Here are the latest rugby headlines on Monday, December 19.
Ospreys stars singled out as best in Europe
Ospreys No. 8 Morgan Morris and new fly-half Owen Williams have been named among the best in Europe at the weekend, both being included in The Telegraph's Champions Cup team of the weekend as a clamour to reintegrate Williams into the Wales set-up is predicted.
Toby Booth's men pulled off a shock 21-10 away win over French champions Montpellier, with man of the match Morris good in all the key areas and Williams, who has joined the region as short-term cover for Gareth Anscombe after being made redundant by stricken Worcester, barely putting a foot wrong.
The newspaper said of the former: "There was fierce competition here, with Gavin Coombes of Munster, Jasper Wiese of Leicester Tigers and Daymani of the Stormers all catching the eye. Morris trumps them all for inspiring the most unlikely result of the weekend with that win over Montpellier."
As for Williams, they add: "Such was his composure in Montpellier that there may be some clamour for Williams to be reintegrated into the Wales set-up by Warren Gatland. Given the playmaker started the season at Worcester Warriors, that would be some story. Antoine Hastoy of La Rochelle and Toulouse's Romain Ntamack impressed."
Three-cap Williams last played for Wales under Warren Gatland in 2017, when he featured at inside centre against New Zealand. He was picked to face Ireland in the 2020 Six Nations but had to pull out after sustaining an injury during the warm-up. He is now playing his rugby in Wales again, having played for the Scarlets before leaving for Leicester Tigers in 2013.
Steve Borthwick to be unveiled as England head coach today
A new era for England is set to begin on Monday with the confirmation of Steve Borthwick as head coach.
The PA news agency reports that the 43-year-old Cumbrian will be be officially announced as Eddie Jones' successor after a deal was finalised on Sunday morning. Borthwick is due to appear at a press conference at Twickenham on Monday, when it is expected a clearer picture over the make-up of his management team will emerge.
Borthwick has been recruited from Leicester, where he has acted as director of rugby since 2020, steering the club to last season's Gallagher Premiership title victory.
Jones was sacked almost two weeks ago after presiding over England's worst year of results since 2008, managing only five wins from 12 games.
Warren Gatland, Ronan O'Gara and Scott Robertson were among the names touted to replace Jones, but Borthwick has been the Rugby Football Union's overwhelming preference to take over.
Before transforming Leicester from a fallen giant of English club rugby into Premiership champions, the former Saracens captain spent eight years as an international assistant coach - all under Jones. Upon hanging up his boots, he launched his coaching career with Japan in 2012 and then joined his tracksuit mentor when he was appointed England boss in the aftermath of the disastrous 2015 World Cup.
Borthwick's role was overseeing the forwards, with the line-out his main area of expertise, but he also performed the key role of coaching coordinator and was seen as the glue behind the scenes. Since his departure, England have struggled for consistency as the churn of backroom staff accelerated in the face of Jones' demanding managerial style.
When Borthwick took over Leicester were reeling from their 11th-place finish in the 2019-20 season and were only spared relegation by Saracens' salary cap scandal, which resulted in the London club dropping out of the Premiership instead. The ship was steadied by finishing sixth a campaign later and despite operating under the salary cap limit, he went on to mastermind Leicester's first league title since 2013.
Wales' Ioan helps Bristol ease past Zebre
Bristol ran in five tries as they recorded a comfortable 35-19 European Challenge Cup victory over Zebre.
The Bears, who won at Perpignan in their opening Pool A fixture last weekend, produced a first-half blitz to lay the foundations for a bonus-point victory at Ashton Gate.
Second row Joe Batley, scrum-half Will Porter and centres Semi Radradra and Welshman Ioan Lloyd, who had earlier received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on which resulted in a penalty try, all crossed before the break. AJ MacGinty converted on each occasion to send the home side in 28-7 to the good at half-time, and he added a fifth kick 15 minutes after the restart following replacement Yann Thomas' try.
Winger Kobus van Wyk touched down to reduce the deficit and after Batley's exit to the sin-bin, replacement Jacques du Toit added a third try for the visitors, although Tiff Eden's conversion left them still 16 points adrift.
Doddie Weir to be honoured today
Doddie Weir is set to be remembered by family, friends and formers teammates at a memorial service which will celebrate his life on Monday afternoon.
The Scotland rugby legend died aged 52 in November after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2016.
A special service will be held at Melrose Parish Church at 1pm on Monday, December 19, with all attendees being asked to wear tartan.
The service will also be streamed from Melrose Rugby Club's Greenyards ground that was his home pitch for many years.
In a statement, Doddie’s family said: "We are lucky to have shared our lives with him and we cherish all those memories: his love and warmth, his support and advice, his quick wit, and his terrible jokes. It is difficult to put into words how much we will miss him.
"MND took so much from Doddie, but never his spirit and determination. He battled MND so bravely, and whilst his own battle may be over, his fight continues through his foundation, until a cure is found for all those with this devastating disease."
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