Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, January 5.
Owen Watkin in race for fitness
Owen Watkin faces a race to be fit for the start of the Six Nations.
The 36-cap centre underwent surgery on the knee he injured in Wales’ November Test with Georgia and hasn’t played since. Now he’s struggling to put himself in contention for Wales’ championship opener against Ireland on February 4. "He is not training yet,” said Ospreys head coach Toby Booth. "He has had a little bit of a tidy up and hopefully he is not out for too much longer.”
Asked directly if he felt Watkin would feature in the current block of regional matches, Booth replied: “I can’t answer that. I don’t know, but it will be touch and go.”
George North will not feature in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship match against Leinster in Swansea, but he has returned to rugby training with Booth saying he was getting “closer” to playing again after his recent facial injury.
Fellow Wales international Sam Parry has a shoulder bump which will sideline him for the Leinster match, while Dan Lydiate is set to be back in February as he recovers from the broken arm he suffered playing against Argentina in the autumn Tests.
“He should be back in February,” said Booth, who added that he would be pleased to see the hard-hitting flanker back. “I’m a really big fan. It’s unfortunate that he’s been with Wales twice and been injured both times, which has been really tough. He’s been doing what Dan Lydiate does — high performance, certainly from a defensive point of view, and impacting games. It’s really unfortunate and poor timing for him.”
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Wales v Ireland a 'dangerous' Six Nations fixture
Ex-Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman believes Warren Gatland's return has turned Wales v Ireland into a "dangerous" Six Nations fixture.
Gatland's first game back in charge after Wayne Pivac's sacking will be when the top ranked side in the world head to the Principality Stadium on February 4 in the tournament curtain-raiser.
Jackman, who won nine caps for Ireland, believes the Kiwi's return makes for a very different challenge for the Irish.
READ MORE: The most likely Wales Six Nations squad Warren Gatland will pick amid huge calls
"Wales away in round one with [Warren] Gatland coming back in has now become a dangerous fixture," he told the BBC. "More dangerous than before Gatland came in as Wales weren't overly consistent. So there will be a big lift in Wales' performance.
"If Ireland were to lose that first game then it would throw the Grand Slam out of the picture and it is very hard to gain momentum."
Jackman also revealed that Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is "quite confident" he will be fit for the opener in four weeks after undergoing a "procedure" on a cheekbone injury sustained on Leinster duty in the United Rugby Championship.
"Sexton is quite confident he is going to be back for the first round," Jackman said after speaking to the 37-year-old fly-half the day after his operation.
"He didn't have to get wired - it was a simpler procedure than we all feared," added Jackman. "He is due back in four weeks so should be back for the first game against Wales which will be a huge boost for Ireland - he is delighted.
"If he [Sexton] is fit he plays. Then see how the tournament goes to give someone else a chance. I think Ireland want to try and win a Six Nations and our best chance of winning a Six Nations is if Sexton plays."
Australia assistant quits
Australia assistant coach Scott Wisemantel has resigned from his position with immediate effect just eight months out from the World Cup.
He is leaving to focus on his family and business interests outside rugby, meaning Dave Rennie will be on the lookout for a new assistant. Wisemantel primarily acted as an attack coach.
He first worked with the Wallabies in 2004 and rejoined the set-up in 2020, and has also worked with England, Japan and Samoa.
“While this has been a very difficult decision, it’s one that’s best for me and my family at this point in time,” Wisemantel said. “The World Cup is the pinnacle of our sport and requires 100 per cent commitment and that’s something I’m unfortunately unable to give at the moment. I’ve loved being with this team under Dave [Rennie] and wish them all the best for their season and in the World Cup later this year.”
England get Sinckler Six Nations boost
Kyle Sinckler looks set to give new England boss Steve Borthwick a pre-Six Nations boost by returning from injury on Sunday.
The Bristol prop has not played since picking up a groin injury during England's Autumn Nations Series finale against South Africa six weeks ago, but Bristol rugby director Pat Lam has delivered an encouraging fitness bulletin, with Sinckler on course to be involved in this weekend's Gallagher Premiership appointment with London Irish.
England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 4, which will be Borthwick's first game in charge since succeeding Eddie Jones.
Sinckler linked up with England during a get-together this week, and Lam said: "He [Sinckler] should be available this weekend. He hasn't played since the autumn internationals, and rugby players don't like being out for a long time. They don't like watching rugby."
Scarlets to examine Moriarty claims
Scarlets are to investigate the verbal abuse of Ross Moriarty's 13-year-old cousin during their New Year's Day clash with the Dragons. The Wales back row revealed on Instagram that his cousin was targeted by home supporters when she tried to defend him in the wake of a flashpoint involving Sione Kalamafoni.
"I do not mind the abuse I receive online or on a rugby pitch from fans there will always be 2 sides, but to learn that on the weekend my little cousin who is 13 had grown men screaming in her face for asking them to stop abusing me verbally that does not sit right with me or should not sit right at any sports ground," Moriarty said. "That is a line I really hope people should not think is right to cross."
In response, the Scarlets have urged the girl's family to get in touch so that they can look into what happened.
"We are extremely disappointed to read of the incident involving Ross Moriarty's cousin," the club said in a statement. "We work extremely hard with our supporters' organisations Crys16 and Scarlets Officials Supporters Group to create a family-friendly environment for home and away fans at Parc y Scarlets and to hear of a young girl receiving verbal abuse from a fan is wholly unacceptable. We have a zero-tolerance policy to abuse of any nature at our stadium and encourage supporters to report such incidents to the club. If the family would like to get in touch with us we will investigate this further."
Neath strengthen bid for Welsh Prem promotion
Neath have strengthened their bid to win promotion to the Welsh Premiership by signing scrum-half Luc Jones for the remainder of the season.
The son of the club’s former flanker and coach Lyn Jones, the 28-year-old returns to the club he joined a decade ago.
Luc played 21 times for the Welsh All Blacks before moving on and playing more than 200 matches of professional and semi-professional rugby, with the Dragons, Harlequins, London Welsh, Richmond, Jersey and Rosslyn Park all benefiting from his services.
His return will give further momentum to the Welsh All Blacks as they strive to return to Welsh rugby’s club top flight, with the club currently heading the WRU Championship.
Head coach Patrick Horgan said: “Luc will bring a lot to the squad. He has all the attributes needed in a scrum-half and, like his father Lyn, he has rugby footballing instinct and knowledge, backed up by high-level experience.
“We are always looking to strengthen and when we heard that Luc was returning to the town temporarily it was a logical step. He already knows the team as most are from the area and we hope he will help push us on.”
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