These are your rugby headlines on Thursday, July 18.
Welsh great eyes Super Rugby move
Wales great Jonathan Davies says he is open to a move to Super Rugby after leaving the Scarlets.
The 95-cap international departed the region at the end of the season, but despite celebrating his 36th birthday earlier this year, insisted he had no plans to retire from rugby. He is instead pondering his next move and admits that a move overseas could well be on the cards as he moves on from the Welsh game.
Appearing on the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast, Davies – who previously played in France with Clermont – was quizzed on whether he would fancy a move to Super Rugby and said he would “love to give it a go”.
Clarifying his position, he said: “No, I’m not at the Scarlets. I’m currently unemployed or in ‘funemployment’, enjoying that at the moment. Hopefully I can find a club because I would like to play on.
“If I can find an opportunity to play somewhere I would definitely give it a go. I would probably look to move out of Welsh rugby, definitely. That’s a tough gig at the moment boys, I have to say. We are not in a great spot and I think it could take a long time to get to where we were and want to be. For me, it’s not abandon ship as such, but I’m looking forward to a new opportunity.”
Asked about the chances of seeing him in Super Rugby, he added: “I’d love to give it a go. The opportunity to travel is one of the best things about rugby is that it’s given me the chance to see the world.
“To be able to live in a foreign country and play rugby, I did it in France. To do it again – I would definitely consider it. Super Rugby is pretty quick at the moment! At 36, I would probably hang in there, just about. It’s always good to watch, I’ve always watched it [but] I don’t want to hang myself out to dry!”
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Star slams ‘disgraceful’ X-rated comments
England captain Jamie George has slammed “disgraceful” X-rated comments made about a member of the squad’s medical staff during their clash against New Zealand.
The Alternative Commentary Collective (ACC), an 18+ radio station based in New Zealand, posted a clip on their social media feeds during England’s second Test against the All Blacks, in which they crudely suggested an England physio should perform a sex act on George while he was receiving treatment on the pitch.
As the Telegraph reports, the post – which has now been deleted – read: “Forget the magic water, how about the magic hand***”, with the radio station’s account replying to further sexist comments with a laughing emoji.
Skipper George – who, away from the rugby field, also owns a chain of physiotherapy businesses – has now issued a statement condoning the comments. It reads: “Both the RFU and The Carter & George Practice employ many talented and hard-working female healthcare professionals. It is disappointing that comments like this are still being made.”
John Cowman, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in the UK, also slammed the post. He said: “These misogynist and sexist comments made against a female member of the medical team working for the England rugby team are beyond unacceptable – they are disgraceful.
“No one should face such online abuse and the comments denigrate the high professional standards that she and other sports medics and physiotherapists uphold. This kind of abuse is still all too common both online and in stadiums and needs to end now.”
Mike Lane, the general manager of ACC, has since apologised for the post in a statement. “We’ve missed the mark on this occasion, and we have removed the social media posts,” he said. “We apologise to anyone who was offended by the content – it definitely wasn’t our intention to cause any offence”.
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Faletau guides Wales star to special moment
Wales back row Mackenzie Martin has spoken about how Taulupe Faletau has helped guide him to his first international start.
The 20-year-old will wear the starting No.8 jersey for the first time against Queensland Reds on Friday, having made his debut during this year’s Six Nations. It has been an eventful 12 months for the Cardiff star, who this time last year was in South Africa with the U20s.
After a dramatic rise to the Test scene, Martin has counted on the guidance of his clubmate and Wales legend Faletau, who has imparted some wisdom gained from his time at the very top of the game. Even since landing in Australia earlier this month, the youngster has been in contact with the legendary back row, as he explained on the Scrum V podcast.
“He’s probably as important now than ever,” he said of Faletau. “He’s done what I’ve done, he’s done it years ago so he has tons of experience. I messaged him when I was out here, actually. The first week, obviously I didn’t get picked and I just messaged him and he gave me some good advice. I wished him well on his shoulder recovery.
“I’m always asking him for advice, he’s a good guy to lean on and a good guy to get some information from because he’s done it for years and years at the best level. I’m not best friends with him or anything like that, he just understands I’m in the position that he was at this age.
“So if he could mentor me in any way, it would be his pleasure, [in terms of] wanting to improve, to get better,” he added. ” I’m not sure if he had someone in his position who was like that so he’s going to do his best to help me and hopefully I can learn as much as I can off him.”
Richardson relishing Scotland return
By Anthony Brown, PA
Versatile Sharks forward Dylan Richardson is relishing the opportunity to revive his fledgling Scotland career almost three years on from his debut.
The South Africa-born 25-year-old was first capped by Gregor Townsend against Japan in November 2021 but then endured a sustained period in the international wilderness as a string of injuries halted his progress.
However, Richardson earned a recall to the fold for this summer’s tour of the Americas and marked his second cap earlier this month by scoring two tries in the 73-12 win over Canada.
Reflecting on the near-32-month gap between his first and second appearance for the country of his father’s birth, Richardson told Scottish Rugby: “It was very hard because I had a lot of injuries.
“One of the key elements to becoming an international player is consistency within your performances at club level and unfortunately I wasn’t able to put that together in the past two years, just with little injuries creeping in.
“It’s part of the game we play but it was very frustrating. I had to take a step back and realign what was best for my body and decide how I was going to get a really good career out of rugby, and I think I’m starting to get aligned with that.”
