Today's rugby news as star says 'it's always been Wales' and Gatland's players go to extremes

Your morning rugby headlines on Monday, November 4.

Ellis Bevan: It's always been Wales

Scrum-half Ellis Bevan has revealed that he always wanted to play for Wales.

Despite his English dialect, the 24-year-old has assured Welsh fans that pulling on the red jersey was always his main goal.

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Speaking to The Rugby Paper, Bevan said: “Honestly, despite my accent, it’s always been Wales.

“I never went to Twickenham. It was always Wales in the Principality. Whenever the Six Nations was on, I would always be supporting Wales while my mates were supporting England.

“My dad had a massive impact in terms of pushing my Welsh roots. My duvet sheets were Welsh, with the WRU logo, things like that. It was indoctrinated into me really! “But I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

"Just overwhelming pride really,” Bevan says of his dad's reaction to his Wales cap. “I think he was quite nervous, probably more nervous than me. He was really hoping it would go well and I would be OK.

“He knows how much I wanted it and I know how much he supported me. Overall, it was just a great day, a cool memory and one that will definitely live with us.”

Bevan also explained what it was like earning his first cap. "When we got back into the changing room, the cap got presented to me by Warren Gatland. That was quite special because I had grown up watching Gatland’s Wales as a youngster.

“But the big moment was when I spoke a few words and thanked my family and mentioned my mum who sadly passed away when I was eight. That was probably the bit that hit home. Those things do shape your life. It was good to have a moment to say how hopefully she was proud of me.

“It was just a nice way to top off the day to mention those close ones and those who supported me. My dad’s been awesome.”

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Wales squad brave cryotherapy

Over the weekend, Wales players braved the cold as they entered the cryotherapy chamber.

Strength and conditioning coach John Ashby spearheaded the activity, harnessing the power of extreme cold temperatures to ensure the players are recovered after strenuous training.

"As you can see, we're just at our cryotherapy unit at the National Centre of Excellence," said Ashby. "And we've just finished putting the guys through our cryotherapy treatments after their morning sessions, which is a mixture of units, so backs and forwards training and weights as well.

"We have one unit that goes down to -80 celsius, and that's to get the boys acclimatised to the cold. And then we go over to this chamber here, and this ranges from -110 to -140. So guys, we're going for 30 seconds in the pre-chamber and walk through to two minutes in the main chamber.

"In layman's terms, when you go into a very cold environment like this, your brain thinks that you're in danger of dying, so it goes into survival mode. So all the blood, it's called vasoconstriction, your vessels constrict in your legs and arms and rest of your peripheries that protect your vital organs - brain, heart etc.

"When you go out again - vasodilation. So the dilation of your vessels open up. Blood gets rushed back to your legs and arms. And then all the toxins that have built up from training, so: our running sessions, pitch sessions, weights, helps get washed out into the bloodstream, so it speeds up recovery.

"Our cryotherapy unit is total body, so we call it global, whereas ice bath is more localised, so it focuses on the muscles. We currently use ice bath in the afternoon as well, so we're getting different forms of recovery modality into the players."

Wales star in action after diagnosis

Wales international Archie Griffin played for Bath Rugby this weekend in welcome news for Gatland.

Griffin turned out for club side Bath against Ampthill in the Premiership Cup as they cruised to a 73-0 victory on Saturday night.

The Wales tight-head prop was a replacement for his club side as they cruised to victory. Also playing was Wales U20s star Louie Hennessey, who bagged himself a score.

Griffin is part of Gatland's 35-player collective for the autumn internationals, and will likely play a part in the upcoming games against Fiji, Australia and South Africa.

He recently disclosed he has a heart condition but that all is fine and he is raring to go.

Peter O’Mahony joins Ireland training camp after proving fitness

By PA Sport Staff

Peter O’Mahony has joined Ireland’s training camp in Portugal after proving his fitness for Munster against an All Blacks XV on Saturday.

O’Mahony comes into contention for Friday’s clash with New Zealand at Aviva Stadium having made his comeback from a hamstring injury in the 38-24 defeat in Limerick.

The 35-year-old flanker has been out since October 5 but could come straight into the starting XV for the autumn opener, according to backs coach Andrew Goodman.

“Peter’s a pretty experienced man. I’m sure if he gets called upon he’ll be ready to go,” Goodman said.

“For him to get through the 40 minutes and get around like he did, provide energy and have some good effects on the game, was good. It’s good to have him over and adding to the group.”

Ireland’s chances of toppling the All Blacks have improved after fly-half Beauden Barrett and hooker Codie Taylor were ruled out for the tourists.

Both Barrett and Taylor will start mandatory 12-day stand down periods after being concussed in Saturday’s 24-22 victory over England at Allianz Stadium.

“Codie’s a world class hooker – among the best two or three in the world – and in great form. Beauden was conducting the game pretty well, we thought, until the bang,” All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson said.

“They’ll be missed, but they’ll still be around giving their wisdom and preparing the rest of the players.”