Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, March 21.
Lydiate playing for his late dad
Dan Lydiate has revealed he was determined to come back from his latest serious injury in honour of his father who died the night before a Wales match.
His dad John, a hill farmer, died suddenly in early November. Just a few days later, Lydiate played through the heartbreak against Argentina only to suffer the injury that was to leave him facing another battle to return to the field. Once again, he has fought his way back and is now ready to pack down for the Ospreys at home to his old team the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship this Saturday.
Speaking ahead of that clash, the flanker spoke movingly about what he went through in the autumn with the loss of his father.
“It happened the Friday night before the Wales-New Zealand game,” he said. “I was obviously disappointed not to be selected for that match. I remember I texted my mum to tell her I wasn’t picked and she replied ‘Don’t worry, everything happens for a reason’.
“Because I wasn’t playing, I went up to the family farm after training on the Friday. I did some bits on the farm, fed the cows and stuff and then had tea with my parents. Then, later that night, my old man passed away. If I had been playing, I wouldn’t have seen him before he went. It’s strange how things work out.”
The following week, Lydiate was chosen to start on the blindside against the Pumas at the Principality Stadium.
“I went straight back into training on the Monday because I just felt like I had to get on with normality. Being sat in the house would have been too upsetting,” he explained. “It was a tough week emotionally and mentally. I didn’t sing the anthem before the match because, to be honest, I was crying my eyes out. Then you have got to fix your focus to the game.”
As fate would have it, Lydiate snapped a bone in his arm just five minutes into the match. Typical of his warrior nature, he soldiered on, before eventually coming off just before the half hour.
“It was a tough time and then a couple of weeks later having the funeral,” he said. “It’s one of those things you don’t really get over. You just learn to live with it.”
He turned to his rehab as a focus for moving forward. “I wanted to get back for my old man. It was definitely a real motivation,” he revealed.
“I have had a lot of injuries in my career and, if I didn’t love what I do, I would have hung up my boots a long, long time ago. But, like everyone says, you are a long time retired. At least I know when I hang up my boots that I will have put 100 per cent into it and never given up. Then when my time is done, my time is done. For now, I still want to play on. There’s certainly a will and a want to do so, as I want to be the one that decides when I am done, not anyone else.”
The 69-times capped Lydiate, who is now 34, is out of contract at the Ospreys at the end of this season. “I haven’t got an offer at the minute, so I am just going to go hell for leather for these next few games and see what happens,” he said.
Jonathan Davies' season over
Wales and Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies is not expected to play again this season.
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel confirmed the midfielder is unlikely to play again this term, having suffered an injury against Bayonne back in January.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's home clash with Sharks (5pm kick-off), Peel said: "Jon Fox is still struggling with his calf/Achilles. I don't see him playing much rugby for a while."
As for back-three man Johnny McNicholl, who suffered a "nasty knee injury" in the 49-42 defeat to Munster earlier this month, the prognosis is not as bad as first feared.
"I wouldn't say Johnny McNicholl is [ruled out for the rest of the season] but I'd say Jonathan Davies probably is, yeah," Peel said. "Johnny [McNicholl] is going okay, he's not going to be available for a while. He'd be touch and go, maybe, to play again this season. That's more positive than what it looked like when he came off."
The fans' Wales Six Nations verdict: Have your say
Williams told to focus on short-term
Scarlets and Wales centre Johnny Williams has the Rugby World Cup in his sights but is being urged to focus on the here and now.
The 26-year-old five-cap midfielder made his rugby return after five months out when he came off the bench against Munster earlier this month, and himself admits it is too premature to be focusing on Wales ambitions after just one game back from a persistent calf injury.
However, he is being backed to have the quality to make an impact should Warren Gatland select him.
"Johnny Williams getting through that game in Munster was huge for us and for him, because he's been a long time out. He performed really well," Scarlets boss Peel said. "It's lovely to have him back in the fold so look forward to seeing him for the remainder of the season."
On the World Cup specifically, Peel said: "He's obviously a quality player. I think the big thing for him is that he gets playing rugby again and then the rest will take care of itself. He's a quality operator, we know he plays the game hard. He just needs to make sure he stays fit and he's doing everything to stay on the field.
"For us, he's obviously an important weapon and I'm sure he can be at the next level as well. It's just a case of staying fit and playing well, I suppose, and not concentrating too much on what's going to happen in the World Cup or beyond that. He probably needs to go game for game and make sure he's getting through each week.
"He wouldn't look out of place [in a Wales line-up]. We did speak about it in terms of he needs to concentrate on rugby now. He doesn't need to concentrate on Wales or anything beyond that. Having five or six months out of the game, he needs to start enjoying his rugby again. I know he's good enough but he needs to be fit and that's what he's working hard on. It's great to see him back."
Andy Farrell backed for Lions job
Grand Slam-winning Ireland boss Andy Farrell is the "perfect guy" to be the next British and Irish Lions head coach, according to two-time tourist Tommy Bowe. Farrell has significantly enhanced his coaching reputation over the past 18 months, clinching the Guinness Six Nations title on Saturday having led his side to the top of the world rankings on the back of last summer's stunning series win over the All Blacks.
Former Ireland and Ulster wing Bowe represented the Lions during the 2009 trip to South Africa and the 2013 visit to Australia. And he believes Englishman Farrell, who served as Lions defence coach in 2013 and 2017, is the ideal candidate to spearhead the 2025 series against Eddie Jones' Wallabies following three tours overseen by Warren Gatland.
"I think he would be a fantastic Lions coach," Bowe told the PA news agency. "He gets the ethos of it. He loves everything about the Lions and to have toured with him in 2013, he epitomises what's great about it.
"He's very much about working extremely hard on the pitch but also being able to have a laugh off the pitch and I think that's what the Lions is. The last tour (to South Africa in 2021), I think unfortunately got away from that.
"I think the next Lions tour, it's about bringing back the ethos of what's special about the Lions and making sure that the players really enjoy every minute of it, and the supporters too. I think Andy Farrell would be the perfect guy to do that."
Farrell is odds-on favourite for the role and has also received the backing of Gatland.
Sage is the official insights partner of Six Nations Rugby and powered the Smart Ball during the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.
England star to retire one game into Six Nations
Sarah Hunter will bring her distinguished playing career to a close in her home town of Newcastle when England face Scotland in the Women's Six Nations on Saturday. England's most-capped player, with 140 appearances, has spent the last 16 years as an international and has chosen the tournament opener at Kingston Park as her final match in order to finish on her "own terms".
The 37-year-old back row, born in North Shields, was part of the Red Roses squad that won the 2014 World Cup and was also captain when the national team reached the finals in 2017 and 2022. In addition, England's skipper since 2015 has won 10 Six Nations titles including nine Grand Slams.
"Not many athletes get to choose how and when they call time on their playing careers," Hunter said. "I'm very fortunate that I have the opportunity to finish on my own terms. I couldn't think of a better way to do it than in my home town where my rugby journey started.
"I get to finish in a place that has a special place in my heart in front of my friends, family and Red Roses supporters and I feel very fortunate that I'm able to do that. To play there in a white shirt - which is something I've been immensely proud of and I feel very honoured to have represented my country so many times - feels like an ending I couldn't look past and I feel very fortunate that I get to do this."
Hunter, the 2016 women's world player of the year, will continue to coach Loughborough Lightning until the end of the season.
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