Here are your rugby evening headlines for Thursday, December 9.
Dragons welcome back Wales stars as third of team unavailable
Dragons have Wales autumn stars Taine Basham and Ben Carter available for Saturday's European Challenge Cup opener against French side Perpignan.
Basham in particular will be a boost for the Gwent side, having been Wales' breakthrough player of the autumn with some commanding performances.
Wales hooker Elliot Dee is also in consideration after an ankle injury.
However, full-back Jordan Williams is out with a broken hand suffered against Glasgow, with the devastating broken-field runner likely to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks.
Williams adds to a lengthy injury list which director of rugby Dean Ryan believes leaves the Dragons with "35-40% of our front-line team out".
The likes of Ross Moriarty, Rhodri Williams, Gonzalo Bertranou, Jack Dixon and Ashton Hewitt are all currently out injured, with the Dragons having won just once this season - losing their last four matches.
"It gives us an opportunity to look at some different things, some different combinations - I don't think we've been particularly pleased with any of our performances over the past two weeks," Ryan said.
"So this gives us the chance to move some combinations around and just reinvigorate us a little bit, because... we need to find a bit of energy back into the squad."
Scarlets' quarantine approaches its end
The Scarlets have offered their thanks to the numerous people and organisations who helped them get back from South Africa as their isolation in Northern Ireland approaches its end.
As their quarantine period just outside Belfast comes to an end, the west Walians took to social media to extend their gratitude to everyone who made their return a little more bearable.
The Scarlets were caught up in South Africa for back-to-back United Rugby Championship fixtures before the emergence of the new Omicron Covid variant, which left their whole tour in disarray.
They eventually made it back to Belfast to start a 10-day quarantine period, resulting in the club having to forfeit their Champions Cup clash with Bristol this weekend.
"It’s our final day of quarantine and as we prepare to head home to our families we have a huge amount of thanks to say to so many people for their help and generosity over the last couple of weeks," the Welsh region tweeted.
"Diolch Bert Tuhi (liaison), Kubaan Louwrens (security), Capital Pearls Hotel, Holiday Inn Express Antrim, @URCOfficial, @WelshRugbyUnion, @emirates, @hifly_airline, @Clarity_BT, @G4S, @UlsterRugby, @GuiltTripCoffee, @darrencave13, @BelfastHatch, @TheFancyFoxNI, @Slimshk, @yellowdoordeli, @cwmfarmsalami, @myoddballs, @ProAthleteSupps, @BLKBOXFITNESS, @alecs_donovan, @SHADOWBALLteam.
"We hope we haven't missed anyone, thank you all. Diolch."
Sevens awards handed out
World Rugby have handed out more of their annual awards, this time presenting the gongs for the best players on the Sevens circuit.
Argentina's Marcos Moneta won the men's prize, while French star Anne-Cécile Ciofani has been announced as the women's winner.
Moneta beat out Fiji duo Napolioni Bolaca and Jiuta Wainiqolo, as well as New Zealand's Scott Curry, to win the award, having finished the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year as top try-scorer as Argentina won the bronze medal.
The 21-year-old, a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist in 2018, scored his tries at key moments, not least a double in the quarter-finals as the six – and for a period five – men of Argentina held off South Africa to keep their medal hopes alive. Moneta is the first Argentinian to win the accolade.
As for Ciofani, she is the first French player to be nominated for the award, with her win fine reward for an inspired 2021.
The past year saw her score seven tries in the World Rugby Sevens Repechage to book France’s ticket to Tokyo 2020 and enable her to follow in her parents’ footsteps as an Olympian.
Ciofani crossed for seven tries in Tokyo, only failing to do so in the opening match against Fiji, as France claimed a deserved silver medal.
Again, like Moneta, she was nominated alongside a Fijian duo, Alowesi Nakoci and Reapi Ulunisau, and a lone New Zealand star, Sarah Hirini.
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