Here are the latest rugby evening headlines for Thursday, August 4.
'Thank God he's left the league'
Talented English rugby star Max Ojomoh has revealed he's glad to see the back of No .8 Nathan Hughes.
The former England international has left the Gallagher Premiership and is widely touted for a move to Japan. In an interview put out on Bath's social media channels, Ojomoh laughed that he was glad he didn't have to face Hughes. The pair were in the same team briefly during Hughes' stint at The Rec.
READ MORE: The young talents who could be Wales World Cup bolters 400 days from tournament
When asked the best player he's played against, Ojomoh said: “I’ll do someone who I was glad I never had to play against – and played with – and that was Nathan Hughes. Thank God he has left the league. He was huge and when we set up for set-piece defence or attack, knowing he was on our side and not on the other’s, it filled me with a lot of confidence.”
All Blacks told to learn from Wales
Springbok great Joel Stransky has piled the pressure on the All Blacks, insisting head coach Ian Foster is in the midst of "a stay of execution" amid a need to learn from Wales to emerge from their current crisis.
The former fly-half also predicts two Springbok victories that would likely bring Foster's tenure to a premature end after losing the series to Ireland this summer.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave., he said: "He [Foster] has got two weeks left to try and right the ship and that's not exactly a show of confidence - it's a stay of execution.
"It's hard to see our pack of forwards dominated - I think we will win them both, but close games are the nature of our rivalry.
"If the All Blacks are weak anywhere at the moment, it's the ability to handle the confrontation. And we just deliver pain and suffering in the confrontational areas.
"That's our game - mauling you out of the game, scrumming you into the penalty situation.
"It's not particularly pretty, it's not exactly positive, but it is effective and we are really, really good at it. We force the penalties and we force the points.
"I think the All Blacks need to play fast and expansively. The Welsh - who are not the best attacking team in the world - found ways through our defence and the All Blacks need to learn from that.
"They need to catch South Africa off guard when our defence is not organised and structured, avoid the big confrontational areas.
"They need to find space in the midfield and out wide… around the fringes and forwards they won't find anything."
Wales prop signs new Sarries deal
Donna Rose has signed a new contract with Saracens Women as she continues preparations for the upcoming World Cup with Wales.
Rose currently has 33 appearances for the club and head coach Alex Austerberry said: "Donna is a ball of energy and promotes positivity wherever she is. Fantastic to work with, hard working, eager to learn and tough.
"Since joining Saracens and making the positional switch to front row, Donna has not taken a backward step. It is indicative of who she is, embracing any challenge, making the most of every opportunity and giving it her all to maximise her talent. I look forward to seeing where that can take Donna and Saracens over the next few seasons."
Read more about Donna's inspiration rugby story here.
Ireland to dish out 43 women's contracts
By PA
The Irish Rugby Football Union has announced it will offer 43 centralised contracts to elite women's players next season amid the appointment of Gillian McDarby as head of women's performance and pathways.
The contracts, which include agreements already in place for members of the women's Sevens programme, have been benchmarked internationally and will be worth up to 30,000 euros (£25,234), plus match fees and bonuses.
Due to this month's Test matches in Japan and the Sevens World Cup in September in South Africa, the IRFU will wait to discuss contract details with players before publicising further information.
IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts said in a statement: "The creation of up to 43 IRFU contracts for women's players is a further strong signal of our intent to foster and grow the women's game over the coming years and to ensure that our women's players are provided with the best opportunities to compete at the highest levels of the game in the future."
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Today's rugby news as eligibility row erupts and new role for Welsh rugby boss
