Today's rugby news as Wales international questions big Gatland decision and star's season decimated
These are your morning headlines on Sunday, December 22.
Former Wales internationals discuss Gatland's future
Respected rugby pundit Richie Rees believes Wales should have moved on from Warren Gatland.
After undergoing a thorough review, Welsh Rugby Union CEO Abi Tierney has decided to stick with Gatland for the Six Nations despite Wales not winning a single Test match this calendar year. The WRU say there will be another review after the Six Nations.
READ MORE: Failure has been normalised as Gatland decision leaves Tierney's reputation on the line
READ MORE: Wales players makes stadium erupt as fans say 'ridiculous' try gets better with every watch
"I'm not sure," the former Wales scrum-half told the BBC when asked whether the WRU had made the correct decision in retaining Gatland. "Can we afford not to make a change?
"Attendances are down in Wales, the performance of the Wales team is down. They key thing for me, whether you are a player or coach, is you want to be improving every day.
"You speak to the players, officially or unofficially, and are you getting these improvements? That's the difficulty.
"Change is probably needed for me but it's a big call because we have three weeks until the Six Nations squad is announced so the hierarchy have probably said let's just get through this Six Nations and then we will reassess."
Former Ospreys head coach Shaun Holley insists Wales should be targeting three wins in next year's Six Nations. "She (Abi Tierney) mentioned data a lot," Holley told ScrumV. "You can talk about as much data as you want but it's winning that matters.
"For me, three wins [would be success] - two at home and nick an away win. You can't be happy just to nick a win against Italy."
Former Scarlets and Wales hooker Ken Owens believes the decision will give the squad more stability but believes the WRU need to look at the game as a whole.
"They have obviously done a comprehensive review and a decision has been made," he told ScrumV. "At least there is a bit of stability now going into the Six Nations. Everyone knows where they are at.
"Until we look at the whole structure and system in Welsh rugby we are probably going to be in a similar sort of position."
Wales prop ruled out for the entire season
Former Wales prop Tomas Francis has been ruled out for between four and six months after undergoing neck surgery, according to reports in France.
The 32-year-old, who plies his trade for French PRO D2 outfit Provence Rugby, has been out of action since September but now looks set to miss the rest of the season. Francis was a mainstay of Wales' pack but made himself unavailable since moving to France after the end of last year's Rugby World Cup.
This has been a blow for Wales boss Gatland who could really do with a strong scrummaging tighthead like Francis. But Francis recently admitted he would like to represent Wales again in the future.
“I’ve been open with Wales,” Francis told RugbyPass in August. “I’ve never retired from Test rugby and I never will retire, but I’ve moved my family to France and I want to spend my time with them while I’m here.
"If I’m going back to Wales to play, then they’d be stuck in France on their own for weeks on end and that wouldn’t be fair. Of course, if there was a crisis and Wales didn’t have other tightheads and needed me, then that would be something to think about, but I don’t expect that to happen as they are developing some youngsters, and I’m not sure Wales want it to happen, anyway."
Cardiff Rugby agree new deal with landlords
Cardiff Rugby have agreed a three-year lease extension with landlords Cardiff Athletic Club to remain at the Arms Park.
The Welsh club's current agreement was signed in 2022 for them to play at the iconic ground until at spring 2025.
Cardiff chief executive Richard Holland announced the latest extension, which guarantees the club will continue to have use of the Arms Park until 2028, in a message to supporters. "I am pleased to inform you that we have recently agreed a three-year extension to the existing lease with Cardiff Athletic Club, which takes us to 2028 and the conclusion of the Euros," Holland said.
"Discussions over the longer-term future are ongoing but my thanks go to the Athletic Club for their continued support." He also updated fans on negotiations with the WRU and three other Welsh regions on a new professional rugby agreement.
The WRU has offered to wipe out debt at the regions in return for increased influence in rugby and operational matters. The regions have yet to sign up to the deal, thus stalling the Union's announcement of its new five-year strategy. Holland told fans: "Discussions over the new strategy for Wales continue and this is currently taking up a huge portion of my time.
"My sincere thanks go to Alun Jones, Martyn Ryan, Jack Treloar, Matt Sherratt, Gafyn Cooper and Darren Allinson, who are also playing an invaluable role in this for us. We are acutely aware of the speculation in the media and I am kept abreast of topics of discussion and the feeling of supporters on social media.
"It would be inappropriate to discuss any specific topics while this important work is ongoing but I can assure you that everything we are doing is categorically in the best interests of both the club and Welsh rugby as a whole. Protecting the future of Cardiff and giving us the best possible chance of success remains our number one priority.
"We will communicate more on this when it is appropriate to do so."