Here are the latest rugby evening headlines on Thursday, June 30.
Shaun Edwards gives Wales a chance against 'Boks
Former Wales defence guru Shaun Edwards is among few to be giving Wayne Pivac's men a chance when they face South Africa on Saturday.
The France defence coach, who is currently stuck in his hotel room in Paris due to having Covid instead of Japan where his team are preparing to play, will be watching his old team should he remain in the French capital this weekend.
"It will be the ultimate challenge against the world champions at altitude," he said in his column for The Daily Mail.
"The South African clubs have been playing really well but if Wales play to the level they did against France during the Six Nations and front up to the huge scrummaging challenge then they have a chance. It will also be great to see George North getting the ball in his hands after his long spell on the sidelines."
Wales tribute to Phil Bennett planned
Wales will wear black armbands in their first summer Test against the Springboks on Saturday in tribute to the late, great Phil Bennett.
The mercurial fly-half and former Wales and Lions captain died aged 73 on June 12, prompting an outpouring of tributes as Welsh rugby grieved the Llanelli RFC legend and all-out gentleman. Bennett excelled during the 1974 Lions tour of South Africa, starting all four Tests as the Lions beat the Springboks three times and drew once. He also scored a try in the second Test at Loftus Versfeld, where Wales play this weekend.
Asked how important it was to pay tribute to Bennett with a performance in Pretoria, Pivac said: "He has been a legend of the game, respected worldwide. Just very sad for his family and for all Welsh fans to see Phil pass, and we will be doing our best to put on a great performance in memory of Phil and the fans back home. There are a lot of emotional things that will be buzzing around, around kick-off time, but the main thing for us is that we get focused pretty early on and we make sure we start the game very, very well."
Owen Farrell 'very unhappy' at being relieved of England captaincy
Owen Farrell was "very unhappy" to be relieved of the England captaincy after Courtney Lawes was placed in charge for Saturday's series opener against Australia in Perth.
For the first time since 2018, Farrell has been overlooked as skipper with Eddie Jones opting for Lawes after the Northampton flanker impressed in the role while deputising during the autumn and 2022 Six Nations.
Farrell has made a full recovery from the ankle injuries which have heavily disrupted his season and he features at inside centre, but the news that he would not be leading England out at Optus Stadium came was taken badly.
When asked how Farrell felt about his demotion, Jones replied: "Very unhappy. Owen is a bloke who expresses his feelings clearly and he wants to be captain. When I told him he wasn't going to be captain, he wasn't very happy. But that's OK.
"Owen's had a fair while out of the team and at this stage we feel it's the best thing for the team and for Owen, because he's a very important player for us. He has played 94 Tests for England and he has won every trophy in the world, apart from the World Cup. He's a pretty fair player and he's a very important player for us.
"We want Owen to be at his best and he's been out of the side for a while, so it's an opportunity for him to play three Tests back to back and produce his best."
Barbarians to face New Zealand second-string at Spurs Stadium
The Barbarians will face New Zealand's second-string All Blacks line-up in November as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stages its first rugby international.
The BaaBaas beat England 52-21 at Twickenham on June 19 in a stunning display of the renowned invitational side's enduring appeal. And now the famed outfit will break new ground by taking on the All Blacks XV in north London on November 13.
November's clash has been scheduled just months ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Barbarians' most celebrated encounter, the 23-11 victory over the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in January 1973.
"We are absolutely thrilled to announce we will face the All Blacks XV this autumn in The Killik Cup," said Barbarians president John Spencer. "It is a fixture with a great sense of history - not just as the setting of that incredible (Gareth Edwards) try in 1973, but also on 10 other sparkling occasions producing champagne rugby between two teams of global stars.
"Playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also give our spectators a truly exceptional experience. While this state-of-the-art stadium has hosted club rugby matches including the Premiership's Saracens against Bristol Bears in the past, this is the first time it will play host to an international rugby fixture."
The All Blacks XV is New Zealand's back-up side, and will take on Canada as well as two further opponents in a four-match autumn northern hemisphere tour.
Scotland hopeful Hamish Watson will only miss first Test
Gregor Townsend is confident that key man Hamish Watson will only miss one of the three summer Tests against Argentina after the Edinburgh flanker was left out of this Saturday's clash in San Salvador de Jujuy.
The 30-year-old, who was part of the British & Irish Lions squad last summer, picked up an injury last week and will not be risked in this weekend's meeting with the Pumas. However, he is expected to be available for the second Test the following weekend.
"We believe it's the strongest squad we have available for what will be a very challenging test away from home," said Townsend, reflecting on the team he has selected for the first Test at Stadio 23 De Agosto.
"We've got everyone available now apart from Hamish Watson who picked up a knock around his chest/shoulder area at the end of last week.
"The fears at first were that he might have to leave the tour but he has progressed well. He will integrate in training certainly by the start of next week but maybe tomorrow as well with a view to being available for us next week."
Luke Crosbie, who captained Scotland A in their victory over Chile last weekend, will make his first start for the full Scotland side on Saturday, while his Edinburgh team-mate Mark Bennett will start his first match for the national team since 2016.
Sexton: Ireland must avoid peaking too soon for World Cup
Captain Johnny Sexton says Ireland must keep evolving in order to avoid repeating the mistake of peaking too soon for a World Cup.
The Irish travelled to the 2019 tournament in Japan with high expectations following a Six Nations Grand Slam and a statement victory over New Zealand the previous year but suffered a familiar quarter-final exit.
With the 2023 World Cup on the horizon, Andy Farrell's in-form side are poised to test their current credentials during a three-match series against the All Blacks.
Fly-half Sexton, who will retire after next year's competition in France, is striving to maintain the upward trajectory having helped silence the doubters during an unconvincing start to Farrell's reign as head coach.
"We were written off left, right and centre and we've come back and we've showed some great stuff," he told Sky Sports ahead of Saturday's first Test in Auckland.
"We've had some great results to go with it because we were always saying, 'it's coming, it's coming' and I think people were looking at us going, 'is it really?' And now we've got to keep it going.
"We've got to keep improving because that's the mistake we made in the last cycle for the World Cup; we probably peaked in 2018 and we didn't continue to evolve and that's what we're keen to not let happen."
Ireland have won 12 of their last 13 Tests, including defeating New Zealand 29-20 in Dublin last autumn to partially avenge World Cup elimination at their hands in Tokyo.
Read next:
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- Gareth Anscombe meets new-born son in plane video call after team-mate found out first
- New Welsh rugby 'monster' is already bigger than George North and has a Wales international brother
