Tonight's rugby news as Cardiff sign young Welsh captain and Halfpenny 'trains the house down'

These are your evening rugby headlines on Thursday, May 2.

Halfpenny 'training the house down'

Wales legend Leigh Halfpenny has been "training the house down" ahead of his long-awaited Super Rugby debut, his coach says.

The 35-year-old's big move to New Zealand got off to a nightmare start when he tore his pectoral muscle during the Crusaders’ pre-season match against Munster in February. After undergoing surgery, it was estimated that he would be out for up to four months, with fans fearing that he would not make it back before the season's end in June.

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However, he has defied medics to make his comeback against the Reds this weekend, having blown away his teammates and coaches with his dedication and hard work on the training pitch. Those efforts have seen him thrown straight into the starting line-up by coach Rob Penney, with the Wales centurion on goal-kicking duties in the number 15 jersey.

“Part of the recruitment process with Leigh was around getting a world class performer in the back field with our younger players," explained Penney. "Once we lost Will [Jordan] that was the hope we could have his presence.

"He’s been training the house down the last month to six weeks and he’s earned the right to slip into that 15 jersey.”

Cardiff sign young Welsh captain

Cardiff Rugby have announced the signing of Cardiff Met and Wales U20s prop Joe Cowell.

The 22-year-old has spent the past four years playing BUCS Super Rugby alongside his undergraduate and Masters degree, making 51 appearances for the Archers and captaining them in recent seasons, while switching from loosehead to tighthead.

Cowell has turned out in Blue and Black before, having been famously called into action by Cardiff against Toulouse in 2021, when the first team squad were stuck in quarantine. He did, however, turn down the chance to represent the side against Harlequins a week later as he opted to play in the Archers’ derby clash with Cardiff University.

However, the 19st, 6ft 2in prop has now been handed an opportunity to prove his potential with a senior academy deal at the Arms Park.

“I’m really grateful to Cardiff Met for the past four years,” said Cowell. “Their rugby development programme and their professionalism has set me up for the next steps of my career. The opportunities and the belief that the coaches there have provided me is something I’ll never forget and will always be grateful for.

“I’m really happy to now sign for a club like Cardiff. After watching them over the past few years, the style of rugby and the direction that they’re going is really exciting and something I can’t wait to be a part of.

“After being involved with Cardiff Rugby against Toulouse a few years ago and playing in front of a packed Cardiff Arms Park, I had an insight on what it takes to be a Cardiff Rugby player,” he added. “The fans that day were also amazing and I hope, with hard work, I can show the fans what I’m about and give 100 per cent to them and the badge.”

Cardiff Rugby academy manager, Gruff Rees said: “It is fantastic that Joe has committed to Cardiff Rugby after a tremendous few years developing his trade at Cardiff Met.

"We obviously got to know Joe really well during the Covid period and the famous Toulouse match in particular where he really left a strong impression. We have a strong link with Cardiff Met and I would meet with Danny Milton on a monthly basis to discuss Welsh qualified players and the wider landscape of our pathway.

“Within this process, Joe’s progress would always be a hot topic and it was great to see him get leadership exposure as captain while his transition to tight-head has proved extremely successful. Ultimately, we are investing in another young Welsh-qualified player who has had great training history at the Met over the last few years, allied to a great attitude, who could flourish at Cardiff Rugby.”

Ireland 'not that good' - Trimble

Former Ireland wing Andrew Trimble has claimed that Andy Farrell's side are "not that good" despite winning back-to-back Six Nations.

During the competition, Ireland were being heralded as one of the greatest teams to play in the championship, with pundits on both sides of the Irish Sea claiming they were a cut above the rest of the field. But while they were aiming to become the first side to win successive Grand Slams, those ambitions were snuffed out by a dramatic last-minute defeat to England, and Trimble admits that he was largely unimpressed with what he saw.

The 39-year-old said that while Farrell's men "cocked up" against England, they also nearly let it slip against Scotland while they "stuttered" against Wales. Speaking on his Potholes and Penguins podcast, he dissected Ireland's campaign and concluded that the current side is not as good as everyone has made them out to be.

“If they’d have beaten England, I still feel we would have been talking ‘is this the best team ever,’ ‘is this the best team that’s ever played in the Six Nations'” he said. I still think they’re not quite that good. I actually don’t think they’re that good.

“There’s a story behind every game, there’s context behind every game. First game in Marseille, that was peak France without Antoine Dupont. Peak France. The biggest deficit that Dupont left was in that first game.

"Italy was like unopposed, playing beautiful flowing phase play against no defence. Having said that, Italy then got their finger out after that.We stuttered against Wales, we didn’t have anywhere near the same flow.

“England, we obviously completely cocked up," he added. "Now we’re saying ‘Oh England at Twickenham’ – no one was saying that, everyone was saying England are s***, they’ve been s*** for two years, we’re going to spank them. And we got a beating.

“We got outsmarted, outfoxed in the first 40 minutes by Scotland and we had to go to a really simplistic gameplan to get the game over the line, and we still nearly cocked it up. Scotland made 240 tackles. Do you have any idea how exhausted they must have been and still Huw Jones runs from 40 and scores? So it’s not that good of an Irish side.”

Coach signs new six-year deal

By PA Sport Staff

Johann van Graan has been rewarded for transforming Bath into Gallagher Premiership title contenders by signing a new contract that keeps him at the Recreation Ground until 2030.

Van Graan, aided by the arrival of world class Scotland fly-half Finn Russell, has steered a club that was in the doldrums into the play-off places with two rounds of the regular league season remaining.

The head of rugby joined from Munster in 2022 and secured Investec Champions Cup qualification in his first campaign in charge before recently masterminding passage into the knockout phase for the first time since 2015.

"I'm proud to be committing my future to this historic club and I am loving the journey we are on," the South African said. "Rugby is about people, purpose, creating memories and making a difference. My family and I are looking forward to our future in Bath.

"The journey we have been on together as players and staff since I joined has been about getting better every day, becoming a team that's tough to beat, and creating an identity that can deliver success over the long-term. The best is yet to come."