Here are your rugby evening headlines for Saturday, 20 August.
Young Ospreys stand out in pre-season win
Ospreys coach Toby Booth admitted he had plenty to be pleased about with his young players after they helped the Welsh side get pre-season off to a winning start at Hartpury University.
With the Ospreys still missing their Welsh internationals after the recent tour of South Africa, a number of younger players were given minutes in the 41-14 win at Alpas Arena. And given how often Welsh Test players are unavailable to the professional sides throughout the
season, Booth is under no illusion how important a reliable layer of youthful depth is.
"Obviously the result is irrelevant," he said. "It's whether you can transfer the stuff you're working on.
"We're a few weeks away from getting the Welsh boys back and we've got 11 people coming back then. A lot of these young boys have been thrown in the deep end. The U20s boys have only been back for 10 days.
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"A lot of people are on different programmes so it's nice to know where everyone is."
In terms of individual performances, openside flanker Harri Deaves was to the fore with a number of impressive turnovers in the first-half. However, as Booth pointed out, he wasn't the only one.
"Deavsey was very busy as always," added Booth. "With Jac Morgan there and Justin Tipuric back, seven is a very strong position for us.
"The usual faces went well again. People like Rhys Davies and Morgan Morris, you're starting to rely on them. You can see they’ve been exposed to rugby for a while and have raised those standards.
*From a young perspective, I thought Tom Florence really put his hand up which was excellent to see given he's not trained with us that long.
"Tristan Davies came on and he's not played any rugby for 18 months. He's been Alun Wyn Jones' training partner. The boys rave about his attitude and to come on without much rugby and front up like that.
"Him and Will Hickey in particular who are the next cabs off the rank and for them to have some influence against men is pleasing to see.
"Jack Walsh was impressive, although he's an old man at 22! He plays high to the line and puts himself in first and second receiver so we can ask questions from different players. He's got good vocality too. The future is bright long term."
Worcester worry
There is grave concern over the future of Worcester Warriors amid speculation the English Premiership club could go into administration.
The Sixways outfit have been hit with a winding up petition from HM Revenue & Customs over an unpaid tax bill. The HMRC is reportedly seeking the club’s liquidation unless the debt is settled.
Marcello Cossali-Francis, the Sports Editor of the Worcester News, has taken to Twitter to provide an update on the situation.
He writes: “It sounds very much as if the club will go into administration, likely to be public knowledge on Monday morning. There remains concern about the fact Warriors the club and land are now separate businesses. It makes it tricky for a buyer if that’s the case.
“There are people within the club who no longer are on side with the owners and there is a big worry for staff over their jobs. There is a question mark over salaries for all at the club. They want a sale of all assets but that might not be what the owners want anymore.
“The tax bill is big. I believe we’ve hit a point where there is serious unrest at the club and a real worry about the future of it. What needs to happen now is a full sale of all assets to ensure the club does not go bust. But what buyer would take the club and not the land? It’s a real mess. Players need stability for their families and can’t be sat wondering where the next pay packet is coming from.”
Blue & Blacks bounce back
Cardiff RFC have warmed up for the defence of their Welsh Premiership with a 48-28 victory over Henley Hawks in a pre-season friendly at the Arms Park.
They trailed 21-7 at half-time but fought back after the break with ageless utility back Dan Fish scoring two tries, while full-back Joe Goodchild and scrum-half Joe Williams also crossed twice. There were further touchdowns for young winger Amir Saleh and fly-half Sam George against the English visitors, who are in National 2 East alongside the likes of Blackheath, Barnes, Dorking and Sevenoaks.
Cardiff host Paul Turner’s Ampthill next Friday evening (7.30pm) and then open their Premiership campaign when they travel to Sardis Road on Saturday, September 3 (5.30pm) to take on Pontypridd, who beat Ealing Trailfinders’ Academy side 33-5 last night.
Pre-season results
In other pre-season friendly matches featuring Welsh sides this weekend, Aberavon won 31-21 away to Nottingham, while Newport had a tougher time, losing 54-12 at Ampthill, despite two tries from winger Jon Morris.
Two more Premiership clubs played out a tight old affair at The Wern, with visitors Bridgend beating Merthyr, as new coach Tom Smith marked his first game in charge on a winning note. On Friday evening, Llanelli had claimed a 46-0 victory at Llandeilo RFC in a match to celebrate their hosts’ 150th anniversary.
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