TODAY'S RUGBY NEWS AS ALUN WYN JONES HONOURS WELSH RUGBY CHIEF AND EX-CARDIFF COACH LANDS ITALY JOB

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Saturday, April 27.

AWJ presents ex WRU chief with prestigious award

Former Welsh Rugby Union commercial director Craig Maxwell has been given a Special Recognition Award.

Maxwell, who has been commercial officer for both the WRU and Six Nations, was diagnosed with incurable and inoperable EGFR lung and bone cancer. The 40-year-old founded the Maxwell Family Genomics Fund to enhance, improve and develop the cancer pathway in Wales to make a lasting difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families.

Maxwell has raised in the region of £800,000 and was presented the Special Recognition Award at the Sports Industry Awards in Battersea Park by Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones. Rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield was also given the award for his work in raising over £2.5m for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

You can read more about Craig's efforts here

Ex-Cardiff coach gets Six Nations job

Former Cardiff defence coach Richard Hodges has landed a big job with the Italian national team.

Hodges departed the Welsh region for URC rivals Zebre at the end of last season. He will now leave Zebre this summer to become an assistant to Gonzalo Quesada.

Italy are currently riding a wave at international level on the back of their most successful Six Nations ever, which included two wins and a draw.

Peel proud of Scarlets' performance

Dwayne Peel insists he was proud of the Scarlets' performance despite a 32-27 home defeat to the Sharks.

The Scarlets have only won three times this season but it was a much improved performance against a strong Sharks side which included a host of Rugby World Cup winners including Eben Etzebeth. Tries from Ryan Elias, Kemsley Mathias and Ioan Nicholas wasn't quite enough to get the Scarlets over the line but there was plenty to be positive about.

"We fought hard for the full 80 minutes and there were elements to be proud of," said Peel. "The challenge is to keep that level of consistency for the rest of the season.

"Defensively we were particularly strong at the maul where we were up against the Springbok front five. But we dealt with that and played with some freedom.

"Looking at the team sheet, some people may not have given us much of a chance. While we're not happy with losing, it just felt a different atmosphere here tonight with the fans."

Welsh internationals help Saracens to vital victory over Bath

Wales internationals Nick Tompkins and Aled Davies played a crucial part in helping Saracens' to a vital 15-12 victory over Bath at the Rec.

This victory sees propels Saracens above Bath into second position as the Gallagher Premiership's play-off race reaches its crescendo. Both Tompkins and Davies were excellent throughout what was labelled a Test match in everything but name by Bath boss Johann van Graan while Wales prop Archie Griffin scrummaged well as a second-half replacement for the hosts.

Saracens took a 12-0 lead into half-time after tries from Tom Parton and Rotimi Segun but Bath were a different proposition after the break. Bath held the ascendancy for much of the second-half as they pulled the game back to 12-12 with tries from Thomas du Toit and Cameron Redpath.

But Saracens simply do not know when they are beaten with a 77th minute penalty from England star Owen Farrell nudging them back into the lead. Bath threw the kitchen sink at Saracens during the last couple of minutes of this game as they pressurised the try line but the visitors held firm to claim a vitally important win.

2024-04-27T07:29:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd