Tonight's rugby news as Wales star makes instant impact and coach in damning 'robots' rant

Your rugby evening headlines on Sunday, December 15.

Liam Williams scores on debut

Liam Williams scored a try on his second debut for Saracens on Sunday.

Williams crossed the whitewash against Stade Francais in the Investec Champions Cup.

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The London-based club won 28-17 against their Top 14 opposition, and were aided in their victory by the dismissal of Sekou Makalou. The France international tripped up Ivan van Zyl and then swung an arm to his head, warranting red. Williams was incensed, pleading with the touch judge to look at the incident.

Williams was denied a wonder score in the opening exchanges, due to his foot being ever so slightly in touch in the airborne finish.

Williams re-joined Saracens last month, leaving Japan a year before the end of his contract with Kubota Spears, with his wife recently giving birth to their first child.

The 33-year-old Wales legend played for Sarries between 2017 and 2019 and won both the Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership in the 2018/2019 season.

John Plumtree: Players being treated like robots

Sharks head coach John Plumtree has hit out at rugby's administrators for treating South African players like robots.

Leicester Tigers hammered Sharks 56-17 at Welford Road over the weekend, and were significantly weakened, being without some of their biggest stars.

Speaking after the game, Plumtree explained that he needs to look after his biggest stars, saying it's impractical having to travel to Europe for one game.

"I want to bring our strongest Sharks side here and play on the biggest stage," said Plumtree. "I can understand their [the fans’] frustration. I want to go out there and give Leicester a good hiding in front of their home crowd. Don’t worry about that.

"We’re all competitive. But the reality is we’ve got to look after these athletes. They are not robots. They don’t front up every week. And right now, the South African boys are treated like robots.

"I think the organisers need to have a look at it and go: ‘Well, why are we sending a team up here for one week?’ We arrive on Wednesday and play on Saturday. It’s hardly high performance. Maybe we should come up here and play a couple of games, and stay for a fortnight? They need to look at it."

Italians produce huge upset

United Rugby Championship outfit Benetton secured a sensational victory over Bath in the Champions Cup.

The Italian club edged their opponents 22-21 at Stadio Comunale di Monigo thanks to tries from Rhyno Smith (two), Louis Lynagh and Bautista Bernasconi.

Bath had some of their big-hitters out for the clash, in a team which included Wales winger Regan Grace and Scotland star Cameron Redpath.

Bernasconi's score on 79 minutes won the game for Benetton, scalping their Premiership opposition by a single point. The result leaves the Italians in fourth place in pool two, in a group which features the likes of La Rochelle and Leinster.

John Dobson admits South African teams must justify Champions Cup inclusion

By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent

Stormers head coach John Dobson admits South Africa’s teams must start justifying their inclusion in the Investec Champions Cup – with help from tournament organisers.

A grim day in the competition saw the Bulls humbled at Loftus Versfeld by Northampton while the under-strength Stormers and Sharks were crushed on the road at Harlequins and Leicester respectively. Between the three sides, 139 points were conceded.

Smaller squad sizes and gruelling travel demands are given as explanations for the under-performance of South African teams, who must also fly to Europe to play away games in the United Rugby Championship.

Dobson, who was missing seven Springboks due to injury including Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe, believes a way to overcome the challenges must be found.

“As South Africans we have to be better. We are not disrespecting (the tournament), but we need to get ourselves into a better position,” Dobson said.

“I don’t know how we solve it. It’s like being invited to someone’s birthday party then complaining about the chips. We are so grateful to be here.

“I see in January we play Leinster in the URC and then Racing. Is there a way to link them up on a tour? That would make it much more palatable.

“We could take our strongest team and play both games at full bore. It’s just this December fixture that has caught us in the last two years.

“For Leicester last season we’d left our whole squad in Cape Town. This was a little bit different. We really are thin. We had Manie down to play against Quins – we’d hoped to mix it up a bit more.

“We only voluntarily didn’t choose six for this game. The rest were injury problems. It’s not a good look, though. If we came to Harlequins at full-noise, that would have been a hell of a game.”

Dobson insists the value of the Champions Cup to South Africa can not be overstated.

“We have to be part of this tournament because it’s such a high level and it’s such a great tournament,” he said

“And if we’re not careful, were we not to be part of the Champions Cup, and the URC morphed into an Anglo League and we went back to the Currie Cup of the 1980s where we were playing Griqualand West and Free State in dusty Kimberley, that would be disastrous for South African rugby.

“This competition is probably what has helped us so much in World Cups. Every breakdown is a competition. Every scrum is a 20-second contest. Every line-out or maul is a contest.

“That has been a massive boost for South African rugby, and we’ve got to make sure we can stay here, but evenings like this evening don’t help.”