Today's rugby news as Louis Rees-Zammit named on new power list and Wales star says players hurting

Here are your rugby morning headlines for Sunday, April 28.

Rees-Zammit included on Young Power List

Louis Rees-Zammit has been included in the inaugural Sunday Times Young Power List.

The list features 25 inspiring young people under the age of 30 from across the arts, business, science, sports, politics, activism, tech and beyond, with Rees-Zammit included after his switch from rugby to the NFL.

Other sporting figures included are darts prodigy Luke Littler and footballers Bukayo Saka and Leah Williamson.

Explaining Rees-Zammit's inclusion on the list, the Times said: "In 2021, Rees-Zammit was already on his way to conquering one sport, winning the Six Nations Championship with Wales and making the British & Irish Lions squad.

"But inspired by watching his father play American Football in Europe as a child, in January he began training for the international programme that funnels potential American football stars from outside of the US into the NFL. In March, the hard work paid off and he signed as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs."

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Speaking about the list, Hannah Swerling, commissioning editor of the Sunday Times, said: "The Young Power List celebrates hard work and ingenuity in its many forms. It features rising stars in entertainment, sportsmen and women dominating their field, entrepreneurs changing the world for the better, tech trailblazers, a political powerhouse and many more.

"The 25 young people on the list demonstrate that success can take many forms and remind us that the best journeys begin with hope, excitement and a sense of limitless possibility.”

Cardiff hurting after players' Arms Park farewell ends in defeat

Alex Mann says Cardiff's players are hurting after they were unable to give some of their departing stars a victory on their Arms Park send-off.

Ellis Jenkins and Josh Turnbull are both retiring from the game, while Tomos Williams and Rhys Carre are both joining English clubs ahead of next season. Coach Richie Rees is also moving on, while there's bound to be others off in the summer.

Turnbull and Williams didn't feature against Edinburgh, while Jenkins was forced off early. Carre crossed for a second-half try but it wasn't enough as the Scottish side came out on top.

And afterwards, back-row Mann reflected on defeat in their final home game of the season.

"It's disappointing, especially with Ellis and Carre's last game, and Richie as well, at home," said the Wales international. "That was the disappointing bit for us and it does hurt.

"We've just got to focus on the next games now. I know it's a cliche but we can't let the season fizzle out like Jockey said, so we got to focus on these games because every game count building into next season.

"Sometimes the other team is just better on the day and to be fair I think that was the case. We knew we had to stand up physically to them and there were some big boys coming towards us so it was difficult to recover.

"I felt like our attack, if a few passes had stuck, would have been a different story. But that's how it is. That's rugby and you can't always get it perfect."

Ospreys need to 'learn quickly' as play-off race heats up

Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric says his side have to 'learn quickly' as the URC play-off race heats up.

After their 61-24 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria, the Ospreys have now dropped out of the top eight - with Edinburgh and Connacht moving ahead of them.

The Ospreys now have three matches to move back into the top half of the table, with a trip to Leinster followed by derbies against the Dragons and Cardiff.

"Disappointing from us, but all credit to the Bulls," said Tipuric. "They were on fire today. We couldn't keep them quiet so it was a tough day for us. But we've got to stick together and learn from this. it's typical of rugby, the highs of last week and the lows of this week.

"We'll have to watch the tape back and go through the bits and bobs. We're still in the fight for the play-offs so we've got to learn quick. It doesn't get any easier by going to Leinster next week.

"It is indeed (tightly contested). It shows the quality of the league. Every weekend, you've got a tough fixture. Like tonight, you can't be off it against such a good Bulls team or you get punished. That's what happened."

Wales ready to go in 'right direction' after 'tough period'

Wales women head coach Ioan Cunningham is hopeful their dramatic win over Italy at the Principality Stadium can be a springboard to better things after a 'tough campaign'.

Their 22-20 victory wasn't enough to avoid a wooden spoon, but it at least ensured they didn't lose every game of this year's Six Nations.

"We’ve gone through a lot together as a group, it’s been a tough campaign and we’ve had some tough meetings trying to get better," said Cunningham.

"It is challenging, but one thing this Welsh team will do is never give up.

"When the emotion comes down and everyone settles we will look at it critically, we will look at ourselves and where we can get better.

"But what is important at this time is to enjoy this because we have gone through a tough period and this was the springboard we needed to go back in the right direction."