Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, October 11.
Peel tells players to "stick to the process"
Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel admits nerves have grown in the squad as they find themselves in a rut that is proving extremely difficult to get out of.
The Welsh region are yet to win a match this season, suffering a home derby defeat to Cardiff last weekend after an edgy, unconvincing performance. Peel accepts it is a difficult time, but urged his players not to go into their shells and trust the process.
Victory at home to Zebre this weekend is now imperative, with supporters beginning to get restless.
"We've been in four tussles and haven't come out on top yet. That breeds frustration and there's a lot of frustration in the group," he said.
"I think that frustration was there towards the end of the game [against Cardiff]. It's our jobs that we prep well, which I feel that we're doing. When we get those opportunities, we have to execute, which is obviously easier said than done.
"A rut is one thing, but the big thing for me is we don't go into our shell. We're a team that likes to play with tempo. If you don't manage to get that, the tendency is to try and play tighter and be safe. We have to be bold and keep believing in what we're doing. We've shown at times we can be clinical, but we have to believe in the team we want to be.
"I's natural [that nerves grow in the squad]. That's the nature of the beast. For us, we have to stick to the process. It's a bit of a cliche, but we have to believe in what we're doing and give the boys confidence to go out and play. We had some tough conversations after Benetton as I didn't feel we lived up to our own standards. On Saturday, there was that edginess and we know we didn't shift the ball or take the options that presented themselves. We have to get out of our shells now."
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Dallaglio apologises after sparking fury
England legend and TV pundit Lawrence Dallaglio has apologised and clarified his comments around former club Wasps after sparking outrage among some viewers.
Dallaglio, who is a director at the financially-stricken club, faced a backlash after initially appearing to suggest Wasps should be treated favourably and differently to doomed Worcester because of their stature as one of England's most successful teams. His comments were made on live TV in his role as a BT Sport pundit, with Dallaglio questioning whether Premiership Rugby would "want to lose one of the biggest brands in club rugby".
Wasps currently stand on the brink of administration and face a winding up order from HMRC.
Now, speaking on the Evening Standard's rugby podcast, Dallaglio offered an apology if his comments were "taken out of context".
"Just for clarity purposes, on Worcester being relegated, I believe they can appeal relegation should they come out of administration under different ownership. It's all quite hypothetical with Wasps, because, up until now they are not actually in administration at the moment and I don't think it's fair that one club should be relegated and one shouldn't, that's not what I was actually saying and if people took that as what I was saying, then that's the reason for my clarification.
"I was saying that we need to understand that there has been a global pandemic over the last three years and that we need to understand that if rugby is truly a family, then families tend to stick together, don't they?
"I don't agree with what's happened to Worcester. I think it's a heartbreaking situation. They've been left out there on a limb. I think rugby needs to have a really good look at itself.
"The game of professional rugby, in my opinion, is a very small part of the overall game of rugby in this country, including grassroots. Everyone has made huge investments as clubs into that professional end of the game and I think that right decisions are made to ensure the future of the professional end of the game remains in tact.
"Hopefully that clarifies the comments, I apologise if those comments were taken out of context. It certainly wasn't my case to put that message across."
Booth says standards have been raised
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth believes the inclusion of South African teams in the United Rugby Championship has seen standards raised.
The South African quartet - Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions - have won 10 of their 12 games between them against European opposition this term.
Half of the league table's top six positions are currently filled by South African sides, with Cape Town-based Stormers leading the charge behind early pace-setters Leinster and Ulster.
"I think the involvement of the South African teams and the way they play means you can't get away with certain things that you probably got away with, and you've got to be better at certain aspects," former Bath and London Irish coach Booth said.
"They are raising the standard of, for example, attacking play and athleticism.
"So I think the challenge for us all is to try and meet and match that because they will have good set-piece, they will be defensively sound and the way they are set up lends itself more to an attacking game.
"I think the inclusion of the quality of those South African teams has certainly meant that everyone has got to embrace that sort of style and be better at it themselves."
Booth welcomes a positive approach, and he says it is important that providing "entertainment and enjoyment" is a key requirement.
"Speaking to coaches, I get a general sense that people want to be positive, so I think there is a mindset element to it," he added.
"It's not just in our competition. If I look across different competitions, there have been high-scoring games.
"I think people want the game to speed up, which is why the biggest animosity I hear in different circles is around length of time on TMO (television match official) decisions, stoppages and teams that want to slow the game down.
"We have to accept that we are trying to provide entertainment and enjoyment, not just play a game of rugby, and that means making the game quicker with less stoppages in it and keeping tempo.
"We have had a couple of first halves that have gone close to 55-60 minutes in actual duration.
"Of course, some of that is injury and you can't legislate for that, but there is still a lot of dead time in the game, and the more we can quicken it up the better.
"The attitude of the teams seems to be more edging towards that way, and I think we will get a better product, better games and as a result better entertainment."
Rugby World Cup CEO sacked
The chief executive officer of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France has been sacked.
Claude Atcher was dismissed after a report by the French Labour Inspectorate found that he oversaw an "extremely degraded social environment" at the organising committee.
"Taking note of the report's conclusions, France 2023's board has decided to terminate the contract of CEO Claude Atcher," France 2023 said in a statement on Tuesday.
French labour authorities started their investigation after L’Equipe published a story earlier this year alleging “climate of terror” at the organising committee and alleged improper management by Atcher.
Atcher was suspended in August after allegations over his management
Julien Collette, Atcher's former deputy general director, has been appointed as CEO.
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