Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday March 28.
Wales international 'will need full-time care within a decade'
Wales dual-code star Lenny Woodard says he will need full-time care within a decade after being diagnosed with early onset dementia.
Popular Woodard, 46, appeared for home-town club Pontypool, Ebbw Vale and Pontypridd, played for Wales in South Africa and went on to win five Wales Rugby League caps. He is part of a group of players taking legal action against the game’s governing bodies.
He now sits on a committee representing players involved in a claim against World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and Rugby Football Union, who are accused of failing to protect players against brain injuries.
It is reported that the claim, on behalf of more than 200 players including former Wales captain Ryan Jones, could cost rugby governing bodies in excess of £300million.
READ MORE: 'Superhuman' Alun Wyn Jones leaves everyone guessing as coach put on the spot over star's future
World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said they constantly strive to safeguard players.
Woodard said he faced the prospect of having to retire in the next few years and did not want his partner or children to pay for what could be decades of care.
He told the BBC: "I was diagnosed in 2021, slowly but surely I see things getting worse. There's a misconception that we're trying to get a pay-out out of greed - but for me personally, and I'm sure I speak on behalf of the others, we're just making sure our families aren't burdened with the cost of treating these diagnoses.
"I'm 46 now, in nine years time, at 55, I will require full-time care then. If I live to 75, that's 20 years of full-time care. If you're looking at £1,500 a week on current figures, we're approaching millions of pounds. I don't want to go into any care setting, and I certainly don't want to be there for 20 years, but that is the reality we have to plan for."
Young targets Euro triumph
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young is hoping his side can eliminate Sale Sharks from the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup this weekend, with the Blue and Blacks hosting the English outfit at the Arms Park on Saturday (8pm kick-off).
A quarter-final against either Benetton or Connacht up for grabs.
Young said: "It’s a great occasion to be in the knockout stages of Europe again. We have a proud history in the Challenge Cup, we have won it twice so we would like to extend that history and do well in the competition. We’re playing against a very good Sale team, we’ve seen how well they are playing, they are packed with size and power and it’s something we have to match.
“If we can match that physicality, if we can control the mainline then hopefully we can play the game we want to play. First and foremost gain line efficiency is key on both sides of the ball and then it’s matching their physicality.”
Ex-rugby protégé turns to drug dealing
A former rugby protégé who turned to drug dealing chewed and swallowed a phone SIM card as police smashed his partner's car window. He was found in possession of crack cocaine and discovered to be running a dedicated drugs line.
Jermaine Taylor, 25, was the passenger in a car driven by his partner in Newport on February 27, 2022, when he was seen by police attempting to make a drug deal. The police positioned their car behind the vehicle as the potential customer ran off and the couple remained inside the car.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard that Taylor was found in possession of around £400 in cash, and two cling film wraps of crack cocaine weighing 0.6g and worth £80. Police were able to retrieve some of the messages sent by Taylor on the burner phone through the arrest of another woman, which revealed he was running a drugs line called the "Timmy White" line. In January 2022, he sent "text bombs" advertising cocaine on 96 occasions and selling to around 66 customers.
Prosecutor Byron Byron Broadstock said Taylor was to be dealt with other matters, the first of which related to a raid at his home in Cromwell Road, Newport, on December 11, 2019. On January 28, 2021, Taylor was serving a prison sentence of 16 months for dangerous driving at HMP Parc, when prison officers attempted to enter his cell, which he had jammed. He attempted to dispose of a phone as the officers broke their way through and a scuffle took place, in which Taylor bit one officer on the back and grabbed the breast of another, while shouting "Come on then, let's f****** have you."
Taylor, of Cromwell Road, later pleaded guilty to being concerned in supply of cocaine, possession with intent to supply class C, possession of criminal property, possession of a phone in prison, assaulting an emergency worker, and possession of class A drugs.
In mitigation for Taylor, Julia Cox said her client provided "emotional support" to his young son and had a "promising career" with Dragons Rugby but had to give that up due to injury and turned to drug dealing. A photo was released by Gwent Police of Taylor in 2019 over a recall to prison, and warned people who mocked his hairstyle they could face prosecution.
Recorder Christopher Felstead sentenced Taylor to six years and nine months imprisonment, a term the defendant took exception to by swearing in the dock. Read the full story here.
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