Here are the latest rugby headlines on Sunday, October 2.
Polledri on Wales and England eligibility
Italian rugby sensation Jake Polledri has revealed he had no offers to represent Wales or England despite being eligible to play for both at Test level.
The Gloucester back-rower has been a mainstay with the Azzurri for some time now, making his debut in 2018 having represented the under-20s side, but his international career could have looked rather different.
Born in England, his late grandfather John was born in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, before he moved to Devon to work in an ice cream factory, where he met his wife, Jake's nan, who hailed from Rome. The couple settled in Bristol and that's where Polledri was born and raised.
When appearing on the Offload, Polledri spoke about his decision to choose Rome ahead of Cardiff or London.
“When I first broke into the Gloucester first team, Conor O’Shea approached me on the phone and said: ‘We have a big plan for the World Cup’," he said.
“To be given the opportunity to play international rugby and at a World Cup, I grabbed it with two hands and I’ve not looked back since. I don’t regret it at all."
When asked whether Eddie Jones had ever come calling, he answered with a curt ‘no’. “It was just Conor at the time. There’s never been anything from that side.”
As for Wales, he said: "Again, nothing from them. At the time there was just that one opportunity.”
Turnbull calls for form in back-to-back Welsh derbies
Josh Turnbull has called upon his teammates to get back on track in time for their back-to-back Welsh derbies following their second consecutive defeat on Friday night to the Lions.
Dai Young's men dominated the first-half but failed to convert a number of opportunities and eventually paid the price.
Turnbull’s side next travel to Parc y Scarlets next Saturday before hosting Dragons on October 15.
He said: “We could have capitalised a little bit more in the first half with the opportunities that we had. The territory and possession stats in that first-half were massive for us.
“But we've just come off the gas little bit, five minutes towards the end of the first half and it obviously didn't help when Toby gets yellow carded. He was quite quick to yellow card him as well I think.
“Whether they've changed their mindset, they're just go in straight away, but second-half we had one opportunity and we come away with some points. I'm just a little bit gutted that we don't replicate that again.
“We probably need to get back to what we were like against Munster because that's how we imprinted ourselves on the game . And there's no better way to do that in derbies in the next couple of weeks, Probably too many times today we gave possession up too lightly.
“Derbies are won on fine margins and we didn't fare too well last year in the derbies. So we'll look to rebuild this week and get going. If you want European qualification, you've got to win your derby games, you've got to win that Welsh Shield.”
Will Rowlands 'immensely proud'
Wales star and Dragons captain admitted he was "immensely proud" of the squad after they pushed Cell C Sharks all the way at Rodney Parade, but insisted winning games remains the target.
Second-row Rowlands was pivotal as the Dragons produced a relentless and spirited display at Rodney Parade against a powerful South African side, going down by one point at the death: 20-19.
“We’re a million miles away from where we were at the beginning of the season," he said. "That is reflected in how disappointed everyone is.
“That is a marker for where we are now as a club. For 75 percent of the game, we did what we talked about, we were in control and squeezing them. We just need to grow in confidence and get used to how we see out these kinds of games.
“Round one seems like a long time ago. We have spoken as a group about a fresh start to the season and have moved on. I’m proud of what we have done the last two weeks, but we are not just here to compete. We are here to win games and that is one that has slipped away.
“There were just a few tiny areas where we let ourselves down, but we will learn and be better for this game. I’m immensely proud of the group and excited about the direction we’re going in."
Dragons are away to Benetton next Saturday, October 9, before travelling to Cardiff on October 15, and are then back in action at Rodney Parade on Sunday, October 23, when they host the Ospreys.
Glasgow coach rues Ospreys win
Glasgow Warriors assistant coach Pete Murchie has rued his side not capitalising on their opportunities against an in-form Ospreys side on Saturday.
Toby Booth's men exorcised the ghosts of the previous weekend's defeat to the Lions by beating the Warriors 32-17 with a much-improved display that secured them a try bonus point to go with their win.
Headlines will deservedly go to Keelan Giles for his two tries, but the victory was built on a rock-solid effort from the Ospreys pack with Rhys Webb marshalling matters impressively behind.
Murchie urged his side to be more clinical with their opportunities with ball in hand, citing the team's quickfire late burst to score two tries in the final five minutes as an example in needing to convert momentum earlier on.
“We’re all incredibly disappointed with that,” Murchie said. “Everyone in that changing room is hurting as that’s nowhere near the standards we set ourselves.
“The main thing we talked about in the changing rooms afterwards was focusing on how we stay in those games. We had to defend for a lot of the first half and we weren’t anywhere near accurate enough with the ball we did have.
“I thought we stood up to them pretty well, but the second half is a complete role reversal. We had so many opportunities and didn’t convert, and that gave them a little bit more life every time they kept us out. We then started chasing the game as individuals rather than staying tight as a collective, and that’s something we need to work on.
“The final scoreline was poor. There’s no getting away from that. The tale of the game is going to revolve around the mistakes we made, and we have to get better. There’s no two ways about it.”
Flanagan backs his players
Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan told his Dragons to keep backing themselves and playing what was in front of them after a narrow one-point defeat to Sharks.
After leading for much of the game, a crucial intercept score swung momentum back towards the South Africans before a late try snatched the win.
“The intercept was a key moment, but I will keep backing the players to play that way,” he said. “We had real momentum and if that pass outside goes to hand then we have got three men over.
“I will never want players to not make decisions and back themselves and Angus (O’Brien) has been superb all night. He has been excellent since he arrived, and I am going to back him every day of the week when we decides to make a play.
“We have got to keep backing each other because we are going to make mistakes, but that is life. We move on and we grow. We are a little bit sticky and made some errors, but I can’t say enough that these are good players. We need to keep believing because there is loads more in the tank for us.”
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