Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, December 27.
Rowlands hopeful of World Cup place
Wales lock Will Rowlands says he hopes he has left the door open to play at the World Cup despite quitting Welsh rugby for France at the end of the season.
Rowlands admitted he is sad to be giving up his international career going forward but believes there are things in life that are equally important. He is expected to join Racing 92 in the summer, a move which puts his availability for the World Cup in serious jeopardy.
Rowlands is well short of the 60 caps required to be eligible for national selection after deciding to quit the Dragons, but the World Cup will come before he has played a competitive match for his new team.
WalesOnline understands Rowlands' World Cup fate is likely to be decided by a Professional Rugby Board vote on whether to give him special dispensation.
Appearing as a pundit on the BBC for the Dragons v Cardiff Boxing Day encounter, Rowlands revealed he will be out until April with a shoulder injury, which could yet mean he doesn't play again for the Welsh region.
"That would be sad," he said. "But I guess sometimes in rugby you have to take opportunities as they come and for me that means leaving at the end of the season to go and do something else. But it will be a shame if I don't get the chance to play at Rodney Parade again.
"It is always difficult to leave somewhere where you enjoy coming to work but the opportunity to experience something, I wanted to take that. I haven't got unlimited years in rugby left. That was an easier decision but I will be sad, for sure."
Asked if he had considered the 60-cap rule and what it would mean for him, he added: "It had to be part of the consideration as it essentially means I won't be able to put my hand up to play for Wales. Playing for Wales has given me some of the best experiences of my life. But there is more to life, there are other things to experience."
Rowlands has not spoken to Warren Gatland or the WRU about his chances of still being allowed to go to the world Cup, but said: "I would really like to have the chance to be picked for the World Cup and from my side hopefully I have left the door open to be able to do that."
Peel questions ref
Dwayne Peel has questioned referee Craig Evans' decision to show Owen Williams a yellow card after Scarlets loose forward Tomas Lezana got sent off for an almost identical incident.
Argentina international Lezana received his marching orders after a mere five minutes of his side's 34-14 defeat to the Ospreys after making head-on-head contact with Rhys Davies while attempting to make a tackle. But half an hour later Williams only received a yellow for colliding with the head of Scarlets playmaker Sam Costelow.
Evans justified both decisions by claiming Williams' tackle was passive while in his eyes Lezana's was dominant, but Peel didn't see any difference between both challenges.
"I thought they were similar head on head collisions," said the Scarlets head coach. "I'm disappointed obviously because I felt they were similar incidents but I understand Costy was carrying the ball back and Tomas was coming off the line but it's still head on head.
"There has to be consistency. I know with the mitigating factors they'll say that Costy stepped, etc. I think it's just disappointing to see both incidents viewed slightly differently but that's the way it is. We ended up losing our 10 through a HIA and the consequences of those two decisions were huge."
Peel insists playing for 75 minutes with 14 men was always going to be a bridge too far for his side.
"For us, playing with a man down for 75 minutes was always going to be tough especially as we lost Sammy [Sam Lousi] who was away with his wife who had their second child today," he said. "That was good for him but a bit of a jig around then.
"I feel for Tommy [Lezana] because he's a good kid who has been waiting for opportunities. He's had a tough time of it with injuries. It was a start for him so he was pumped but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Dragons boss wants more belief
Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan admitted it was a lack of belief that stopped them ending a lengthy run of defeats to Cardiff as they lost in the dying seconds of a pulsating Boxing Day derby at Rodney Parade.
Flanagan's side were leading heading into the final minute, only for Corey Domachowski's last-gasp try to break their hearts and consign them to a 15th consecutive defeat to the Arms Park side. Afterwards, Flanagan admitted that the Dragons, who haven't won since October despite a relative improvement in form since the former Scarlets coach took over from Dean Ryan, are lacking in some self-belief.
“We needed to be a bit cleaner," said head coach Flanagan. "We didn’t control some of the controllables and the 14 points just before half-time killed us, leaving us with a lot to do.
“We controlled so much of the game and we are not far away, but we are not close enough. I think we just need some belief. If these boys believed that they would win a lot more games and we just need to keep banging the drum.
“We are a pretty good team full of tough players who are really smart, we just have to start believing. These boys are good rugby players and I am not sure they believe it, so it’s important that we tell them more consistently how good they are. They pull together when the chips are down and they stay in games that we don’t deserve to stay in.”
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