Here are your rugby evening headlines for Sunday, June 19.
14-man Barbarians hammer England
The Barbarians romped to a dominant 52-21 victory over England despite the first-half sending off of Will Skelton.
Even after being reduced to 14 men when Wallabies lock Skelton was dismissed for a dangerous high tackle, the famous club were dominant against Eddie Jones' men and ran in eight tries to notch up more than half a century of points. Coached by Fabien Galthie and Shaun Edwards, it was a Barbarians performance played like a Test match, with some of the later scores resembling the classic Baa-baas values.
Speaking on Amazon Prime's commentary at full-time, former England prop David Flatman said the Barbarians had "made a mockery of England" at Twickenham.
French winger Damian Penaud crossed for two of the eight tries and former England lock George Kruis kicked a hat-trick of conversions in his final professional appearance, including a back-heeled effort.
England prop racially abused hours after final
Leicester Tigers and England prop Ellis Genge was subjected to racial abuse just hours after lifting the Gallagher Premiership trophy.
In his final game for the club before heading to Bristol Bears, Tigers captain Genge helped steer the club to a 15-12 success over Saracens. Afterwards, he shared a message thanking fans for their support shortly after 2am on Sunday morning as Tigers celebrated their Twickenham Stadium glory.
"Over the moon for this group to win something so special and share the moments with family even more so," Genge wrote on Twitter. "Hope you've all enjoyed the ride, thank you Leicester Tigers for all you have given me and my family. Gengey out x'.
However, minutes later he shared a direct message correspondence from a Twitter user congratulating him which said "can't wait for signed shirt in the post". This was followed by another message from the same account racially abusing Genge.
Genge edited the screengrab to remove all elements that could identify the user. Instead, he opted to use his platform to highlight the attack and send a message to social media companies and lawmakers.
He wrote: "On another note, think it’s important to highlight that this is still a massive problem, from a legit account too. Not here for a headhunt hence the black out, common occurrence and socials/law should come down on it."
Former Springbok issues Welsh warning
Former South Africa lock Kobus Wiese has warned that the Springboks will show Wales no mercy this summer.
The 58-year-old, who won 18 caps, believes Wayne Pivac's men could be in for long few weeks when they take on the world champions in their own backyard in a three-Test series in July.
"It's always tough coming here and, without being the least bit arrogant, there are several reasons why these matches will be especially tough," Wiese told the Rugby Paper.
"They mark the start of the Springboks' defence of the World Cup in France next year. With so many outstanding youngsters coming through, the competition for places is huge. [Evan] Roos, in particular, is a massive talent.
"Everyone will want to give his best right from the word 'go'. There will be no let up at any stage during the three matches. There will be no holding back for the simple reason that it's not in the nature of the beast.
"That's why it's going to be an uphill battle for the Welsh. They will be up against a team in form with a lot of young blood at their disposal. Wales will have to be at their best. Most important of all, they will have to match the physicality of the Boks' pack which won't be easy. If they perform well in the opening Test, that will give them a big psychological boost.
"If they don't, it could turn out bad for them. Test rugby starts and ends up front. I've never seen a team win a Test match when they've been beaten in the set-piece.
"I don't want to sound degrading because Wales means so much to me but there's no getting away from the reality that three Tests on three consecutive Saturdays will be a very tall order."
England sweating on fitness of star
England suffered a setback for their non-cap international against the Barbarians after Alex Dombrandt was ruled out of the Twickenham clash by a knee problem.
Dombrandt sustained the injury in training on Friday and was replaced at number eight by Callum Chick. It placed a question mark over the Harlequins back row's participation in next month's tour to Australia with Eddie Jones naming his touring squad on Monday morning.
During the defeat to the Barbarians, he could be seen wearing a full knee brace.
Cardiff City hire former Bath and Munster man
Cardiff City have hired former Bath and Munster man Patrick Wilson as their new head of physical performance.
Wilson joins the Bluebirds in his first job in football as he makes the switch from Bath Rugby. Before heading to the Rec, he spent eight years with European giants Munster, undertaking a number of roles including head of athletic performance and senior strength and conditioning coach.
He made the the switch to Bath in 2019, first as head of strength and conditioning before being appointed as the head of athletic performance a year later. The Irishman, who hails from Fermoy in County Cork, is currently doing his PhD at the University of Central Lancashire, centred around decision-making under uncertainty in high-performance environments.
