Tonight's rugby news as 'disappointed' Wales player given reason for surprise Gatland axe
Your rugby evening headlines on Tuesday, January 14.
Plumtree to bounce back, says coach
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel has backed Taine Plumtree to bounce back from his disappointment at being left out of Wales' Six Nations squad.
The 24-year-old has been a regular member of the Wales squad since arriving at the Scarlets from the Auckland Blues. But the athletic backrower was a shock omission from Warren Gatland's Six Nations squad, and may well have paid the price for an error-strewn performance in the Scarlets' 31-7 defeat to Gloucester on Friday night.
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"He's had clarity on what he needs to work on and that's what he needs to do," said Peel. "He's trained really well over the last two days. He was disappointed yesterday and we trained after the announcement and today as well.
"All he can do is do his talking on the pitch. There's areas of the game he needs to work on for international selection and you go away and do that.
"He's a young man and he's got plenty of rugby left in him and sometimes a little disappointment like this can spur you on as well. I'm expecting him to bounce back and I'm expecting a good performance from him this weekend."
Peel believes there is an onus on the Scarlets to get Plumtree into the game more often. "We keep constantly working with him on areas of his game and we need him in the game as much as we can," he said.
"If you reflect on his game on Friday night he was in the game a lot of the time so I think that keeping him in the game and on the ball is important for us because he's a good player. At international level there's areas they see in his game that he needs to improve.
"That's what he needs to work on to get that. There's obviously a few errors in his game now and again.
"I think that's natural for where he is in his career. Coming to the Scarlets he hadn't played too much rugby over the last period and I think he is that type of player who wants to try things and wants to get on the ball.
"We'll keep working hard on his fundamentals and making sure that he develops in a way we want him to. He's going in the right direction and what he does have is a really good attitude.
"Sometimes a little disappointment isn't the worst thing for a bit of refocus and also to push forward to make sure he's in that summer tour."
Owens fears 'merry-go-round of mediocrity'
Wales legend Ken Owens says the deep, underlying issues must be resolved before Welsh rugby continues on a "merry-go-round of mediocrity".
Warren Gatland named his 34-player squad ahead of the upcoming Six Nations on Monday, January 13. The collective, along with Gatland and his coaches, are being tasked with earning Wales' first Test victory since the World Cup in 2023.
During his press conference after the announcement was made, Gatland was asked whether his job would be on the line in the coming weeks. "Absolutely," he said. "There’s been a lot of discussion and debate about that. I’m pretty aware of that. We’ve got to go out and work hard."
On Tuesday morning, Scarlets legend Owens was asked by BBC Radio Wales whether a win against Italy in Rome would be enough to allow Gatland to survive being sacked by the Welsh Rugby Union.
"It depends what's been said behind closed doors with the board and Abi (Tierney) to Warren," explained Owens. "It starts in Paris, though. We can all talk about getting a result in Rome, but we need a performance, and some confidence from the game in Paris on that Friday night to take into the rest of the championship and build some confidence with these young guys.
"Momentum is everything in rugby, a little bit of confidence can make a difference. Wales need results. Not just for people's jobs, but for us as a nation. It gives everybody in the country a lift, and it's due. There were some very close games in that Six Nations, where a couple of points either way, and we could have perhaps been in a different situation.
"Results are going to decide Warren's future, but there are much deeper, underlying problems in the game, and unless we resolve them, we are just going to be on this merry-go-round of mediocrity."
The Six Nations opener between Les Bleus and Wales kicks off at 8.15pm on Friday, January.
Springbok to join URC side
Springbok scrum-half Cobus Reinach is returning to South Africa for the 2025/2026 season.
The 34-year-old Test star will depart Montpellier for DHL Stormers, and along with the other URC teams, will compete against the Welsh regions next season. He played seven times for the 'Boks in their 13 Tests last year.
Reinach will bring a wealth of experience to the Cape Town team, after spending the last seven years of his career in England, with Northampton Saints, and lastly - France.
Speaking about coming home to South Africa, Reinach cited family as one of the reasons for returning.
"It will obviously be great for my family and I to return home, but what is just as exciting for me is to join a team playing such a great brand of rugby," he said.
"I know a lot of the DHL Stormers players well and I feel that I have a lot to offer within their game model, so I am looking forward to connecting with my new teammates and coaches when I move down to Cape Town at the end of the season."
Exeter sign Australia forward Tom Hooper for next season
By PA Sport Staff
Exeter have announced the signing of Australia international back-row forward Tom Hooper.
Hooper, who has won 10 caps and was part of Australia’s 2023 World Cup squad, will join Exeter from the Canberra-based Brumbies in time for next season.
The 23-year-old will link up with former Brumbies team-mates Scott Sio and Tamati Tua at Sandy Park.
“We are delighted to have signed Tom. We see him having the opportunity to play across our back row, but cover second row as well,” Chiefs rugby director Rob Baxter said.
“He has got a lot of the attributes that are really important in Premiership rugby – high work-rate, along with good physical size and good physical abilities.
“He is also an interesting character, and someone we are excited to bring to the club to grow the team we want to put together going forward.”