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Rhys Carre of Wales(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Here are your rugby evening headlines for Sunday, November 23.
Tom Rogers: I had a point to prove to Tandy
By Phil Blanche, PA
Wales wing Tom Rogers stepped out of the shadows to become the first British and Irish player to score a Test hat-trick against New Zealand and put it down to his “fighter” qualities.
Rogers enshrined his name in rugby history with an unforgettable treble as Wales suffered a 52-26 Autumn Nations Series defeat in Cardiff.
The 26-year-old’s heroics came after Wales boss Steve Tandy had dropped him from the side that had beaten Japan the previous weekend.
“I’ve always been a fighter and I wanted to prove to Tandy that I deserved a spot in the team,” said Rogers, who lasted only 45 minutes of the autumn opener against Argentina before being replaced by Louis Rees-Zammit.
“It was class and I’m really chuffed. It hasn’t really sunk in because as a kid it’s your dream to play for Wales against the All Blacks.
“From the Argentina and Japan games it was a massive improvement.
“We wanted to put our game on the pitch and I think we did that in the first hour.
“We attacked well, it’s just that the All Blacks were class in the second half. We can definitely take confidence from the game.”
Carre has tools to be top international player
Former Wales internationals James Hook and Gareth Delve have delivered a mixed but honest appraisal of Rhys Carre, insisting the prop has the physical tools to thrive at Test level but must eliminate defensive lapses from his game.
Speaking on the Scrum V podcast, Hook said Carre showed both strengths and weaknesses in a display that highlighted why the Saracens man can frustrate and impress in equal measure.
He pointed to two missed tackles – one on Ruben Love and another on Tamaiti Williams – as moments that proved costly, but stressed they were individual errors rather than structural failings.
Hook also praised Carre’s impact with ball in hand, noting that the powerful line he took in attack was so effective that his support players struggled to keep pace. However, he admitted the turnover that followed underscored the fine margins at international level.
“In terms of attack, the line he took, he was almost so good at the line the support couldn’t get to him and then he obviously got turned over,” Hook said.
“He brings good and bad but the more he plays and the more he’s exposed to international rugby, you’d like to think the better he’s going to get because he’s a massive bloke. Look at the size of him – he’s built for international rugby.”
Delve echoed Hook’s sentiment, emphasising the leap in intensity when stepping back into the Test arena. He said Carre’s struggle in the 15-metre channel against Love showed where improvements are still needed, even as the prop continues to shine in the Premiership.
“He’s playing at a great level with Saracens now and he’s having a great impact in the Premiership, but returning back to international rugby, that is the challenge,” Delve said.
“Being in a 15-metre channel against Ruben Love and getting absolutely skinned, that’s what he’s got to take out of his game.
“For him to go and kick on and he is still very young for a prop, that is what he’s got to bring to his game defensively, certainly close to the line, impacting – because he’s a big man and I think we need him.
“When you look at how we play, what we’ve lacked is penetration from our forward carriers.
“Carre and Dewi Lake are among the front-rowers who can give us that penetration from nowhere. Without that, it’s tough to create the opportunities we saw the backs take.”
Wales hopeful over Wainwright fitness for Springboks Test
Wales coach Steve Tandy says the squad remain “hopeful” Aaron Wainwright will be fit to face South Africa next weekend after the number eight was forced to withdraw from the All Blacks Test.
Wainwright was pulled from the side late in the week, pushing Taine Plumtree into the starting XV and handing teenager Morgan Morse a place on the bench — a chance he seized as he went on to make his senior debut.
Tandy revealed the Dragons forward had made progress in the past 48 hours but his issue “didn’t really settle down” in time for the New Zealand clash.
“We’re hopeful,” he said. “We were hopeful for this weekend. But it didn’t really settle down. He was moving yesterday and was up and running, so we’re hopeful.”
Wales host the Springboks in Cardiff next Saturday in their final Test of 2025.
Scotland hammer Tonga in their autumn finale
By Anthony Brown, PA
Duhan van der Merwe moved back in front of Darcy Graham at the top of Scotland’s all-time try-scoring charts as Gregor Townsend’s side rounded off a disappointing autumn with an eight-try 56-0 win over Tonga at Murrayfield.
