Here are your rugby evening headlines for Thursday December 15
Coach hit with 10-week ban for threatening referee
Pau head coach Sebastien Piqueronies has been suspended for 10 weeks after being found guilty of using threatening words and actions towards Scottish referee Sam Grove-White.
Piqueronies was cited following the incident, which happened after the conclusion of the French club's European Challenge Cup game against South African side Cheetahs last Saturday.
READ MORE: Welsh young gun tipped to become Gatland World Cup bolter
He was reported for allegedly physically abusing Grove-White, but found guilty of the lesser offence of using threatening words and actions by an independent disciplinary committee, tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby said.
"The committee did not accept that Piqueronies was simply trying to shake the referee's hand," EPCR said.
Disciplinary committee chair Jeremy Summers added: "Match official abuse has no place in rugby, and this decision reinforces the message that offenders, at whatever level, will be subject to significant sanction."
Piqueronies is suspended from any match-day contact with the Pau playing squad, including access to the technical zone, pitchside, dressing rooms, any team areas and team communications systems.
Hook calls for 60-cap rule to be scrapped
James Hook has called for the 60-cap rule to be scrapped amid a likely exodus of players from the Welsh sides.
The departures of Will Rowlands and Max Llewellyn are set to be just the tip of the iceberg as Welsh rugby struggles with the financial paralysis it is currently stuck in. Speaking to the Mirror, former Wales fly-half Hook believes the rule should be dispensed with given the current situation.
"The rule should be wiped completely," he said. We want to keep our players in Wales but it's difficult.
"Put yourselves in the players' boots. There are players who haven't been offered contracts, quality players, like Rowlands, have gone.
"English and French clubs are circling and can you blame them? They've got to look after themselves and their families and there is so much uncertainty right now. You have to wipe that 60-cap rule."
North undergoes surgery
Wales centre George North has undergone surgery for a cheekbone injury. North was hurt during Ospreys' Heineken Champions Cup defeat against Leicester last weekend, going off at half-time.
But Ospreys boss Toby Booth has delivered an encouraging fitness bulletin, claiming that North "will be good within a two to three-week period".
And that will also encourage Warren Gatland, whose opening game of his second stint as Wales head coach is a Guinness Six Nations clash against Ireland on February 4.
North, who has won 109 caps and started Wales' four autumn Tests last month, is set to be an integral part of Gatland's plans.
"He will be good within a two to three-week period. Any facial injury is always a worry, but he is good. I have seen him this week and he has got a nice shiny black eye," said Booth.
"Outside of that, he's quite buoyant, so that probably speaks volumes about how he feels."
North will miss Ospreys' Champions Cup appointment with Montpellier on Saturday, and also looks set to sit out United Rugby Championship festive derbies against the Scarlets and Cardiff.
Scotland announce 28 professional women's contracts
Scottish Rugby has announced professional contracts have been handed out to 28 players.
The deals run from December 2022 to November 2023, with the first year focusing on the development of each individual player at their existing clubs, while also providing players more time for off-field performance activities such as recovery and analysis.
The value of the contract hasn't been disclosed, but Scotland Rugby has confirmed they are on a sliding scale based on performance criteria outlined by head coach Bryan Easson. Players will receive extra financial bonuses, such as match fees, if selected to play for their country.
Scottish Rugby’s Director of High Performance, Jim Mallinder, said: “This is a landmark moment for the women’s performance programme and these contracts are a significant first step in a long-term journey towards professionalising the women’s game."
Scotland Women captain, Rachel Malcolm, said: “This is a historic and incredibly exciting day for Scottish Rugby and the women’s programme. The opportunity to go professional is not one I thought I would have within my career and as a playing group we are determined to use this opportunity to take Scotland Women to a new level.”
READ MORE:
Wales star Dillon Lewis being targeted by host of English Premiership clubs
Welsh players to be offered conditional contracts while recruitment freeze continues
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WRU chief Steve Phillips slams critics of community board members and calls for Welsh rugby 'alignment'
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