Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, June 22.
South African could now be set for Cardiff
South African outside-half Tinus de Beer seemingly expects to be joining Cardiff next season, despite the region's initial struggles to get WRU approval on the signing.
Cardiff moved for the former South African U-20s international several weeks ago following Jarrod Evans' decision to join Harlequins and Rhys Priestland's retirement.
As per the new Welsh rugby financial agreement, Cardiff need approval from the WRU to get the signing over the line, but that was not initially forthcoming with Union bosses believing de Beer would potentially be blocking the development of younger Welsh players.
READ MORE: Behind-the-scenes pictures show what happened on brutal Wales field trip the coaches kept secret
But that attitude could now have softened, with de Beer acknowledging his imminent departure from the Pumas in an interview that reports he will be joining Cardiff after all.
De Beer told the Daily Maverick: “The Pumas are flipping good to me. I’ll always cherish the moments at the Pumas and I love the union, I love the boys. It’s sad to leave but yeah, it is what it is.”
The 27-year-old is a prolific goal kicker at Currie Cup level, a solid tactician and is known for his strong defence despite his relatively small size. He can also play full-back.
Cardiff are yet to officially sign anyone, with communications from the club largely inhibited by the ongoing investigation into director of rugby Dai Young.
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Young Wales side to be named
Wales Under-20s coach Mark Jones will today name his side to face New Zealand in the opening match of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.
New boss Jones faces a daunting few weeks in the competition's 'Pool of Death', with matches against France and Japan, as well as the Junior All Blacks.
Wales come into the competition on the back of a deeply disappointing Six Nations that saw them lose every game. Jones, however, is optimistic.
"I'm confident as a group of players they'll be able to park the Six Nations emotionally, and just look at this as a one-off opportunity to put our best game on the field, and try to show how much they've improved in this space of time," he said.
"I think that's going to be the measure of us. Have we improved? Are we better as individuals, and does the team look like it's going in the right direction? We'll find that out because we are playing the All Blacks, we are playing Japan, and we are playing France. There's no better yardstick for us than playing those three teams."
Wales play New Zealand at 3pm on Saturday..
Why WRU have changed tackle law
The Welsh Rugby Union insist the sport will benefit in a number of ways after the legal tackle height in the community game in Wales was lowered to beneath the sternum in a two-year trial.
The move comes amid the backdrop of the WRU, RFU and World Rugby facing legal action by former players who allege they are suffering from rugby-induced brain conditions.
"As the guardian of the game in Wales, the WRU bears the responsibility to make it as safe and as fun as possible," said Geraint John, the WRU's community rugby director.
"Since World Rugby recommended that the tackle height in rugby should be lowered, the WRU has engaged with more than 1,000 administrators, coaches, players and referees across the country to go through the reasoning behind the change and how it will be implemented.
"As a result, from 1 July 2023 the legal tackle height for the game at large in Wales will be below the base of the sternum.
"This will apply from under-12s to Premiership (women's and girls) and Championship (male) in the community game.
“As well as having a big impact on player safety, reducing concussions and head-on-head contact. this change is also expected to have positive technical and tactical implications for the game,” added John.
“There is likely to be an increase in the rate of offloads and a rise in line breaks, making the game more enjoyable. With more passes, offloads and potentially tries in a game, it should be more fun to play and watch. This has proven to be the case in French rugby.
“The continuity within the game is likely to increase through a decrease in the number of rucks.”
Cooper eyes No.10 jersey
Australia's Quade Cooper says he has his eyes on the prize ahead of Australia's Test against South Africa next month.
The 35-year-old fly-half says he wants the No.10 jersey ahead of his third World Cup, if picked by coach Eddie Jones. The Wallabies face Wales in the pool stages of the tournament in France. Cooper has been out for some time with a ruptured Achilles but is now raring to go again.
“I 100 per cent want to wear the No.10 jersey,” Cooper said on Thursday.
“But I also know that the other boys are in that same mindset. So the respect aspect there is to compete as hard as possible for each jersey, but also support our teammates if they’re selected.
“I just focus on doing what I can to be the best that I can in these camps, and let the powers that be look after those types of decisions.”
“The game, as I said, is the easy part,” added Cooper. “It’s (the) preparation years before, months and months before, that will set you up to be able to do well at the World Cup.
“The habits that I’ve put in place over the past four or five years will allow me to perform and continue to perform throughout the year. The World Cup is the best teams in the World at the same place at the same time. The reality is it’ll come down to three games. It’ll come down to getting through your pool, and then being able to stay locked in and focused.”
