These are the rugby headlines for Friday, November 17.

North attends a French club

Wales center George North has been linked with a move to French second division side Provence Rugby. The ambitious Pro D2 team has one of the biggest budgets in the league and is clearly looking to break into the top 14.

They have already signed Thomas Francis from Wales and, according to reports in France, North will also be on their radar when his Ospreys contract expires next year.

Rugby reports say the 31-year-old visited the club this week to meet management. After his fourth World Cup, North made it clear that he wanted to continue playing for Wales for longer.

“I’m really happy with my performance at the World Cup and I’m still in contention for the jersey,” North said recently.

“I still want to play and fight for my place. For me he is still a great driver and boss.” [Warren Gatland] If you keep choosing me, then I want to keep going.”

Biggar is still missing

Dan Biggar will return to action for Toulon this weekend as the back injury he suffered earlier this month still keeps him out.

The defender stopped in apparent agony during the conversion attempt against Perpignan and has since been under investigation by the club’s specialist team.

Toulon have confirmed their squad for their next match against Clermont on Saturday, Thursday, with the iconic Welsh number 10 still not on the squad list.

The game marks Alan Wyn Jones’ final match for a top 14 club.

Red sweat in Plumtree

The Scarlets are sweating the news of Wales star Thane Plumtree after he was injured against the Lions last weekend.

Plumtree, 23, suffered a shoulder injury in the summer during the warm-up against England at the World Cup, an injury that ruled him out of the tournament.

He was ruled out of Saturday’s match against Leinster for West Wales and is now awaiting further investigations.

“He will not be well this weekend and we will have to wait for further tests and investigations,” Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel said.

“He was injured in the game against England and injured his shoulder again. Let’s wait and see how it goes.

“So far, at the start of the day, the medical team is doing well with him and we will probably see more next Monday. It’s been fine. He’s a good athlete, there are aspects of his game that need to be worked on and he knows which ones.

“He is ready to work, has a good character in the group and fits in well with us and with Wales, where in about a year we will have a player who will be very competitive.”

Join the Wales Rugby WhatsApp Community



The Welsh Rugby latest news and highlights WhatsApp community has been launched and thousands of fans have already joined. You can expect the day’s top news and key updates from our team straight to your WhatsApp, keeping you up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news for free.

All you need to do to join is this. click this link select “Join the community” and that’s it. No one else in the community will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the WalesOnline sports team. We won’t send constant messages, but you will receive daily updates. We also provide members of our community with special offers, deals and promotions from us and our partners.

If for any reason you decide that you no longer want to be part of our community, you can leave by clicking your name at the top of the screen and clicking “Leave Group”. You can read our Privacy Notice here.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITY HERE

Dragons and Ospreys received reinforcements in the derby

Both the Dragons and Ospreys have received key reinforcements ahead of this weekend’s URC derby, with many Welsh players set to return to the squad.

Rodney Parade is the venue for the latest meeting between two teams that started the season in different ways. While the visitors have won two of their first four games and lost the other two by eight points, the Dragons are yet to win in the new campaign and hope to continue that at home on Saturday.

Dai Flanagan’s side will be boosted by the news that Aaron Wainwright has been cleared to play after being ruled out in last week’s defeat to Leinster following a knock to the head. That green light is good news for Flanagan after back-rower Taine Basham was banned for four games for a late challenge on Leinster’s Ross Byrne.

Ollie Griffiths and Bradley Roberts are also vying to return for the derby, but the hosts will be without Jared Rosser for the foreseeable future as he recovers from concussion.

When asked about Wainwright’s chances of playing, Flanagan said: “There was no EIS, which is good news for Aaron. He is well, training and ready to play if he is selected. “He passed all the tests and received clearance from two doctors.”

Meanwhile, the Ospreys will host Wales captain Jack Morgan, who will play his first game for the club since January. He will be joined by his World Cup team-mate Gareth Thomas after returning from international duty last weekend, while hooker Sam Parry could also return from injury.

“These guys are fit and ready to play so we’re looking forward to seeing them,” said Ospreys coach Toby Booth.