Today's rugby news as Welsh side secure starlet compared to George North and Wales international dies
The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
These are your latest rugby headlines on Saturday, April 12.
Dragons tie down highly-rated duo
Wales U20 internationals Harry Rees-Weldon and Logan Franklin have signed new deals with the Dragons.
The highly-rated duo follow Nick Thomas and Evan Minto in agreeing senior academy contracts at Rodney Parade, putting pen to paper after impressing during the recent U20s Six Nations.
Rees-Weldon, in particular, stood out during Wales' campaign with the 20-year-old wing's powerful running, strength and finishing ability earning him comparisons to Welsh great George North. Standing at 6ft 1in and weighing 100kg, he has also impressed for Ebbw Vale in Super Rygbi Cymru this season and he is now looking to break through with the Dragons.
Franklin, too, was a key figure for Richard Whiffin's U20s during the Six Nations, with the scrum-half starting all but one game over the course of the campaign. His Wales call-up, which he described as "a dream come true", came after he was brought into the Dragons Academy earlier this season following impressive displays for Bargoed and Penallta.
“We’re delighted that Harry and Logan will continue their development at Dragons," said Dragons Academy manager Lewis Roberts.
“Both have impressed for Wales during the U20 Six Nations and it was great to see them representing their country as they continue to grow. We look forward to helping them realise their potential and continue to push towards senior representative rugby with Dragons.”
After the new deals were confirmed, Rees-Weldon said: “There are a lot of really good young players coming through and it’s an exciting time to be a part of Dragons. “Tom Hancock [Senior Academy Coach] has been a really big help to me this year, changing my game a little bit, identifying the positives of my game and making them better, alongside areas I needed to work on.
“Whenever I come into training with the senior set-up it’s always a big step up, but I like to adapt, and I’d like to play at that standard and hopefully get my first senior appearance.”
Franklin added: "I wanted to stay at Dragons as it’s my home club and a team I’ve wanted to play for since I was a kid. It’s somewhere I look forward to coming every day, a class group of boys and a great set of coaches, helping me to work hard and keep on improving.
“I love every minute here, so it was a no brainer to sign my first contract here at the club.”
Head coach Filo Tiatia welcomed the new deals, adding: “It’s imperative we secure our best young talent as we build as a club, and we have now made a number of positive re-signings. Harry and Logan have enjoyed strong seasons for Wales U20s and will continue to work hard to earn opportunities in our pathway programme.”
The region have also announced that Wales U19s captain Ryan Jones - who was also part of the U20s Six Nations squad - has joined their academy system on a full-time basis having previously combined rugby with employment.
Wales international dies
Former Wales international and Cardiff legend Alun Priday has died at the age of 92, the club has confirmed.
Priday played 410 times for Cardiff during a 13-year career, scoring 33 tries and recording a total of 1,799 points for the Blue & Blacks as a goal-kicking full-back.
While he was largely overlooked on the international stage, he won two Welsh caps, both coming against Ireland in 1958 and 1961.
He also represented the Barbarians in 1963 and, despite his long-standing loyalty to Cardiff, played a small handful of games for other teams over the course of his career, including the RAF, Glamorgan County, Penarth, Aberavon and Rhiwbina.
After retiring from playing, Whitchurch-born Priday served as a committeeman and secretary at Cardiff, while he also served as President of Cardiff Athletic Club. He also became one of the first players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Arms Park.
Coach handed season-ending ban
Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Steve Diamond has been handed a season-ending six match ban after he was found to have verbally abused match officials
The 56-year-old admitted a charge of directing verbal abuse towards officials after his side were beaten by Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on March 29. In a meeting of the Gallagher Premiership's bottom two sides, Exeter had snatched a dramatic late victory courtesy of a last minute Greg Fisilau try.
He appeared before an independent disciplinary panel convened by the Rugby Football Union and was found to have used language that was “inappropriate, abusive and entirely contrary to rugby’s core values”.
Diamond will now miss the rest of Newcastle's Premiership campaign, of which they have just five games left to play, and is banned from participating in any match day activities for the duration of the ban.
“Mr Diamond’s behaviour on 29 March was wholly unacceptable," said panel chair Sam Hillas KC. "The language used was inappropriate, abusive and entirely contrary to rugby’s core values. There is no place for abuse of match officials and this applies with equal force whether dealing with the professional or community game.
"Mr Diamond has, quite rightly, apologised to the match officials for his conduct on the day and the panel has made it clear that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated and should not be repeated.
“This offence was charged as a breach of RFU Rule 5.12 and, as such, the Panel was not bound by the sanctions table. The panel had regard to the entry points for breaches of Law 9.28 (match official abuse) as well as the relevant mitigating and aggravating features and determined a ban of six weeks was proportionate in all the circumstances.”
Thomas shares father's pride at Wales switch
Scarlets prop Henry Thomas has shared his father’s pride to see him make the switch to represent Wales rather than the country of his birth, England.
The 33-year-old from Kingston upon Thames represented England at age grade level as well as making seven appearances for the senior side between 2013 and 2014. He previously played for Sale Sharks and Bath before a three-year stint in France with Montpellier and Castres.
However, due to his Swansea-born father and three-year absence from Test duty, eligibility rules meant Thomas was able to represent Wales at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, making his debut in a warm-up match against his former side, England.
He signed for the Scarlets last summer and has made 14 appearances for the region in his first season, while he now has seven Wales caps to his name - something which is a source of great pride for his father.
“My dad is a proper Welshman and he always tried to push me through the Welsh system,” said Thomas. “I could see how much it meant to my dad, me playing for Wales, rather than England. He may not admit it, but you can see it on his face. He’s there home and away.”
“It was a massive honour to be back playing in the Six Nations. It had been 11 years since my last appearance in it. That’s a fairly large gap. It’s a great competition and it’s so well supported.
“The results were frustrating, so there were mixed feelings, but it’s such an honour to wear the shirt and play for Wales. It’s always great and to get that opportunity again was incredible.”
He added: “Winning and losing become habits. The more it doesn’t happen, the more the win doesn’t come, a bigger thing it becomes mentally. But I can see it turning round pretty soon. There is too much quality in Wales for it not to be the case.
“There is so much young talent here. It’s just about stringing an 80 minute performance together and getting the monkey off the back in terms of a win.”