Injuries piled up after Friday's abrasive Welsh derby between the Dragons and Ospreys in Newport, with both Filo Tiatia and Mark Jones counting the costs. The Men of Gwent lost starting props Rodrigo Martinez and Robert Hunt in the opening half-hour, with scrums going uncontested in the second half after replacement tighthead Chris Coleman was also forced off. For the Ospreys, Wales scrum-half Kieran Hardy limped off after 30 minutes, while Wallabies star Marika Koroibete saw his debut cut short in the first half.
Hardy injury concerns
Hardy's injury looked particularly concerning, with the half-back seemingly in considerable pain as he left the field. Wales head coach Steve Tandy is set to name his autumn squad later this month. "I don't know on Kieran at the moment," said Jones afterwards. "He felt something with his knee. There was quite a lot of apparatus on the pitch. He was pretty keen to walk off. We don't really know yet. It's never good when you see that. Kieran isn't the sort of guy to stay down, either. We'll have to wait and see."
On Koroibete, Jones added: "Marika landed on the ball in a collision. I think he might have just sprung a rib cartilage or bruised a rib. He was struggling a little bit to move. You have to be so agile out wide. He dug in for a period to be fair."
Dragons face tighthead crisis
The Dragons could be facing a tighthead crisis ahead of next week's Challenge Cup clash with Perpignan, although Tiatia suggested Wales prop Dillon Lewis could be available. Hunt, having suffered a serious hamstring injury against the Ospreys last year, was once again forced off with a painful arm injury. "We'll see how Rob's X-ray goes," said Tiatia. "Chris was a concussion so we'll see how long that is. We'll look at the group."
After the Ospreys' dramatic 38-31 victory at Rodney Parade, Jones was full of praise for his side's fight as they earned their first win of the season. In a topsy-turvy match that saw the lead change hands numerous times, the Ospreys finished strongly, with two tries from Morgan Morris in the last 10 minutes sealing victory. "I think we are that team that fights hard for each other," said Jones. "But sometimes we fight a bit too hard. That can manifest itself in sloppy execution and discipline issues at key moments. Whilst we started the game very poorly discipline-wise - conceding three penalties in five minutes - I thought that the way we actioned that to get back in the blue. By the end of the game, we were making much better decisions around the breakdown of what to go for and not go for. They ended up being so important in us getting field position and territory."
Ospreys and Dragons reflect
Jones continued: "It was a bit of a growth around our emotional control, competing hard and being relentless, but also being smart. I think it was the same with our game. We attacked well with the ball. We were very aggressive with our carrying and our clean game. That got us good field position. If you get into the red-zone now, it can become a very domineering position. At one point in that game, it was whoever got in there scored. The key is how you get in there. I thought we were very smart there around that. We carried at the right time but also kicked at the right time."
As for the Dragons, they were left to rue missed chances, although they did pick up two bonus points in the end. "We went hammer and tong at each other – it was a physical game," said Tiatia. "It was a tight and a of bit stop-start affair, and I thought Ospreys took all the opportunities that they created and we also gifted some. The penalty count was 12:11 at the end and that's too many. Once they get in your 22, they are clinical with a heavy pack. The possession and territory were quite an even split, in our favour, and when we do have that, we need to make sure we use it. We left a lot of points on the field, particular first half, and when we reflect, we need to be honest. When we have momentum, we need to be clear, we can't release pressure and give it back to them. They thoroughly deserved their win and took the points. We have just got to be better at taking our opportunities and converting."
Shaun Edwards England disappointment
Shaun Edwards is reportedly disappointed that he was not offered a long-term deal to stay with England, having recently joined the Rugby Football Union on a short-term basis. Following his departure from France after seven years this summer, Edwards recently wound up working with England Women's side as a coaching consultant. That raised the prospect of him joining Steve Borthwick's coaching ticket with the men's team, given the Wigan legend has long been linked with coaching England.
However, that wait will go on, with Edwards having joined Argentina's coaching team on Friday. Wales' former defence coach will be involved with Los Pumas up until the end of next year's World Cup. While he is naturally looking forward to the chance to coach in the Rugby Championship - having previously outlined that as an ambition - the Daily Mail report that Edwards is understood to be disappointed that an offer to stay with England didn't materialise. Edwards has always been open about the fact that he would like to coach England at some point. Just last month, he told the Mail: "I'm a proud Englishman and everybody loves to represent their country, don’t they? I’m no different."
Glasgow move top of URC
Glasgow hooker Gregor Hiddleston scored two first-half tries in their 36-19 win against Connacht at Scotstoun Stadium, which lifted them top of the United Rugby Championship table. After Connacht fly-half Ciaran Frawley’s missed drop-goal attempt, the visitors powered into an early lead through number eight Sean Jansen’s converted try before Glasgow seized control with three scores before half-time.
Hiddleston touched down to reduce the deficit and after flanker Rory Darge had gone over for a converted score, the hooker went over for his second try, with George Horne adding two conversions to put Glasgow 19-7 up at half-time. Warriors full-back Josh McKay raced in for the home side’s fourth try, converted by Horne, soon after the restart to extend their lead to 26-7, but Connacht were quick to respond as full-back Josh Ioane touched down and Frawley added the extras. Kiwi fly-half Ioane went over for his second and Connacht’s third try – Frawley missed his conversion attempt – to leave his side trailing 26-19 with 17 minutes left.
Glasgow then halted Connacht’s momentum as replacement hooker Seb Stephen touched down for their fifth try, converted by Horne, to make it 33-19. Connacht’s hopes of a fightback were dealt another blow when replacement second-row Josh Murphy was sin-binned. Glasgow finished with 14 men after Scott Cummings’ late yellow card but fly-half Dan Lancaster landed a late penalty to complete the scoring.
