Your rugby evening headlines on Wednesday, April 2.
Rugby official to leave refereeing
Referee Tom Foley is to leave his role with the Rugby Football Union.
The Bath native spent 15 years in the game as an official, but will now be moving on to "pursue new opportunities." He retired from refereeing international matches in 2023 following a barrage of abuse after the World Cup final.
Foley's career began in 2010 in the National Leagues, before going on to officiate in the English Premiership. He was referee 135 times, officiating in 250 in total, with four Premiership finals under his belt.
Foley also earned Test honours, earning 48 appearances as a referee, although the culmination of his international career was as TMO for the New Zealand v South Africa 2023 final, which ended sourly.
Speaking back in 2023, Foley said: “Having reached the pinnacle in officiating at the Rugby World Cup Final, now feels the right time to take a break from the international game,” Foley said in a statement at the time. “Over the course of 13 years, I have been fortunate to officiate alongside many dedicated professionals and be involved in some of the greatest games in international rugby.
“However, the pressure and scrutiny I came under after the Rugby World Cup final, along with a torrent of criticism and abuse online, has helped to reaffirm that this is the right decision for me at this point in my life. While it’s a privilege to be at the heart of some of the sport’s most iconic moments, the increasing levels of vitriol, when the demands and expectation are so high, have led me to this moment.”
BBC star weighs in on Wales match controversy
Gabby Logan has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Wales Women star Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, after the full-back took part in a post-match TikTok dance live on the BBC after her side lost 67-12 to England.
Wales conceded 11 tries as the visitors romped to victory at the Principality Stadium but, after the game, Joyce-Butchers joined England prop Sarah Bern on the BBC’s coverage for an interview with Logan, during which they recorded a dance routine on the popular app alongside pundits Siwan Lillicrap and Katy Daley-McLean.
The moment sparked a backlash from fans on social media, who criticised Joyce-Butchers for taking part in the dance after a 55-point defeat. The Team GB star has hit back to defend herself, asking: “If we don't love what we do, then why do it?”, but now Logan has given her take on the matter.
“In the post-match piece, which is about 35-minutes long for us, the producer thought it'd be fun to get Sarah Bern, who's the prop, who does a lot on social media,” she explained to co-host Mark Chapman on The Sports Agents podcast
“She did a live TikTok in the studio. This was after we'd done a lot of analysis, and we've interviewed a lot of people and had some serious chats.
“I kind of knew this would go one way or the other with the people watching, the audience watching. Half of those, I would say, who are commenting think it's a great idea to see young women having fun around sport, and half of those commenting seem to think it was a very bad idea and is not serious enough.”
Defending the dance, Logan praised both players for not hiding their personalities and suggested that fans are “losing sight” of how much fun sport can be, with enjoyment and competitiveness both having their place.
“They are taking their sport by the scruff of the neck, by looking at a kind of whole new landscape, and deciding how they want to be in sport,” she said. “For me, women's rugby is a very joyous occasion. The crowd are just having a great time.”
“It reminds me a bit, of kind, when I went to the Hong Kong Sevens for the first time. There's serious sport going on, but people are having a really good time. I just wonder sometimes if we lose sight of that, that you can have both.
“I think they can probably all see these women, the Ilona Maher effect; she is the most viewed rugby player in the world, and they probably all want the piece of the action. They want to kind of understand how they can connect with their audience. They're a generation who are all about connecting with their audience
“I like the fact that a lot of the female sports women are not scared to tell us about their other passions,” she added. “You know, life is not just this kind of real linear thing that is just sport, sport, sport. It is a balancing act, and maybe that's what they're working out how far you push it.”
'Frustrated' Wales star out for weeks
Wales winger Josh Hathaway faces a battle to play again this season after sustaining an injury playing for Gloucester.
The Cherry and Whites hammered local rivals Bath 53-28 in the English Premiership over the weekend, but speedster Hathaway suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out for six weeks.
"He's damaged some ligaments in his ankle," explained Gloucester coach George Skivington. "So that is disappointing for everybody because he was actually having a pretty good game against Bristol. I think he was disappointed with his performance at Bath and he bounced back and was having a good game.
"It is frustrating because he's had a pretty stop-start season really. He went into the Wales camp and didn't really play and missed out on training here, so he's definitely frustrated, but he should be back before the end of the season."
Fellow Wales international Max Llewellyn, who has regularly featured on the wing for Gloucester, is also currently injured, leaving the club a little scarce in the wide channels. Skivington also revealed that Wales fly-half Gareth Anscombe "isn't a million miles away" from recovering from his hamstring injury, but is unlikely to play this weekend.
Tomos Williams in 'prime' of career
Gloucester attack coach James Lightfoot Brown says Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams is currently in the "prime" of his career.
The 30-year-old starred for Gloucester over the weekend, producing a sensational no-look offload, slotting two conversions and assisting another try with a well-rehearsed set move.
And while he did not star for Wales during the Six Nations, he has been touted for British and Irish Lions selection by Louis Rees-Zammit, Danny Care and rugby fans from across social media.
Speaking about his current run of form at club level, attack coach Brown explained that he believes Williams is hitting a high point in his career. "Tomos is a world-class player, anyone that has seen him play this season will understand what I mean by that," Lightfoot Brown said to BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
"He's an incredibly gifted, committed man who is currently in my opinion in the absolute prime of his career, playing some brilliant rugby and bringing other people with him.
"I think that's the important thing, not only is he doing the bits of individual brilliance but for someone in his position it's so important he brings people with him and he's got the respect of the whole group and we're certainly reaping the rewards of signing Tomos Williams."
