This post was originally published on this site.
These are your latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, July 29.
New WRU chair will have to support three-team plan
The Welsh Rugby Union’s next chair will be expected to back plans to cut Wales’ professional game from four teams to three, with the governing body setting a March deadline to decide which region will lose its place.
WalesOnline understands candidates to replace Richard Collier-Keywood this summer are being assessed on their ability to deliver the controversial restructuring, underlining the WRU’s determination to press ahead despite widespread opposition.
Some had thought the appointment of a new chair could derail the plans, but the appointment is being made solely by the board which unanimously backs the reduction in teams.
The Professional Rugby Board was updated on the plans on Monday, with the WRU having sought fresh external advice on how best to reshape the professional game within its financial means.
The union remains committed to operating with one licence in east Wales, one in Cardiff and one in the west from the 2028-29 season, with a final decision on which team misses out expected by March.
Cardiff and Dragons are understood to be in the strongest positions, leaving Ospreys and Scarlets facing an uncertain future unless they can agree to merge.
While the WRU has consistently favoured reaching a consensus rather than launching a formal tender process, it remains unclear how the governing body can reduce the number of teams without one.
Many within Welsh rugby believed the proposal would eventually be shelved, particularly after the collapse of Y11’s proposed takeover of Cardiff, but the latest developments suggest the WRU remains fully committed to reducing the professional game to three regions.
Schmidt to join URC side
Former Ireland and Australia head coach Joe Schmidt is set to join United Rugby Championship side Ulster in a temporary consultancy role ahead of the new season.
The 60-year-old left Irish rugby in 2019 after a hugely successful stint saw him win two Champions Cups with Leinster before guiding the national team to two Six Nations titles.
He then took on assistant roles with the Auckland Blues and New Zealand, before taking over as head coach of the Wallabies in 2024.
Having stepped away from that role after the conclusion of the recent Nations Championship southern series to be replaced by Les Kiss, he is now set to return to Ireland temporarily.
The Australian newspaper reports that the IRFU has approved the arrangement, which will see Schmidt brought in to consult ahead of Ulster’s new URC campaign. An announcement confirming the news is expected in the coming days.
Schmidt’s return will see him reunite with the province’s head coach Richie Murphy, who previously worked with him at Leinster and with Ireland.
The news comes weeks after the veteran coach told reporters: “I don’t really have any ambition to keep coaching as a head coach or anything else. I don’t feel like I need to be a head coach, and I certainly don’t need to be a national head coach.”
Dragons star to face Springboks
Dragons prop Rodrigo Martínez has been handed an Argentina recall after being named in Felipe Contepomi’s squad for the upcoming clashes with South Africa and Australia.
The loosehead has earned three caps for Los Pumas but has not featured for his country since 2021. His inclusion in Contepomi’s 34-man squad gives him the opportunity to end that wait over the coming weeks.
Martínez is one of two players with Dragons links in the squad, with former Rodney Parade scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou also returning to the international set-up.
Argentina begin their Rugby Championship campaign against world champions South Africa in Buenos Aires on August 8 before taking on Australia twice, in Jujuy on August 29 and Mendoza on September 5.
Martínez joined the Dragons ahead of the 2025-26 season and will now have the chance to add to his international tally if selected by Contepomi.
The full Argentina squad is:
Forwards: Rodrigo Martínez (Dragons, 3 caps), Mayco Vivas (Oyonnax, 42 caps), Boris Wenger (Harlequins, 8 caps), Leonel Oviedo (Western Force, uncapped), Ignacio Ruiz (Perpignan, 30 caps), Pedro Delgado (Harlequins, 11 caps), Francisco Moreno (Tarucas, uncapped), Tomás Rapetti (Toulouse, 6 caps), Franco Carrera (Zebre Parma, uncapped), Guido Petti (Harlequins, 101 caps), Efraín Elías (Toulouse, 3 caps), Tomás Lavanini (Highlanders, 91 caps), Facundo Cardozo (Tarucas, uncapped), Benjamín Grondona (Bristol Bears, 2 caps), Pablo Matera (Honda Heat, 124 caps), Juan Penoucos (Pampas, uncapped), Joaquin Moro (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps), Juan Martín Scelzo (Stade Français, uncapped).
Backs: Simón Benítez Cruz (Newcastle Red Bulls, 12 caps), Gonzalo Bertranou (California Legion, 68 caps), Agustín Moyano (Western Force, 9 caps), Gerónimo Prisciantelli (Racing 92, 4 caps), Nicolás Roger (Dogos, 3 caps), Faustino Sánchez Valarolo (Dogos, 2 caps), Benjamín Ordiz (Capibaras, uncapped), Lucio Cinti (Saracens, 42 caps), Agustín Fraga (Pampas, uncapped), Matías Moroni (Bristol Bears, 97 caps), Rodrigo Isgró (Harlequins, 17 caps), Ignacio Mendy (Benetton, 5 caps), Santiago Pernas (Pampas, 1 cap), Santiago Carreras (Bath, 67 caps), Mateo Soler (Dogos, uncapped), Tobías Wade (Pampas, uncapped).
