Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, November 27.
Gatland told ‘prove yourself’ amid ‘whispers’
Former England international Danny Care has told Warren Gatland to prove himself amid the uncertainty over his future as Wales boss.
Care claims he has “heard whispers” of a poor environment in the Wales camp, something Gatland and senior players would publicly deny after consistently talking on the record about good preparation and training sessions during the autumn campaign.
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After a record winless run of 12 Test matches – and a whole calendar year without a victory – Gatland’s future is subject to a review by the Welsh Rugby Union. After they pick through the wreckage of another winless campaign, whether or not the New Zealander will lead Wales into next year’s Six Nations is set to be confirmed before Christmas.
Following their third and final autumn defeat at the hands of South Africa, Gatland said he was “motivated” to carry on, while his assistant Rob Howley defiantly told reporters that the head coach “won’t leave” and is “the best coach in the world” to get them out of the hole their in.
But Care says such a claim simply cannot be supported amid current results and says the time for talking is over, challenging Gatland to prove himself as an elite coach by turning around Wales’ fortunes.
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Speaking on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, the scrum-half alleged he had heard that the current situation in the Welsh camp is a “shambles” but insisted Wales have enough quality players to build a successful team around.
“I’ve heard whispers, as you do, that it is a shambles in there right now in terms of environment, coaching standards,” said Care. “I look at it from the outside and I don’t know, these are things you hear from mates of mates or whatever, but if Warren Gatland is one of the best coaches in the world, go and prove it.
“You can’t lose 12 in a row if you are one of the best coaches in the world, with whatever team you’ve got,” he added. “That staff of him and Howley and Alex King, go and make those players better. I know everybody says the strength in depth is not good enough but I look at that team and there’s still some good players that you could make better. You could make them into a better team.”
Host Chris Jones then asked Care: “Do you think that regardless of all of the issues, the coaching still needs to be properly scrutinised?”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” responded the Harlequins star. “You can’t just keep blaming players and saying ‘oh, the players have gone and we’ve lost loads of experience’. I look at Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake and Rio Dyer, these are good players and you could get them even better. You could build a team around these lads and make them into a more competitive team.
“Not against South Africa, I’m not saying that because however spirited that performance was, they were never going to beat South Africa, they are on another planet at the moment. But I would say coaches, prove yourself. You can’t just rely on saying Gatland is this amazing coach. Go on then, prove it.”
Gatland poll results
Warren Gatland still has the support of a large proportion of the Welsh public, a WalesOnline poll suggests.
While not scientific, more than 10,000 votes have been cast over the past two weeks, answering the question of ‘is Warren Gatland still the right head coach for Wales?’
At the time of writing, the results show 60% of votes for ‘Yes’ and 40 per cent for ‘No’.
Gatland’s position is currently under review after 12 straight Test losses, with a decision expected before Christmas. You can read what fans are saying about Gatland’s future here.
Cardiff boss tight-lipped on Hawkins
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt says there is ‘no news’ on reports linking the Arms Park side to Wales international Joe Hawkins.
The Exeter Chiefs centre has been linked in recent months with a return to Wales in order to resume his Test career, as he is currently captured by the 25-cap rule. It’s understood the Welsh Rugby Union are keen to bring him back to one of the four regions, with the emphasis on him playing fly-half.
The former Ospreys player has been linked most heavily with Cardiff, while the Dragons are also on the look-out for a fly-half.
And speculation only heightened last week when Wales coach Warren Gatland alluded to an unnamed player potentially being available for the upcoming Six Nations if he signs for a Welsh region.
However, despite that hint from Gatland, Sherratt dismissed the notion that Hawkins was close to signing any deal with Cardiff.
“You’ll have to ask Warren about that because obviously they know something we don’t,” he said. “No news on that.”
Ireland without quartet
By PA Sport Staff
Jamie Osborne, Jacob Stockdale, Tadhg Furlong and Ryan Baird have been ruled out of Ireland’s autumn finale against Australia.
Versatile Leinster back Osborne and Ulster wing Stockdale sustained groin and hamstring issues respectively during Saturday’s 52-17 win over Fiji.
Prop Furlong has not featured at all this month due to a hamstring problem, while lock Baird suffered a head injury in his country’s 22-19 victory over Argentina on November 15.
Speaking about Osborne’s injury, Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell told a press conference: “He’s a big loss.
“He’s very versatile on the bench obviously, he covers so many different positions and is growing and getting better all the time.
“It’s a shame he’s out. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and he’s back to us soon.”
Saturday’s Dublin showdown with Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies will be Ireland’s final match before head coach Andy Farrell takes a break to lead next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.
The Six Nations champions began November with a 23-13 loss to New Zealand before returning to winning ways against Los Pumas and Fiji.
O’Connell also confirmed Connacht hooker Dave Heffernan, Leinster prop Jack Boyle and Ulster back-rower Nick Timoney have been released to their provinces.
