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North teases rugby future
George North says he would like to stay in rugby after signing off his playing career with two tries against Wales for the Barbarians on Saturday.
The Wales and Lions legend brought down the curtain on an illustrious career with a fairytale cameo against Steve Tandy’s side at the Allianz Stadium. While his two tries – as well as a conversion – weren’t enough to snatch victory for the Barbarians, it provided a happy ending to a difficult last season that saw him play just four times for Provence before hanging up his boots.
It also proved a happier farewell than his final cap for Wales, when a ruptured Achilles tendon ruined his day. This time around, North could enjoy himself a little more – with the 34-year-old emotional after leaving the pitch one last time.
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“It’s been a massive honour and a privilege to have this last game. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get another match this season, so to do it in front of an away-home crowd – I don’t know how you’d say it, really – was very special. Bagging a couple of meat pies and then kicking my first conversion in my professional career is pretty good.
“It’s been a different sort of year. I thought I had already played my last game, so when I got the phone call, it was amazing to have the honour and privilege of an invitation to play for the Baa-Baas. To sign off like that was just really special for me.”
North admitted that it was a strange sensation scoring against his homeland – although he soon repeated the feat shortly after.
“It was very weird! I’m not sure how to say it – just strange,” he said. “Very strange. But to be fair, after the game we had a lovely presentation with the boys in the Welsh changing room. They’re on a great journey and have a great opportunity ahead. I wish them all the very best, and I’m always happy to help where I can.
“I felt very honoured that the Welsh boys spoke so kindly of me. I did joke to the lads, ‘You never spoke that nicely when I was in camp with you!’ It’s a special group with a massive opportunity, and I told them I was jealous that I couldn’t be on this upcoming journey with them.
“They have an amazing chance to stamp their mark on the jersey and dictate how this team goes forward. With Steve, the rest of the coaching team, and the squad they’ve got, they can really make strides.
“For me, I’ve loved every second in a Welsh jersey, and I’ve loved every second of the Barbarians jersey too. To be able to draw a line underneath it like this is very good.”
On what he will do next, North answered: “Hopefully not much for a little bit! I think a couple of cold ones this evening, head back to Wales for a few days, and then a bit of a holiday with the family.
“I’m really looking forward to having some time to chill. It’s the first time I’ve stopped properly without anything needing medical attention for a while, so I feel very happy and pleased.
“I think I will stay involved in rugby in some capacity down the line, though I’m not entirely sure what that looks like just yet. Rugby has given me so much for a long time.
“Like I told the Welsh boys, if anyone needs any help, I’m only a phone call away. What that looks like, I don’t know, but a holiday is definitely needed first.”
Tandy: There was lots to like
Wales head coach Steve Tandy claims there was “lots to like” about his side’s narrow 33-31 win over the Barbarians at Twickenham.
A scrappy, stop-start affair played in sweltering conditions saw Tandy’s side run in five tries at the home of English rugby, with Dan Edwards scoring a brace and Kieran Hardy, Reuben Morgan-Williams and Ellis Mee also crossing.
However, their 16-point lead was cut to just two in the final five minutes of the match, with Wales legend George North scoring the second of his two tries before converting Santiago Arata’s last-minute score.
Played in front of a crowd of 20,000, the strange encounter will have underwhelmed many fans, but Tandy believes there was a lot of positives to take from the match ahead of Wales’ inaugural Nations Championship campaign getting underway against Fiji next weekend.
“Getting the win is great for us and then getting four boys off the bench who played high minutes against some outstanding rugby players, so that was great,” said Tandy after the match.
“Getting Teddy back starting a big game [for the first time] since October last year, Dillon Lewis coming back in, the skipper coming back in after a long lay-off. Jac hasn’t played for us since the Argentina game. So there’s lots to like about the game.
“I thought we probably could have put more distance in it in the first-half, but it’s a brilliant hit-out for us. There’s lots for us to learn and get better at, but I think it’s everything you wanted going into Fiji, because that’s going to be chaotic at times.
“There’s going to be moments that you can be in really good positions and something happens,” he added.
“It’s great preparation. It’s great for us to get everything live, because you can train as much as you want, and the boys have worked really hard, but there’s nothing quite like feeling it in this heat against a team that are going to keep the ball, which tests us.
“So, there’ll be lots of lessons for us to learn, but ultimately it’s great to get minutes for a lot of young boys, too.”
Wales Women impress in victory over Barbarians
Wales Women secured their second win under head coach Sean Lynn as they sealed a deserved 34-17 victory against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
An inexperienced and youthful Welsh team – the majority of which were aged 22 or younger – impressed against the star-studded invitational side, with an encouraging display seeing several new faces put their hands up for future inclusion.
Fly-half Kayleigh Powell opened the scoring after 11 minutes, with uncapped wing Amy Williams stretching her side’s advantage with a second try following a storming break from scrum-half Seren Lockwood.
The impressive Williams struck again shortly before half-time as she got the better of Canada star Alex Tessier to cross, with Wales heading into the break 15-7 up.
Branwen Metcalfe had a try ruled out shortly after the restart, and after a consistent spell of pressure, Wales found themselves over the line again as Lockwood got on the scoresheet herself with a fine finish.
The Baa Baas pulled one back just gone the hour mark through Bryony Cleall, with Celia Quansah powering over the line moments later to cut the deficit to five points.
However, a strong finish from Wales saw centre Courtney Keight go over 10 minutes from time, with lock Jorja Aiono putting distance between the sides with a try with the clock in the red.
An encouraging display was only marred by an injury to full-back Nel Metcalfe, who recently returned from months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Speaking to S4C after the game, player of the match Bryonie King said: “It’s a fantastic feeling to get the win. I play with these girls that have so much ambition, so I just went and played my own game.
“When you play with girls like Alex Callender and Alisha Joyce in the back row with you, it makes your job so much easier. I had a great Six Nations so I just developed from that.
“All the time you just have to keep on going, it’s not always there for you. I’m honoured every time to wear that number eight shirt.”
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