France winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey was one of four Bordeaux players left stranded at Bristol Airport on Thursday night ahead of their Champions Cup opener against Gloucester.
According to AFP, an administrative error meant Bielle-Biarrey, back-rower Romain Gardrat, loosehead prop Matis Perchaud and Tonga international tighthead prop Toma Taufa were unable to leave Bristol Airport and travel with the rest of the squad to the team's hotel.
ETA permit issue
The four players, as well as a fitness coach, were reportedly found not to have valid Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permits, which are required for entry into the UK.
According to a source, their ETAs were linked to previous passports that had been renewed this year, and hadn't obtained new authorisations.
“The British authorities don’t want to hear it,” the source said. “We explained that they are elite athletes, including a well-known France international, who have travelled to play a European Cup match, but they have remained inflexible. The players are stuck at the airport.”
It's claimed the European champions contacted the French embassy in London in order to try and resolve the situation that has disrupted preparations for tonight's match.
Swansea celebrate first win at revamped St Helen's
Swansea RFC celebrated a first win of the season at the newly revamped St Helen's by beating Cardiff in the Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) trophy.
The hosts beat Cardiff 26-3 in front of a sell-out crowd, courtesy of tries from flanker Ethan Fackrell, scrum-half Matthew Aubrey and wing Harvey James. Josh Phillips also added 11 points from the tee, with Cardiff responding with a single Ben Coomer penalty.
It was a first win in six attempts for the Whites and also ended Cardiff's unbeaten start to the season.
Ospreys managing director Richard Lancaster was impressed by the progress in getting the ground up to scratch for the new era, with the region gearing up for their own curtain raiser at the newly revamped historic ground.
”It is immensely gratifying to see the shape ground is in today,” he told the BBC.
"There is still a lot of work to do but I am delighted in what has been achieved in a short space of time."
"We only started the work on the ground in June this year, so what's been achieved is nothing short of spectacular."
"There has been an unbelievable amount of people working round the clock to get the ground ready for our game next week and we could not have done this without the help of Swansea Council and its leader Rob Stewart, who have invested in the facility."
"It is great to have a home for Ospreys which we have never really had, but more than that, it's a community facility, a beacon of rugby for the region."
Wales star reaches milestone as he targets recall
Wales wing Rio Dyer will make his 100th appearance for the Dragons as they start their Challenge Cup campaign against Perpignan on tonight.
The Men of Gwent welcome the French side to Rodney Parade as they look to build upon last season's run to the semi-finals. Filo Tiatia has made seven changes from the loss to the Ospreys last weekend.
Jared Rosser and Jac Lloyd makes their first starts of the season, with Tinus de Beer switching to full-back. In the pack, Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan and Owain James feature in the front-row, with Barny Langton-Cryer handed a start in the second-row.
On the bench, Dillon Lewis is able to ease the Dragons' tighthead concerns, following injuries to Rob Hunt and Chris Coleman last week.
And, just days ahead of Wales' autumn squad announcement - which Dyer will hope to be named in - club coach Dale MacLeod was full of praise for the in-form wing.
“Rio is Rio – he’s an excitement machine,” said MacLeod. “He's matured massively, even in the 12 months I've been here, and you can see that his game's growing.
“His high ball work on kick-off, his ability to go and get the ball back for us.
“What we're probably lacking now is a bit of ball in his hands. The more we can get the ball in his hands in space, the more he's going to rip teams to bit.
“He’s really excited by the opportunity in front of him. He's still a young man, when you think of the number of games he's played.
“I was chatting to him about it, and I think his first two or three seasons, he was injured for a lot of it, didn't get to play much.
“He's healthy, which is good for him, because the more he plays, the better he gets.
“I'm excited to see him get the century and I hope he gets a few meat pies on Friday night.”
Dragons: Tinus De Beer; Rio Dyer, Fine Inisi, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser; Jac Lloyd, Che Hope; Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Owain James, Barny Langton-Cryer, Ben Carter (capt), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harry Beddall, Harri Keddie.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Matthew Screech, Evan Minto, Rhodri Williams, Fetuli Paea, Anzelo Tuitavuki.
