These are your rugby headlines on Thursday, December 1.
Gatland 'open to taking charge of England'
Warren Gatland is "understood to be open to taking charge of England on a caretaker basis" if they decide to part company with coach Eddie Jones, the Daily Mail reports.
Jones, like Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, is under immense pressure after a poor autumn international series with speculation seriously swirling over his future. Pivac is in the same boat, with Wales and England now seemingly going head to head for Gatland's services. The Mail report Gatland has flown home to New Zealand after his Amazon Prime punditry duties came to an end.
READ MORE: The Wales players out of contract at the end of the season amid worrying freeze on new deals
Steve Borthwick, Scott Robertson and Ronan O’Gara are believed to be the frontrunners for the top job at Twickenham but Gatland is being considered should the vacancy become available immediately. The Mail add that they understand Gatland would be receptive to an approach from England, despite what he said recently.
"They wouldn’t let me back into Wales if I went and took on the enemy!" he told The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast in October. "I loved my time in Wales, but you never say never about anything and we’ll see what happens over the next few months."
Morris wants Ospreys stay
Morgan Morris says he wants to stay at the Ospreys as he heads towards the end of his contract with the Swansea.com Stadium region.
The highly-rated uncapped No. 8 becomes a free agent when his two-year deal ends this summer. Welsh rugby’s freeze on recruitment and retention means the Ospreys and other regions have been unable to sign or retain players, potentially leaving prized assets open to approaches from clubs outside Wales.
But Morris, who has carried the ball more than any Welsh player in the United Rugby Championship this season and also put in more than 70 tackles, is in no hurry to go anywhere.
Asked if he wanted to remain with the Llandarcy-based region, he said: “Of course I do. I know with everything that’s going on at the minute, it’s tough. But I would like to stay at the Ospreys, yeah.”
The 24-year-old back-rower is part of a core of local players at the Ospreys and relishes being part of his home region. “I love it,” he said. “I’m a Swansea boy through and through. I love the fact that I’m from Swansea and I love everything about the city. Growing up, I watched the Ospreys and had all the jerseys. To play for them is amazing. We also have a very good group of youngsters, a lot of them boys who have played together since under-16s.”
But despite his form, no Wales call has come. “Sometimes I get a bit frustrated, but at the end of the day, I just want to do my job for the Ospreys. As long as I’m starting at No. 8 for the Ospreys…that’s what I strive to be and want to be every week. That said, it’s like any other Welsh rugby player. Everyone wants to play for Wales. I do as well.
“This year has been the best for me in terms of being more consistent. When I was younger I was dipping in and out of form, which probably cost me. But, hopefully, that consistency over the past eight or nine games will help me push on.”
O'Gara to extend La Rochelle stay - reports
Multiple reports in France state Ronan O'Gara is set to extend his stay with La Rochelle.
The Ireland legend has been linked with the England and Wales posts in recent weeks but Midi Olympique report he is due to commit to the Top 14 club. Already signed up until 2024, it would spell the end of speculation linking the former fly-half with big jobs across the English Channel.
There is an appetite within the squad for O'Gara to stay on. “Yes, for sure, because he has given us a lot,” La Rochelle wing Jules Favre said. “He has made the club grow, so for sure it would be bad news for us. But for him, it is good news because he does his best to have an international team. It’s like me as a player: I really want to play for the French team and perform and he wants to train the best players.”
“He is a great coach,” he added. “He started with Racing in France with the defence, and he went to New Zealand [to the Crusaders] after that to improve himself as a backs coach. Now he is in his prime. It represents a lot because he is wedded to the Champions Cup. He brings an extra understanding of European competition that perhaps we didn’t have before.
“We realised that the Champions Cup title can unite all the people, the players, and the staff, everybody. It was a huge feeling and in the stadium in Marseille we had all the crowd in the Stade Rochelais jersey, like a yellow wall. When they gave us the trophy it was a really good moment.”
Three-week ban for Du Toit
South Africa prop Thomas Du Toit has received a three-week ban after he was sent off in last Saturday's Autumn Nations Series game against England at Twickenham.
Du Toit was dismissed for a high tackle on England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie. He appeared via video link before an independent judicial committee, who decided it was a reckless incident, rather than intentional, autumn series organisers said.
Du Toit will miss Cell C Sharks' United Rugby Championship game against the Ospreys on Friday, plus Heineken Champions Cup appointments with Harlequins and Bordeaux-Begles.
The Bordeaux match will not be included, though, if Du Toit completes a coaching intervention programme.
France captain Antoine Dupont, meanwhile, saw a four-week suspension reduced to two on appeal. Dupont was red-carded for a challenge on South Africa's Cheslin Kolbe during the autumn Tests and his ban is now served.
READ MORE:
-
The Wales players out of contract at the end of the season amid worrying freeze on new deals
-
Dai Young has no interest in Wales job and claims it's not a role for a Welshman right now
-
Two more Welsh regions speak out and reveal dozens of players in limbo amid deep concern
-
French giants swoop for Wales star who could now be lost amid Welsh rugby's problems
