Here's your round-up of all the latest rugby headlines for Friday, March 31.
Cardiff to pay tribute to Peter Thomas
Cardiff Rugby will pay tribute to Life President Peter Thomas ahead of Saturday's European Challenge Cup clash with Sale Sharks.
Thomas sadly passed away at his home on Wednesday, and tributes have been pouring in from across the game.
The former hooker was associated with the Blue and Blacks for six decades, and served as chairman for 22 years.
A book of condolence has been opened at Cardiff Arms Park, while flowers can also be left outside the clubhouse.
Ahead of kick-off this weekend, both sides will observe a minute’s silence followed by a minute’s applause on the pitch.
Plans for further tributes are expected to be announced over the coming days.
Hewitt pledges to continue speaking out
Ashton Hewitt says he'll continue to speak out on issues around racial inequality and discrimination, despite receiving "disgusting" abuse on social media.
Hewitt has often spoken about the impact of racism in rugby and wider society, and says he won't be silenced by critics and trolls.
The Dragons star and Wakes hopeful is set to back the United Rugby Championship’s ‘Take on Tomorrow’ programme which aims to use rugby as tool for community impact and social change.
Speaking about his experiences, Hewitt said: “We had the protests following the murder of George Floyd and the massive collective that brought, bringing everything to the forefront of conversations.
“I started using social media to defend people and express my feelings and my experiences because I felt it was important to get people to understand.
“With that just came a whole heap of abuse that really shocked me. It got me down a lot of the time. My family, my friends, everyone was just in complete shock. It was a huge eye opener for how big an issue racism is. “We have got a platform where people can just deliver that abuse and racism. It just goes to show how much of a problem it is.
“The amount I was getting for someone who is really not that famous and popular at all, the number of insults and disgusting things I was getting on social media was such a shock for me.”
Wales looking into possible injury links
Wales are looking into possible links between a recent string of serious knee injuries that have hampered their ongoing Women's Six Nations campaign.
The last five games have seen three players pull out with ACL injuries, with Gwen Crabb the latest to withdraw during last weekend's win over Ireland.
Megan Webb and Alisha Butchers both picked up similar injuries during the World Cup, and head coach Ioan Cunningham admits his side are now looking for answers.
"We've had a conversation about it already and its natural with a performance that you look at everything, whether that's something we need to do differently, the surface, the footwear, our programmes, so we are looking at everything," said Cunningham.
"One thing our medical team are very focused on is injury prevention. They look at what is the programme to make sure that we are strong around our lower leg.
"Jo Perkins [the team's head medic] does a lot of work speaking to staff within our pathway so young female players coming up are putting injury prevention exercises into their programmes from an early age."
"We also have to make sure recovery and rehab is the best and we've got some great examples here. Alisha and Meg came off ACL's and they're flying at the moment. Gwen [Crabb] will have exactly the same."
Scarlets bid for Euro glory
The Scarlets kick off the Welsh regions' bid for European glory tonight as they host French side Brive.
Victory will earn Dwayne Peel's side a place in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup - a competition many think they are capable of winning given their fine current form.
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said: "It is a big occasion, last weekend was a big one with the Sharks and the calibre of team they brought and this is another.
"Knockout rugby is great, you want to be part of the knockout stages of Europe and the boys are looking forward to it.
"Brive will come here and make it difficult for us. They are going to be very physical, they have excellent line-out defence, one of the best in the Top 14, and they fight hard at the breakdown.
"The boys are working hard, we have prepped well and are expecting a tough challenge."
Wales captain Ken Owens returns to the starting XV after a week off following Wales duty and the birth of his second child.
The match kicks off at 8pm.
Scarlets: Tom Rogers; Steff Evans, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Kemsley Mathias, Ken Owens, Javan Sebastian, Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, Aaron Shingler, Josh Macleod (capt), Sione Kalamafoni.
Replacements: Shaun Evans, Wyn Jones, Sam Wainwright, Morgan Jones, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Kieran Hardy, Rhys Patchell, Ioan Nicholas.
Read more:
Welsh region announce eight players have signed new deals and Springboks coach to join England
