Today's rugby news as young guns make Gatland sit up and take notice and English side embarrassed

These are your morning headlines on Sunday, May 12.

Young guns put hands up for summer tour

It was another whitewash for Wales' four professional sides this weekend but Warren Gatland would have been pleased with a handful of individual performances.

Cameron Winnett was outstanding during Cardiff's 34-13 defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg. Winnett was flawless under the high ball, while he sliced the Lions open on more than one occasion and looks odds on to retain the Wales number XV shirt this summer. Gatland would also have been intrigued with the performance of James Botham who put in a big shift and was extremely physical at the breakdown, while Mackenzie Martin also showed up well.

The Scarlets fell to another defeat in the URC but young No 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu showed up well, scoring a try with a powerful carry through two defenders while he finished the game as top tackler with 24. With Taulupe Faletau missing through injury one would expect Aaron Wainwright and Martin to tour Australia this summer but Tuipulotu is someone who could come into the frame over the next couple of seasons.

Gatland will have also been pleased with the return of Wales star Jac Morgan who was a late replacement during the Ospreys' heavy defeat to Leinster in Ireland, while Dewi Lake was very prominent during his time on the field.

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Lapses in concentration cost Cardiff

Cardiff captain Ben Thomas admits poor discipline and a lack of concentration contributed to his side's 34-13 defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg.

The hosts raced into an early lead with tries from Ruan Venter and Quan Horne before Cardiff with a try from Corey Domachowski. Cardiff were trailing by just seven points but couldn't close the gap and butchered a handful of key lineouts which let their hosts off the hook before the Lions sealed the game with two late tries from Emmanuel Tshituka.

"We had ample chances to win the game and we let ourselves down a couple of times in their half," said Thomas. "We gave away a couple of poor penalties and there were a few poor lapses in concentration which cost us.

"You do that against a team like the Lions and they'll put 40 points on the scoreboard against you. There's definitely improvements week-to-week in our general play but I think if you look at our season as a whole the trend in our losses has probably been those lapses in concentration and slip ups in detail."

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt bemoaned his side's lack of a clinical edge. "We had chances and that was the difference between the two teams," Sherratt told the BBC.

"We switched off a couple of times in the first half and they have players who can score in a flash while we had a few chances in their 22 but didn't make the most of them. We showed a lot of grit when that game could have unravelled and made it a one-score game but the small margins went against us again.

"That's been the story of our season."

Northampton inflict record 90-point defeat on Gloucester

Northampton Saints embarrassed Gloucester by hammering the Cherry & Whites 90-0 at Franklins Gardens.

This was a record Premiership victory as Northampton ran in 14 tries against a woeful Gloucester outfit who had Welshman Josh Hathaway at full-back. The Cherry & Whites may have an eye on the Challenge Cup final against the Sharks in two weeks time but this was the worst defeat in the clubs history.

Northampton scored tries courtesy of George Furbank, Fraser Dingwall, Ollie Sleightholme (three), Curtis Langdon (twice), Alex Mitchell, Ethan Waller, Sam Matavesi (twice), Emmanuel Iyogun, Alex Moon and Tom James. "There are some massive lessons in that game. We weren't good enough," Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"We were always going to be up against it. Saints were absolutely ruthless, once they got that momentum, they just kept going.

"The game was fast and furious. We needed to win some collisions, we needed to slow their play up. It's a very, very painful day."

Welsh trio keep Exeter's play-off hopes alive

Welsh trio Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza and Dan John played a big part in Exeter Chiefs' 58-26 thrashing of Harlequins at Sandy Park.

Wales captain Jenkins was outstanding, while 23-year-old Welsh full-back John scored a try for a second successive game for the Chiefs. This victory keeps Exeter's Gallagher Premiership play-off hopes alive with a mere two points separating the Chiefs from Sale Sharks in fourth place.

On the flip side Wales internationals Dillon Lewis and Jarrod Evans were on the losing side with both players second-half replacements as Harlequins imploded in Devon to leave their play-off hopes hanging by a thread.