when the majority of lads are there the standard is incredibly high. For the 10 years I’ve been involved here, from academy to development and into senior, this is the strongest squad we’ve had.
"My frustration for the last while is just probably not getting as many minutes as I would have liked. That’s a testament to how strong the back row is. I’m just looking forward to getting another opportunity this weekend and getting back to my best.
"When I get to play week-in week-out, I get better and better. I’m excited to run out in Swansea and make a bit of a statement to show where I’m at."
When asked about the Ospreys, Conan said: "They’re a team that’s definitely on the up. Early on in the season I’m sure they would have been disappointed with a few of their results, considering the quality of team and coaching staff they have.
"They’ve got some fantastic players with a lot of experience. They have a big forward pack so we know we need to be on the money to get the result we want."
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