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15 Apr, 2025
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Tonight's rugby news as Welsh captain blown away by unseen acts of kindness and Wales side play out bizarre results
@Source: walesonline.co.uk
These are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, April 15. Cardiff captain Liam Belcher says he and his teammates had a "real eye opener" as the region were temporarily placed into administration before the WRU took them over last week. It was a difficult week for all involved with the Arms Park side after club owners, Helford Capital, failed to fund the club to the level they were contractually obligated to and the decision was made to go into administration. Head coach Matt Sherratt admitted the ordeal was "unsettling for 24 to 48 hours", and hooker Belcher admitted it had been a "pretty stressful" time for him and his teammates. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "I’ve got to give credit to the boys, they have been class with it all," he said. “It’s not the sort of thing I ever thought would happen and go through. But we’ve put it behind us now. That’s the only thing you can do. “We have got our jobs, you are getting your money at the end of the month to pay for your mortgage and help your families out. I think that’s what we’ve got to be grateful for at the end of the day." However, while Cardiff players were faced with uncertainty, Belcher admits he was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of the rugby public as he praised fans for their acts of kindness during the ordeal. "Outside of rugby, you realise who is there for you," he said. "That was the big eye opener, just how many people actually care for the club. A lot of people came forward trying to volunteer help, with a bit of advice etc. “Going for coffee on the day we were waiting for news, random people were just asking if you were ok, it was quite nice hearing that. It’s bigger than rugby at that point. It’s about livelihoods.” Wales Women U18s achieved an unusual feat as they played out back-to-back 0-0 draws on the second day of the Six Nations Festival at Wellington College. The teenage side kicked off the day with a hard-fought scoreless draw with England before their clash with Italy ended with the same scoreline hours later. While both matches were only 35 minutes in length, such a scoreline is undeniably unusual at any level of rugby, particularly for two scoreless draws to occur on the same afternoon. While they couldn't quite get over the line to score, Wales performed well in both matches with some promising attacking moves and a fine defensive display that kept their opponents at bay. Coached by former Wales Women captain Siwan Lillicrap, the squad will face Ireland in their final fixture - a full 70-minute match - on Saturday. Dan Biggar says "time will tell" if the appointment of Dave Reddin as the WRU's director of rugby will help to turn around fortunes in Welsh rugby as the move was questioned by former England international Andy Goode. The union are on the verge of appointing Reddin to sit at the head of the professional game in Wales, with the Englishman tasked with helping to turn around a poor run of results at national level and address the difficult challenges faced by all four professional clubs on and off the field. Reddin boasts an impressive CV having been England's national fitness coach when they won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, while he was also a member of Sir Clive Woodward's backroom team on the 2005 Bitish & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. More recently, he spent six years at the FA as head of team strategy and performance while has also held the role of head of performances services at the British Olympic Association. However, Goode, who worked with Reddin during his time with England, has questioned whether he is the right fit for the job, which is considered vitally important for the future of Welsh rugby by the WRU. On the latest episode of The Rugby Pod , Goode said: "I know [Reddin] has done bits in other sports, but director of rugby? He’s high-performance and his background is in sports and conditioning and cycling. Get rugby people doing it. "[He was] sports and conditioning coach, absolutely hated me. He’s a very good man and he was very good at what he did from a sports and conditioning perspective. But we’re talking about a director of rugby here." Biggar responded: "What I will say is he was part of that 2003 team, he obviously did well with British cycling, did a really good job there. And obviously with the FA as well working alongside Gareth Southgate. His CV is pretty impressive. "Who knows if it’s the right appointment? Only time will tell. From a CV point of view, working alongside, getting results out of the organisation he’s in, then his CV is pretty good and you’d have to say. it’s a decent appointment on paper." Sticking to his guns, Goode responded: "I just question the role of a director of rugby when you’ve not worked in rugby for 20 odd years. He’s a brilliant man, if he was high-performance or something along those lines... but it says director of rugby, and I’m like: ‘ you what?’" Biggar added: "I think the director of rugby will be very much looking at the programmes and the systems. How do they achieve high-performance? I think that will be something he’ll be looking at, and he’ll be working with the coach and pathways to try and unlock that." By PA Sport Staff Premiership Rugby has confirmed two fixtures which will trial away supporter zones across rounds 14 and 15 of the Gallagher Premiership. The trials will take place this Saturday when Saracens host Gloucester at the StoneX Stadium, and the following weekend when Leicester welcome Harlequins to the Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium. It is hoped that the new initiative, which will allow supporters from visiting clubs to gather in a single stand, will improve atmospheres and drive up attendances. Saracens and Leicester offered to be involved in the trials, and the plan is that more teams will adopt the scheme next season if the test runs are successful. Rob Calder, chief growth officer at Premiership Rugby, said: “The opportunity to trial these away zones during the run-in is a progressive step for rugby. “Home and away fans sitting together, sharing a drink and chatting about the game, is a great tradition of our sport and there is no desire to change that. This project is about providing an additional ticketing option to travelling supporters. “We’ve also listened to our players, who say that they thrive off the noise and energy that a vocal cluster of away support can bring.” Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
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