Here are the rugby headlines from Friday night, December 22.

Liam Williams makes his debut

Wales star Liam Williams will finally make his debut for Kubota Spurs in Japan after missing the first two rounds of the season.

The 31-year-old starts at full-back in a star-studded squad that will face the Shizuoka Blue Revs on Christmas Eve, with All Black legend Dane Coles making his debut at full-back and Wallaby legend Bernard Foley at flyhalf. . Former Bristol Bears star Charles Piutau faces Williams in a team captained by Springbok Quagga Smith. Get the latest Welsh rugby news straight to your inbox for free with our daily newsletter

It was previously reported that Spears pays Williams £500,000 a year.

Williams had a strong World Cup with Wales but will miss international rugby until at least next summer. The 32-year-old confirmed he will be unable to participate in the tournament due to commitments in Japan, but is expected to return for summer international matches.

The winger has played 89 games and hopes to increase that number next year in his quest to join the 100 club.

John’s Welsh star driven by tragedy

Welsh star Natalia John has had an incredibly difficult 12 months and plans to use her defeat to move forward.

John missed the WXV1 tournament in New Zealand and was left without a club when Worcester Warriors Women collapsed in October.

However, the warmest moment came when his three-year-old nephew died in June. Morgan Ridler, from Swansea, was diagnosed with a rare and complex form of cancer in October 2021, when she was just two years old.

After his relapse, his parents, Natalie and Matthew, were told that his treatment was not working and that the focus would be on palliative care. The young man was the inspiration for the Morgan Army Charitable Foundation, whose motto is “No one fights alone”. His story inspired people across Wales, including his Welsh international aunt, who was devastated by his death.

“It’s very important for a player to have something that motivates him,” said John.

“We always said, ‘You have to know why,’ and that’s definitely my main reason. “I want to do everything and achieve everything he can’t do now.”

“I might get a stretchy tattoo on my forehead because everyone has been saying that word to me, but for me personally, I just want to make new memories.

“I want to get back on the rugby field, I want to do what I love. If it leads to me making new memories in a Wales shirt, that will be even better because I’m no longer doing it for me, I’m doing it for him.”

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Players share “harsh words” after difficult defeat

Scarlets midfielder Gareth Davies says there were “harsh words” following his side’s embarrassing home defeat to Georgian Black Lion.

The Llanelli team will now face the Ospreys on Boxing Day, with 9,000 tickets already sold at Parc Y Scarlets.

Wales star Davies is determined to put things right and spoke of the difficult conversations that took place in the reviews following the 7-23 Challenge Cup defeat. “It’s been a very difficult few days,” said Davis.

“We have seen a lot of things, some harsh words have been said and we are eager to put some things right.

“We talked last week about how difficult they would be. Personally, I played against Georgia several times during the World Cup and they are a very physical and emotional team.

“We expected this challenge but unfortunately we didn’t get it and they won.

“As players we know we weren’t where we should have been and we didn’t show any aspect of our game. We lost every fight and we really didn’t want to do that. We have a lot of veteran players on the team and I had a lot to say, and a lot of them said it well. The coaches were fantastic and we took a lot of things into consideration.”

The Dragons were injured before the derby

Dragons scrum-half Gonzalo Bertrand will not be available for the Boxing Day derby against Cardiff Rugby.

The Argentine star impressed Dai Flanagan’s team in France against the Paloise Section, but had to leave in the second half.
Flanagan says Bertrand suffered “significant trauma.”

“He came back from the World Cup and we gave him a bit of time before he got caught and missed the tour of South Africa,” Flanagan said.

“I can’t say how long he’s been out, but it’s an injury to the medial collateral ligament, with bruised bones and a small fracture. I thought he was excellent in France. Gonzalo controlled the game very well in midfield with Kai Evans.

“He’s Superman, so I’m sure he won’t be here for long. But this bloc of parties will be lost.”

Flanagan also explained that Welsh stars Dan Lydiate and Leon Brown are keen to return. Lydiat suffered a rib injury that ruled him out of the tour of South Africa, while Brown was sidelined for most of the season, playing just once.

“We have some great players coming back from a tough week and injuries, and that’s a boost,” Flanagan said.

“Leon and Dan are among those training and trying to reach 23.

“We did a rotation to give the people of France a chance and some people raised their hands and will keep the shirt.

“We are a new group, we have been training well and we are looking forward to the game.”