These are your rugby headlines on Tuesday, November 29.
Edwards backs Gatland to revive Wales
Shaun Edwards believes Warren Gatland can revive Wales if he is reappointed as coach for the World Cup.
Gatland is the WRU's No.1 target to replace under-fire Wayne Pivac after an woeful autumn campaign which saw them lose to New Zealand, Georgia and Australia.
Edwards believes Welsh rugby is in a better state now that it was when he and Gatland came to the rescue in 2007 post-the Gareth Jenkins era and reckons Wales played "brilliantly" against the Wallabies.
READ MORE: The Wayne Pivac review: Who the WRU will speak to as coach's fate to be sealed
"It's not a desperate state, it's nowhere near as bad as when we took over," he told The Telegraph.
"I watched the game at the weekend and thought Wales played brilliantly. I thought Alun Wyn Jones was brilliant and the young lad in the back row, Jac Morgan, is a fantastic ball-carrier. It was just the way modern day Test rugby is. Loads of points are being scored – it's normal to have a 33-29 scoreline."
He continued: "It's just getting in the habit of getting on the right side of that scoreline. You know, look at us [France]. We played against 14 players against South Africa for a long time and won by four points. It is just so close, and so exciting.
"Something I always try to concentrate on is that if you as a coach can make three, six points difference to a team, then you are doing a good job. In fact, you are doing a very good job. A lot of games are decided by those margins. I'm sure that Warren would go in with that attitude to make that difference to the scoreline, to be on the right side of it."
Wales' former defence coach, currently in the French set-up, also revealed he'd "love" to coach England at some point in the future.
"Yeah, of course. I'd love to be involved with England at some point down the line. Absolutely.
"I love international rugby and the competition I love the most is the Six Nations. The history going back 130, 140 years, the great players who played in the past, the great coaches. For me, that's the competition I judge myself on because it's the only competition really that you have the same preparation."
You can follow live updates on the Pivac situation here.
Wood: Gatland would turn Wales around significantly
Ireland legend Keith Wood believes Gatland would turn Wales around "fairly significantly".
Wood pointed to Gatland's familiarity with his surroundings as a key factor in that, while also critiquing Wales' decision to keep playing Tests outside international windows.
"I think Gatland would take it. I think he could carve out a very good deal for himself," Wood said on the Off The Ball podcast.
"I think his manner of coaching, especially in Wales, knowing the players, wouldn't be a huge upheaval. It would be very comforting for the players.
"I think he would turn the team around fairly significantly. Pivac has tried to rely on the old guard but the old guard are 35, 36. That's a hard old guard to be relying on, especially if you are looking for the grunt on the field. You can do bits of it, but not all of it and not consistently enough.
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"There has been a bit of a change; when I looked at that game at the weekend, I looked at an international team that is playing an extra match outside the window. There's a reason for having those windows in there in the first place, to protect the players a little.
"They were shattered, they looked wrecked. The decision making in the last 15, 20 minutes was one of pure fatigue. Simple things they could do in their sleep, they were asleep and couldn't do them. They fell apart at the end. Australia were always winning, with 10 minutes to go, Australia were going to win, because Wales were absolutely out on their feet."
Coach sacked after Cardiff hammering
The Sharks have sacked coach Sean Everitt after the 35-0 hammering at the hands of Cardiff on Sunday.
It was humiliation for the home side in Durban and swift action has now been taken, with director of rugby Neil Powell handed the reins.
“This tough decision has been made in the best interests of the team moving forward,” CEO Ed Coetzee said on Monday night. “Our director of rugby, Neil Powell, will oversee the remainder of the United Rugby Championship campaign as well as our first foray in the Heineken Champions Cup. Neil will be ably supported by the rest of our current senior coaching structure, which remains unchanged.”
In response, Everitt stated: “I accept the decision that has been made by the Sharks’ board, post the devastating defeat against Cardiff on Sunday. This is a sad development for me and sometimes the results don’t always match the tireless effort that has been put in.
“This is unfortunately the nature of the job and I must accept this decision."
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Tribute to Doddie
Former rugby league player Rob Burrow has paid tribute to Doddie Weir for helping him deal with his own diagnosis of motor neurone disease.
The ex-Scotland rugby union international died on Saturday after a six-year battle with the disease, which Burrow discovered he had in 2019. "His positive outlook and attitude was central to how I decided I was going to take on my own challenge with MND," he wrote in the Daily Mail.
"His attitude was exactly what I needed. When I was diagnosed, all anyone told me about was how bad it would be, but Doddie was totally different.
"I suppose being sportspeople, we see challenges and think about how we can beat them and turn things in our favour. He showed us all the way and did it every time with a laugh and a joke. He gave the MND community a voice and he became a beacon of light that we could all follow."
Weir, who won 61 caps, raised more than £8million for MND research via his My Name'5 Doddie Foundation and Burrow wants the Government to honour its pledge to provide more funding.
"He has inspired millions of pounds of fundraising that has turned the course of research," added Burrow. "But we now need the Government to keep their promise to Doddie and the 5,000 people living with MND in the UK.
"The Government pledged £50million to research over a year ago, yet that money frustratingly has not yet been handed to researchers. The Prime Minister can change that by keeping his Government's promise."
READ MORE:
The Wayne Pivac review: Who the WRU will speak to as coach's fate to be sealed
Ieuan Evans named new chairman of WRU as he outlines priorities and reveals 'central mission'
Tonight's rugby news as Warren Gatland warned off Wales job and England slammed for not getting him
Rob Howley emerges as shock contender for Wales return alongside Warren Gatland
