The latest rugby headlines from Wales and around the worldTomos Williams of the British & Irish Lions(Image: Getty Images)

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Saturday, August 16.

Clubs circle for Wales star’s signature

English and French teams have already started to “sniff” around Tomos Williams as the Wales star goes into the last year of his contract with Gloucester.

The report from RugbyPass says PREM Rugby and Top 14 sides are interested in acquiring his services. Williams has been one of the standout performers in northern hemisphere rugby since he joined Gloucester last season.

The scrum-half went on to earn the Premiership Player of the Season award after a string of highly impressive outings in Cherry and White.

Williams was also included in the British and Irish Lions squad for their tour of Australia but suffered a hamstring injury in the warm-up games, ending his time Down Under.

The Welshman had been backed to challenge Jamison Gibson-Park for the starting nine jersey in the Tests, but never got his opportunity.

This season at Kingsholm he will be partnered with former Leinster fly-half Ross Byrne in the half-backs. Last season, he played alongside Wales teammate Gareth Anscombe, who is now with Bayonne in the Top 14.

Rees-Zammit to ‘feel pain’ as he jets off

Louis Rees-Zammit has been warned he will feel some pain over the next few weeks as he re-acclimatises to rugby.

The Welshman has jetted off to Guernsey to meet his teammates on a pre-season training camp after completing his move to the English giants and knows he must get his fitness levels back up to standard after 18-months of very different training in the NFL. The 24-year-old has admitted American football training was nowhere near the aerobic intensity of rugby, with the focus on explosive short bursts and learning playbooks rather than conditioning for 80 minutes of constant action.

“He’s going to feel a little bit of pain over the next couple of weeks and that’s what he’s signed up for,” Lam told the Telegraph, ahead of some brutal running sessions to fine tune his rugby fitness.

“But we’re not taking an NFL player. We’re taking a world-class rugby player who has learned a lot from NFL about what he can do with his body. When we transfer him back, I think he’ll be an even better rugby player.”

On Friday afternoon, the former American football player posted an image of a plane with the Guernsey flag emoji attached.

The Welshman signed for Bristol Bears in the PREM on Thursday, and as part of their pre-season campaign, the squad and coaches are at Guernsey Rugby Academy in the Channel Islands.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for our young players,” said David McGall, vice chair of the Guernsey Rugby Academy.

“The Academy has been fortunate to have individual former professionals both share knowledge and run training sessions with groups of players, but the island has never hosted an entire squad including coaches, so we are extremely lucky that the Bears have agreed to spend time running a session with the players. It’s an experience they will never have again, and we are all looking forward to it.”

“The club’s links with Guernsey are well-known but this is the first time that we have had the opportunity to come across and enjoy a weekend off before the start of what will be a busy season,” said Bears team manager, Jack Targett

“To spend time with youngsters is something the team does regularly in Bristol through the Bears Community Foundation, so we’re delighted to be meeting the players from the Guernsey Rugby Academy and building a relationship with them.”

Siya Kolisi admission

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has admitted he stays away from social media because criticism from fans and pundits affects him badly.

The legendary skipper, who lines up at number eight against Australia on Saturday in the opening match of the Rugby Championship, says he advises team-mates to focus only on the opinions of those closest to them.

“I try and stay away from social media because sometimes I am not strong enough to take the criticism,” he said.

“Sometimes it does affect me, so I try not to read it. It is either very good or very bad, with little in between. The most important voices that I listen to are my coach, my coaching staff.

“You can be looking for something else [online], and you come across somebody saying you are not good enough. And it has affected me quite a lot in the past,” he said honestly.

“So I try to stay away from it and look at facts. I watch the games and study my opposition – that works a whole lot more for me.

“People can say that a certain player is not good enough or ready, and then on the day that player shows up.

“I look at what the opposition has done in the past. That helps me focus and get me ready for the game because I know what he is about to do. I watch clips over and over, which gives me the idea that he might do that again.

“I try and tell the up-and-coming guys that we have to focus on the people who matter, people who coach you.

“I’m not saying they shouldn’t listen to the media, because the media helps us with our stories and helps us get known.

“When you do well, your stories are told, and when you are doing badly, they are also being told.

“But for us, it’s all about rugby.

“I actually don’t have time to read everything because the amount of clips that we have to study is so much that I can’t add another layer.”