Today's rugby news as 'Louis Rees-Zammit 2.0' does it again and popular Welshman quits

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Sunday, May 5.

New Welsh rugby star shines again

Emerging Welsh rugby star Josh Hathaway was at it again, scoring a brilliant poacher's try to send Gloucester on their way to the European Challenge Cup final. Hathaway pounced on a kick through to open the scoring inside 10 minutes of Gloucester's 40-23 win over Benetton.

The 20-year-old made it five tries in his last three matches and is being monitored by Wales' selectors ahead of this summer's tour to Australia and a potential tug of war with England.

The back three star, who has already been dubbed 'Louis Rees-Zammit 2.0' by one national newspaper, has forced his way into the English side's starting XV over the past couple of months thanks to his impressive speed and finishing ability. He will be joined at the club by Wales internationals Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe next season.

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Hathaway was born in Aberystwyth, initially being a part of the Scarlets academy. However, as a student at Hartpury College, he joined Gloucester's pathway.

His international age-grade career has followed a similar path, having initially represented Wales U20s before turning out for England. Wales will be keen to avoid a repeat of the Immanuel Feyi-Waboso situation that saw the winger opt for England despite being and born and bred in Cardiff.

Welsh rugby player retires

Popular Welsh rugby player Lloyd Ashley has retired from the sport.

Ashley played his last match for Swansea against RGC on Saturday, two years after leaving the Ospreys, where he spent a decade and became one of a small group of players to represent the region 150 times. He also played for Wales at age grade level.

The second row, 33, is admired throughout the game, helping fellow professionals in his role as a mental health advocate. He set up his own business, Living Well With Lloyd Ashley, while still a frontline player. The company provides a wide range of services but at its core, it promotes mental health awareness. Ashley himself goes into schools to deliver mental resilience programmes that often focus particularly on young men between the ages of 14 and 18.

Confirming his career was over, he wrote on social media: "Thank you rugby and the people who have been there for me and the people I have met on the way.

"I leave the game feeling proud, happy and with the energy to want to support the people involved in the game (and special people you are). I say to my body, my mind & my wife , thank you for letting me choose when the time was right to make this call.

"This is goodbye to the grass, but hopefully with my work through @livingwellwithlloydashley this won’t be our last meaningful conversation."

Leinster scrape through in epic

By PA Sport Staff

Northampton fell short with a courageous second-half fightback as Leinster emerged 20-17 winners in their Investec Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park.

The repeat of the 2011 final was a mismatch for the first hour with wing James Lowe running in a hat-trick against the Gallagher Premiership leaders, who suffered from a high error count.

A 82,300 capacity crowd in Dublin watched the first England club to play at the home of Gaelic sport fire few shots until George Hendy crossed to give them hope of an upset.

Northampton then began to look more like the daredevil side that has taken the Premiership by storm this season and, when Tom Seabrook touched down with six minutes remaining, they had Leinster on the ropes.

But the four-time champions clung on having already done enough to reach the final, where they will face Toulouse or Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25.

Welsh outside-half stands on the brink of playing in a European Champions Cup final today.

Evans, who moved to Harlequins from Cardiff last summer, is named on the bench for the match against Toulouse, which will decide who faces Leinster in the final.

Welshman on brink of Champions Cup final

Welsh outside-half Jarrod Evans stands on the brink of playing in a European Champions Cup final today.

Evans, who moved to Harlequins from Cardiff last summer, is named on the bench for the match against Toulouse, which will decide who faces Leinster in the final.

Fellow Welshman Dillon Lewis also made the move but does not feature in the semi-final. The match kicks off at 3pm.