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InternationalScarletsWales

The URC 'double boost' that is music to the ears of Wayne Pivac

By PA
(Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has received a double boost ahead of the autumn Tests with Leigh Halfpenny and Ken Owens set to make their Scarlets comebacks. Full-back Halfpenny will start Saturday’s United Rugby Championship game against Benetton in Italy, and hooker Owens is among the replacements as Scarlets chase their first league win of the season.

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Halfpenny has not played since suffering a knee injury when Wales beat Canada 15 months ago. It was his 100th Test appearance for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. But 33-year-old Halfpenny’s return will now be a timely one with Pivac having lost Liam Williams for the entire autumn series due to a collar bone injury that required surgery.

Owens, meanwhile, has had a back problem. He made his last Scarlets appearance in October 2021 and has not represented Wales since the Six Nations campaign earlier that year. The 35-year-old played a half for Welsh Premiership side Carmarthen Quins last weekend and came through unscathed.

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Wales kick off their autumn programme against New Zealand on November 5 before hosting Argentina, Georgia and Australia.

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BC 12 minutes ago
How John Mitchell is giving Red Roses a purpose in 2025

I don’t understand the focus on Sing. Her one attribute that is better than everyone else’s is her place kicking, though it is not infallible (PWR final) and both Harrison and Scarratt can be very good off the tee. In other respects, she defends OK but does not pose the attacking threat that Kildunne, Dow, Breach and MacDonald (plus Millie David) do and if she does break clear is quite slow in comparison. I think she will be fortunate to make the RWC squad. She is a good player who would make most other teams, but the Red Roses would be a lesser team if some others were left out at her expense.

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Cooperick 1 hour ago
The defining moment that will 'raise massive question marks' for Ireland

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Icefarrow 1 hour ago
Hurricanes suffer playmaker blow, experiment with loose trio for Tahs

Who cares? Va’ai is only 1.97, yet he is the best lock at lineouts. Doens’t matter how tall they are so long as they win the ball, and do their job.

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CV 2 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

You can’t suddenly have a national club game in NZ. Still, our model in NZ is too expensive to run. 26 provincial unions, a Maori union a school union and probably a university union too, all held up by NZR if they make a loss, who would be in dire straits without the Silver Lake money themselves NZR contracts and pays our SR players… And one team has to bring most of the cash in by playing 13 or 14 tests a season. We can’t keep going like that.

French club money hasn’t done much for their test sides because their clubs never cared much for the national team. They got foreign players in all the time (at the expense of home grown players) until they were forced by the FFR to select 15 home grown players for the matchday 23 in 2017. Only then they started to invest in academies. France have been in every U20 WC final since 2019 and only lost one. And the FFR and clubs actually started to work together, which resulted in France sending development sides on their July tours for years now. It’s only just started. French rugby is a beast and it’s awake now.

Clubs in Europe are there for themselves, in every sport. Not for the national team. That’s the union’s or federation’s job. EPL clubs don’t care much about the FA either. Most only field 2 or 3 Englsh players every game.

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CV 3 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

I think we’ll find out in a few months. France will be competitive. Clubs don’t run players into the ground like they used and rest them more. Last weekend, Toulouse rested their test players against Bordeaux. No Ntamack, Mauvaka, Kinghorn, Capuozzo…. Bordeaux played LBB and Penaud, but took them off once they had a good lead.

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CV 3 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

A strong comp has the best players in it and they’re from everywhere. That doesn’t mean you win a WC… Based on your logic, England or Spain should win every FIFA WC and the US every basketball WC. They don’t. In latest FIFA WC final, only two players that came on the park, played in their domestic league (two Frenchmen), the others didn’t.

5 out of 10 RWCs were won by teams with most of their players in SR, I would even argue 4 out of 10. For the first three SR did not exist, England won one, and of the last two SA won, they had their best players based outside SR with their 2019 win and weren’t even in SR for the last one.

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J Marc 3 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Hum, maybe after answering every day to the same questions, players say what the journo wish to hear….

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Rodrigo N 4 hours ago
Santiago Mare: 'We are the team that everybody wants to beat'

Vamos Toto, vamos Pumas!!!!

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GP 5 hours ago
Ioane Moananu didn't join the Crusaders 'to wait around'

I will. I have heard a few people mention him.

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Andrew Nichols 6 hours ago
Aaron Smith and ‘three or four other All Blacks’ keen to play for AUNZ XV

Folau..Genia..Quade C and now Smith…any more pensioners want to front up?

1 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Oh please!!!! Really????? So with 5mil people how do you expect NZR to suddenly have a club game that makes money? NZR does the best with its reality. And quite frankly its better than every other team in history.

Look at all the French club resourses, English club money, Irish club money… Whats it done for their Test sides? Sweet FA. Money doesnt buy wins unless its heading into Wayne Barnes offshore bank account.

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H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

No doubt we will find out when we have a world club championship. I wonder if it will ever be held in NZ?

So all those superior comps in the NH and they cant win world cups? What can you possibably base your strength of comp on? I base it on results and so far almost every world cup has been won by SR players

87 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Geez mate if losing means you “didnt bother to look” at the opposition then Ireland didnt “Look” at the opposition in any world cup every. Nor France, Wales, Scotland,etc. At least England can say they “Looked” at the opposition at 1 WC I suppose.

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H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Our 10s were all injured in that 2007 match. Who was going to take the drop goal? You seem obsessed with 2007. I prefer 1987 and 2011 when we beat France in the final to win world cups. Where was the french drop goal in 2011? Was that arrogance? Did they believe they could outscore NZ? was that arrogance or ignorance? You can bag out NZ all you want over 2007 but we can throw the exact same thing back at France over 2011 where they couldnt win. NZ beat them twice in that tournament.

87 Go to comments
H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

There was no disrespect because they beat us. Youre making that up. There was a real determination to beat you at the WC. We respected Ireland rugby so much we had a specific plan to beat you at the 1/4 final. As soon as the draw was announced I was very keen to see us play you in that match. Your team showed nothing but disrespect with crass comments, arrogant post SA loss comments and critique of some of our best players. You earned our retaliation. That will forever be on you. Now that match was won by 4 points from memory but it was the best 4 point win Ive ever experienced. There is nothing better than beating the class clown/Bully, and particularly at a major game like a WC 1/4 final.

No doubt you have special memories of Ireland wins and no doubt some of those will be wins against NZ, well this is, so far, my best memory against Ireland and even eclipsed the game where we scored after the siren and your boys charged the conversion way before it was taken. The miss would have meant your first win v NZ but Cruden slotted the second conversion to win the game.

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H
Head high tackle 8 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Yep. Ireland got cocky and then got outcoached. Real pretty to watch after the arrogance they showed and after the BS they put out. Calling Cane a “Sh&T Richie” doesnt get more disrespectful and then YES they claimed they would see SA in the final. Etzebet was forced to retract and back away from his statement publicly. Never privately tho.

Leaving Sexton on when he could hardly walk was funny. Coach didnt back his team. Just a couple of stars. Fell at the same hurdle as every other world cup. Now they are past their window and that makes me laugh because of the way their players and fans acted post winning in NZ.

87 Go to comments
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LONG READ ‘You feel the interest, that motivates you too’: Guido Petti wooed by Quins' personal touch ‘You feel the interest, that motivates you too’: Guido Petti wooed by Quins' personal touch
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