These are your rugby headlines on Wednesday, May 10.
Dacey's difficult decision
Retiring Wales star Kristian Dacey has said his decision to hang up his boots was "difficult" and was discussed with his wife for hours a day over a four or five-week period.
Dacey last month released a moving statement calling time on his career which saw him make 201 appearances for Cardiff during a 15-year stint. In an interview with Cardiff's in-house media team, Dacey revealed the transition to the "real world" would be hard but he is doing so comforted by the fact he leaves the game relatively unscathed.
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"It's not easy, " Dacey said of his decision. "It's something myself and my wife have been talking about for hours a day over the last four or five weeks, really.
"It is difficult, it's going to be a strange transition to get out into the real world but I'm lucky, I'm walking away from the game mostly intact and able to play with my kids. I've had out of rugby what I wanted, I've achieved a lot of things that I only could ever dream to achieve. For me it is a sad time but it's all I've known for the last 12 years but there is life after rugby. It just felt like the right time to call time on my career."
Captaining Cardiff and that famous night in Bilbao rank among Dacey's career highlights, as well as his eight caps for Wales and his call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad in 2017, something which he acknowledged caused a bit of controversy at the time.
"To actually get that call-up in 2015 in the Six Nations was a huge amount of pride," he said. "To then follow it up with the World Cup camps and to get my first cap was massive. To go on to play eight times for Wales and luckily enough in 2017 I went onto the Lions tour. There was a lot of controversy around it but as a player nobody would ever turn down. For me to go there and experience that with the best players in the world, the best coaches... it was massive for my development."
What now for Dacey? "I've had opportunities," he added, thanking his family in the process. "Luckily one of the sponsors came in and he's offered me something I really couldn't refuse. It's the chance for me to build a career outside of rugby. It's just come at the right time and feels like the right time for me to announce my retirement."
Smith: Wallabies will be a danger
Former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith has warned Wales that World Cup opponents Australia will be a "danger" during the tournament in France later this year.
Warren Gatland's side are in a pool alongside the Wallabies, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal in the competition which kicks off in the autumn, with Eddie Jones once again set to lock horns with the Kiwi in the group stages.
Despite being seventh in the world rankings, Smith - who guided the Black Ferns to a Women's Rugby World Cup win on home soil last autumn - believes Australia will be more of a threat than people might think.
“Eddie’s going to get a lot of players back that Dave Rennie never had because of injury or overseas,” he told the All Blacks podcast. “He always gets an impact anyway, most new coaches do, and I would say they will be more of a danger than people expect. So that’s going to be an interesting one to watch.”
As for his own country, Smith believes the impending appointment of Scott Robertson, who takes over after the competition, alleviates some of the intense scrutiny on Ian Foster's shoulders.
“To some extent, the pressure is off Fozzie,” he said. “He can now say what he wants and pick who he wants and I think the country will support it. There will be no consequences afterward, so I think he’ll give it heaps.
“They’ve got all the coaching and mental skills ability that you need and they’re going to pick a strong team. I’ve got every confidence that they’re going to be tough. The All Blacks are always tough to beat but they are going to be tough.”
Ospreys send Lydiate message
The Ospreys have wished Dan Lydiate all the best after the Wales flanker signed for regional rivals Dragons. Lydiate announced last month that he would be leaving the Swansea.com Stadium at the end of the campaign.
He has now re-joined his former club after nine seasons with the Swansea-based outfit.
The Ospreys wrote on social media: "Diolch Dan! Thank you Dan for all you've done in an Ospreys jersey. Lyds made 90 memorable appearances for the region. We wish him all the best for the future."
Lydiate said his talks with head coach Dai Flanagan convinced him the Dragons project was the right one to join.
"I've had a lot of positive conversations with Dai about what is being built here and he is one of the reasons I wanted to return and sign," said Lydiate. "There is a good crop of young talent at Dragons and now I'm back on board I will hopefully add some experience, play my part and help them on their journey too. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in. There is no better crowd than Rodney Parade when it's packed out and I can't wait to represent the club again."
Farrell working on mental approach
Owen Farrell says he has been working on changing his mental focus after a sub-par Six Nations campaign from the tee. The England fly-half's usual high standards slipped during the tournament, especially against Wales in Cardiff, where he landed only two of his six attempts at the posts.
He believes he has been "overthinking" about his kicking and has been working on a more relaxed approach to his routine.
“I’ve obviously thought about it,” Farrell told The Guardian.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be a person that doesn’t think about it enough. It’s probably more the other way that’s been the problem over periods of this year. Thinking too much, trying to find the fix, trying to think my way through a lot of it. When you’ve been kicking for a long time, getting out of your own way is probably the key. That’s been what I’ve been working on.
“What I want to get back to is enjoying being out there, kicking balls over the posts and seeing how well I can strike them. Almost like you’re a kid messing around again. I’ve done enough technical work over the course of my career... I don’t want to bog myself down. In a lot of what I’ve been doing I feel that has been the case.”
Townsend thought time was up
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has conceded he thought his time was up with the national team before he signed a new contract.
It was announced on Tuesday that Townsend had put pen to paper on a deal which will see him through to April 2026.
He had been linked with a number of other coaching positions, including with France, but has now extended his stay with Scotland, with his original contract set to expire after the World Cup.
Townsend said: "I suppose the time when I wasn't getting offered the contract, there was a lot of thinking going on there and a couple of stages in the season I thought 'this will be my last season'. So to be able to at least have the discussion and think about the future has been a big positive and I'm obviously delighted to be able to stay with this group in this role for a few more years."
He added he hadn't really considered any other options, despite their being a "couple of approaches".
"Not really," he said. "There were a couple of approaches between the Autumn Tests and the Six Nations but I don't think there was any chance I was going to commit to anything before the Six Nations. The positive was that during the Six Nations, discussions started to happen between Scottish Rugby and myself."
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