Warren Gatland says he would like to coach the British & Irish Lions again in future, while Bristol Bears have signed Samoan Totoa Auvaa after his sacking by Saracens, and Gregor Townsend has challenged Scotland to finish the Nations Championship strongly.
Gatland open to another Lions tour
The New Zealander has coached the tourists three times, in 2013, 2017 and 2021, and also toured South Africa in 2009 under head coach Sir Ian McGeechan. Gatland was recently linked with the Fiji job and spoke to them about the position but decided against it because of timings.
He said that if "something else came along and I felt it was the right thing, I would look at something". One role he would definitely consider would be the Lions, but he added that Andy Farrell's success in Australia last time out might see him in the box seat for the job.
"If you had that opportunity, yeah, you'd like to do it but Andy Farrell has done a good job, he's won a series, so depending on how Ireland goes, you could see him doing it again," he said to Boyle Sports.
Bristol hand Auvaa a second chance
Bristol Bears have announced the signing of Totoa Auvaa, the Samoan recently sacked by Premiership rivals Saracens. Auvaa was let go by the London club a fortnight ago after a second altercation in a nightclub emerged. He was first involved in an altercation with England cricketers Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes in June, while another incident in St Albans proved to be the last straw.
Head coach Pat Lam has offered the youngster a route back. Lam said: "Totoa is a big, physical young man with enormous potential, who unfortunately has made some mistakes since arriving from a small village in Samoa to the massive city of London.
"His agent reached out to me, to see if I would be willing to help him and give him a second chance. I've always believed that young people deserve the opportunity to learn from those experiences, grow and become better people."
Townsend targets World Cup momentum
Gregor Townsend has challenged Scotland to step up their preparations for next year's World Cup by finishing the maiden Nations Championship with a flourish. The Scots have enjoyed an encouraging 2026 so far, and, less than a year before the start of the global showpiece in Australia, the head coach is eager for them to build further momentum.
Townsend's side are currently second in the northern hemisphere table as they prepare to host New Zealand, Australia and Japan next month. "I think there's momentum from last season, which we normally wouldn't get, because it normally would have been a November Test series and we start again," said Townsend.
"We're in a competition where we're in a decent place right now, so we've got that motivation of not just taking the game in isolation, but where we can finish up as high as possible and be involved against a leading side in that final weekend."
Townsend has selected a largely familiar 37-man squad, with Newcastle back-rower Ollie Leatherbarrow the only new face. Macclesfield-born Leatherbarrow, who qualifies through his grandmother from Perth, has been selected ahead of Edinburgh back-rower Magnus Bradbury.
"Ollie can cover all three positions in the back row, he's a very good ball-carrier," said Townsend, who also revealed that New Zealand-born Glasgow full-back Josh McKay could be called up when he becomes eligible midway through the November camp. "He's an openside by trade, but he's played a lot at six and eight."
