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These are the rugby stories making headlines on Sunday, December 14
These are your evening headlines on Sunday, December 14.
LRZ pulled from team
Louis Rees-Zammit was a last-minute withdrawal from the Bristol Bears team to face Pau on Sunday night.
The Welshman had originally been named at full-back by director of rugby Pat Lam, in a move from his more traditional position of wing.
But two hours before kick-off Rees-Zammit was one of two players taken out of the matchday squad. Rees-Zammit and Max Lahiff were replaced by Benjamin Elizalde and Jimmy Halliwell for the visit of the French side to Ashton Gate in Champions Cup action.
Lam said pre-match: “We had training and when he came out his calf was a bit tight and he dropped out of training on Friday so we took the precaution and pulled him out, the same with Max Lahiff.”
The Bears began their European campaign with a one-point victory over Scarlets last weekend – with Rees-Zammit scoring the decisive try at Parc y Scarlets.
Dragons finally win
There was wild scenes of celebration at Rodney Parade tonight as the Dragons finally recorded a victory in 2025.
The Men of Gwent came from behind to beat Lyon 23-21 in Newport to register their first win in 364 days.
As the crowd roared with appreciation, the players were seen hugging each other at the final whistle, with no doubt a huge sense of relief waving over them after such a barren run of results.
A poignant moment saw the wider squad and coaches, along with academy players and other club staff, join together in a huddle on the pitch, while head coach Filo Tiatia and some of his players were seen praying at the full-time whistle.
Fireworks were also set off as the players celebrated, startling Wales international Aaron Wainwright, who admitted in his post-match interview he was “relieved” that his side’s torrid run had finally come to an end.
“Probably relief,” he said when asked for his overriding emotion at the full-time whistle. “The boys have put in some massive shifts over the past couple of weeks, Leinster at home and we’ve been on the wrong end of a couple of draws I think.
“To be able to grind that out at the end shows the determination and the grit we have in this group. I think you can hear from the crowd’s reaction at the end, how tough a place this is to come and to have them supporting us is amazing.”
van Zyl: It was a rollercoaster
Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl says he’s still unsure how the Arms Park club managed to sneak past Ulster in the Challenge Cup on Saturday night.
The capital city club fought back to stun the Irish side and beat them thanks to Callum Sheedy’s last-second penalty.
Sheer determination got them back in the tie and the Wales fly-half was the coolest man in the house when he slotted the defining kick.
“It was a rollercoaster,” he said. “We started well but we missed an opportunity which we could have gone three scores up.
“We know Ulster are a quality side so it’s going to take a lot of defending as well to get on top. I felt we did okay at times and then very good at others and then probably not so good at times.
“But it was a big momentum game. When they went 14 points up, it was like, we need to find something here. To be fair, I actually don’t know how they did it but one try at a time and then see what happens.
“Both of the last two kicks (were impressive). To get that right and then convert it was crucial to go 26-all.
“When Ben Thomas dropped that ball at the end, was like… Okay. But then that’s the beauty about it. We back our scrum, obviously go for the penalty which is a crucial point in the game. It’s a pleasure to see.”
Quins thrash Bayonne
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent
Marcus Smith pulled the strings as Harlequins registered the first victory of their Investec Champions Cup campaign by overwhelming Bayonne 68-14 at The Stoop.
Quins made an error-strewn start, but their England playmaker took control by setting up their opening two tries with pinpoint kicks and from there it was one-way traffic, with the visiting whitewash breached 10 times.
Smith, restored at fly-half after sitting out the 45-28 defeat at Leinster, was named man of the match for a performance that was full of clever touches and included nine conversions.
Will Porter, Sam Riley and Kieran Treadwell each ran in two tries on a grim afternoon for Bayonne, who had already folded by half-time.
The French club sit fifth in the Top 14, but Manu Tuilagi and captain Denis Marchois were rested for the visit to Twickenham, while another indication of where their priorities lie was the decision to give flanker Jonah Thompson his first ever start on the wing.
Sensing the opportunity presented by Thompson playing out of position, one of Quins’ first acts was to pepper him with a Porter box kick that applied early pressure.
It was the start of a series of high-speed raids by Harlequins, but time and again the ball squirted out of their hands despite perfect conditions.
A blitz of three tries in nine minutes settled their nerves, however, with Smith’s fingerprints all over the first two, with the line-out providing the attacking platform on each occasion.
Breaking the deadlock, Smith received the ball straight from a driving maul and directed a grubber towards the posts that was gathered and touched down by Cadan Murley.
Next Luke Northmore carried hard off a line-out and several phases later Smith picked out Treadwell, who was stationed on the left wing, with a kick-pass that sent the replacement lock speeding over.
Smith’s handling was on display as he threaded a pass through the eye of a needle, but it was brute force that led to Quins’ next two tries, with props Fin Baxter and Pedro Delgado showing their power.
The front rows struck either side of Lucas Paulos crossing for Bayonne and the onslaught resumed early in the second half when Porter took advantage of Smith acting as a decoy to weave a path across the whitewash.
Quins’ blindside defence was exposed when fly-half Tom Spring sprinted over, but they responded quickly when full-back Nick David evaded two tackles and off-loaded for Porter to score.
Wing Cassius Cleaves showed his pace and footwork for a brilliant finish, only for the try to be chalked off because of a knock on.
Bayonne were coming apart at the seams and, with Alvaro Garcia Iandolino and Baptiste Heguy sent to the sin-bin, Quins helped themselves to two more tries by replacement hooker Riley.
The visitors appeared to have given up on defending as Jamie Benson added the ninth try before double figures was reached through Treadwell.
