Dan Biggar signs on with the Ospreys for another three years

Posted on Mar 27, 2013 in Ospreys

Dan Biggar has signed a new three year deal with the Ospreys, the region has announced.

Twenty-three year old Biggar, whose current deal expires at the end of this campaign, will now stay at the Liberty Stadium until at least the end of the 2015/16 season.

Speaking after signing the new contract, Biggar said:

"This is an organisation that has always been very good to me and supported me so it’s great that I can recognise that by committing my future to the region.

"It’s always nice to get things sorted and to be all done and dusted, and now I’ve signed it means I can concentrate on the next few weeks and helping the team to secure a play-off place without any distractions."

A product of the Ospreys’ elite youth development pathway, Biggar gained his early rugby experience with Gorseinon RFC and Gowerton Comprehensive in Swansea, before representing the region at age-grade level and playing for Swansea RFC in the Welsh Premiership.

He made his senior Ospreys debut as an 18-year old, as a late replacement in an EDF Energy Cup semi-final win over Saracens at the Millennium Stadium almost exactly five years ago in March 2008, with his first start coming in an away win over Glasgow in September that year.

Since then he has flourished in the Ospreys environment, his durability and consistency in the number 10 shirt allowing him to reach some considerable landmarks for the region.

In November 2011, less than a month after his 22nd birthday, he overtook James Hook to become the region’s all-time highest points scorer, a record he has since extended to 1,206. Having topped the scoring charts for the last three consecutive seasons he is on course to do so again this time around.

Meanwhile, in April 2012 he became the youngest ever Osprey to reach 100 regional caps, and now stands on 121 appearances.

An age-grade international, he won his first senior Welsh cap in November 2008, against Canada, and now stands on 16 caps having established himself as first choice for Wales over the last two months during their successful Six Nations campaign.

Having been in negotiations regarding his new deal for some months, Biggar admitted to being relieved to have finalised his contract, indicating that the ambition of the region matched his own which had been the deciding factor:

"Some negotiations can be straight forward, others take a little bit more time, but what’s important is that you get it right in the end" he said.

"I think that both parties are very happy with where we are and can really look forward to the future positively. The Ospreys wanted to keep me and I wanted to stay so it’s always been a case of agreeing on a few things. It’s not just financial, there are other things that come into the equation.

"This is a great environment with fantastic facilities and great coaches. It brings the best of you as a player and I consider myself fortunate to have come through this system to represent my home region. That’s very important, as you have to be happy in your environment, wherever you are.

"My aim is to be competing for trophies with the Ospreys every year. I’ve discussed this at length with the coaches and management here, I’ve made that ambition absolutely clear, and I wouldn’t have committed for the next three years if they didn’t share those aims. We know how difficult it is, with the salary cap and things like that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to be successful.

"There are a lot of good players here at the Ospreys. We’ve got experienced, quality senior players and some exciting youngsters coming through and we’ve shown that we can get the right blend to be competitive. There’s no reason why we can’t continue developing from within while competing with the best. I’m excited about what we can potentially achieve as a group."

Andy Lloyd, Rugby Operations Manager at the Ospreys, said:

"The news that Dan has re-signed for another three years is a huge boost for the Ospreys, looking towards the end of season run-in and beyond that to the future of the region.

"It’s a huge statement from the business and credit needs to go those involved who have worked extremely hard to put the business where we are, enabling us to keep such a prime young, local talent.

"To be able to re-sign a young man of his calibre, particularly given how his stock has risen over the last two months on the back of some very accomplished performances in a Wales shirt, is a huge boost for everyone. That he is happy to commit his future to the Ospreys speaks volumes about the environment that we have created here.

"Daniel is an Osprey through and through but he is also a born competitor so its understandable that he didn’t just jump in and sign as although we are his home region he wanted to make sure that we shared the ambitions.

