Here are your rugby evening headlines for Monday, June 22.
Wales prop quits for fire service
Wales prop Jenni Scoble will retire from international rugby after Saturday’s clash with the Barbarians in order to focus on her job as a firefighter.
The 33-year-old will pull on the red jersey one last time this weekend as Wales’ men and women take on the Baa-Baas in a double-header at Allianz Stadium.
Scoble will continue to play for Gwalia Lightning in the Celtic Challenge but will no longer make herself available for international selection.
“This has been an incredibly tough decision to make and is one I have thought long and hard about,” said Scoble.
“Playing for Wales and being part of the squad has meant everything to me but combining my role as an international rugby player with my career in the Fire Service has been a really delicate and tough balance.
“I have prided myself on my ability to give the best of myself to my rugby career and my fire service career, but the demands now mean I feel I cannot do that.”
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Scoble made her debut for Wales in 2024 away to Australia, going on to play in last year’s World Cup.
“Jenni has been an inspiration, and we have all been in awe of the way she has combined her rugby with her career as a firefighter,” said Wales head coach Sean Lynn.
“To see her come in to training after being on a night shift and give everything she has to the cause is a symbol of her work ethic, dedication and desire to wear the Wales jersey.
“She had been a real role model and to have her pass on her experience to the next generation of players with Gwalia Lightning can only benefit those players and Welsh rugby.”
England captain stood down for Nations Championship
Maro Itoje has been rested for England’s summer tour, with Jamie George named as captain for the Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has stood Itoje down from the opening phase of the Nations Championship after second rows Alex Coles and George Martin came through the weekend’s action without any fitness issues.
It follows a year in which Itoje led the British and Irish Lions to a series victory against Australia, played in the autumn and Six Nations campaigns and mourned the death of his mother.
It would also be in recognition of the 31-year-old having completed more Test minutes than any other player in the game over the last decade.
Borthwick has placed George in charge, with the veteran Lions hooker seen as an ideal alternative given he skippered England throughout 2024 before being replaced by Itoje.
Irish boss to walk away next year
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen will step down from his role at the end of next season.
Cullen, who previously captained the club during his playing days, has been in charge since 2015. During that time, the club have won six league titles, as well as the 2018 Champions Cup.
However, failure to win another European title has brought pressure upon the 48-year-old.
Cullen will now step down at the end of next season, with the process to find a replacement having already begun.
“By the end of next season in 2027, I will have been in my current job for 12 years,” said Cullen.
“It’ll also be 32 years since I first represented Leinster as a schools player, so, I think the timing will be right for me to move on to a new challenge.
“I managed 10 years as a player on different Leinster teams before moving to Leicester in 2005 and then returning to Leinster in 2007 to go on to experience some of the most amazing days imaginable.
“As many of you will know, I’m committed to Leinster up until the end of next season, and I intend to honour my contract, as I always have done.”
Independent body clears Ben Stokes over rugby nightclub incident
By Rory Dollard, Press Association Cricket Correspondent
The independent Cricket Regulator has taken no action against Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson over the nightclub incident which led to them missing last week’s Test against New Zealand, finding “insufficient evidence” against the pair.
The ruling, which effectively clears the England captain and his team-mate, comes after the duo were recalled for Thursday’s Rothesay Series decider against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
A parallel investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board also absolved Stokes and Atkinson of any wrongdoing in an altercation involving Saracens rugby union player Totoa Auvaa, though they were issued with written conduct warnings for contravening “specific contractual obligations”.
The regulator, which does not cover team protocols in its remit, said in a statement: “The Cricket Regulator’s role is to determine whether any participant or player has breached any applicable ECB Cricket Regulations. The investigation followed multiple lines of enquiry to gather and assess evidence in relation to the events in question.
“Having carefully reviewed all currently available information, the Cricket Regulator has determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred. Accordingly, no further action will be taken against either player.
“The Cricket Regulator would like to thank all those involved for their cooperation throughout the investigation.”
Stokes and Atkinson were both interviewed by the regulator, which is headed up by director Chris Haward, a former national chief constable lead for serious and organised crime. They subsequently returned to county cricket, Stokes with Durham and Atkinson with Surrey, before being withdrawn by the ECB ahead of their Test recalls.
They are due to join the squad in Nottingham on Monday before a training session at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Stokes is due to hold his captain’s press conference on Wednesday, his first public words on the matter barring a short Instagram post wishing his team well in the Oval Test they went on to lose by 253 runs.
The ECB probe into the late-night trip to the Rex Rooms in Chelsea determined that Atkinson had been subject to two “unprovoked attacks” that he did not retaliate to. Stokes, meanwhile, was found not to be present at the time.
The question of whether or not the pair knew they were in breach of a team curfew continues to linger. Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, has said the relevant information was shared with the Team England Player Partnership, but head coach Brendon McCullum accepted on Sunday an element of “ambiguity” may have existed.
Speaking on his For the Love of Cricket podcast, former England bowler Stuart Broad said: “It feels like a lot of hullabaloo for ‘let’s just crack on’.
“Chaos…shambles…it cost England a Test match, for what? I’m not overly sure.”