Tonight's rugby news as Woodward surprised by Gatland's decision and pundit impressed by Wales 'baller'
These are your evening rugby headlines on Thursday, January 2.
Woodward's hope for Wales after Gatland surprise
Sir Clive Woodward has laid out his hopes for Welsh rugby in 2025, saying he is surprised Warren Gatland hasn't walked away.
The former England boss said it is "tough to see" Wales struggling, with Warren Gatland's side losing every single match in 2024 and heading into the upcoming Six Nations looking to end a 12-Test losing run. He says Wales returning to winning ways is among his big wishes for 2025.
READ MORE: Wales 'set to make move' for top coach as he leaves English champions
READ MORE: The Wales winners and losers as Gatland picks Six Nations squad after derby trials
The dismal record last year saw Gatland's future as head coach made subject to a Welsh Rugby Union review last month and while he has been kept on, Woodward admits he was "surprised" that the New Zealander didn't choose to depart anyway.
Suggesting how Wales can get out of their current rut, the 68-year-old admits in his Daily Mail column it's a "tall order" that will get even worse if they fail to beat Italy in Rome next month - but says Gatland must look to "pick anyone who is qualified to play for Wales" regardless on who they play for at club level.
"I went to school in Wales and it’s tough to see a hugely proud rugby nation struggling so badly," the World Cup winning coach wrote in his MailOnline column. "I really hope they can get back on track, but it looks a tall order.
"Warren Gatland has lost 12 Tests in a row, including every match in 2024, but he is staying on for the Six Nations. Gatland and Welsh rugby have all manner of problems to deal with and I was surprised to a degree he hasn’t walked away.
"Wales start the Six Nations with France and Italy away," Woodward added. "If they don’t win in Rome in round two, I am not sure they can recover.
"On paper they look a half-decent team but like England, they should just pick anyone who is qualified to play for Wales, regardless of their club side. Welsh rugby needs to sharpen up, and quickly."
Pundit impressed by Wales 'baller'
Former England international Ugo Monye has heaped praise upon Wales centre Max Llewellyn, saying he is "such a baller".
The 25-year-old returned to Warren Gatland's squad this autumn having been in fine form for Gloucester and he caught Monye's eye again during his side's 22-15 defeat to Exeter, with the pundit surprised by what he saw from the Welshman.
Speaking on the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast, Monye explained that he already knew the physical impact that the 6ft 5in star brought to his side's midfield, but hadn't quite appreciated the work he does off the ball.
Predicting that Wales will break their dismal losing run at the Six Nations, the British & Irish Lions tourist said that Gatland's side has too much young talent to go winless at the tournament again and identified Llewellyn and Gloucester teammate Josh Hathaway as two shining lights.
"Wales obviously had a disaster in 2024, the worst ever," said Monye. "But when I look at the individuals that they've got, this young crop... Watching Gloucester at the weekend, I know they lost against Exeter, but Josh Hathaway on the wing, I really, really rate.
"Max Llewellyn, I watched him warm up. This fella is a big old unit, he carries super hard. But one thing I've not credited him for yet is his organisational skills and work off the ball. Every time Anscombe made a play, he is pushing Anscombe out the way, he's chatting to his 13, his blindside winger, he wants to be first receiver.
"His timing, his ability to go to line and make these lovely passes, whether it's over the top or out the back, I didn't realise he had as much ball-playing ability in him," he added. "I think he's such a baller. So [Wales] have got loads of young players who are too talented to have another year similar to the one they've just had."
Wales star frustrated by derby result
Cardiff star Ben Thomas says he is pleased with the start that his side have made to the season, but admits he was left frustrated by their New Year's Day derby draw with the Ospreys.
A drama-packed clash at the Arms Park saw the two regions share the honours with tries from Evan Lloyd and Dafydd Hughes cancelled out by 13 points from fly-half Dan Edwards. While the Ospreys lost James Fender to a red card moments before half-time, the match, which wasn't exactly vintage, finished 13-13.
However, the two points they earned in their first match of 2025 means that Cardiff are still third in the United Rugby Championship, with Matt Sherratt's side making a strong start to the campaign. Speaking after the game, Thomas said he was happy with how the season has gone so far, but couldn't hide his frustration at not being able to get the win against their regional rivals.
“It was a strange game to play in to be honest," he said. "I think every time we tried to get a bit of momentum, the game was stopped whether it was for their red, our yellows, us giving away cheap pens. We really struggled to get going today and I think that probably showed in our overall performance.
“We probably did not help ourselves in executing what we wanted to. We went in with a pretty big kick focus for that second half, there was a pretty strong wind up there. From the off really, we didn’t ourselves get into any of the style of play we wanted to play.
“We’ll have to have a good look back at that game to see the real reasons we couldn’t get going. I think it’s probably the case for both teams. We both struggled to get any foothold in the game, really, and it was pretty stalemated."
On the season so far, the Wales international added: "On the whole, the block has been good for us, especially if you contrast that to last season. I know we’ve had an easier run of games so far, but we’re definitely pleased with how we’ve gone this year.
“Today was probably a bit of a banana skin that we did slip on, but we’re probably pretty happy with the first block as a whole. It’s a funny period after Christmas in the league, it’s a very stopped start, so we’ll probably attack it similar to last year, look at blocks of two or three games.
“We’ll put a real focus on getting a result each block," he continued. "Our focus will turn to Europe when we come back in on Monday. So we’ve got a few days downtime now, enjoy some time with the families and then it’s back into Europe.”
