Tonight’s rugby news as Wales legend robbed of farewell and Lions hopeful suffers freak injury
The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
These are your evening rugby headlines on Thursday, April 24.
Welsh legend robbed of farewell
Ospreys star Justin Tipuric will miss out on making a home farewell appearance at the Swansea.com Stadium this weekend, having been ruled out of their URC derby clash with the Dragons through injury.
The 35-year-old – who will become the Ospreys defence coach for the 2025/26 campaign after hanging up his boots at the end of the current season – was due to play in front of a home crowd for the last time on Saturday.
However, a pectoral injury suffered in the region’s Challenge Cup defeat to Lyon earlier this month means the former Wales captain will miss out – and could mean that he has played his last game in professional rugby.
The Ospreys’ play-off chances look slim as they currently sit in 13th place, but they could still secure qualification with wins in all of their remaining three games. Therefore, there is still a chance that Tipuric could feature in those knockout games, which will be held in June.
Fellow Wales international Adam Beard, who will leave the region at the end of the season, is hoping to be back for selection after missing the defeat against Cardiff. 25% OFF DEAL NOW: Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Discussing the fitness of both players, head coach Mark Jones said he was hopeful Beard would return this weekend, explaining: “We’re hoping that we can get some rugby into him by the end of the year. We’ll see how he’s looking for this week, we’re not 100% sure as it stands, but we’re hoping to get him back as soon as we can.
“Same with Tips, we want Tips to keep rehabbing like he is. He wants to remain a player for the end of the year which is awesome.
“We’re trying to go through that process of getting him back out on the field and if we can extend our season longer and longer, we give those boys a better chance of of playing more games for us.
“There’s potential,” added Jones when asked if Tipuric could return if the Ospreys qualified for the play-offs. “Yeah there’s definitely potential to see him on the rugby field for sure. Physios and conditioners are working hard with what that looks like and most importantly Tips, his mindset is he wants to play another few games for the Ospreys.
“That’s really important isn’t it? If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.”
Lions hopeful suffers freak injury
British & Irish Lions hopeful Ben Curry will miss his final audition for a spot on this summer’s tour of Australia after being ruled out by a freak injury.
The back row – who is in contention for a spot on the tour after impressing on England duty – will miss Sale Sharks’ Gallagher Premiership clash with play-off rivals Saracens due to having “a bit of metal” stuck in his leg.
“It’s a bit of a scratch and sniff injury,” said head coach Alex Sanderson. “It’s a weird one, I’ve not heard of it before.
“There’s a bit of metal in his leg, which is irritating the muscle, but nothing’s torn. It’s around the site of an old operation where he had the stitches. There’s little chance of him tearing the muscle, but it’s uncomfortable for him.”
On how long Curry will be out for, Sanderson added: “He’s running around, so hopefully it will have sorted itself out in another week. We have given him as long as we could, but he won’t make this game.”
Curry faces stiff competition for a place on the Lions’ tour, with his brother Tom, Wales captain Jac Morgan and Ireland’s Josh van der Flier all in contention for a highly competitive back row spot.
Cardiff make three changes for crucial clash
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt has made three changes to his side to face Munster in their crucial URC clash on Friday night.
The region saw their play-off hopes boosted by a bonus point win over the Ospreys on Judgement Day and could take a further step towards cementing their place in the top eight by beating the Irish province, who trail them by a single point in the league table.
The three changes come in the pack, with Danny Southworth starting in the front row and Josh McNally back from RAF duty to rejoin the Blue & Blacks’ engine room. In the back row, Thomas Young will make his last appearance at the Arms Park ahead of his move to the Dragons next season.
“We are all really excited for Friday night,” said Sherratt. “These are exactly the kind of games you want to be involved in.
“There’s no getting away from it, it’s one of the biggest games of the season. It’s a game with a lot riding on it, in a league that’s incredibly tight and against a brilliant team full of internationals, with massive history.
“We will need to be at our best and produce our most complete performance of the season to secure the result we need. If we can do that then we will travel to South Africa in a strong position.
“We are expecting another really good crowd and we know when we need our supporters, they come out in force and get behind us,” the head coach added. “For a number of players, it will also be their last game at the Arms Park so there is a huge amount of motivation to make it a special occasion.”
Cardiff: Cam Winnett; Josh Adams, Harri Millard, Ben Thomas; Gabe Hamer-Webb; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Liam Belcher (capt), Keiron Assiratti, Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, James Botham, Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Corey Domachowski, Rhys Litterick, Rory Thornton, Alun Lawrence, Ben Donnell, Aled Davies, Tinus de Beer.
