Here are your rugby morning headlines for Friday, December 3.
Alun Wyn Jones to have second shoulder operation
Alun Wyn Jones will have his second operation on his injured shoulder today (Friday).
The Wales and Ospreys lock suffered another injury to his shoulder 18 minutes into his country's autumn opener with New Zealand in October.
He is expected to miss the Six Nations after injuring the same shoulder he dislocated at the start of the Lions schedule this summer.
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The Lions tour saw a miraculous recovery as he flew out to South Africa to make the Test series, having been initially ruled out after the warm-up against Japan.
While you'd never rule out something similar with Test rugby's record cap holder, Jones being a part of Wales' Six Nations title defence seems unlikely at this stage.
"Alun Wyn Jones has his planned second operation [on Friday]," Ospreys head coach Toby Booth told a press conference.
"Everything’s going brilliantly there - all part of the plan to get him back as soon as possible."
Cardiff fly home from South Africa on fourth attempt
Cardiff are UK-bound in what is their fourth attempt to leave South Africa.
Their travelling party of 42 players and staff had been due to fly out of Cape Town on Thursday. All of that group have returned negative coronavirus tests, but an additional six individuals who tested positive have been transferred to a South African quarantine hotel.
However, Cardiff wrote on their official Twitter account on Thursday: "We can confirm that due to restrictions on inbound flights to the UK and the withdrawal of a landing slot, we were unable to take off this morning. We now plan to depart Cape Town [on Friday] morning. Thank you for all of your support."
A tweet from the club's social media account on Friday morning confirmed a return home. Along with footage of their aircraft, it simply read: "UK-bound. We’ll see you very soon." Another tweet said: "Thank you to everyone who has played a part in securing our return to the UK and to our friends in South Africa for looking after us. Diolch."
The 10-day period of quarantine on arrival in the UK - the party are set to serve their isolation spell in England - has put their opening Heineken Champions Cup games against Toulouse and Harlequins in jeopardy.
But director of rugby Dai Young says Cardiff will "do everything in our power" to fulfil those fixtures.
The landing slot withdrawal marked the region's third failed attempt to leave the country. Firstly, Cardiff had secured a charter aircraft and the plan was to get back ahead of the Sunday 4am cut-off point, meaning they would not have to quarantine in a hotel but could do so at home instead. But they were unable to obtain Civil Aviation Authority clearance due to the closure of borders in the UK and European Union, so the plane was unable to leave.
They were then set to fly out on Sunday afternoon, along with the Scarlets, Munster and Zebre squads, with Dublin the initial destination. But as Cardiff got to the airport, news came through of two positive Covid tests, one of them suspected to be Omicron. So they had to head back to their hotel to isolate.
Zebre allowed to train after South Africa return
Zebre have been allowed to train again having returned safely from South Africa.
Like Cardiff, Munster and the Scarlets, the Italian outfit were forced to leave South Africa early after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
But, unlike the others, Zebre's touring party have received permission from the health authorities to resume training.
Zebre have announced that the players will keep their distance from the teammates and all third parties who didn't travel to Cape Town.
A statement, translated from Italian, said: "Zebre Rugby Club announces that, following the performance of another cycle of molecular swabs on Tuesday, which confirmed the absence of cases of positivity to Covid-19 in the team group returned to Italy, the 30 players who participated in the trip to South Africa received the authorisation to return to train at the Citadel of Rugby in Parma from the USL of Parma.
"The athletes will work without coming into contact with the other players remaining in Parma, keeping the distance from third parties who are not involved in the bubble, in compliance with the health safety of all.
"The team group continues to abide by the protocol established by the competent authorities. Zebre Rugby Club thanks the USL of Parma and the Italian Ministry of Health for their collaboration."
Argentina star banned for rest of year
Argentinia's Tomas Lavanini won’t play again until 2022 after he copped a hefty five-week ban from World Rugby for his red card against Ireland in the Autumn Nations Series.
Lavanini became the first man in Test rugby to be sent off three times after leading with his shoulder into the neck of prop Cian Healy, who had been lying prone near the back of a ruck.
He was also previously red-carded against South Africa in 2017 and England at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Remarkably, the second-row didn't believe that the offence was worthy of a red card.
He now won’t be available for Clermont’s upcoming Heineken Champions Cup clashes and will only play again in 2022, even if his ban is reduced by one game after attending World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
A World Rugby statement reads: "The player accepted that he had committed an act of foul play, but not that it was worthy of a red card.
"Having reviewed all the evidence, the committee deemed that there has been contact with the head of an opposing player, in circumstances where the contact was direct and carried a high degree of danger.
"On that basis, the committee upheld the red card, and applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
"Having acknowledged mitigating factors including the player’s expression of remorse, his conduct at the hearing, and the fact that he has been taking active steps to ensure that his on field aggression was appropriately controlled, the committee reduced the sanction by two weeks. However, it thereafter required to consider the player’s previous dismissals, and in that regard the committee added one week.
"The net result of this is a sanction of five weeks.
"The player applied to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme, and this was approved by the panel. This means that he may be able to substitute the final match of his sanction for a coaching intervention aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play."
Player registration rules relaxed but no postponements for Champions Cup matches
European Professional Club Rugby has relaxed player registration rules in response to the plight of four sides who found themselves stranded in South Africa but has stressed that there are no spare weekends to accommodate postponements.
Cardiff, Munster, the Scarlets and Zebre Parma have all faced difficulties leaving the country after their United Rugby Championship fixtures were postponed following the imposition of fresh travel restrictions due to the discovery of a new coronavirus variant.
The majority of players and staff from Munster and Zebre have since returned to Ireland and Italy respectively to complete their periods of isolation, but the Scarlets remain holed up in a quarantine hotel just outside Belfast and Cardiff are still waiting for a flight out of Cape Town.
The Scarlets urged EPCR to reconsider its position on the rescheduling of Heineken Champions Cup matches, with 32 of their players currently quarantining.
The Welsh region are due to play their tournament opener at Bristol on December 11, just a day after finishing their 10-day isolation period.
A Scarlets statement said: "With the Welsh Government ruling that the squad that travelled to South Africa has to see out the full 10-day isolation period at a quarantine hotel outside of Belfast, Scarlets are urging European tournament organisers EPCR to reconsider their position on the rescheduling of matches."
However, EPCR issued a statement of its own later on Thursday, announcing an option for all teams to bolster their squads with an unlimited number of previously unregistered players while all but dismissing the possibility of rescheduling fixtures.
"Following consultation with the leagues and unions, it has been decided to extend the first registration date from last month to allow all participating clubs to supplement their squads with an unlimited number of previously unregistered players," read the statement.
"All new players will have to be registered on or before Wednesday, 8 December at midday (UK and Irish time).
"With no alternative weekends available in the 2021/22 season calendar, EPCR is in regular dialogue with the leagues and clubs to ensure that all possible measures are considered so that the matches take place as scheduled.
"While looking forward to another series of compelling pool stage fixtures, EPCR is mindful of how recent events have impacted on Cardiff Rugby, Munster Rugby, Scarlets and Zebre Parma in particular, and the tournament organiser would like to extend its best wishes to the players and staff who currently remain in South Africa, as well as to the players and staff who have been repatriated and are currently isolating."
Teams who are unable to fulfil European Cup fixtures face forfeiting the game under strict tournament rules.
Such a stance, though, drew criticism last season after a handful of coronavirus-related cancellations saw clubs responsible handed 28-0 defeats.
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