Here's your rugby evening headlines for Friday, 24 March.
Six Nations to be be cut
The Six Nations is set to be cut by a week from 2026, with reports claiming one of the fallow weeks will be removed to help accommodate the new world league.
It will mean the tournament being held over six weeks, rather than seven, with organisers agreeing to give up a weekend to club fixtures to allow room for the new global competition that will transform the summer and autumn internationals going forward. You can read the detailed plans for that here.
The Daily Mail report players are yet to be consulted on the proposal, which is likely to raise concerns over player welfare and fatigue.
Players will have to play on three successive weekends, with just one rest week during the tournament.
Warburton questions how Wales missed out on new England coach
Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has questioned how Wales missed out on England's new head of strength and conditioning, Aled Walters.
West Walian Walters previously worked with Warburton as the S&C coach for Wales' age-grade sides, before playing a crucial role in South Africa's World Cup triumph four years ago.
Having worked under Steve Borthwick at Leicester Tigers, helping the club win the Premiership title, he'll now be part of England's ticket ahead of this year's World Cup in France.
Calling the appointment "hugely important", Warburton expressed his surprise that he's never had a chance with Wales' senior team.
"Aled is such a good acquisition," he wrote in his column for the Times. "He was our S&C coach when I played for Wales Under-18 and Under-20. I got on with him very well and he was excellent at his job, and he has clearly developed his skill-set even further since then.
"I know a lot of people in the S&C world and everyone there speaks very highly of Aled. It does make me wonder how the Welsh Rugby Union have never got him back involved because he is a diehard Welshman from down in west Wales. How has he been allowed to slip through the net?”
Wales' current head of physical performance, Paul Stridgeon is to leave imminently, as revealed by WalesOnline last weekend. His departure leaves Warren Gatland searching for a new fitness guru ahead of the crucial pre-World Cup camps.
WRU boss insists players' wages are too high
Welsh Rugby Union interim CEO Nigel Walker has once again insisted players' wages in this country are unsustainably high as he failed to answer if salaries at the executive level would receive the same level of scrutiny.
The last few months have been defined by uncertainty over finances in Welsh rugby, with players having been in the dark over contracts for next season and what they would look like.
Last week, new standard form contracts were announced, with Walker calling it "an impressive show of unity for our game" despite the fact that the dispute over contracts nearly resulted in players striking ahead of the Six Nations clash with England.
“Budgets across the whole of the Welsh game are constantly under review,” Walker told ITV Wales. “And players may say that they have been put under undue pressure and the burden is on them more than anybody else.
“But as Malcolm Wall, Chair of the Professional Rugby Board said, the salaries currently being paid to professional players are unsustainable. So we need to get in a position where the salaries that we're offering are actually the ones that the market can bear and that's why we're seeing this correction now.
“We've seen that correction in England most recently, and because England didn't make the correction soon enough, a couple of their clubs actually went bust. We don't want that position in Wales."
And when asked if salaries at Board and Executive level would be subject to the same scrutiny as player's wages, Walker added: “Well, we have one key problem here. The salaries paid to our professional players are higher than the market can bear. That's why the players are feeling the brunt of it now.
“I understand, I was a player once a long time ago. It doesn't matter what profession you are in, if you are told you're going to take a wage cut, it just needs to be justified and the reasons explained why. We've explained the reasons why.”
Wales star back for first start since October
Johnny Williams will make his first Scarlets start since October in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash with Cell C Sharks at Parc y Scarlets.
The Wales centre impressed off the bench last time out against Munster and is one of four changes from the side that lost in Cork, with Ryan Conbeer, Gareth Davies and Javan Sebastian all coming in.
The Sharks are able to call upon a number of Springbok stars for the trip to Llanelli, with the likes of Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and Eben Etzebeth all starting.
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said: “The Sharks are coming over with some world-renowned players so we know it is going to be a big challenge, but the boys are raring to go.
"Whenever you play South African sides, regardless of what names are on the team-sheet, you know you have to reach a level of physicality, be error free and also be able to put pressure on them. We played the Bulls here not long ago, they also brought some big names and it was a great game of rugby.”
Scarlets: Tom Rogers; Steff Evans, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Kemsley Mathias, Shaun Evans, Javan Sebastian, Vaea Fifita, Sam Lousi, Josh Macleod (capt), Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni.
Replacements: Taylor Davies, Steff Thomas, Sam Wainwright, Morgan Jones, Aaron Shingler, Kieran Hardy, Dan Jones, Ioan Nicholas.
Sharks: Boeta Chamberlain; Werner Kok, Lukhanyo Am, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Makazole Mapimpi; Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Emile van Heerden, Siya Kolisi, Vincent Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi.
Replacements: Kerron van Vuurren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Carlu Sadie, Gerbrandt Grobler, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Ben Tapuai, Thaakir Abrahams
Ospreys star completes move to Japan
Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler has completed his move to Japanese club Toyota Industries Shuttles.
The Ospreys and former Wales U20s centre will play for the Kariya-based outfit for the rest of the season.
The Japanese Division 2 club announced the signing on social media and on their website.
A Wales U20s team-mate of Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Dewi Lake and Rio Dyer, Thomas-Wheeler made 58 appearances for the Ospreys after debuting in 2018.
He has joined a team who have former France international Yoann Maestri, ex-England Saxons captain James Gaskell and Fijian Test man Josh Matavesi on their books.
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