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Jon Doel & Mark Orders

Rugby evening headlines as Wales star plays final pro game and fly-half leaves Welsh region for rivals

Here are the latest rugby headlines on May 4.

Wales star's pro career over

Hallam Amos' professional rugby career is over, it has been confirmed.

Cardiff Rugby have announced the Wales star suffered a high grade hamstring injury against Munster and will miss definitely the remainder of his final season at the Arms Park.

In October, Amos announced his intention to retire from rugby at the end of the season to focus on his medical career. It is a sad way to end a career of great service, with the full-back and wing having been in fine form in recent weeks.

Read next: Gifted son of Welsh rugby league star named in English team of year

It's also not the only bad injury news Cardiff have had following the Munster game and training sessions this week.

Rory Thornton came off with a shoulder injury against Munster, which is undergoing further investigation and specialist opinion. Jarrod Evans suffered a hand fracture, which will rule him out of action for four to six weeks. Kristian Dacey (hand) and Garyn Smith (calf) are also likely to miss the remainder of the season after sustaining injuries in training.

The quintet join the likes of Willis Halaholo, Josh Adams. Tomos Williams and club captain Josh Turnbull on the sidelines.

Scarlet returns to Dragons

The Dragons have signed former player Angus O'Brien from the Scarlets.

The 27-year-old fly-half or full-back left Rodney Parade for Parc y Scarlets in 2018 and has made 41 appearances for the west Wales region. He recently scored twice against the Dragons in their United Rugby Championship win on April 23.

"I'm excited to be returning to Rodney Parade and my home region," said O'Brien.

"I've loved my four seasons at Scarlets, it's been a great experience for me and I've a learnt a lot that I'll be able to bring back with me to the Dragons. I came through the academy system at Dragons, grew up with a lot of the players, so to be rejoining those boys and working with them again is an exciting prospect."

Dragons boss Dean Ryan said: "He returns with a wealth of experience and will give us a different way of playing the game. Angus is a talented and versatile player who will really add to the competition we have for the fly-half and full-back jersey."

O'Brien joins new recruits JJ Hanrahan, Sio Tomkinson, Rhodri Jones, Bradley Roberts, Max Clark, George Nott and Sean Lonsdale.

North ready to go again

George North is set to play once again this weekend after his successful return from a year-long injury.

North impressed after coming on as a replacement in the derby win over the Scarlets and is now set to face the Dragons. Coach Toby Booth was thrilled with what he saw but says it's too early to start making predictions about whether he will feature for Wales in South Africa this summer.

"To see him back out there was great," Booth said on Wednesday. "And it worked out perfectly in that it wasn’t a staged thing. He didn’t have to think about it too much. It was a case of ‘right, you’re on. We have an injury, off you go’. I’m sure that plays a part. Once you’ve taken that first collision, despite what you’ve done in training, you say: ‘Right, my body’s right, let’s go.’

"I thought he performed well, which is great. The first thing is we’re more confident around his body now and whether it can stand up to the rigours of playing. He’s fit and available for selection this week, so he’s got through the number one thing. Then it becomes around consistency and performance and influencing the game, so he needs not just to be playing but playing well.

"It’s very early to decide how far along that curve he is. He had an influence on the game last week and we hope he has another influence on the game this week, and then people will decide whether he’s fit enough or ready to go to South Africa when we get to the end of the season."

Sale star to join URC team

Sale centre Rohan Janse Van Rensburg is to leave the Gallagher Premiership club at the end of the season.

The 27-year-old, who originally joined the Sharks on loan from the Golden Lions in the 2017-18 campaign, is returning to his native South Africa.

The Durban-based Sharks, who play in the United Rugby Championship, posted on Twitter: "Trading his northern fin for a southern fin. Welcoming the explosive backline general, Rohan Janse van Rensburg to our Sharks family on a three-year deal."

The once-capped Van Rensburg has made 73 appearances for Sharks, 22 of them this season, and scored 23 tries.

Fellow Springboks Faf De Klerk and Lood De Jager have already announced their spells at the AJ Bell Stadium will finish at the end of the season.

A club statement read: "Everyone at Sale Sharks would like to thank Rohan for his huge contribution to the club over the past four years and we wish him all the very best for the future."

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