Your rugby morning headlines for Monday, January 2.
'Too soon' for Howley Wales return
Rob Howley has been told it's "too soon" for him to return to the Wales coaching set-up.
The former Wales attack coach and long-time ally of Warren Gatland had been seen as the prime contender for his old job after Stephen Jones' departure from the role.
But the chances of that happening appear to have receded with doubts emerging about whether the time is right to welcome back the ex-Lions scrum-half after his ban in 2019 for breaching betting rules.
Howley has been rebuilding his career with a role as assistant coach to the Canada national team, with his contract thought to be in its final year.
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WalesOnline reported the news at the weekend about senior WRU figures being opposed to Howley's return. You can read about that here.
The Rugby Paper quote an unnamed source as saying Howley wasn't actually in the frame any more. "There is a recognition that Rob has been working hard to rebuild his career," said the source. "But there is also a feeling that it would be too soon to offer him an immediate return. He is not a contender."
Quite how that sits with Gatland is unclear. The head coach is a man who isn't known for giving up easily and if he truly wants Howley to be his right-hand man once again it would be a surprise if he didn't make a fresh appeal on his behalf.
Again as revealed by WalesOnline, ex-Scarlets and Crusaders coach Mark Jones is among those being mentioned as potential candidates to fill the attack coach vacancy with Wales if Howley doesn't get the job.
Fans protest to WRU
Fans of the four Welsh regions joined forces on New Year's Day to protest to the WRU over the current state of the game in Wales.
The Joint Supporters Group (JSG Cymru), which represents supporters' organisations for Cardiff, Dragons, Scarlets and Ospreys, staged a coordinated protest at the two Welsh derbies and wrote an open letter to the WRU.
It comes amid a time of great uncertainty, with a funding deal for the professional game still not officially agreed and a subsequent contract freeze and impending salary cap seeing a number of players leaving or considering leaving for France.
In an open letter to CEO Steve Phillips and chairman Ieuan Evans, the JSG demanded to know why the WRU stopped meeting with the supporters' groups in August 2021 after pledging to do so every few months. It has also urged bosses to put in place a new funding deal urgently to safeguard the short and long-term future of the game.
'True grit won derby for Ospreys'
Alex Cuthbert hailed the Ospreys’ grit after they rallied to down Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship derby at the Arms Park.
Toby Booth’s team trailed 12-7 at the break but upped their game in the second half to take a 22-19 win.
Booth’s finger nails would have been reduced, though, with a missed kick to touch in the final seconds giving Cardiff a chance to level the scores. But Jarrod Evans’ difficult penalty attempt from near the touchline fell just short.
“It was nervy at the end," Cuthbert told the BBC. “We missed touch and gave them an opportunity. But we showed a bit of grittiness in the second half, a bit of patience, and we obviously got our rewards. It was good to get the victory.”
The success was the Ospreys’ third in the row after a difficult start to the campaign which saw them win just one of their first 10 games in all competitions. With a crushing scrum advantage in Cardiff they should have prevailed more comfortably, but head coach Booth will still be delighted were able to back up their Boxing Day win over the Scarlets.
“It’s just confidence, really,” said Cuthbert. “Winning away in Montpellier {in the Heineken Champions Cup] has given us that sort of belief and we are carrying it into the training week and now into games. Hopefully, we can go on from there."
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young said: "It's always disappointing to lose. The set-piece was a factor but so were the penalties in the second half. We struggled to get out of our half with our indiscipline and we made poor decisions around the breakdown which gave them easy field position and momentum. If you keep giving the Ospreys lineouts five metres out, they're going to convert a few of them."
Peel frustrated at Scarlets' lack of discipline
Dwayne Peel bemoaned his side's lack of discipline after Sione Kalamafoni became the fourth Scarlets player to receive a red card this season.
Kalamafoni was given his marching orders after throwing a punch at Wales star Ross Moriarty at Parc y Scarlets. Despite playing half the game with 14 men the Scarlets still managed to grind out a 33-17 victory over the Dragons, but Peel was still frustrated.
"You can't be punching can you," said the Scarlets head coach. "That's the bottom line and I've got no arguments. I was disappointed with the way it started and it escalated on the back of that. It's definitely an issue because we've had four red cards this year. We know the rules, we can't be throwing punches regardless of who started it or what happened which led to that."
But Peel was pleased with his side's defensive effort and their scrum dominance as they recorded just their second United Rugby Championship victory of the season. "It was very pleasing, especially the character we showed throughout the game," said the former Wales scrum-half.
Blanc named businessperson of the year
The Sunday Times has named former chair of Wales' Professional Rugby Board Amanda Blanc as their businessperson of the year.
The Aviva boss, 55, was recognised as one of Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2021 (in the top 30). She has twice been voted as the UK Insurer CEO's CEO of the year, in 2013 and 2015. She can now add the Sunday Times accolade to her impressive CV.
The judges wrote: "Every chief executive who navigated the mountainous seas of 2022 deserves plaudits, so choosing the business person of the year was tougher than ever. Our shortlisted bosses not only coped with crises, but transformed their businesses, too. Amanda Blanc’s restructuring of Aviva paid off more than any of them. A flurry of disposals to simplify the business meant she could return billions to shareholders, dealing with an activist investor to boot. She also confronted, head-on, outrageous sexism from some shareholders at its AGM. Plain-dealing, efficient and a strong leader, she is a worthy winner."
Speaking on why she left Welsh rugby, she said back in the summer: "I have a very busy role, and I think you like to do things where you make an impact. If you feel that that isn't being listened to, you need to move on."
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