Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, February 15.
Rees-Zammit back
Louis Rees-Zammit has given Welsh rugby some rare good news after it was confirmed he will return to action this weekend for Gloucester.
Rees-Zammit is yet to play a minute in the Six Nations because of an ankle injury he suffered at Christmas, but he will feature for his club side against Harlequins on Friday night. The winger is then expected to be named in the matchday 23 against England the following Saturday, potentially even starting at wing or full-back.
Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: “Zam is available for selection this week. I think Wales are keen to get him back in next week ahead of the England game but he is back and available for us which is a real positive.
“I didn’t think I was going to see him back for us during this Six Nations period so I just dismissed him from my mind in the nicest possible way but he has been back in and been really posit
“He came back in on Friday last week after Wales released him so he could come in and train and pick up on the bits we are trying to develop and he has had really good energy.
“He has been out for a decent period of time and been frustrated watching us, feeling he could make a difference for us and for Wales. I think he is hungry, he is keen and he has trained really hard.”
'Job security more important than playing for Wales'
Cardiff’s international scrum-half Lloyd Williams, who recently became his region’s most capped player, admits the current turmoil engulfing Welsh rugby is "frustrating" and has had an effect on the performances of some players.
Williams spoke out as it emerged Wales players are considering strike action ahead of the next Six Nations match against England over the continuing freeze on contract negotiations that has left between 70 and 100 players with uncertain futures beyond the next few months.
He believes the pull of the Wales jersey and the current 60-cap rule are no longer enough to stop a raft of players considering leaving.
"There are more important things than playing for Wales,“ said the two-time World Cup player. “It is a reason for players to stay in Wales but the boys have families, they need a house to live in and they need food on the table. So, unless playing for Wales is what the player wants, having job security is more important. Hopefully in the next fortnight something can be sorted, but unfortunately for the boys at the moment there are no contracts to sign.”
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Wales hooker's season could be over
Scarlets and Wales hooker Ryan Elias could miss the rest of the season after an operation on an Achilles injury. The front-rower hasn't featured this year and was omitted from the Six Nations squad.
"He won't be ready for while. We'll have to wait and see how that settles," Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said. "Hopefully he can be back before the end of the season, but that could be asking too much of him. Otherwise it'll be pre-season."
Meanwhile, Scarlets and Wales centre Johnny Williams is close to returning having been sidelined since October with a calf injury.
"Johnny's getting better. He's up and running. He's not in rugby training yet," said Peel. "The next week or two are really important for him getting back into the swing of things. After a couple of weeks of rugby training he'll be back into it. The rehab is going well for him."
'Sport Wales' role not to investigate WRU'
Sport Wales' acting chief executive insisted it was not in the remit of the body, which develops sport in Wales, to investigate any allegations of cultural issues at the Welsh Rugby Union.
Welsh rugby's governing body has been engulfed in a culture crisis since a BBC investigations programme aired allegations of sexism, misogyny and racism in January. Chief executive Steve Phillips left his role in the aftermath, with Nigel Walker standing in.
Following the allegations being aired, the WRU asked Sport Wales to advise them on what next steps to take, which led to them instructing Sport Resolutions - a global independent, not-for-profit, dispute resolution service. Sport Resolutions has since appointed former Court of Appeal judge, Dame Anne Rafferty, to chair an independent review panel looking into the culture and behaviour within the organisation. The scope of the review has been set by Sports Resolution and Sport Wales in discussion with the Welsh government and the WRU.
Acting CEO Brian Davies was quizzed on whether Sport Wales, a national body dedicated to developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales, was aware of the serious allegations against the WRU prior to the BBC report.
He said: "We were aware of some things that were in the public domain. But in terms of the specific allegations that were made, nothing had been raised with us directly. I think it's important in response to that to identify what our role is as a body, as an arm's length body of Welsh government.
"We're the agency responsible for promoting and developing sport and physical activity in Wales. We're not an investigatory body. We have no legislative power. We do have duties as an organisation, we're bound by certain legal duties. But in terms of the sector, we don't really have that kind of responsibility, whether we should is another matter. So if someone does raise something informally with us, there is a limit to what we can do."
He added later: "What we did know was that the governance arrangements of the WRU wasn't good enough to deal with these issues, and that's an area we do have influence on. And you could argue maybe we could have done that faster."
Alun Davies MS argued that Sport Wales, as a body responsible for allocating public funds to the WRU's Female Hub programme and women and girls pathway, had a duty to uphold the Welsh Government's statutory values on equality. In a heated exchange, Alun Davies said he "remained unconvinced" that Sport Wales had done enough to uphold that duty.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, a Paralympic gold medallist and crossbench member of the House of Lords, said allegations of sexism and discrimination against the WRU are an opportunity for all other sport organisations in the country to change their culture.
She said: "If there's one thing that comes out of this, it will send a really strong message out to the other Welsh governing bodies, and the other home nations and national governing bodies, that we all have to do something to look at the culture and the -isms that are around in sport. This is the moment in time for Welsh sports to say 'this is happening here as well'."
France star banned
France prop Uini Atonio has received a three-match ban after being cited for a dangerous tackle on Ireland hooker Rob Herring during Saturday's Guinness Six Nations game in Dublin. Atonio was suspended for Les Bleus' Six Nations appointments with Scotland, England and Wales.
But an independent judicial committee granted an application by Atonio to take part in a coaching intervention programme, which means he will be available to face Wales on March 18 if he completes it.
Atonio was sin-binned in the first half of France's 32-19 defeat at the Aviva Stadium after his challenge forced Herring off for a head injury assessment from which he did not return. Referee Wayne Barnes was criticised by a number of pundits for his failure to send off the 32-year-old La Rochelle player.
Atonio appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link, Six Nations organisers said.
"He admitted that he had committed an act of foul play worthy of a red card," a Six Nations statement read. "Having reviewed all the evidence, the committee accepted the player's admission that the tackle on Ireland number two was foul play. His shoulder made contact with Ireland number two's neck/face as described in the citing commissioner's report, and therefore reached the red-card threshold."
Lawes set for immediate return against Wales
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent
England are ready to pitch Courtney Lawes straight into their crunch Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales if he impresses during training next week.
Lawes' last international appearance was as captain during the July tour to Australia but concussion, glute and calf problems have limited him to only 170 minutes of rugby for his club Northampton this season.
But the 33-year-old, who can play lock or flanker, will take part in his first full-blooded practise session on Thursday as he closes in on his comeback.
Having amassed 96 caps for England and five for the Lions, scrum coach Richard Cockerill insists there would be no qualms over naming Lawes in the starting XV or on the bench despite his lack of game time.
"Courtney has done parts of training this week. He'll take full part tomorrow (Thursday) and next week he should be taking a full part in training. Hopefully he'll be available for selection," Cockerill said.
"Depending on how he trains, there's probably no concern over picking him. He's an experienced player and he's had long injuries previously and come back in and played well, for both club and country. So that doesn't really concern us when it comes to a guy of his stature."
Continuing the theme of positive injury news for England is Tom Curry's imminent return for Sale against Northampton on Saturday, after recovering from the hamstring injury sustained in early January, and the receding fears over Kyle Sinckler's facial wound.
Sinckler was omitted from Steve Borthwick's 26-man training squad for this week but Cockerill insists the Bristol prop will be ready for the trip to Cardiff.
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