Here are the latest Welsh rugby headlines on Thursday, May 18.
Welsh rugby giants are back
Former Welsh rugby giants Neath are back in the top tier of Welsh domestic rugby, four years after the financial implosion and relegation to the Championship which threatened their very existence. A 45-12 win away to Cross Keys on Wednesday night sealed promotion to the Welsh Premiership alongside Pontypool.
It comes four years after they lost their Premiership status after the most traumatic campaign in their history, one which saw them beat off two winding-up orders and lose 29 out of 30 games.
Neath were the inaugural Premiership champions in 1991 and have won the title in its different guises seven times. They now join what will be a 13-team Indigo Welsh Premiership next season after the withdrawal of Llanelli.
Missing player's agent still has hope
The agent of missing rugby player Levi Davis says he still holds out hope he will be found. Former England international Tom Varndell described Davis' disappearance in Barcelona as a "horrendous" situation, admitting what happened remains a complete mystery.
The 24-year-old former Bath player and Celebrity X Factor contestant was last seen at The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona on October 29. Most recent reports suggest a man fitting Davis' description was seen in the water near Barcelona's commercial port on the night he went missing. However, despite extensive investigations involving Spanish and British police, as well as private investigators, no real evidence has been found to confirm what happened.
Varndell, speaking on the RugbyPass Offload podcast, gave the latest update, saying: "I am in the dark. It's the most bizarre situation I have ever known. You don't expect to deal with something like this as an agent. It is just horrendous.
"I spoke to him about a month before he went missing. He told me he was going to go to Ibiza to clear his head. I advised him not to do that as I have never known anyone go to Ibiza to clear their head. Quite the opposite really. His mum text me asking if I'd heard from him. Literally, he just dropped off the face of the planet. It's so, so, so bizarre.
"You saw the CCTV footage of him leave the bar and then he just vanished. We've had a couple of calls from the police saying they have found bodies and every time you think 'this is going to be the news' but it wasn't. This last story was about the man in the water matching his description, but nothing since. It's so odd. You hold out hope but the longer it goes on, how can anyone just stay under the radar in this day and age? There are private investigators, Spanish police and English police looking but literally nothing."
Best player in England named
Leicester number eight Jasper Wiese has been named players' player of the year after producing another season notable for his prolific carrying. Wiese was recognised at the Rugby Players' Association dinner in central London on Wednesday night after coming out on top of a vote by his fellow professionals.
The South African has built on last season's rampaging form to help champions Leicester reach the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals, when they lost to Sale. Fourteen league outings have been decorated by six tries with his stats for the campaign reading an impressive 130 tackles, 11 offloads and 218 carries.
The 27-year-old beat rivals Mateo Carreras, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Tom Pearson for the award which was won last year by his Springboks team-mate Andre Esterhuizen.
"It's very humbling to be named the winner of such a prestigious and special award," Wiese said. "I'd like to thank the players from around the competition for voting for me and I just want to thank my Leicester team-mates for their support too."
Big English final to see kit change first
Saracens and Sale will wear their away kits in the Gallagher Premiership final to avoid a clash for colour-blind supporters. As top seeds, Saracens would have worn their black home strip, with Sale in their away attire of red and maroon.
But a colour combination of black and red is among those highlighted by Colour Blind Awareness as a kit clash to avoid. Saracens will now wear white, with Sale in maroon, offering a clear colour contrast for spectators at Twickenham on May 27 and the television audience.
"We are delighted that Premiership Rugby and the clubs have taken positive steps to avoid kit clash situations for colour-blind fans and players," Kathryn Albany-Ward, chief executive of Colour Blind Awareness, said. "Bearing in mind the significant number of colour-blind people (one in 12 men and one in 200 women) who watch and play rugby, it is important that the accessibility needs of these groups are recognised to enable all fans of the sport to have a positive viewing experience that isn't limited by avoidable colour clashes."
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