Owen Farrell’s escape from any kind of ban following his red card has been branded as making a “mockery” of player welfare by a leading Welsh surgeon. Farrell will lead England into the World Cup after his dismissal against Wales was not upheld by a disciplinary panel, making him free to play with immediate effect.

Wales have had boost with the return of Alex Cuthbert and Johnny Williams from injury, with both available for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up Test against South Africa – but there is still concern over hooker Dewi Lake. Cuthbert and Williams missed Wales’ back-to-back clashes with England but the two backline players have been passed fit and in contention to start against the Springboks as they bid for a place in the 33-man squad to be named on Aug. 21.

Liam Williams has joined Gareth Anscombe in making himself available for Wales’ tour to Australia next summer – even though the Japan-bound pair are unavailable for next season’s Six Nations. Williams has no plans to call time on his Wales career as he prepares for a post-World Cup stint in Japan that will sideline him from the domestic winter tournament next year.

WARREN Gatland has accused some Wales players of not doing their jobs properly as he hinted a few may already have missed out on World Cup selection. The Wales coach has suggested there will be repercussions for tournament selection after Wales surrendered a strong position in slumping to a 19-17 defeat by England at Twickenham at the weekend.

Wales are bracing themselves for bad news over hooker Dewi Lake after his knee injury suffered in the 19-17 defeat to England at Twickenham. The Ospreys star – who captained his country for the first time – will be assessed over the next few days with his chances of making the World Cup squad in the balance. Lake’s injury is a massive blow for Wales, depending on the severity. The new skipper looked incredibly uncomfortable and emotional on the sidelines after coming off after 26 minutes.

Dewi Lake will captain Wales for the first time on Saturday after an injury-hit 12 months plunged his Test career into cold storage. More than a year after his last Wales appearance against South Africa in Cape Town, the Ospreys hooker has a chance to display World Cup leadership credentials.

Wales coach Warren Gatland says he is “pretty confident” that star back-row forward Taulupe Faletau will be available for World Cup selection. The Cardiff number eight, who has won 100 caps, will play no part in Wales’ tournament warm-up schedule as he continues his recovery from a calf muscle injury.

Not everyone is a fan of Taine Plumtree’s rapid rise to a Wales starting spot, but Neil Jenkins – like Warren Gatland – prefers to stress the back row forward’s qualities as well as his perfect qualifications. When Plumtree came on to win his first cap against England in Cardiff last weekend, Ross Moriarty was unimpressed.

Dewi Lake will captain a Wales team that includes Scarlets centre Joe Roberts on debut – one of 15 changes – in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up clash against England at Twickenham. Roberts, 23, is partnered in midfield by Nick Tompkins, while there are also starts for the likes of wing Tom Rogers, fly-half Owen Williams, lock Rhys Davies and flanker Tommy Reffell.

Wales coach Warren Gatland looks set to hand Scarlets centre Joe Roberts a Test debut among wholesale changes for Saturday’s second Rugby World Cup warm-up game against England. Wales head to Twickenham on the back of an impressive 20-9 victory in Cardiff that saw then score 14 unanswered second-half points through converted tries from Gareth Davies and George North.

Alex King has warned Wales that England will be “hurting” ahead of their Twickenham rematch. England were underwhelming in Saturday’s 20-9 defeat to Wales in Cardiff and received strong media criticism for that poor display ahead of head coach Steve Borthwick naming his 33-man World Cup squad on Monday.

Jac Morgan and Sisilia Tuipulotu have been crowned winners again after picking up the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association awards for 2023. Morgan – who led the Wales men’s team to an eye-catching victory over England last weekend – and Tuipulotu, a player-of-the-match winner in the Women’s Six Nations victory over Ireland and shortlisted for Player Of The Tournament, were presented with their awards on Monday night.

Old met young on Sunday at Cardiff City House of Sport on the first day of Wales Rugby League’s new Invitational Wheelchair Rugby League.

Leigh Halfpenny enjoyed beating England – again – and having done it in a warm-up, he wants to repeat the trick at the World Cup. Halfpenny put the boot into the auld enemy to pick up his fifth win in 12 games against England at the weekend and now wants the chance to do it again.

Jac Morgan passed his audition as Wales captain as his team responded with a hugely encouraging dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Head coach Warren Gatland has claimed he will use two different captains in the remaining warm-up games before the tournament, but Morgan has set a benchmark in the 20-9 victory over England that will be difficult to ignore.

It’s a well known fact that rugby players are getting bigger, but when centres can look their fathers in the eye – including those who played internationally in the second row – then you know the game is heading towards the clouds. Gareth Llewellyn was 6ft 6in when he stood tall in the Wales line-out throughout the Nineties.

Warren Gatland has compared his new Wales captain Jac Morgan to former skipper Sam Warburton, ahead of the World Cup warm-up clash against England. Gatland has turned to 23-year-old Morgan as the man to wear the armband at the Principality Stadium on Saturday and a positive leadership performance is likely to make him firm favourite to gain the job for the tournament in France.

Like Wales’ Gareth Anscombe, Danny Care has unfinished business with the World Cup but refuses to hold back during England’s warm-up games even if it means repeating one of his career’s most crushing disappointments. Japan-bound half-back Anscombe was injured in a warm-up match against England at Twickenham four years ago and missed the 2019 tournament.

Mike Phillips played at two World Cup tournaments and believes the key to success is self-belief – not a quality in which he was ever really found wanting. But the former Wales scrum-half – who seemed to swagger his way through big matches – believes Warren Gatland can still build some of that conviction, even though many people have already dismissed their chances of success in France next month.

The inaugural Wales Rugby League Wheelchair Invitational League kicks off this Sunday with a mouth-watering couple of fixtures at the Cardiff City House of Sport, starting at noon.