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These are your headlines on the morning of Wednesday, December 17
These are the rugby headlines from around the world on the morning of Wednesday, December 17
Rees-Zammit opens talks
Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit has opened talks with Bristol Bears over extending his contract at Ashton Gate.
The 24-year-old had originally signed a one-year deal with the Bears upon his return from the NFL, with the Welshman being lined up for a lucrative move to R360 after his contract expired.
That is no longer on the cards, with the 2026 launch date of the Mike Tindall-backed initiative being pushed back two years to 2028.
That means former Gloucester man Rees-Zammit is on the lookout for another deal, with the Daily Mail reporting that Pat Lam’s side are keen for him to stay in the West Country, but with a bump in salary likely to be key to negotiations.
Rees-Zammit spoke last month about how much he was enjoying his time in Bristol.
“I absolutely love it,” he told TNT Sports after the win over Northampton. “It’s so good to be back in the Premiership. It’s amazing to be at Bristol as well.
“The whole club, my team-mates, they’ve all made me feel so welcome. The supporters as well. We get such a good turnout every week.”
His impact was also been hailed by team-mate Harry Randall, who said: “He’s had a very big impact. The person he is coming into a squad. He’s brilliant for our commercial team I should think!
“He’s probably brought a few more followers for them! But he’s been brilliant. He’s fitted in seamlessly, and it’s been a joy to have him round the place. He’s massive for us to have on the field as you can see from the small period of time he’s been here already.”
Skivington: No guilt over Welsh raid
Gloucester head coach George Skivington says he feels no guilt over raiding Welsh rugby for Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake and insists he wants to see Wales thrive once again.
The Wales captains’ moves to the Cherry & Whites is a body blow to the Welsh game, with the WRU’s plan to cut one of the regions now imminent.
The duo’s exit is unlikely to be the last of the departures, with more 80 players in Wales out of contract come the end of the season.
Skivington has just seen one of his star men, Welshman Tomos Williams, announce his own exit from Kingsholm.
“I don’t think there’s any guilt, because I don’t think the team that are taking Tommy feel any guilt towards us,” said Skivington.
“What I do feel, and I believe everybody in the rugby community wants, is to see Welsh rugby thrive.
“There’s a brilliant history of rugby in Wales and the Principality Stadium is absolutely awesome on international days.
“I remember days in the Heineken Cup where the Welsh teams were ferocious and it was a real tough day to go down there and play. So I think everybody wants Welsh rugby to get aligned and push on.”
Skivington continued: “I’d love to see Welsh rugby getting back to being where it was before, but these guys want to play competitive rugby and right now the Prem offers that week in, week out.
“The guys have got to make decisions that are right for their careers and hopefully Welsh rugby sorts itself out over the next couple of years, as we all want, and then hopefully for Welsh rugby the picture is rosy.”
Daly: We struggle against Ospreys
Munster’s Shane Daly is expecting a tough game against the Ospreys this weekend, adding they always seem to struggle against the Swansea-based side.
The Irish province ran out 31-3 victors over Gloucester last weekend in the Champions Cup and are set to rest some of the frontline stars for the trip to Brewery Field on Saturday.
The scoreline doesn’t quite tell the full story though, with Munster needing three tries in the final 13 minutes to seal the win.
“The way we performed at the weekend, I think if we did that against Ospreys we probably wouldn’t come out on the right side of the result,” Daly said.
“They’re a tough team. We always struggle against Ospreys, they’re hard to play against.
“They’re tough out, they stay in every battle and every game until the very end. So we know it’s not going to be an easy game at all this week so we need to get our stuff right.
“We’re very aware of where we stand and what we need to get better at.
“So just kind of focusing on ourselves and making sure that we get a performance that we’re proud of this weekend and then hopefully that leads into a result into Christmas and to the other games.”
