Here's your round-up of the latest rugby headlines for Tuesday June 27.
Gatland tells Wales stars to start being upbeat
Warren Gatland has told his players to focus on the positives in Welsh rugby as he looks to change the negative narrative surrounding the game here.
Doing so, Gatland stresses, will be key to the their hopes at the World Cup this year.
Hooker Ken Owens became the latest senior player to withdraw from the squad on Monday, following on from Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb.
Those moves have come against a backdrop of financial uncertainty throughout the Welsh game, and even talk of a sensational merger between Cardiff and the Ospreys, and Gatland believes that injecting some positivity into the camp will be crucial to any success in France.
READ MORE: Warren Gatland Q&A: My captaincy plan now as not one player guaranteed to start
"There hasn't been a lot of positivity about rugby in Wales," said Gatland. "We'd like to change the narrative and get as much positivity about there as possible. That has a huge psychological effect on the players in terms of trying to send those messages.
"I've told the players, as a nation, we should be proud of how we've punched above our weight in the past.
"We're the smallest nation in terms of tier one nations. If you look at our economy, it's small compared to Scotland, Ireland and England.
"We don't have major industries. We don't have our own bank. When you look at things, we should be proud of what we've done in the past, how hard these guys are working and how much success we've had.
"There's a lot of expectation, but we've punched above our weight in the past."
Gatland hopes the tub-thumping message about the good things in Welsh rugby will enable his players to focus only on the positives as they prepare for the World Cup, where they meet Australia, Georgia, Fiji and Portugal.
Vunipola setback ahead of Wales warm-up
Billy Vunipola has been dealt an injury setback in his bid to be fit for England’s World Cup squad, having recently gone under the knife to address a knee issue.
Vunipola has been out of action since April, and the Rugby Football Union has revealed he underwent a “minor surgical procedure” last Friday.
According to The Guardian, he remains very much in coach Steve Borthwick's plans for the upcoming tournament, but there are clearly questions over whether he will be fit for England’s opening warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff on August 5.
Vunipola himself has seemingly been upbeat about his chances of proving his fitness. “The medical team are positive about my prospects, and I understand exactly what needs to be done over the next few weeks,” he said recently.
Poll: How far will Wales go at the World Cup? Have your say here or below
Rugby chiefs told to deal with 'crazy' situation
Rugby’s stakeholders have been urged to act on player welfare and place rest periods into regulations in order to prevent players from burning out.
The lack of rest periods for international stars between club and country commitments is an increasing concern ahead of the latest rounds of negotiations over the global calendar, which is set to resume in London this week.
Former All Black Conrad Smith, head of player welfare and high performance at the International Rugby Players, will be there to pass on the views and concerns of players, many of whom claim they are struggling to keep up with an expanding fixture list.
“If player welfare is the priority, whatever is decided that has to be the number one,” Smith told the Telegraph. “As soon as we don’t, don’t say player welfare is the priority, say commerciality is. Players are getting tired of it.”
The current World Rugby Regulation 9, which governs player release, does already state that players “should have appropriate rest, recuperation and recovery opportunities.” However, Smith believes the guidelines don't go far enough.
“Reg 9 mentions rest, rehabilitation and recovery, but it doesn’t specify when that should be seen. All it does is tell players when they need to go from clubs to international teams. We think it should also include when players have their rest periods, which it doesn’t at the moment.
“That’s left up to unions – some do it, because they can for their own players – but there are international players who are left with no recovery or rest time as in their rest time they play in an international competition.
“That needs to be addressed as it is leaving some players with no rest period across a 12-month calendar, which in a contact sport is crazy.”
“We want a minimum [rest period] for every player. No one should be arguing with that – but with the current way things are, that’s not what is seen because it’s not written anywhere, so the players fall through the gaps.”
Bulls release World Cup winner
The Bulls have confirmed they have parted ways with Springbok winger Sbu Nkosi by mutual consent.
“The Blue Bulls Company has agreed to the early termination of Sbu Nkosi’s contract by mutual consent and the 27-year-old will leave the club with immediate effect,” the Bulls said in a statement.
“After a season in the capital, Nkosi’s adventure at the Bulls comes to an end with the conclusion of the 2022-23 rugby calendar as the player looks to pursue his rugby elsewhere.”
