Here are your rugby morning headlines for Monday, December 23.

Faletau backed to hit heights after long-awaited return

There's more to come from Taulupe Faletau after making his long-awaited comeback from injury, according to his club coach.

The Wales No. 8 made an impressive return against the Cheetahs last week, after eight months on the sidelines. But Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt believes the 34-year-old still has more gears to move through.

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“It's great to have his name back on the team-sheet,” said Sherratt. “Both his boys were there watching him. It was pleasing to see him back out there and he came through well.

“After the game, he said he was blowing after 20 minutes and I am thinking ‘Well, I didn’t notice!'

“There's no doubt when he plays he seems to be able to get back up to speed quite quickly. But there’s more to come from him as well. There are levels to go yet.

“He is a special player. He’s been one of Wales’ greats for the last decade.”

He added: “Taulupe is definitely up there as one of the best natural rugby players I have coached. There's lots of similarities with him and Justin Tipuric.

“They are good in the lineout, they win ball, steal ball, their contact area is good, they've got pace, good skills. rugby sense. They are both very special players.

“I do feel fortunate to have coached people like that. That’s why you do it, to work with the best players.”

Former Wales captain says systemic change is needed

Former Wales captain Ken Owens admitted that Welsh rugby is unlikely to change until the "whole structure and system" is looked at.

The former Scarlets hooker was speaking during BBC Wales' coverage of the west Wales derby, as he reacted to the news that Warren Gatland will remain Wales coach for the 2025 Six Nations.

"They [the WRU] have obviously done a comprehensive review and a decision has been made," said Owens.

"At least there is a bit of stability now going into the Six Nations. Everyone knows where they are at."

And the 91-cap hooker believes that the problems in Welsh rugby go beyond just the national team coach.

"Until we look at the whole structure and system in Welsh rugby we are probably going to be in a similar sort of position," he added.

Ospreys chief: Finances 'in place' for St Helen's move

Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley insists that finances are in place ahead of the club's move to St Helen's next season.

The Welsh side are planning on moving from the Swansea.com Stadium to the home of Swansea RFC next year, with the City and County of Swansea Council's ruling cabinet having agreed to invest in the project, subject to conditions.

The Ospreys claim the will involve a "multi-million pound investment" in St Helen's, including a 4G pitch and new stands - although official planning permission has yet to be registered.

St Helen's will require significant redevelopment, but Bradley has not revealed how the project will be funded.

"We are not talking about the details of the financing," Bradley told the BBC.

"It is in place and the council have invested in the stadium which we are pleased and grateful for and we will take it on a long-term lease."

English club mark Wales star's milestone with 'outstanding' performance

By PA Sport Staff

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson bemoaned his side’s first-half efforts after the reigning champions were comfortably beaten 39-24 by Saracens at a sold-out StoneX Stadium.

Saints find themselves 19 points behind league leaders Bath and Bristol, and face an uphill task of reaching the end-of-season play-offs having lost five of their opening eight fixtures.

Northampton had beaten Saracens three times last season, but that run was never look likely to be extended as the visitors conceded 24 unanswered points in an abject first-half performance.

Saints saved face with a much-improved second half, which resulted in Tommy Freeman, Tom Pearson, Archie McParland and Ollie Sleightholme scoring tries, two of which Fin Smith converted, to earn a losing bonus-point.

Fergus Burke scored two tries in a personal tally of 19 points, while Wales international Rhys Carre, Theo Dan, Ben Earl and Jamie George also crossed for the hosts in what was Wales centre Nick Tompkins' 200th appearance for the club.

“There may be a 100 reasons to explain that first half effort, but we are not looking for excuses,” Dowson said.

“This game was akin to the Gloucester one, when we didn’t turn up in the first half and there is no apparent reason why.

“We can be physical, but we are not consistently so. It may be that we’ve lost senior players last season and this next wave hasn’t stepped up on a regular enough basis.

“I was annoyed at half-time and we showed what we can do in the first 15 or 20 minutes of the second half, but by then it was too little too late as we need to look at ourselves.”

In contrast, Saracens will be buoyed after their convincing bonus-point victory saw them move up to third.

“The first-half performance was outstanding, especially when we were playing into the gale,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said.

“It’s probably the best 40 minutes we’ve had for a long time as everything we did was smart.

“However the second half was frustrating as we went a bit individual and it cost us, and you can’t do that against a side as good as Northampton.

“Our half-backs Fergus (Burke) and Ivan (van Zyl) used the ball very well and were really smart as it was taxing for them being up against England squad half-backs.

“We’ve got some tough fixtures coming up against Bath and Bristol and we’ll need to rotate our squad as we want to do well in Europe as well, but the Premiership is unrelenting as a side as good as Saints are presently eighth and I’m sure that’s not where they want to be.”