Today's rugby news as Australia dealt another seismic blow ahead of Wales series and Arms Park stadium plans revealed

Here are your rugby headlines for Sunday, June 30.

Australia dealt another seismic blow

Joe Schmidt has been dealt yet another major blow in his preparations to face Wales, with star centre Len Ikitau reportedly out of the first Test.

The news comes after veteran stand-off Kurtley Beale was carried off the pitch with an Achilles injury this weekend, which some fear might even end his career.

Now, according to The Roar, Ikitau will miss next Saturday's first Test owing to a hamstring injury. They report the 25-cap Wallaby suffered the injury in training last week.

It is a blow for Ikitau, who missed some of The Rugby Championship with a shoulder injury and was expected to play a big part in Schmidt's plans for the upcoming series.

It means the Australia coach will have to look for other options at outside centre, with Josh Flook now being tipped for the 13 jersey for the Sydney Test. Australia have called Joey Walton into the squad as cover for Ikitau.

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Cardiff reveal plans to redevelop the Arms Park

Cardiff chairman Alun Jones has confirmed the club are working hard on plans to redevelop the Arms Park but it won't be possible until after Euro 2028.

The Welsh club are under relatively new ownership with Helford Capital becoming the majority shareholders following the sad death of former chairman Peter Thomas. And Jones has praised the impact Helford Capital have already had on the club.

"We are in the process of completing a new short-term lease with Cardiff Athletic Club, as work continues on a proposed redevelopment of the ground," said Jones in a newsletter to supporters. "Helford also has an appetite to redevelop the site into a fit for purpose, modern stadium, however, any redevelopment would not be possible until after Euros 2028.

"In the meantime, we will continue to make small improvements to the Arms Park to ensure our match day experience continues to excel and we make the most of non-match day revenue streams. We truly appreciate there are ongoing issues with, what in truth, is an ageing stadium, and we will do our best to tackle these within our financial means and with one eye on redevelopment.

"You may have already seen the refurbished Pack Bar and the Street Food Unit, promised during last season, is on course to be in use for the start of the coming season. Work continues to establish a new fit-for-purpose gym at the Arms Park, although the plan has changed somewhat since our last update.

"Thanks to the new collaborative working approach with the WRU, a large space adjacent to Cardiff Arms Park has now been made available. We are working with our partners Matrix to convert this area into what I am sure will be a fantastic facility."

It is no secret Welsh rugby faces some harsh financial challenges with all four professional sides set to operate off a salary cap of £4.5m next season. Last week the Welsh Rugby Union announced an estimated five-year funding gap of £29m to the professional game.

They also confirmed if there is no suitable plan in place to bridge this gap by October then cutting a region or operating an aggressive tiered funding model is not off the table but Jones has faith in both the WRU and the Professional Rugby Board to find a positive solution.

"We have also been working hard with our colleagues in the Professional Rugby Board and at the WRU to help craft a new long-term strategy for the professional game," said Jones. "It would be inappropriate to comment further, as the work continues, but please rest assured, we are doing everything possible to ensure the best outcome for Cardiff and for Welsh rugby and I am very encouraged by the new board at the WRU and their willingness to support the professional game."

Wales Women clinch World Cup spot

Wales Women sealed their place at next year's Rugby World Cup in England with a comfortable 52-20 victory over Spain in Cardiff.

Ioan Cunningham's side have also ensured they will compete in WXV2 and look to be back on track after a disappointing Six Nations campaign which yielded just the one win over Italy. Wales will now face the likes of Scotland, Italy, South Africa and Japan in the WXV2 in South Africa this September.

Cunningham's side scored eight tries courtesy of Alex Callender, Abbie Fleming, Alisha Butchers (twice), Jenny Hesketh and Carys Cox who scored a hat-trick. Claudia Perez (twice) and Claudia Pena scored Spain's tries.

Wales raced into an early 14-0 lead with two cracking tries from Callender and Fleming but Spain hit back with Antolinez touching down. Spain began to gain the ascendancy and soon found themselves in the lead when Pena scored at the corner after the visitors had worked an overlap.

Wales retook the lead with Joyce-Butchers powering over but Spain hit back when Perez beat two defenders with her pace to score meaning the hosts held a slender 21-20 lead at the interval. Cox scored a stunning individual try after the break to extend Wales' lead and Joyce-Butchers ran in her second soon after.

There was no way back for Spain as Hesketh, Butchers and Cox ran in further tries.

Wales U20s boss praises his 'courageous' players after New Zealand fightback

Wales U20s head coach Richard Whiffin has praised his 'courageous' players after fought their way back to claim two losing bonus points against a strong New Zealand U20s.

Whiffin started their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign with a 41-34 defeat but a left with two losing bonus points to keep themselves alive in a pool which also includes Spain and defending champions France. "We showed massive heart," he said.

"That game could easily have got away from us but I thought the changes we made and the guys that came on gave us good energy, impact and gave us good control which enabled us to get good field position. We then started dominating the collisions and scored some nice tries off the back end of the game."

Despite the defeat Whiffin remains confident his side can emerge from a pool which also contains Spain and defending champions France to reach the semi-finals. "We took two bonus points away from the game so it keeps us alive in the pool to qualify through to the top round of the semis," he said.

"That's a big focus for us going forward. The boys are disappointed as are the staff because we were confident going into the game.

"We thought we could throw some shots and hurt New Zealand, which we did, but unfortunately we gave a couple of soft scores away which left their momentum get on top of us.

"We always felt we would finish the game strongly with the bench that we had. We were pleased with that aspect of the game but disappointed that we let New Zealand get three scores ahead of us.

"They scored a couple of long-range tries. They've got a very good skillset which we struggled to deal with at times. It was a really courageous performance to come back."