Today's rugby news as Welsh rugby signs coach with 'massive aura' and England and Scotland star

These are your rugby headlines on Friday, April 26.

Defence coach with 'massive aura' signed

Dragons boss Dai Flanagan says he has got his new right-hand man with the club agreeing a deal with a new defence coach who has "a massive aura".

The club have been without a defence coach since Simon Cross left Rodney Parade to become boss of Major League Rugby outfit Old Glory DC, with cost-cutting meaning they opted to tackle the season without a defensive specialist in the coaching team.

Dragons are currently level on points with bottom side Zebre in the URC and have one of the worst defensive records in the league, with a point difference of -251 going into this weekend's clash with Connacht. Only the Scarlets (-277) have fared worse.

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However, after interviewing candidates over recent months, Flanagan says they have signed a top defence coach ahead of next season with an announcement potentially to be made as early as next week.

"It's late in the day, the end of April, so if I didn't have a defence coach signed up for next year then I'm probably not doing my job very well," said the Dragons boss. "We've got our guy and I need the right person by my side. We have gone without a defence coach all year for reasons that I have explained previously and that has put a lot of stress on other staff.

"We need someone with a massive aura who will grab the role and lead, while I need an experienced coach that I can learn from and lean on at times. I knew when coming to the region that it wouldn’t be easy and I need that ally. I have found him and it will be awesome when we can announce it and we can move forward."

Flanagan added: “It's a clean slate for them to come in and rebuild the defence. It's their defence and they will put their stamp on it. I would ideally like it to mirror them as a person – it shouldn’t be easy when teams come to Rodney Parade and that starts when we haven’t got the ball.”

Scarlets confirm new signing

Scarlets have officially signed Exeter Chiefs prop Alec Hepburn. The news comes three weeks after WalesOnline revealed the move was happening.

Hepburn is a Scotland international and Champions Cup winner with Chiefs, and will join up with the west Wales region ahead of the 2024-2025 season. The 31-year-old has been at the club since 2014, when he signed from London Irish. He went on to enjoy great success with Chiefs and even earned six England caps, including one against Wales at Twickenham.

Hepburn changed his international allegiance earlier this year, joining up with Gregor Townsend's Scotland team ahead of the Six Nations. He qualifies through his dad, who was born in Glasgow. He even featured in Scotland's historic win over Wales in Cardiff during the Six Nations, albeit as a replacement.

Head coach Dwayne Peel said: "We are delighted to sign a player with the reputation of Alec, who has been a big part of Exeter’s success story in recent years. He is an international forward who brings a huge amount of experience at club level and someone who will strengthen our front-row resources and help develop an exciting young group of Welsh prop forwards coming through at the club.

"He has a reputation as a strong scrummager and dynamic carrier and we feel he will fit in well with the way we are looking to play the game."

Hepburn added: "After nearly 10 years playing at Exeter Chiefs, I feel the time has come for a new challenge. Signing for the Scarlets is an exciting opportunity to try to prove myself in a different league, against different teams and players alike.

"I look forward for what’s to come, meeting the players and coaches and working in a new environment for the upcoming season in the URC."

Welsh regional coach 'front-runner' to join rivals

Scarlets attack coach Jared Payne is reportedly a front-runner to become Ulster's new head coach.

The former Ireland and Lions centre joined Dwayne Peel's coaching team last summer after spending a year with Clermont, but was Ulster's defence coach from when he retired in 2018 until 2022. Now, he has been strongly linked with a return to the Irish side after they sacked their longest-serving coach Dan McFarland in February.

Current interim head coach, Richie Murphy, is also in the running to get the job on a permanent basis, while Kubota Spears boss Frans Ludeke is also under consideration. However, the South African coach has just signed a new three-year deal with the Japanese outfit which likely rules him out of the Ulster job.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that while Murphy "appears to have the inside track" having already spent over a month in the job, Payne is "highly thought of both within the IRFU and Ulster". The publication added that "it would be no surprise to see [Ulster] keen to get Payne back within the fold."

The 38-year-old had previously been heavily linked with the assistant job at another of the Scarlets' URC opponents, Leinster, but that role was eventually filled by Tyler Bleyendaal.

Wales to make history

Wales Women will smash their all-time attendance record for a stand-alone home Test match when they face Italy at the Principality Stadium this weekend.

Nearly 10,000 tickets have now been sold for Ioan Cunningham's side's final game of this year's Six Nations on Saturday, with a strong 'walk up' crowd also expected for the 12.15pm kick-off in Cardiff. That figure eclipses the previous record set last year against England at Arms Park, when 8,500 fans were in attendance.

The show of support comes despite Wales losing all four of their matches so far, with heavy defeats to England, Ireland and France following their narrow opening day loss to Scotland. Those results mean they currently sit at the bottom of the championship table with a solitary losing bonus point to their name, but with a record crowd cheering them on, Hannah Jones and her side are determined not to pick up a second Welsh wooden spoon in a matter of weeks.

“The fans have really stuck with us and that has been so important to us,” said the captain. “This is when we need them most, when we need their support because these are tough times. Losing hurts us and we want to put that right and we are determined to do so against Italy this weekend, for ourselves, but also for your loyal and vocal fans.

“It is so uplifting to see the young girls in the crowd, to hear the voices during our matches and to see them waiting in the stands afterwards to support us, no matter what the result," she added. “We know the fans are right behind us every step of the way and it makes such a difference to us.”