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These are your evening rugby headlines on Wednesday, May 13.
Wales international leaves for Australia
Scarlets lock Jake Ball has confirmed that he will be leaving Wales for Australia at the end of the season after announcing his retirement from rugby.
The 34-year-old – who has 50 caps for Wales – announced on Wednesday that he is hanging up his boots, having initially retired from the game in November 2024 before making a remarkable U-turn to move to Parc y Scarlets at the start of this season.
He had left the region in 2021 for a spell in Japan with NEC Green Rockets, having spent nearly a decade in Llanelli in which he made 133 appearances and won the Guinness Pro12 title in 2017.
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In his second stint with the Scarlets, Ball made a strong start to the 2025/26 campaign but a hand injury has prevented him from bringing up a total of 150 appearances for Dwayne Peel’s side.
Those setbacks, combined with his growing commitments to his own supplement business, Veritroo, have convinced the Wales international that it is time to walk away from the game.
Having launched Veritroo alongside his wife Christie, it is set to be his main focus post-rugby, with Ball and his family heading back to Australia as the company grows.
“It feels like the right time,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve had a few head knocks, a couple of injuries. I think my body is telling me something. I am glad I came back and gave it another go at the Scarlets.
“I’ve enjoyed being back in the environment and being a professional rugby player again and to be able to retire here, at the club where it all really started for me, makes it that much more special.”
On his new venture, Ball added: “[Veritroo] has been four years in the making and it’s something I am extremely passionate about.
“The company is going well, so I’ll be going back to Australia and running that full time. It is starting to take up a lot more of my time, it is exciting.”
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Coach admits Kane James ‘concern’
Exeter Chiefs Rob Baxter has expressed concerns around Kane James’ call-up to Steve Tandy’s Wales squad this summer, admitting he would prefer the sidelined back rower to have a full pre-season with the PREM Rugby outfit instead.
The 21-year-old – who previously represented England U20s – was named in Tandy’s extended squad on Monday, and could win his first Wales cap this summer as they take on Fiji, Argentina and South Africa in the new Nations Championship.
However, the Haverfordwest-born starlet has not played any rugby since suffering a serious ankle injury against Cardiff in January, and Baxter admits that he has concerns around how match ready his player is come the start of the international campaign.
The call-up also creates a headache for Exeter in terms of their England Qualified Player (EQP) quota, with the Chiefs boss admitting the loss of James is a blow.
“I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make things any easier for us,” he said. “We certainly view Kane as a frontline player this season. But at the same time, you also want a team with international players.
“So, how we kind of manage our EQP numbers going forward will be a challenge for obvious reasons, but that’s what we’ll have to do as these things happen.”
However, Baxter added: “My bigger concern is probably how little rugby’s played this season and where he’ll actually end up by the end of the season, how match fit he’ll actually be or how ready he’ll be for full contact, full match playing.
“That’s more my bigger concern. Because I think, actually, what would benefit Kane a lot would be a pre-season. You know, a full pre-season, having had a disrupted season this season, would probably be a bigger positive for his career going forward.
“But at the same time, we are coming into a World Cup season, which probably weighs on his mind as well,” he continued. “So there’s always going to be ups and downs when you’re dealing with young players who haven’t yet been capped.
“We just have to help Kane negotiate all those challenges”
Argentina nearing injury crisis
Argentina face a potential crisis this summer after full-back Benjamín Elizalde suffered a serious knee injury that is set to keep him sidelined for months.
The Newcastle Red Bulls-bound full-back recently joined Super Rugby Americas side Los Tarucas on loan from Bristol Bears but his debut ended after a matter of minutes after he suffered ruptured cruciate and external ligaments in his left knee, ending his season and ruling him out of the July internationals.
With Argentina facing Wales, England and Scotland in the inaugural Nations Championship this summer, head coach Felipe Contempomi was already set to be without several frontline players before Elizalde was added to the injury list.
Most concerningly, first-choice fullback Juan Cruz Mallia is also set to miss the summer fixtures after suffering a ruptured ACL during the autumn.
The Pumas will also be without Bristol lock Pedro Rubiolo (ACL) and Saracens flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez (broken foot), while first choice loosehead Thomas Gallo is out after rupturing his adductor tendon and undergoing surgery last month
In the absence of both Mallia and Elilzalde, Contempomi may look to deploy utility backs Santiago Carreras or Gerónimo Prisciantelli at full-back, with Martin Bogado another option.
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