These are your rugby headlines on Thursday, December 5.

Welsh coach leaves after seven years

Former Wales international Kingsley Jones has stepped down from his role as head coach of Canada after seven years in charge.

Rugby Canada confirmed that a mutual parting of the ways had taken place, with both parties agreeing that the team needed to be taken in a "new direction".

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After taking over from Mark Anscombe in 2017, Jones took Canada to the World Cup in Japan in 2019, and is credited with increasing the depth of the men's rugby programme in the country and giving opportunities for players to compete and train in Major League Rugby, as well as aiding the development of several Canadian coaches.

However, after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 2023, Canada have now lost each of their last five games following defeats to Romania and Chile last month.

As a player, Jones won 10 caps for Wales between 1996 and 1998 and captained the side on one occasion. He represented the likes of Gloucester and Worcester as well as Cross Keys, Ebbw Vale and Pontypridd while his coaching career has led to spells in charge of the Dragons, Sale Sharks and the Russian national team.

"It has been an honour, and a great experience for myself and my family, to be with Rugby Canada over the last seven years,” said Jones as his departure was announced. “The discipline, hard work and professionalism of the great people in this program are second to none, and I would like to thank the players and the staff for their commitment and support.”

Nathan Bombrys, Rugby Canada CEO, added: "On behalf of Rugby Canada, I would like to thank Kingsley for his dedication and contributions to rugby in Canada over the last seven years. We wish him and his family all the best in this next chapter.”

Samoa international to be sentenced over assault

Samoa forward Fritz Lee will be sentenced for aggravated assault after breaking a waitress's wrist.

The 36-year-old Clermont player admitted causing injuries to the woman in October, following a victory in the French Top 14. The broken wrist she suffered left her unable to work for 30 days.

The public prosecutor's office in Clermont announced on Wednesday that Lee will now be sentenced in the spring.

The back rower has made over 250 appearances for Clermont and turned out for the French side as they beat Castres last Saturday. A former Chiefs player in New Zealand, he has also won 11 international caps and represented Samoa at last year's Rugby World Cup.

'Huge' hit leaves star major doubt for Six Nations

A ‘huge’ hit from Scarlets back-row Vaea Fifita has likely ruled Scotland star Adam Hastings out of the Six Nations.

The fly-half is now a major doubt for next year’s tournament and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a serious facial fracture during Glasgow’s clash with the Welsh region.

Hastings was taken to hospital after the big collision with 6ft 6in, 17.5 stone Fifita and underwent surgery to repair the fracture. It is the latest cruel blow for the Scotsman, who has also been sidelined with knee and shoulder injuries in recent years.

Glasgow defence coach Pete Murchie admitted the setback was “incredibly frustrating” as he confirmed that the 28-year-old will now be out for months with the injury.

“It’s a long recovery process so we wish him all the best,” said Murchie. “It’s a nasty injury so we’ll look after him and he’ll get the best of care. He’s a little bit sore and obviously it’s good that he’s had the operation.

“Obviously it was pretty clear that it was a nasty one straight away. Initially, we didn’t fully realise that it was the jaw, but it was a huge contact. It must be incredibly frustrating for him. In the last couple of years, he’s had some really bad luck. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

“He knows how to recover and I’m sure he’ll recover and he’ll be back. But, yes, everyone’s gutted for him. He was starting to put together some really nice performances. So, it’s incredibly frustrating for him.”

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England star ‘playing for a contract’ after ban

Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson says England international Jonny Hill is ‘playing for a contract’ as he returns from a lengthy suspension

Last month, the lock received a 10-week ban - with four weeks suspended - after accepting a charge that he physically abused a Bath spectator following a match in June.

Hill - who toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2021 - had been watching that match in the stands after suffering a serious patella injury at the start of the year, when the incident occurred.

He becomes eligible for selection from December 7, with Sanderson delighted to welcome the 30-year-old back for their Champions Cup clash with Glasgow on that day. But with Hill now chasing a new deal at Sale after a proposed move to Lyon fell through due to his injury, the coach knows the 13-cap international now has a big point to prove.

“Jonny is playing for a contract and he wants to stay here,” said Sanderson. “I told him to get back playing well and then he is in a position of strength. He is going to be good enough and I don’t want to lowball him. He is buzzing to get back on the field.

“Jonny has been remarkably unaffected and is pretty laid back when you speak to him. When he loses it you think ‘where has that come from’ and so he has got a bit of anger in him but is pretty laid back. So things wash over him. He has been very involved here with the lineout meetings and that has kept him part of things.

“It has given him some work and he has been training for weeks and able to get his fitness to where it needs to be,” he added. “He has it in him to have the occasional brain fart and for people who are competitive you expect that with so much to do.”

Care clears up Eddie Jones comments

England international Danny Care says he "stands by" the bombshell claims he made about former head coach Eddie Jones in his autobiography but admitted the media storm around them didn't provide "a full reflection" of his opinions.

The Harlequins scrum-half had said in his new book that Jones created a "toxic environment" in the England camp, going on to compare him to a "despot" and claim that "everyone was bloody terrified of him". He also accused the former Red Roses coach of "constantly playing mind games" and alleged that he left staff "shaking" and "as shells of their former selves"

Jones later appeared to mock the comments as he responded to the allegations following his Japan side's defeat to England last month. He told reporters: "I’ve got a new book deal. I just signed it today. It’s going to be called ‘Caring about Care’ and you’ll get all the details in there."

Care has now addressed the situation and cleared up exactly how he feels about Jones, admitting he was "a little bit disappointed" about how his comments were portrayed in the press.

"My autobiography is my book, so they are my words and I stand by it all," he wrote in his TNT column. "I was a little bit disappointed that there was only one side of my story being put out there to start with. I feel the book in general is very balanced when it comes to Eddie Jones; the positives and the negatives.

"A few journalists that had maybe wanted to get their opinion across on Eddie for quite a while but hadn’t had the opportunity to – I almost gave them some ammunition to then go for it, which is fine because I did say all those things. I just felt that the publicisation of it wasn’t a full reflection of my opinions. So basically what I’m trying to say is, they just put all the bad stuff in and none of the nice stuff I said.

"I’ve not spoken to Eddie this autumn," he added. "I put in the book acknowledgements that I’d like to think at some point we could share a glass of wine together and share a few tales. I hold no grudges at all, that’s what I wanted to get across in the book. I’m not bitter about anything. Everything that Eddie did with me during my England career, I’m sure he had a reason for doing it at that time. Whether I agree with it all – no, I don’t and that’s what I’ve tried to say in the book."