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These are your evening rugby headlines on Saturday, April 2.
Top match halted after sickening incident
The Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Toulon was brought to an abrupt halt following a sickening first-half incident involving Ireland international Robbie Henshaw.
The centre’s afternoon was ended after just 14 minutes following a brutal collision with giant back rower Mikheil Shioshvili, which left him knocked out and lying motionless on the Aviva Stadium turf.
Shortly after Leinster had opened the scoring through a Jack Conan try, Toulon had the put-in at the lineout and the ball was quickly shipped out to Shioshvili, who charged straight for Henshaw.
The 6ft 4in teenager barrelled over the Irish star, who was knocked backwards by the impact and fell to the ground unconscious, with referee Luke Pearce immediately stopping the game.
TV cameras panned away and zoomed out as medics quickly rushed onto the field to treat Henshaw.
The 32-year-old received treatment on the field of play for over five minutes, before he was eventually moved onto a medical trolley and taken off the field.
As he left the pitch, the Ireland star raised his arm to let concerned supporters that he was OK, with Jamie Osborne replacing him in the Leinster back line.
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Itoje issues verdict on Lions tour of France
England captain Maro Itoje says there is “probably scope” for the British & Irish Lions to tour France in the future.
The tourists will reportedly face France for the first time in nearly 40 years ahead of their tour of New Zealand in 2029, with rugby bosses believed to be exploring alternative destinations beyond that point.
While the Lions traditionally tour New Zealand, South Africa and Australia on rotation every four years, the viability of tours to the Americas and Japan, as well as France are being considered.
Itoje, who captained the Lions in Australia last year, believes that a “full-blown” Test series against Les Bleus “might be a good thing” as he considered the merits of evolving the tour schedule.
“One of the great things about the Lions is its tradition and I grew up watching the Lions play South Africa, New Zealand and Australia,” he told Sky Sports News.
“They’re all great tours and I think the Lions is expanding and I think there’s probably scope for the Lions to play games against France and probably different regions of the world.
“But I think with evolution, it’s about exploring new opportunities, whilst remaining true to its traditional core so who knows?,” Itoje added. “Maybe a full-blown tour to France might be a good thing or maybe just a one-off game before they go and play the traditional three nations.”
‘Tone deaf’ appointment slammed
Munster legend Alan Quinlan has accused his former club of being “tone deaf” over the now-cancelled appointment of Roger Randle.
The former All Black had been in line to join the Irish province as attack coach, but backlash over an incident in his past ultimately resulted in the move being scrapped. In 1997, he was accused of raping a woman in Durban, South Africa. The charges were dropped and Randle has always denied the allegation.
After Munster confirmed earlier this week that the appointment would not go through, Randle said he was “deeply saddened”.
But, while admitting he did not know the New Zealander, Quinlan says Munster “shouldn’t have gone there”, admitting there was “a cloud hanging over this whole situation”.
Speaking on the VMTV Rugby Pod, he said: “I said this a couple of weeks ago when the controversy came out after the announcement and I said: ‘It’s a very precarious position’, and, as I said at the time, I don’t know Roger Randle and I’ve never met him.
“Without getting into the nuts and bolts of guilty, not guilty, the whole thing is something Munster should not have gone near. It’s nothing personal against Roger Randle because you are innocent until proven guilty – I do believe in that – but there’s a cloud there over this whole situation.
“I just think in Munster’s current climate – announcing redundancies, financial pressures, the team hadn’t been playing well up to that point, there had been worries and concerns about making the top-eight and making Europe – it was a little bit tone deaf.”
Quinlan added: “It’s nothing personal against Roger Randle. This guy has not been convicted of the allegation that was made, but there’s a cloud hanging over this whole situation.
“We’ve seen that the world is a different place now. We’ve seen some issues in Irish rugby around sexual assaults, allegations and trials the last couple of years. It’s somewhere Munster should not have gone.
“Munster should have stayed away from it and it was a bit tone deaf. We shouldn’t have gone there, it should have been just appoint somebody else. Don’t go there, don’t alienate the fans.”
Prem boss to meet with Hearn
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent
Prem Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor wants the Gallagher Prem to adopt a boxing-style “promoter mindset” to grow the profile of the league.
Massie-Taylor will soon meet with Eddie Hearn to discuss his plans for Henry Pollock and Finn Russell after he signed two of the sport’s biggest stars to his Matchroom Talent Agency.
As a successful boxing promoter whose stable of fighters is headlined by Anthony Joshua, Hearn’s expertise is seen as having the potential to increase interest in the Prem at a time when it is set to expand to 12 teams.
“It’s a great signal that someone like Eddie is seeing the opportunity within rugby and has picked two of its best stars,” Massie-Taylor told the Press Association. “I’m looking forward to chatting with Eddie and the thing I’m interested in is this promoter mindset, which I believe is incumbent on all of us.
“Whether that’s me, but certainly it’s the players, we all have a role at whatever level to promote the sport. That’s our job, isn’t it?
“Players are the most powerful people to do it. If you take the boxing analogy, they’re the ones talking up a fight on the weekend, what it means and creating that moment, that jeopardy.
“First and foremost, whether you’re a boxer, a rugby player or a professional athlete, you need to perform. But the culture has changed. Henry Pollock single-handedly has made a big impact in terms of sticking himself out there and creating a personality for himself.
“It’s great for the sport seeing kids running around with headbands and queuing up for his autograph. Eddie sees unbelievable athletes who do incredible things on the pitch, who need to be recognised more for who they are as athletes and personalities.”
Title-challenging Bristol even take a player’s marketability into account during recruitment, with the intention of appealing to new audiences and commercial partners, according to chief executive Tom Tainton.
The Bears signed United States star Ilona Maher to their women’s team on a short-term contract and swooped for Wales’ Louis Rees-Zammit when he returned from his spell in NFL.
“At Bristol Bears, we don’t call ourselves a rugby club. We are a marketing agency that plays rugby,” Tainton said. “There is no point going to market and spending marquee money on a player and just expect them to do something between the white lines on a Saturday.
“In the grand scheme of things, nobody remembers how Bristol got on against Harlequins two years ago. They will remember how a player made them feel.
“Yes, our players have to be competent and able to deliver on the field, but if they are not bringing any value off the field, that genuinely factors into our recruitment conversations.
“I’d argue we have done the hard bit – the product is superb. There are young, articulate men and women playing the game so we’ve got a great base to grow from. We now have to take some bold risks to get out of our comfort zone and do things that the sport hasn’t previously done.”
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