Here are the latest rugby headlines on Monday, May 9.
Rugby club in shock over death of Samoa star
The death of Samoan back-row forward Kelly Meafua, who died after jumping from a bridge into a river while celebrating a win, has left his club in shock. Meafua’s club Montauban confirmed the 32-year-old had not survived the incident in the early hours of Saturday morning despite the efforts of a teammate, named as prop Christopher Vaotoa in French media reports, who jumped into the water but was unable to save him. Vaotoa himself was taken to hospital with hypothermia but was discharged in good health on Saturday.
The pair are reported to have been celebrating Montauban’s 48-40 win over Narbonne just hours earlier in the team’s final home Pro D2 game of the season at Stade Sapiac in France.
“The entire club is shocked and everyone is thinking of his wife, his children, his teammates and more generally everyone who loves the club,” a club statement read. “Kelly was a player who was well liked by everybody. His joy for life was infectious and radiant. Today we have lost a player, a friend and a brother.”
Born in Samoa, Meafua moved to New Zealand when he was a teenager, started playing rugby aged 20 and had stints in Auckland before moving to Sydney and then leaving for France in 2015.
Read next: Louis Rees-Zammit scores maybe his best try yet amid gasps from spectators
Ospreys boss questions integrity of URC
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has questioned why all games in the United Rugby Championship's final round are not kicking off at the same time, insisting they should for the sake of the competition's integrity.
If the Ospreys can claim a bonus-point victory against South African side Bulls on Friday, May 20, they will be the top finishing Welsh team and will seal a Champions Cup spot for next season. If they fail to get a bonus point, the Scarlets could finish the season as Wales' top side when they face the Stormers on Saturday, May 21, with Dwayne Peel's men knowing what they need when they head into the game.
"I can't understand why it is not [all games played at the same time]," Booth in his post-match press conference after the 50-31 win over the Dragons on Sunday. "For the integrity of the competition, surely it has to be at the same time, especially when there is something tangible on it.
"I have come from the Premiership in England where all games finish at the same time [on the last day]. "I appreciate things like television picks. But even now, if there are meaningful games with big repercussions, there has to be that integrity of competition, despite the TV picks. There are enough quality games so we can fill the schedule. We will be asking the question for sure."
As for the Scarlets kicking off a day later, Booth said: "That is potentially a competitive advantage and can adjust how you approach a game. So for me that diminishes the integrity of the competition."
Players addressed amid Welsh rugby bombshell
Ospreys chief executive Nick Garcia addressed the squad about the leaked report which included one recommendation to cut the number of Welsh regions from four to three. The report by Oakwell report was commission for the Professional Rugby Board to consider but other suggestions include reforming the players' funding model and running the elite game differently. You can read more about the whole saga here.
"Everyone loves a sensationalist headline, especially if it is part of a bigger report that has four other different solutions," Booth said.
"Nick Garcia addressed the players, we had an internal email to clarify the position and as far as we are concerned, it is business as usual for us."
Rhys Webb and Alex Cuthbert updates
Ospreys boss Booth has allayed any injury fears over Rhys Webb and Alex Cuthbert, who were both early departures in their Welsh rugby derby win.
"They're okay", Booth said. "One's [Webb] a neck spasm and Cuthbert, when he went up for the ball, we were in the position where we could afford to make those changes. Him and Keelan [Giles], they're all fine."
Webb said in his post-match interview: "I just had a bit of a stinger on the neck so I think it was just precautionary to come off and ice it up but it's all good now."
Dragons boss bemoans 'Jekyll and Hyde' form
Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan bemoaned his team's "Jekyll and Hyde" performance in the first half against the Ospreys. His team had got off to a strong start via a stunning opening quarter which saw Jared Rosser, Adam Warren and Mesake Doge bag tries to give the Dragons a 24-8 lead.
But a high penalty count allowed a fully loaded Ospreys side to turn to their power game to wrestle back control by the break and eventually pull clear. Dragons did secure a try bonus point courtesy of a late score from replacement scrum-half Lewis Jones in the 50-31 defeat but it was no more than a consolation.
"I think in the first half you see a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde," Ryan said in his post-match TV interview with Premier Sports. "You see outstanding attack game. We also see the other side of it where we talked all week, if we give them entries into our 22, they'll drive over and score. We gave them four and they come off, staying in the same game that we knew could hurt us. We wanted them to get to a game where they had to chase us.
"We've got six or seven internationals missing and they've got Lions all over the place. Sometimes I expect that. As we learn, a 21-year-old calling lineouts, I don't know how many we're down in hookers. Some of that, we expect, we smartened up and got out of there quicker and found a little bit more momentum through that.
"There is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the way the youngsters are taking us, but we've also got to face in to some of the old problems. We can't handle drive and we also aren't disciplined enough and we can't escape that.
"I don't think we've got a squad that can play 10 games on the bounce. But we're playing 10 games on the bounce and we've got to do it as well as we can. It's week to week. I looked today, you look at the team sheets and you think 'this isn't going to end well' but then you look at what we can put on a field in that first half and you see where we're heading and how the youngsters are driving this environment and thriving."
Host of Welsh players chasing English trophy
Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins secured the final three Allianz Premier 15s semi-final places with a round of the regular season still to play, joining Saracens in the hunt for the trophy. The competition is the highest women's club rugby tournament in England, which most of Wales' Six Nations players feature in.
The top-flight competition returned at the weekend after being put on hold for 56 days due to the Women's Six Nations. It is the first time Exeter and Bristol have reached the play-offs.
Exeter hammered Saracens, who had already locked in a semi-final place, 54-12. Wasps' defeat by Gloucester-Hartpury meant both defending champions Harlequins and the Bears also qualified, with the Londoners winning their meeting 43-26 in Bristol. Wales' Jasmine Joyce and Manon Johnes both crossed for Bristol in front of a record-breaking crowd of 4,101 at Ashton Gate, the latter touching down late on to secure the bonus point they needed to seal a top-four finish.