The Scots’ series was always going to be defined by results against New Zealand and Argentina, so back-to-back losses in those two Tests meant the visit of a Tonga side ranked 19th in the world would be largely irrelevant in the final analysis – unless Townsend’s men suffered another defeat.
That scenario never looked likely once the hosts – with 14 changes from the side that started against the Pumas a week earlier – eased into a 21-0 interval lead through converted tries from forwards Jamie Ritchie, George Turner and Max Williamson, all scored at a time when Semisi Paea was serving a 20-minute red card.
Tonga had three other players yellow-carded before Van der Merwe’s 35th international try just before the hour took him back ahead of Edinburgh team-mate Graham. Substitutes Ewan Ashman and George Horne both scored doubles in the final quarter to add gloss to the scoreline.
The visitors were on the back foot from the start and their hopes of building their way into the game were dented when Paea was yellow carded in the fifth minute for a dangerous clearout. Following a bunker review, the back-rower’s infringement was deemed worthy of a 20-minute red card.
Scotland capitalised by scoring their first three tries in his absence. The first came in the 10th minute when Perpignan back-rower Ritchie, on his first appearance of the autumn, powered his way through two Tongans to open the scoring.
Hooker Turner then marked his 50th cap finish with a try when he charged through a gap to score next to the posts after being fed by Ritchie.
The third came in the 23rd minute when second-rower Max Williamson wriggled his way over from close range. Fergus Burke added the extras for all three.
When Tonga returned to their full complement of 15, they managed to stem the flow for the remainder of the half before lock Harison Mataele was yellow carded for a cynical offside right on half-time.
The Scots would have been mindful that they also led 21-0 a week previously against Argentina before capitulating to a 33-24 defeat.
Any prospect of the limited Tongans mounting a comeback, however, was effectively killed by their own indiscipline as they had Taniela Filimone and Fine Inisi yellow-carded for deliberate knock-ons in the third quarter.
After a period of resistance from the visitors, Van der Merwe eventually ran clear to score the Scots’ fourth try in the 59th after good work by Horne to set him up.
Beleaguered Tonga fell apart in the closing stages as Ashman and Horne both helped themselves to doubles in the final quarter.
Doris proud of Irish despite defeat
By Edward Elliot, PA, Dublin
Ireland captain Caelan Doris is confident the adversity experienced in Saturday’s ill-disciplined 24-13 defeat to South Africa will prove beneficial for his side’s development.
The hosts’ quest to end the autumn with a statement win over the world champions was undermined by a 20-minute red card for lock James Ryan and four players being sent to the sin bin.
Trailing 19-7 at the end of a bizarre first half, Ireland began the second period with just 12 men before somehow outscoring the dominant Springboks during a spirited second-half showing.
“It was pretty unique; chaotic is the word that sums it up, definitely,” said Doris.
“I’m proud of the fight, the courage, the character that we showed at times.
“Obviously, you want that to transfer into points and results, but I do think it’s going to stand to us going forward, definitely.”
Springboks fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu escaped a card for a high hit on Tommy O’Brien in the opening stages of a bruising Test match at the Aviva Stadium.
The contentious incident came after South Africa’s coaching staff complained in the build-up of unfair treatment from match officials following red-card incidents in wins over France and Italy earlier this month.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell appeared frustrated at the lack of punishment for Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Asked whether he felt comments from the Springboks’ camp had influenced English referee Matthew Carley, Farrell said: “Well, we brought it up with the referees before the game and they said that would never be a factor because this is a separate game.
“I’ll let you be the judge of that.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s fortune fuelled a sense of injustice among a fired-up capacity crowd, which was heightened when lock Ryan was deservedly dismissed for an illegal clearout on Malcolm Marx, resulting in a Tadhg Beirne try being disallowed.
Despite falling 12-0 behind and being down to 13 men following a yellow card for Sam Prendergast, Ireland found a way back into the contest through Dan Sheehan’s converted score.
However, that hard work was undone in the closing minutes of the opening period, with Jack Crowley and Andrew Porter joining Prendergast in the bin, either side of South Africa being awarded a penalty try.
“You can look at all sorts of different situations within the game and you can say that that was the turning point,” replied Farrell when asked about the end of the first half.
“A few stupid errors from ourselves playing the ball through the ruck, and I think we’d three offside penalties.
“They’re the manageable ones that you don’t give a team like that access, but we did.”
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