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These are the rugby stories making headlines on the morning of Sunday, December 7.
These are your headlines on the morning of Sunday, December 7.
Peel left to rue questionable refereeing decisions
Dwayne Peel was left to rue a number of decisions from the officials which could easily have gone the other way as the Scarlets slipped to an agonising 17-16 defeat to Bristol Bears in Llanelli.
One incident saw Bristol No 8 Viliame Mata yellow-carded for a shoulder charge to the head of Johnny Williams.
The Scarlets also had two tries from Tom Rogers and Jac Davies ruled out by the TMO for a knock on and a forward pass which occurred a number of phases previously.
Nobody would have complained if Mata had seen red but the referee, Gianluca Gnecchi, saw things differently.
“It could easily have been a red, yes,” said Peel.
“Complaining doesn’t change the result. It is what it is.
“We will move on from there. It was disappointing to have a couple of tries, as they did as well, get pulled back.
“Those were real killers especially the second try I thought it was a really good well worked try for us.
“At the end of the day but for the bounce of the ball and the execution of a lineout away from a win in that game.
“We will take our medicine on that.”
The Scarlets had every opportunity to start their Champions Cup campaign with a win but failed to nail the key moments in the final quarter of the game.
Despite the narrow defeat Peel is adamant the Scarlets are heading in the right direction.
“I’m disappointed for everyone to be honest,” said Peel. “There was plenty of endeavour and it was a real scrap of a game. It was a real tight game.
“If I’m being honest effort-wise it was really good.
“We weren’t as clinical in that last period and there were a couple of set-piece opportunities which we didn’t nail.
“There was a pretty soft try for them off the scrum as well. It’s fine margins but that is this level of rugby really.
“The first half we had two tries disallowed which was really disappointing.
“It was a big momentum swing in the game but I thought there was a lot of good in our game and I think we’ve got to capitalise.
“Have we taken a step forward? Yes, we’ve definitely taken a step forward.
“That is the positive but I’m gutted for everyone with the loss.”
Meanwhile, Peel will be hoping for further positive news following the first-half injury to Scarlets tighthead Archer Holz.
Medics rushed onto the field and after a lengthy delay he was stretched off the pitch receiving what looked like oxygen.
He was replaced by Henry Thomas. Post-match the Scarlets stated Holz was “up and about following the final whistle”.
Captain proud of performance in defeat
Cardiff captain Alun Lawrence maintains there were plenty of positives for his side to take out of Saturday’s 38-17 defeat to Stade Francais in Paris.
Head coach Corniel van Zyl made wholesale changes to his squad with the likes of full-back Matty Young and wing Elijah Evans all making their European debuts.
Cardiff fronted up well in the first half and held a narrow lead at the interval before Stade Francais cut loose after the break.
“They (Stade Francais) are an exciting team, the way they move the ball in and out of hand, especially in that second half,” Lawrence told the Cardiff Rugby website.
“Of course it causes problems, puts us under pressure. But I’m really proud of the boys.
“It’s a young group, with three debutants, boys coming back from injuries, and a couple making their first starts. They dug in really well. At no point did we ever throw the towel in — kept knocking on the door. So we’re disappointed, gutted, but really proud at the same time.
“These are days where boys learn so much.
“Spectacles like today, European campaigns, they’re moments that stand out in careers.
“For him (Matty Young) to get his first start, get on the scoreboard, set one up for Iwan (Stephens) on his return from injury — it’s great to see.
“And obviously Harry Wilde coming on early, only his second appearance, had a lot to do. I’m chuffed for those boys.
“Elijah had some really nice touches on the ball, and you could see the future of the club out there. Really exciting prospects, and I’m proud of how they carried themselves in the Cardiff jersey.”
Wales pair play integral role in big Saracens win
Wales internationals Rhys Carré and Nick Tompkins played starring roles as Saracens thrashed Clermont Auvergne 47-10 to get their Champions Cup campaign off to a flying start.
Saracens scored six tries in total with Lucio Cinti (twice), Max Malins, James Hadfield, Noah Caluori, Hugh Tizard and Theo Dan touching down.
Carré scrummaged extremely well making a mess of the Clermont scrum and made significant metres with his ball carrying.
Tompkins defended and carried well while his distribution helped get the best out of Saracens’ back three.
Elsewhere, Wales playmaker Jarrod Evans was on the losing side as Harlequins got comfortably beaten 45-28 by Leinster in Dublin.
Evans had a decent game as Harlequins played some nice stuff before succumbing to Leinster’s firepower.
Stuart now huge Six Nations doubt
By Press Association Sport Staff
Bath prop Will Stuart is unlikely to play any further part in the club’s Investec Champions Cup campaign after suffering a suspected Achilles tendon rupture against Munster.
Stuart received lengthy attention after a scrum collapsed in the 47th minute.
It will also come as unwelcome news for England head coach Steve Borthwick as he plans his 2026 Six Nations campaign.
Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan said: “No, he’s not in a good way. It looks like it’s his Achilles. I’m no medical expert, but he couldn’t even stand up when he got pulled off the field.
“I’ll receive an update later, but it looks very serious.”
However van Graan was more than satisfied with the 40-14 victory over Munster after racing into a 28-0 lead despite constant rain which made handling the ball almost impossible.
He added: “It’s a very good win, five points, and they didn’t get any league points.
“I think that’s one of our better starts that we’ve had, scoring four tries in I think 18 minutes. At half-time it was important not to let them back in and we won the second half 5-0.
“I thought it was a great occasion – two European teams with amazing supporters. What was impressive tonight was the way we adapted. It’s pretty dominating when you start 28-0 and you’ve got what you need.
“You’ve just got to manage the rest of the game and make sure they don’t get back into it.
“In the maul we were dominant and I think we had ascendancy in the scrum.
“On the flipside we’ve got a lot of respect for them and knew they would keep coming. At half-time the game wasn’t over, but we let them play in their own half. Tactically we managed it well and stuck to our plan.”
Munster captain Tadhg Beirne held his hand up for the early line-out problems, saying: “It was a silly error on my part. I lost one and then it was compounded then with a penalty into the corner.
“My yellow card was punished very severely when I was off the field. It was probably on my shoulders that first 20 minutes unfortunately.
“We’ll move on for next week, but I thought the fight from that point on was more like the Munster we know.”
Munster’s head of rugby Clayton McMillan said: “I feel that we are a better team than what we showed in the first 20 minutes, especially against a quality side. You give them that sort of margin and it’s going to be difficult to come back.
“We created a bit of early pressure, but we lost a few early line-outs which lifted the pressure somewhat.”
He added: “There were positives. Against one of the top teams in Europe we were able to keep the score even for a good 60 minutes. We don’t want to pat ourselves on the back for that though.”
