Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, October 26.
Cardiff-Bristol friendlies announced
Cardiff will play Bristol Bears home and away next month to plug breaks in the calendar during the international period.
Dai Young's men will travel across the Severn Bridge to face Bristol on Friday, November 11, with a return fixture being staged in the Welsh capital on Friday, February 24, the day before Wayne Pivac's Wales host England in the Six Nations. The Remembrance Day fixture will allow Cardiff to make their final preparations before November's trip to South Africa to face the Cell C Sharks and Bulls in the United Rugby Championship.
As for Pat Lam's Bears, the fixtures are set to help fill a black hole in the Premiership side's finances in the absence of scheduled games against Worcester and Wasps, who are both in administration.
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young said: "We’re looking forward to facing Bristol over the coming months and are grateful to reach this agreement. They were looking for a fixture in November and we wanted to replace our cancelled fixture against Zebre from earlier this season so it works for both sides and will provide a valuable test. I know our supporters really enjoy Anglo-Welsh fixtures and the prospect of facing Bristol at the Arms Park, the night before Wales versus England in the Six Nations is really exciting."
Cardiff say the home fixture is included in season membership packages, replacing the cancelled September friendly against Zebre Parma. Match tickets start at £10 for adults and £5 for under-16s.
Pivac: Tshiunza 'a big player for the future'
Wayne Pivac has described Exeter prospect Christ Tshiunza as "a big player for the future" ahead of an Autumn Nations Series that could see him put down a World Cup marker.
The Wales head coach capped 20-year-old Tshiunza during last season's autumn Tests, making his debut as a replacement against Fiji in Cardiff. The versatile back-five forward has continued on an upward curve, making prominent contributions during Exeter's current Gallagher Premiership campaign, and that progression was highlighted through a blistering two-try display, including the match-winning score, when Exeter beat Harlequins 43-42 last month.
"People like Christ we've had in the environment before and he has done well coming off the bench in two Tests," Pivac said. "He has then gone and built on that for his club and we know a lot more about him.
"I was down in Exeter last week and we have a lot of dialogue with the English coaches who are coaching our players. He is making great progress at club level, they've got a great setup there, a great coaching team, and he is learning a lot. You can see that in his game.
"Christ is a lot more confident than when he first came in here. He is really maturing and developing nicely. He is going to be a big player for the future, definitely."
It would be no surprise to see Tshiunza, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but moved to Wales 12 years ago, feature in Wales' matchday 23 against New Zealand on November 5. Argentina, Georgia and Australia then follow the All Blacks on Wales' autumn schedule, so opportunities could present themselves for a player whose ability to feature in the second row or back row makes him an invaluable asset.
Pivac added: "It's just great to see the development and the evolving of these players. It bodes well, not only for the World Cup next year - hopefully, we get a great pool of players without too many injuries for that - but looking through to 2027, there is a core of young guys there to take the team forward.
"What we have to do is learn from past World Cups and make sure we have as much depth as we possibly can. We have done that over the last three years, and now it is about trying to settle on a squad."
Halaholo ruled out for rest of the year
Cardiff and Wales centre Willis Halaholo has been ruled out for the remainder of the year after suffering a "significant" injury.
The 10-cap midfielder was replaced less than 10 minutes into Cardiff's 30-24 win over the Stormers last Saturday after getting his leg in an awkward position while being cleared out of a ruck.
Cardiff attack and backs coach Matt Sherratt has now confirmed Halaholo will not be in action again in 2022, telling a press conference on Wednesday: "Unfortunately for Willis he's got a pretty significant hamstring injury. He's going to be out until after the new year. He's had a scan this week and I think he's seeing somebody today [Wednesday] to get more clarity on it, but it is significant so he's not going to be back any time soon unfortunately."
The hot-stepping centre, who was raised in Auckland, made his return to the field earlier this month having battled knee and hamstring injuries which have plagued his international career so far, having made his debut in February 2021.
"Willis has been a standout player for Cardiff for the last five or six years. I really feel for him. He's worked hard to come back in. He was in a really good frame of mind in terms of trying to do his best for Cardiff, because he is desperate to play for Wales, still. For him to get that injury is devastating for him. I just hope he gets a speedy recovery."
Cardiff next host Edinburgh on Sunday (3pm kick-off).
New Zealand admit scheduling error but stop short of apology
New Zealand Rugby admit they "did not take into account" there could be a schedule clash between the All Blacks and Black Ferns this weekend.
Wayne Smith's reigning Women's World Cup champions New Zealand face Wales in the quarter-finals this Saturday, kicking off 40 minutes after the All Blacks run out against Japan in Tokyo. However, the Rugby World Cup draw was locked in last May to confirm what New Zealand's quarter-final slot would be should they progress, while the All Blacks' match was announced in August this year when a kick-off time was yet to be decided.
Stopping short of an apology, a governing body statement said: "Unfortunately, when Japan Rugby set the kick-off time for the All Blacks Test, NZR did not take into account the Rugby World Cup stipulation that the host nation would play in the quarter-final 2 timeslot regardless of pool results and may inadvertently cause a clash. There was never an intent to overshadow the Rugby World Cup in any way and, New Zealand Rugby is delighted with how New Zealanders have embraced not only the Black Ferns but the tournament as a whole. NZR did make a request to Japan Rugby to move the kick-off time but we respect the reasons provided for not being able to shift the time. We know the scheduling clash is not ideal but fans are still able to watch and support the Black Ferns and the All Blacks. We encourage New Zealanders to keep up their inspiring support of the Black Ferns as they continue their journey through what has been a wonderful tournament to date. This promises to be an exciting weekend for our Teams in Black, and we look forward to supporting both the Black Ferns and All Blacks this weekend."
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