"He epitomises everything we want in an Osprey. He is hard working, committed to the cause and completely dedicated to being the best player he can possibly be. He’s a fantastic goal kicker whose record speaks for itself, but it’s important to stress that he’s not just a kicking machine, he’s got a lot of other talents and he directs our game well.

"I’m sure that he’s going to have a massive future, with the Ospreys and with Wales."

Andrew Hore, Ospreys’ Chief Operations Officer, added:

"It’s fantastic news that we have been able to retain Dan’s services for another three years. It’s important if we truly want to represent the local community that we have young, local talent like Dan wearing the shirt so that children can aspire to follow in their footsteps along the development pathway.

"However, we mustn’t take our ability to keep local players here for granted. We need to continue growing our support base, we need bums on seats, people watching their region, as without increased funding we face the risk of losing players like Dan in the future."

Biggar is the ninth player to have signed a new contract with the Ospreys following on from Richard Fussell, Tom Grabham, Tom Isaacs, Duncan Jones, Rhys Webb, Joe Bearman, Lloyd Peers and James King

Dai Young previews Saracens clash

Posted on Mar 26, 2013 in London Wasps

London Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young previews this weekend’s Aviva Premiership game against Saracens (Saturday, March 30th, Adams Park, 15.00)

Wasps welcome table toppers Saracens to Adams Park this weekend aiming to bounce back from a last second heart-breaking defeat to Northampton Saints last time out.

Young conceded that a positive result last weekend would have given his side an unlikely win, but added that plenty of hard work this week will prepare his side well for the leading side in the league.

“We were out muscled last weekend and you can’t say that Northampton hadn’t done enough to win it. But we showed our ability to play some really high quality rugby to get back into it and we had our noses in front going into last few minutes. We couldn’t quite hold onto the field position we needed to win it, but after a rocky start we did get stuck in with a great crowd behind us.”

Young said that the hard work this weekend will start up front.

“We have had a tough time of it in specific areas up front in the last few games and teams are starting to target us. The boys were very disappointed with that in our review this week and we’re working incredibly hard to get that right because we know if we do we have a chance of winning any game with the kind of ability we have in attack when we get good ball”

He also praised the form of Saracens of late.

“They are going very well and are showing as well a real willingness to play wider. But we know as well they will be incredibly physical so the battle will start for us up front.”

London Welsh statement on Appeal decision

Posted on Mar 26, 2013 in London Welsh

Following the Independent Appeal Panel’s decision to uphold the five point penalty and £15,000 fine, for fielding an ineligible player, London Welsh have issued the following statement:

London Welsh RFC is extremely disappointed by the Independent Appeal Panel’s decision to uphold the five-point deduction and £15,000 fine against the club, with regard to the charge that it fielded an ineligible player, Tyson Keats, in ten Aviva Premiership matches this season.

However, the club welcomes the Panel’s decision to remove the suspended five-point penalty imposed until the end of the 2013-14 season, and believes that this action justifies its decision to appeal.

The club also believes that this cause of action was necessary to restore the good name of the London Welsh RFC, as once it became clear what had happened, the club made every effort to “remedy the situation” and did not, at any stage, deliberately attempt to deceive the RFU. A point acknowledged by the panel in their findings.

The club maintains, however, that it has ultimately been punished for the completely unnecessary fraudulent actions of one individual, whose actions the panel accepted “could not have been predicted”.

“The club is hugely disappointed by the decision of the Independent Appeal Panel to uphold the five-point deduction for this season,” said London Welsh CEO Tony Copsey.

“We are particularly disappointed for the players, who’ve given everything they can for the club, and ultimately it is they who have been punished for something completely beyond their control.

“However, there are still four games remaining in the season and the focus and efforts of the players, the coaching staff and everyone at London Welsh is now on those remaining matches.”

London Welsh RFC will be making no further comment at this time.

Munster Match Day Squad (v Connacht)

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Munster

Paul O’Connell is back in the starting XV for the first time since October and all credit to the Munster Medical and S&C staff for having him back weeks ahead of schedule.

