Tonight's rugby news as Gatland faces Six Nations dilemma and Wales international turns down approach
These are your evening rugby headlines on Wednesday, January 8.
Wales star in fitness race
Hooker Ryan Elias is facing a race to be fit for the start of Wales' Six Nations campaign, with a neck injury set to keep him out of the Scarlets' upcoming European fixtures.
Head coach Dwayne Peel confirmed the 30-year-old will not feature against Gloucester at Kingsholm this Friday, while he is unlikely to play against French side Vannes in Llanelli the following weekend.
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With Wales captain Dewi Lake already ruled out for most of the tournament with a bicep injury, the loss of another experienced hooker would come as a blow to Warren Gatland.
The Welsh coach names his squad at the start of next week, with Elias having not played since the end of November. Elliot Dee is likely to be named, but Gatland will have a big decision to make on who else joins him, with other options lacking experience. Ospreys hooker Sam Parry is a more senior man but walked out of the squad in the summer after feeling he was disrespected by Gatland.
Speaking about Elias' injury, Peel said: "He won't be right this week. It's a neck/shoulder issue. He took some part in training today, which is good to see. He won't be ready for this week, probably not next week as well. It's time with this one really.
"Ryan is a big part culturally of this club. He's a big leader within the group. He's a hundred per cent at everything he does, so culturally we miss him without a doubt. Marnus (van der Merwe) has stepped in and Shaun (Evans) has come off the bench and done good stuff.
"Isaac (Young) and Harry (Thomas) beneath them are good operators," the coach added. "It's obviously a big loss for us from a leadership perspective, because he brings that a lot. So the sooner we get him back, the better because he's a big part of what we're about."
Despite the injury concern over Elias, Peel admitted that the Scarlets' treatment room was otherwise relatively empty.
"For this time of season, when you compare to where we were last season, we're ok," he added. "We picked up a few niggles on the weekend. But no long-term injuries. We've got some guys chomping at the bit, ready to go."
Davies decides future amid interest
Grenoble have confirmed Sam Davies has signed a new deal with the Pro D2 club after interest from England and Wales.
The Wales international fly-half has lit up the French second tier since leaving Welsh rugby in 2023 and was named the league's player of the season at the end of the last campaign.
Davies' fine form saw several English sides and some high-profile Top 14 sides keep tabs on him, while the former Ospreys and Dragons playmaker also met with Leicester Tigers as he weighed up his next move.
He was also approached by Scarlets as they began their search for a replacement for Ioan Lloyd, but - as first reported by WalesOnline - turned them down to sign a new three-year deal with Grenoble.
The club officially confirmed the news on Wednesday, with Davies staying put in France he prepares to welcome his first child with his wife later this year.
"I am delighted!," said the 31-year-old as the news was announced. "My wife and I are happy to welcome our first child here in Grenoble. I came to Grenoble with one goal, to take the club to the Top 14.
"I feel like the Grenoble fans consider me a local now, and I want to give them all that support by taking this great club where it deserves to be!"
Cardiff hooker signs new deal
Cardiff hooker Daf Hughes has signed a new contract to remain at the Arms Park.
The 28-year-old joined the Blue & Blacks on a one-year deal last season after his former club Jersey Reds went into administration, but has now made his stay long-term after a fine start to the season.
“I’m very grateful to further extend my stay at Cardiff, since the downfall of Jersey, I have been welcomed to the Arms Park with open arms," said Hughes.
“I’m really enjoying the environment and the competitiveness of the entire squad. Having game time and playing at the Arms Park has been really enjoyable - it is one of the best grounds in rugby with a pack crowd and the support is always unbelievable.
“I’m also learning a lot here, which is helping and improving my game but I still feel like there is plenty more to come. I am looking forward to the next couple of years here and doing my all for the team.”
Hughes will continue to compete with the likes of club captain Liam Belcher and Wales internationals Evan Lloyd and Efan Daniel for the No.2 jersey at the region.
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt added: “I cannot speak highly enough of Daf. He had to be really patient last season and supported the team brilliantly without playing as much as he’d have liked.
“However, he has deservedly got his chance and taken it this season with a number of really good performances. He fits our game model with his skill-set, is very consistent around set piece and I still feel there is more to come from him.”
Feyi-Waboso decision still to be made
By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
Exeter's Rob Baxter says that a decision has still to be made on whether England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will undergo shoulder surgery.
Feyi-Waboso dislocated his shoulder while in action for Exeter just before Christmas. England's opening Six Nations game is against Ireland on February 1, and the 22-year-old would miss the entire tournament, given a post-surgery recovery timescale of 10-12 weeks.
Exeter rugby director Baxter confirmed that the British and Irish Lions hopeful is booked in for an operation next week, although Feyi-Waboso could opt to avoid the surgery route and concentrate on rehabilitation instead.
Andy Farrell takes the Lions to Australia this summer, with the Six Nations a major selection shop window. Feyi-Waboso has been a front-runner for one of the back-three spots because of his impact since making his Test debut last year.
Feyi-Waboso is among several England players to be awarded an enhanced elite player squad contract, with England now having a far greater say on all medical and sport science matters affecting those individuals under a new eight-year Professional Game Partnership between the Rugby Football Union and Gallagher Premiership clubs.
On that new process, Baxter said: "I think it certainly would have happened quicker (previously), without doubt. We had things booked, ready to go, decisions ready to be made a week ago. The process you have to go through now has certainly slowed things down. That doesn't mean, necessarily, that it's wrong, but it certainly slows things down.
"Until that operation happens, he is still working very hard rehabbing his shoulder. That will ultimately decide whether the operation happens, or Manny feels he has got himself to a position where the rehab is going sufficiently well so the operation doesn't occur.
"It is an ongoing process at the moment involving Manny, our medical team and the England medical team. It's there, it's booked to happen, but he is not actually on the operating table yet.
He isn't going to be fit for the start of the Six Nations - there is zero possibility of that. He has barely started his rehab process really, because the toing and froing over whether he has an operation or goes for rehab is probably slowing both options down - the operation or the rehab."
Feyi-Waboso is one of England's most dangerous players with a strike rate of five tries in eight matches and, if fit, would have been an automatic Six Nations pick.
"There is a lot going on, isn't there? You have got a young man who has had England recognition for the first time, he had his breakthrough season in the Premiership last year, there is a Lions tour at the end of this year," Baxter added. "He has picked up an injury and the decision is 'do I try to rehab it so I could potentially be involved in the end of the Six Nations'?
"He can go one way or the other, and that will give him a clear reference point for what he is aiming for - is it the end of the England Six Nations campaign, or is it post-Six Nations, getting ready for a big end to the season that will help him drive his claim for the Lions, if that is a possibility?
"In a lot of ways, the operative route does take a lot of those ups and downs out of it. Then he gets it done, has proper rehab time and he knows his shoulder will be ready to go when he plays again, and he can just get on and go hard at the end of the season.
"One thing puts a full stop to it and has some certainty, the other does have lingering doubts around it. Those are his quandaries at the moment. It's not for me to say 'you do this'. You sit with a player and make the right call for them, that's how it has to be. I am very happy backing Manny's decision. We want the players here to want the best for them."
