Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday May 31.
France prop handed jail sentence as new club ditch him
France prop Mohamed Haouas has been handed a one-year jail sentence for domestic abuse.
The BBC reports that the 29-year-old front-rower is set to launch an appeal, and therefore remains free in the meantime.
He was arrested on Friday for hitting his wife in public after seeing her smoking. He said she had told him she had quit.
Haouas is reported to have told the court: "She has the right to smoke but the problem is that she lied to me. I said to myself that if she can lie about the cigarette, she could lie about other things."
The 16-cap Les Bleus international was dealt a four-week ban in March for headbutting Scotland's Ben White in the Six Nations. That came three years after a sending-off for punching Scotland's Jamie Ritchie in 2020.
The Montpellier forward had been due to join Clermont next season on a three-month contract, but the French club has released a statement saying he will not be playing for them.
A club statement said: "By his behavior Mohamed Haouas puts himself in total opposition with our identity... he will not be able to wear, on the ground, the colours of our club."
Alun Wyn to make more history
Retired Wales icon Alun Wyn Jones is set to clock up a first in his stellar career when he features for two sides in the same game tonight.
Having skippered the Barbarians to victory against a World XV at Twickenham on Sunday, Jones will again line up for the Invitation side when they clash with Swansea RFC this evening. However. Swansea-born Jones made 35 appearances for his hometown club between 2004 and 2006 and is due to switch colours during the game.
"After 17 years (of Test rugby), he got his first Barbarians call-up and he has got his second one," Barbarians coach John Mulvihill said.
"You will probably see him in an All Whites jersey in the second half. He might lead the Swansea team out at half-time. I was still taken aback that he wanted to play. He said 'it's in my parish and I want to play against my team'. It means a lot to him. I don't think it's going to be his sign-off. He has got a few miles to go yet."
Swansea RFC have named their side to celebrate the Welsh club's 150th anniversary season. Prop Tom Sloane is captain, with two backline players by the name of Gareth Rees featuring.
Swansea RFC: Gareth O Rees, Brandon Wood, Joe Thomas, Osian Knott, Matthew Jenkins, James Davies, Gareth J Rees, Tom Sloane (capt), Owen Thomas, Richard Murphy, Lloyd Ashley, Matt Dodd, Jay Williams, Callum Bowden, Joe Greaves.
World Cup chiefs 'well prepared' for threats in France
By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin says tournament organisers are "well prepared" to deal with any protests or threats at the World Cup in France. More than 600,000 international visitors - a World Cup record and 50 per cent more than for Japan 2019 - are expected to attend the event in September and October.
Ticket sales currently stand at almost 2.5million as the biggest Rugby World Cup tournament in its 36-year history prepares to take centre stage. Protests across France over pension reforms earlier this month saw almost 300 people arrested and more than 100 police officers injured.
Football's European governing body UEFA, meanwhile, brought in new measures for fans attending finals in the wake of last season's Champions League fiasco. UEFA drew on recommendations from an independent review panel into chaotic scenes at the Stade de France in Paris which saw Liverpool supporters face congestion problems and over-zealous policing. And Just Stop Oil protestors invaded the pitch during Saturday's Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham, throwing orange paint powder on to the field.
The World Cup kicks off at the Stade de France on September 8 with a blockbuster opener between France and New Zealand, launching a 48-match schedule involving 20 countries.
"Like every major event, we are planning all the time for such a wide range of different scenarios, and protests of any nature are certainly part of that," said Gilpin, speaking with 100 days to go before the tournament starts. "Of course, it is an area of challenging concern, but it is an area we are planning for, and like all of those scenarios we are working incredibly closely with the authorities in the various host cities.
"While I am sure, as there is in every major event and every RWC, there will be incidents we need to deal with, I think we will be well prepared for that. There are lessons to learn, clearly, from incidents like at the Stade de France and the Champions League final last year. There has been an enormous amount of debate around that."
Gilpin believes the World Cup's 10th staging promises to be the most open tournament yet.
"We have seen in the (world) rankings, it has never been so competitive," he added. "On any given day, there are six or seven teams that can beat each other. Our message is that we are in great shape. From our perspective, never has a country been so excited to host a Rugby World Cup - the levels of engagement are fantastic."
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