The latest rugby news from Wales and beyond.
These are your headlines on the morning of Monday, November 10.
Wales to call up player
A new face is set to arrive in Wales camp today after Steve Tandy confirmed he will call up reinforcements following the injury to skipper Jac Morgan.
Morgan left the field during Wales’ heavy defeat to Argentina on Sunday in some considerable pain, having injured his shoulder in the act of scoring a try. He was helped from the field by medics and headed straight down the tunnel and on the replacements’ bench afterwards he was consoled by his team-mates, with his arm in a sling.
Tandy confirmed the worst afterwards, revealing the Osprey had dislocated his shoulder and would more than likely miss the rest of the campaign.
Asked if he would making call-ups, he confirmed they would be and name-checked two players who could possibly fit the bill.
“We’ll definitely call someone up,” Tandy said in his post-match press conference.
“We’ll discuss that as a coaching group later. But we’re losing Jac and there’s some banged-up bodies. We’ll assess in the next 24 hours. We’ve got some really good players. Tommy (Reffell) is an outstanding international, playing well for Leicester. Harri Deaves has been unbelievable for the Ospreys for a consistent period. We’ve got options.”
Tandy to look into Thomas yellow
Wales head Tandy has spoken out on the Ben Thomas yellow card following Wales’ loss to Argentina.
Cardiff Rugby centre Thomas was shown a yellow for appearing to kick out at Pablo Matera. The Los Pumas legend was holding on to Thomas’ leg and he lashed out in response, although it appeared as if he missed the head of Matera with the alleged kick.
It went to review and it was decided that the offence would remain yellow, although Sam Warburton was inclined to disagree with the suggestion that just because the kick didn’t connect with Matera’s head, it wasn’t as bad: “It doesn’t matter, it’s like throwing a punch and missing. The intent was there,” he said.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Tandy was asked about the yellow card and said he would need to watch the moment back to reach a full conclusion, but he thinks Thomas may have just been trying to rid himself from the clutches of Matera, rather than aim a direct kick.
“The footage you’re looking at, there’s not a real angle that I’ve seen that’s conclusive to what it is,” he said. “There’s lots going on. At the end of the day, if he is lashing out, you can’t do that in the game.
“But if you’re looking at it from a broader sense, there’s a lot of holding on the floor. If you’re trying to free something, we’ll probably get a proper angle on it at some point. It’s something I want to look at further. I know how things can look in slow-motion if you are getting held on the floor.”
Rapid Arundell makes others appear slow
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
Henry Arundell’s searing pace makes even the fastest players appear slow, according to his England team-mate Alex Mitchell.
Arundell switched on the afterburners for his crucial 69th-minute try that gave England control of their autumn clash at Allianz Stadium, which they eventually won 38-18.
The Bath wing was the first to reach Marcus Smith’s grubber, outpacing speedsters Kalaveti Ravouvou and Sireli Maqala and prodding the ball forward before touching down.
It was a thrilling reminder of the 23-year-old’s athletic gifts as he celebrated the end of his England exile after spending two seasons in French club rugby by showing he is an X-factor talent who is too good to be overlooked.
The move started from an inaccurate Fiji kick-pass and scrum-half Mitchell said: “When the ball is in the air it can go either way because of the way the game is now.
“Marcus picked up the scraps and I think he’s obviously seen Henry inside him then just the pace of him….it’s ridiculous.
“It was crazy and we see it in training every week. It just makes everyone else look really slow. Marcus and the Fiji boys are rapid as well, but Henry’s at the next level.
“We’ve known for a couple of years that he’s up there in terms of speed. He’s definitely one of the fastest players about. It was a class try and I’m really happy for him.”
Arundell was part of a second wave of replacements from the bench that began with the introduction of five forwards in the 54th minute and continued with additional reinforcement being fed into the match later on.
England are making smart use of the depth in their squad and have reversed the theme of last year when they repeatedly lost to tier one opponents by crumbling in the final quarter.
“We just appreciate you’ve got to stick in the game, you’ve got to stay in the arm wrestle and find a way,” British and Irish Lions half-back Mitchell said.
“We’re good when we get to that last 20 minutes. We’ve got the fitness, power and speed to carry on for 80 minutes, so we know if we stay toe-to-toe with teams, at that last 20 minutes we can push on and get a result.”
New Zealand visit Twickenham on Saturday in the autumn’s main event when England will be aiming to extend their winning run to 10 Tests.
“In any game you want to go out and get a result, but we know how good New Zealand are. They’re one of the best sides in the world for a reason,” Mitchell said.
“They’re a quality side with quality individuals, so it’s going to be a real Test match next weekend. We need to be our best and put in a real performance.
“We’re building momentum and growing as a team. We’re in a really good spot at the moment, but we’ve got so much growth in us. Our ceiling is so much higher, which is really exciting.”
Russell a fitness worry
By Anthony Brown, PA
Scotland face an anxious wait to learn if talisman Finn Russell will be fit for next Sunday’s Test against Argentina at Murrayfield.
The stand-off required treatment on his knee on more than one occasion in Saturday’s agonising 25-17 defeat by New Zealand before being substituted in the closing stages after also sustaining an ankle issue.
With British and Irish Lions pair Huw Jones and Zander Fagerson having missed out on Saturday, head coach Gregor Townsend is hoping he does not lose another key player for what promises to be an arduous encounter against the burgeoning Pumas.
“His knee was the initial injury, and I thought he was outstanding, even though he had that knee strain,” Townsend said of Russell. “The reason we took him off was because he had an ankle too, so there were two injuries he was carrying.
“He doesn’t think it’ll be serious, but it’s obviously too early to say. We hope he’ll be fit for next week, but we have to deal with injuries. We had two Lions who weren’t available for the New Zealand game, but we’ve got other players that can step up.”
Scotland were left devastated after letting a golden opportunity slip to notch their first-ever win over New Zealand on Saturday.
After trailing 17-0 at the break following tries by Cam Roigard and Will Jordan, the Scots roared back to level the match by the hour mark courtesy of tries from Ewan Ashman and Kyle Steyn, and a penalty from Russell.
When the All Blacks lost a third player to a yellow card early in the fourth quarter – Wallace Sititi followed Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea in being sent to the sin-bin – Scotland appeared to have their chance.
But the Kiwis regained their composure and got themselves back in front with a sensational finish in the 73rd minute from replacement Damian McKenzie, who then sealed the win with a long-range penalty.
Townsend said: “The reality is that there’s always a winner and a loser in sport, and this is not the final game in our season or the final game in the players’ careers.
“They’ve got one next week. We’d love to play New Zealand more regularly. We will play them next year in the new Nations Championship, so we just have to make the most of the opportunities we get. But if we don’t, then we make sure we become a better team for it.
“We’ve been a better team off defeats and victories, and even how we played from first half to second half. There were a lot of good things in the first half.
“But to not have your spirit broken by being held up twice, and to concede a try right on half-time, and come back and get to 17-all, and also just dominate all facets of play in that 20-25 minute period, it shows what the team’s capable of.
“We just have to make sure that over the next two weeks we get to build and grow together. You’re only here for a short period of time in November, but that’s a very useful game for us, for the Six Nations too, against a really quality opposition.”
Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.
You can also follow us on social media on our X account, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
For more exclusive stories and in-depth analysis, you can sign up for the Inside Welsh Rugby substack newsletter here.