Today’s rugby news: Rob Howley quits his job to return home, Wales star’s future uncertain

Here’s the latest rugby news for Sunday 12th November.

Howley will leave his job

Former Wales assistant coach Rob Howley will leave his job in Canada and return home.

Hawley has spent the last three years in North America with the national team and the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby. He is now set to return permanently to the UK, Rugby Paper first reported, although he is yet to define a new role. He is expected to leave at the end of the month, after the La Villa International Rugby Cup, which pits Canada against the United States, Brazil and Spain.

Warren Gatland had hoped to bring Hawley back to Wales when he returned almost a year ago, but the WRU board blocked the move after Hawley was suspended for breaking the rules in 2019. It remains to be seen whether this position will change in the future, with changes changes in the WRU hierarchy in recent months.

He remains a highly respected figure in the coaching world and Gatland was already interested in bringing him back to Wales.

The Welsh international hopes for a permanent deal

Cardiff centre-back Willis Halaholo is hoping to make his short-term contract permanent at the Arms Park as he celebrates his 100th appearance for the Welsh capital club.

The Welsh centre-back was released at the end of last season after suffering an Achilles injury due to budget constraints. However, ahead of this season, the 33-year-old signed a short-term contract at the Arms Park.

He celebrated a century of games for Cardiff in front of his family on Friday night, and the red-hot defender proved his worth by impressing in the 18-12 defeat to the Bulls. On the eve of an important game, his family was invited to give him a shirt and give emotional speeches to the team.

Speaking afterwards, he admitted his future was up in the air, but with his family settled in the area, it’s clear there’s only one place Halaholo wants to move forward.

“I don’t know,” Halaholo said when asked what the next few months will look like. “I’m here on a short-term contract.

“I’m not very focused on the future. Before my second injury, I was thinking a little about the future and then it happened.

“I’m taking it one week at a time. The only thing I know is that I will be back on Monday.”

“I hadn’t thought much about it (offers from other places). When I think about the future too much, it hurts.”

“I’m just focused on being here. My family loves it here. Hopefully we can make something permanent.”

Defeat is “difficult” for the Ospreys

Ospreys manager Toby Booth described Saturday’s home defeat to Glasgow as a “tough pill to swallow” as his side lost a 10-point lead.

The Scottish team claimed victory 31-23, with their strong attack causing havoc for the Swans. It was a game the Ospreys felt they should have won.

“Sport can be brutal and sometimes you don’t get what you deserve. “It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Booth said.

“Glasgow are a very good team, but they didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. We more than equalized for 75 minutes, so we won’t blame ourselves for this defeat.

“We just didn’t capitalize on the key moments where we had a chance early on.”

But woe to the dragons

The Dragons suffered their third home defeat of the season as Leinster pulled away from Rodney Parade with a bonus-point victory.

The Dragons lost their opening two games at home to Edinburgh and Cardiff and this latest defeat capped a miserable weekend for the Welsh regions, with all four losing at home.

Aneurin Owen scored a try for the Dragons, Kai Evans took a penalty and converted.

Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Ciaran Frawley, Charlie Ngatai and Scott Penny scored tries for Leinster, while Ross Byrne scored four.

It took Leinster eight minutes to open the scoring when captain Sheehan headed home a free kick, but the Dragons soon responded with an Evans penalty.

The first half passed practically without incident, with constant penalties imposed by Italian referee Gianluca Gniecki that prevented any development of the game.

Poor refereeing in miserable conditions also contributed to the game’s lack of continuity, but the Dragons really tested their opponents to the max.

However, they were clearly on the wrong side of the referee at the scrum, conceding six penalties in that area in the first half hour, which certainly cost them a lot of territory.

The Dragons’ poor discipline finally manifested itself when Leinster’s Ben Murphy showed some initiative to take a quick penalty and run towards the opponent’s 22. From there, the Dragons gave up another penalty and Clarkson, in a pre-planned play , went over. through paper-thin protection. punctuation.

Byrne’s conversion gave his team a 14-3 half-time lead and within a minute that lead was extended.

Rio Dyer lost the ball in his own half and Leinster counter-attacked in style, with Frawley finishing off a wide move.

However, the guests received two consecutive blows. First Tommy O’Brien was helped with a leg injury, then Owen chased down Rhodri Williams’ chip and won the race by a touchdown.

The Dragons lost Jarrod Rosser and Aaron Wainwright to failed HIAs before a timely cross from Byrne created an extra try for Ngatai.

The home side’s troubles continued when Thane Basham was sent off for a handball header, before Matthew Screech was booked and Scott Penney scored a dramatic last-minute goal for the Dragons.