Here are the latest rugby headlines on Saturday, July 9.
South Africa hatch plan to 'dominate' Biggar
South Africa have hatched a plan to "dominate" Dan Biggar and get after him after recognising his importance to Wales.
The new skipper was into everything during the first Test in Pretoria as temperatures hit boiling point throughout the match. This weekend he will have a different opponent facing him, but a familiar face, as Handre Pollard comes in for Elton Jantjies to captain the side. Pollard has vowed to get after his opposite number.
Read more: South Africa v Wales player ratings as six Welshmen edge rivals in 'second string' Springboks team
He said: "Biggs is a great player with a lot of experience and he is a fighter. He is one of the toughest fly-halves out there and you could see that last week in the way he led his team.
"He won't go away and is an inspirational guy for them in the way he plays and motivates his side. So it's up to us to get after him and stuck into him as much as we can. We can try to be physical and dominate them and him as much as we can."
He added: "We have enough experience on the pitch to handle whatever comes our way. We know Wales are going to try and get in our faces and under our skin. They have been pretty open about it and it was pretty clear in the first Test match. That's something we enjoy. We are all for that, if they come at us we won't take a step back."
Samoa rally to stun Tonga
Samoa rallied from 18-3 down at half time to beat Tonga 34-18 on Saturday to remain unbeaten after two rounds of the Pacific Nations Cup.
Hooker Ray Niuia scored three tries from lineout drives, with his third giving Samoa their first lead in the match after 52 minutes. Back-rower Theo McFarland completed a five-try turnaround with a try in the 76th minute.
Tonga went into the match hoping to redeem themselves after a 36-0 drubbing against Fiji last weekend. Samoa will face Fiji next weekend which likely will decide the winner of the tournament.
Edwards only Welsh player named in all-time world XV
Gareth Edwards is the only Wales player named in an all-time world XV voted for by the public.
Ruck website say they tasked supporters to choose from a select number of players to determine the best of the best down the years, and Edwards takes the scrum-half spot. The legend from Gwaen-Cae-Gurwen played 53 times for Wales and 10 times for the British and Irish Lions. He also made 195 appearances for Cardiff RFC over 12 seasons. Rare was an average Edwards display in that time.
Respondents in the poll chose Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half. Brilliant defender and deadly accurate goal-kicker that the England international was, some will still feel able to mount strong cases on behalf of the Welsh trio of Barry John, Phil Bennett and Jonathan Davies and the great Australian Mark Ella. Davies features among the honourable mentions for his position, along with JPR Williams at full-back and Shane Williams on the wing.
Serge Blanco, Jonah Lomu and David Campese make up the back-three, with Brian O’Driscoll and Tim Horan in the centre. Up front, Os du Randt, Keith Wood and Olo Brown are chosen, while Martin Johnson and John Eales take the lock places and Richard Hill, Richie McCaw and Zinzan Brooke comprise the back row.
Wales backed to perform 'with distinction' at 2025 World Cup
Fresh investment into Wales Women's programme could well hold the key to a successful 2025 Rugby World Cup campaign, according to WRU performance director Nigel Walker.
However, Walker admits that much of the focus for his squad is on the postponed 2021 World Cup taking place in October and November in New Zealand.
"Yes we expect to perform well this coming autumn but this is a stepping stone to performing with distinction and very, very positively in 2025," WRU performance director Nigel Walker said. "I think it’s important to look at these announcements through that length."
Wales face Scotland, who they narrowly beat during the Six Nations, along with hosts and reigning champions New Zealand and Australia in this year's World Cup and realistically would target a win against their Celtic rivals and one other victory to get out of the group.
"The first target for us is to build and grow in consistency in our performances," Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham said. "I think that’s the most important thing. If you look from our Six Nations games, we performed really well in patches but how can we be more consistent over 80 minutes? If we nail that we will end up having the results.
"Regarding targets, if we look at potentially winning games and winning trophies then you have to put yourself in the top two positions. Growing that belief, confidence in the group, working with the players daily is really important and it’ll definitely be the step forward towards that."
Walker added: "Whatever we achieve in 2022, I would expect us to be even better and to surpass that in 2025. I’m certainly not going to put a limit on it [where Wales can get to] for 2025."
Cockerill emphasises value of the forward battle
Richard Cockerill has told England's pack to expect a "gladiatorial" contest against Australia in the second Test at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The Wallabies won the opening game of the three-match series by edging to a 30-28 victory, and will take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series should they emerge victorious this weekend. Eddie Jones' tourists crumbled in the final quarter in Perth, and Cockerill is determined for a traditional pillar of strength to reassert itself.
"We are very much sleeves rolled up and gum-shields in. We are coming here to win the game and we are very much up for the battle," forwards coach Cockerill said.
"The forward battle is going to be key and let's look forward to it. We're an English pack and we want to get in the middle of it. It's about making sure that the battle of wills is really strong and we make sure that we don't blink first.
"Last Saturday we got what we deserved in the end, so we've just got to be better at what we do, be more consistent and do it more often. We want it to be gladiatorial. We want it to be physical. That first clash is going to be great. Let's go and see it. That's what the game is all about. Let's enjoy the physical parts, the feisty parts and - within the laws of the game - let's get into it."
Hooper says Aussies will stay cool
Australia captain Michael Hooper insists the Wallabies won't rise to any further provocation from England in Saturday's second Test in Brisbane.
Lock Darcy Swain was sent off for a headbutt on Jonny Hill in the first half of the 30-28 victory, after the England star appeared to shove him in the face in an attack which went unpunished.
Australia felt Swain was the target of a pre-meditated plan and head coach Dave Rennie has spoken to his players over what might be awaiting them in the second Test.
"We've got to focus on what we can control," Hooper said. "We've got plenty of roles that are on the field in transitions and everything like that so we can't be getting sucked into that [niggle]. It's part of the game and being smart around how you come out on top of that is important. It's always a factor and dealing with it in the right ways is going to be a challenge but a good one."
