Here are the latest rugby headlines on Monday, Spetember 12
WRU announcement
Grassroots rugby in Wales will resume this weekend after it was suspended last week following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In Wales, all senior matches were postponed last weekend as a mark of respect following news of the Queen's passing. All mini, junior and youth rugby, though, was allowed to go ahead.
Now the Welsh Rugby Union have confirmed league's can restart this coming weekend but clubs are encouraged to hold a two- minutes' silence before matches and wear black armbands.
And any fixtures scheduled for Monday, the day of the Queen's funeral, should be rearranged.
Read more : Louis Rees-Zammit's try was more special than people thought as issues emerge
A statement from the WRU read: "The Welsh Rugby Union expects clubs across Wales to resume scheduled matches and rugby activities from the 12th of September (any matches scheduled for 19 September, the day of the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen, should be rearranged).
"The WRU is grateful for the respect shown by the rugby community in Wales over the weekend (9th-11th September) and suggests that where teams are playing for the first time since the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, that two minutes' silence is observed and black armbands are worn during this period of National Mourning."
The WRU have faced criticism for their decision to put last weekend's fixtures on ice as rugby at all levels went ahead in England.
King Charles visit sees second game moved
Cardiff RFC's match against Merthyr has been moved after Cardiff Rugby's season opener against Munster was delayed a day because of King Charles' visit to the Welsh capital on Friday.
The Welsh region were due to play the Irish side at 7:35pm on Friday but the game will now take place the following day at 3:05pm.
Broadcasting resource has been reallocated to focus on the Royal visit, meaning host broadcaster BBC Wales are unable to show the match in its original slot. You can read about the issue in more detail here.
This has had a knock-on effect for the Cardiff RFC match which was due to kick off on Saturday afternoon
A statement said: "Cardiff RFC can confirm a change to the kick off of the Indigo Cup game this Saturday. The game will now kick off at 11:45am at the Arms Park.
"Cardiff Rugby’s game against Munster has been switched to Saturday (15:05) as King Charles in in Cardiff on Friday night. The double header will allow Cardiff fans to watch both sides. Season ticket holders have free entry to all Cardiff RFC games, and can then use the clubhouse between the two games."
'TMO would have overturned Sheedy yellow' - Lam
Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam has bemoaned the lack of TMO at Saturday's season opener against Bath and claimed Wales star Callum Sheedy would not have been sin binned if a video official was present.
There was no TMO at the game after it was moved from Friday night to Saturday at the last minute following the death of the Queen. The encounter was a niggly affair, with 21 penalties awarded, a yellow card for Sheedy and a red card for unused Bath replacement Niall Annett following a mass brawl.
Lam said: “No one is going to remember all the niggle and stuff. I said to them at half-time, 'let’s not get caught into what’s happening out there and just get five points' and that’s what’s in the record books.
“We knew it was going to come and once you have no TMO, that’s unfortunately what’s going to happen - a lot of niggle, a lot of off- the-ball stuff. Callum Sheedy got yellow carded and if you have a TMO look at it, 100 per cent he wouldn’t have been, and that was in a period of time that was crucial.
“I think if you look at the try down here, we’ve looked at the footage, there’s nothing conclusive but the assistant referee said he saw it so we have to go with that. I know a lot of people talk about the TMO but when you don’t have it, it makes it difficult.”
England name team to play Wales
Sarah Hunter returns to skipper a much-changed side against Wales, with switches including a new front-row of Vickii Cornborough, Lark Davies and Sarah Bern.
Zoe Aldcroft, meanwhile, moves from back-row to lock, and scrum-half Lucy Packer is handed only her second Red Roses start.
England head coach Simon Middleton added: "We are a team that wants to be remembered, and to do that you have to make history and do special things. The group of players and staff are fantastic. It is hugely competitive. It is a very difficult squad to get into, and that is why we have been as successful as we have been.
"To win 25 on the trot would be absolutely fantastic. We know there is a bigger picture we are working towards. Hopefully, results will follow, and if that makes more history, then fantastic."
Team: E Kildunne; L Thompson, E Scarratt, H Rowland, S McKenna; Z Harrison, L Packer; V Cornborough, L Davies, S Bern, Z Aldcroft, A Ward, A Matthews, M Packer, S Hunter (capt).
Replacements: A Cokayne, H Botterman, M Muir, M Talling, P Cleall, C MacDonald, A Reed, H Aitchison.
New Champions Cup and Challenge Cup venues considered
Anthony Lepage has revealed that future finals of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup could be played outside of the main nations in future.
The EPCR chief executive, speaking in Doha, said there could be change afoot in terms of spreading the game out in emerging markets, although there are no plans to host games in Qatar, he added.
He said : “We’re trying to have a mix, of traditional and new. We need to serve every fan in the end. It’s something we’re looking at – new territories that we haven’t been to like Italy, going back to Spain, Portugal, Brussels, Germany, Amsterdam.
“But it’s a long process, as we need to have the commitment and involvement of the local union for that, to bring local fans as well. It’s part of our goal to grow rugby and try to extend.”
He added that moving a finals weekend to South Africa could also be on the cards, stating: “I’d like to show that this territory needs love, as it’s a land of rugby. We as Europeans can learn from them.
“We’ll have a huge fight on the field, which is a huge excitement. The French, English and the others will say ‘it’s our tournament and we don’t want the South Africans to win it.’ That’s exciting.”
READ MORE:
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Cardiff v Munster postponed as BBC Wales run out of resource because of King Charles' visit
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Lawrence Dallaglio and English media get excited after Welsh giant's 'coming-of-age' performance
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Today's rugby news as hooker issues public apology after brawl involving Wales star
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The faces of the best young Welsh rugby players set to make big breakthroughs in new season
