Today’s rugby news as Ospreys coach deeply frustrated and centre praised after Wales audition

The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond

Ospreys coach ‘frustrated’ as semi-final place goes begging

After his team was not “as good as we could have been,” Ospreys head coach Toby Booth called their Challenge Cup quarterfinal loss to Gloucester “really frustrating.”

The Welsh team failed to leave much of an effect on the game as their set-piece struggled against the English outift, as the Ospreys lost 23–13 at Kingsholm on Friday night.

After the game, Booth said it was difficult to accept that the Ospreys had not played well after their historic first-ever European knockout victory the previous week.

“Heartbroken,” he murmured in retrospect. “I’m annoyed. Not just my reflections, but also the team’s.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful as I thought Gloucester were very good and deserved to win. I’m just frustrated around some of the elements of our game which didn’t stand up as we would have liked them to. That made for a frustrating evening.

“When you’re in cup rugby, you need to make sure you control your controllables better and deal with pressure. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s a great learning curve. It is a great learning curve but I don’t want to focus on that because we were here, we had a chance to move forward and we’ve not taken that.

“So it’s really frustrating. The plus side is we’ve gone one step further than last time in a knockout competition. When the dust settles, we’ll probably reflect on progress. The overriding emotion is disappointment as I don’t think we were as good as we could have been.”

Gloucester boss praises centre after audition in front of Wales coach

Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington has praised Max Llewellyn for how he’s settled into life at the Gallagher Premiership club.

Llewellyn, who made his Wales debut last year, played 47 minutes of the Cherry and Whites’ Challenge Cup win over the Ospreys, occasionally carrying before British and Irish Lions center Chris Harris took his place.

Following the game, Skivington dismissed any concerns about injuries while praising Llewellyn.

“Thankfully I think he’s alright actually,” he replied. “I was going to employ Chris eventually anyhow, and that looked like the perfect excuse to utilize him.

However, he’s been outstanding. I believe Max’s stature has truly increased. He has gained a significant amount of weight this year—he has gained seven kilograms.

However, I believe that as a guy, he’s come out (here) and the lads adore him. There are quite a few boys our age in their group. He seems like a star for the

“Still got bits and pieces to do but the try he scored last week off the back of the lineout was absolutely outstanding. I saw Alex King was here today and presumably that’s what he was here for.

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Welsh hooker signs for Pirates

Iestyn Harris, a Welsh hooker, has temporarily joined Cornish Pirates.

The 25-year-old, a former Wales under-20 player, has signed a loan deal with the Championship team.

He immediately enters the battle for the weekend, being listed as one of the substitutes for the Pirates’ encounter with Ampthill on tomorrow.

“With the injuries that we have had from the last game it has been important that we bring someone in to fill that space and, thanks to the support of Exeter Chiefs, Iestyn is that man,” Alan Paver, our joint head coach, stated.

“He has been earmarked as a talented player who has just come back from injury, so we are looking forward to seeing him down at the Mennaye and integrating him in accordingly.”

New heat guidelines to be introduced

World Rugby have revealed they will look to introduce extended half-times and more frequent water breaks during athletic events held in hot, muggy conditions.

This summer, the sport’s governing body will release updated regulations on the subject.

According to Eanna Falvey, chief medical officer of World Rugby, game start timings may need to be changed to avoid the hottest part of the day.

Falvey told BBC Sport, “We propose to build this into the new guidelines.” “Measures would include longer breaks and intervals, but also delaying kick-off for a cooler time.”

One such strategy could be to incentivize players to continue wearing wet shirts instead of changing into brand-new, dry ones.

Additionally, World Rugby advises a two-week acclimatization time before switching regions.