Rob Penney has made just three changes from the side that drew with Ospreys, all those up front and more specifically in the back five.

Not surprisingly O’Connell’s return forces Billy Holland to the bench and just as unsurprisingly Donncha O’Callaghan gets to partner him while in the backrow Sean Dougall returns to the starting line-up for the first time since the January 9th League encounter with Edinburgh.

The backline remains the same as does the front row while Niall Ronan is included in the match day squad for the first time since November.

Munster: F Jones; D Howlett, C Laulala, J Downey, D Hurley; R O’Gara, C Sheridan; D Kilcoyne,D Varley, S Archer; Donncha O’Callaghan, P O’Connell; T O’Donnell, S Dougall, J Coughlan. Replacements: M Sherry, W du Preez, BJ Botha, B Holland, N Ronan, D Williams, I Keatley, I Dineen.

Wasps international stars ready for return to action

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in London Wasps

Wasps take on Northampton in a return to Aviva Premiership action on Saturday at Adams Park (15.15)

James Haskell won his 50th cap in the final game of the 6 Nations against Wales, and he says despite the disappointment of the loss, it was a proud moment.

“When you start out your career, getting one cap is a huge honour and so to get to 50 is massive for me. It was a frustrating end to the tournament and on a personal note even more so as that’s twice in my career a Grand Slam has slipped away. However I think that the atmosphere that Stuart Lancaster has created is great and we are heading in the right direction with lots of young talent coming through. I am almost 28 but I hope there are a few years ahead of me at international level as this is a side with a lot of potential. There are so many guys coming through in the back row so the competition is fierce. The important thing when you come back to your Club is that you have to get straight back into it”
Looking ahead to Northampton Haskell added.

“I am happy to be back and preparing for the game on Saturday. I got a bit of banter from Dai Young of course when I got back, but it’s good be amongst it again. Northampton have huge aspirations and forwards wise they are outstanding so we need to make sure we bring our A game up front if we want to get back winning.”

Joe Launchbury started every 6 Nations game and the 21-year-old says he has soaked up huge experience to bring back to Wasps.

“It is a long tournament and it’s mentally draining with the turnaround you get. It’s nice to be back at Wasps with a bit more of a regular life and crack on here now even though I hugely enjoyed being part of the England set up. It’s a great environment and in large parts of the tournament we were able to show that we were thriving on that, but of course we are bitterly disappointed with how it ended up. We have to remember that pain and remember how it felt to watch Wales lift the Championship in front of us. We need to use it to get better.”

Launchbury is relishing getting back to club action.

“It feels like a long time since I was here so I’m delighted to be back. I was a bit ill for a few days when the tournament ended so I had a few long sleeps and had a few days to recover but I am raring to go now again. It is a big challenge for us, up front this weekend. Northampton have some huge ball carriers so we need to impose ourselves physically. The games we have left are challenging but it’s a really exciting time and we’re not shying away from it. We want to be in the knock out stages of major competitions and it is up to us to take these next few weeks by the throat and take what we can out of it.”

Andrea Masi was one of the stars of Italy’s 6 Nations campaign, also returning to Wasps in the middle of the tournament.

“I am tired because there were so many games in the last few weeks but it is always a pleasure to come back here and play for Wasps. The next few games are hugely important for us and I want to be part of all of them and take a break when the season ends.”
On Italy’s overall tournament, Masi is taking plenty of positives, while playing down his nomination for 6 Nations Player of the Tournament.

“We finished the tournament well with the win over Ireland and overall I think we played our best rugby ever at times in the 6 Nations and that’s important as we are now really building something for the next World Cup. The game against England was disappointing that we didn’t win it and we needed a bit more belief but we were very competitive against one of the best sides in the world which we need to take positives from. Being nominated for that award is nice but I don’t feel I deserve to be in that category. There are so many players in Wales who deserve that much more than me.”