The latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyondLouis Rees-Zammit ahead of his Bristol Bears debut(Image: Getty Images)

Here are your rugby evening headlines for Saturday, September 13

Cardiff rack up impressive win in Dublin

Cardiff finished off their pre-season preparations with an impressive 31-10 victory over URC champions Leinster in Dublin.

Tom Bowen crossed for the opening try early on, taking Callum Sheedy’s cross-field kick before stepping past Leinster full-back Hugo McLaughlin down the sideline to dot down.

Cardiff continued to carve out try-scoring opportunities, with Bowen’s electric pace proving difficult for Leinster to deal with.

However, they were unable to finish those chances off, even after Alex Soroka was sent to the sin-bin for the home side.

Bowen did cross the whitewash again, but was judged to have knocked the ball over the line – with Leinster taking a lead into half-time thanks to tries from Hugh Cooney and Charlie Tector.

Perhaps feeling aggrieved to be behind at the break, Cardiff were the only ones to trouble the scorers in the second-half.

First, Harri Millard levelled the scores after latching onto another pinpoint Sheedy crossfield kick. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

Then, heading into the final 10 minutes, Wales hooker Evan Lloyd powered his way over the line from a tap penalty to move Cardiff ahead.

Lloyd was then involved in the fourth try, floating a looping pass out wide in a move that was eventually finished off by full-back Cameron Winnett.

The hooker would help himself to a second score in the dying minutes from a driving lineout to cap a fine end to Cardiff’s pre-season campaign.

Rees-Zammit beaten on rugby return

Louis Rees-Zammit made his long-awaited return to rugby union on Saturday, although he was unable to stop Bristol Bears losing to Sale Sharks in the Prem Cup.

The Wales wing came off the bench after 50 minutes for his Bears debut, having recently signed for the English club after returning from the NFL.

After his attempts to make it in American football with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars, the match against Sale was Rees-Zammit’s first rugby union action since January 2024.

However, the comeback was spoiled – with a strong second-half Sale performance sealing a 24-15 victory at Salford Community Stadium.

Bristol had started well, with Welsh-qualified centre Joe Jenkins opening the scoring. Tom O’Flaherty went over for Sale, before Josh Carrington scored Bristol’s second try.

Second-half scores for Nathan Jibulu, Dom Hanson and Ollie Davies turned things around for Sale – earning a bonus point in the process.

England announce coaching reshuffle

By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent

England have appointed Lee Blackett as their attack coach as part of a management team reshuffle that sees Richard Wigglesworth take control of the defence.

Former Wasps director of rugby Blackett leaves Gallagher Prem champions Bath to take up his new role later this month having impressed on the victorious summer tour to Argentina and the USA.

Wigglesworth, Steve Borthwick’s number two who was part of the coaching staff for the British and Irish Lions’ recent series triumph over Australia, sees his remit change from attack coach to leading the defence.

The restructuring also results in Joe El-Abd moving from his duties in charge of the defence to working with the forwards, while Andrew’s Strawbridge’s time as coach adviser will end after the autumn series.

“Lee brings great experience and for several years has been widely regarded as one of the country’s top attack coaches. His teams play fast, exciting rugby that consistently look to score tries,” Borthwick said.

“His work with England over the summer further demonstrated his ability to drive the development of our attack in the manner and style already built by Richard Wigglesworth.

“Richard has done an excellent job over the past three years shaping our attack from where it was to where it is now. His selection to coach the Lions this summer is testament to that.

“He and I had previously had a general discussion about whether he could switch his focus to the critical area of defence.

“After the summer tours, it made sense for him to move into that role – provided Lee could join full-time to run the attack.”

England launch their Quilter Nations Series campaign against Australia at Allianz Stadium on November 1 before taking on Fiji, New Zealand, and Argentina.