Here are the rugby evening headlines for Monday, June 8.
New Wales coach signs off in style ahead of move
New Wales defence coach Peter Murchie signed off from his time with Kobe Steelers in style, as the club lifted the Japan Rugby League One final in Tokyo on Sunday.
Kobe overcame Kobota Spears 22-13 – marking a first nationwide title for the club in eight years and providing their departing coaches the perfect send-off on an emotional day.
Former Scotland full-back Murchie will join up with Wales in the coming weeks, having been named the new defence coach earlier this year.
Outgoing coaches Dave Rennie and Mike Blair were also able to sign off with a victory ahead of taking over the All Blacks.
In front of a crowd of 50,451, it was Murchie’s defence that ultimately won the day.
Despite having scored the most tries in the league this season – crossing 123 times across 19 matches – it was their work on the other side of the ball in the face of sizable Kubota possession that sealed victory.
New Zealand second-row Brodie Retallick was named player of the match, with Japan fly-half Seungsin Lee ending the day with a 17-point haul.
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Former Welsh rugby favourite enjoys Twickenham glory
Former Ospreys centre Josh Matavesi was on the scoresheet as Cornwall lifted the County Championship by beating Lancashire 39-24 at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Black and Gold lifted the Bill Beaumont Cup for the eighth time, marking their first victory since 2022. Many of the squad, including Matavesi, had already been part of the Camborne side that had sealed the National Two West title earlier this season.
Matavesi, who is Camborne’s club’s player-coach and youth development officer, spent three seasons with the Ospreys between 2014 and 2017.
During that time, he played 78 times for the club, scoring 11 tries.
On the weekend, he returned from the sin-bin to score a crucial second-half try for Cornwall.
“Full credit to Lancashire, I thought they were outstanding, but I think all the plaudits go to our boys and our squad,” Sam Matavesi – Cornwall’s captain as well as a current Fiji international and brother of Josh – told BBC Radio Cornwall.
“I think we handled the game so well when Josh went off. It probably gave us a bit of a spark that we needed, and when he came back on he made a few massive plays that helped in the win.
“It’s tough when you only get a few weeks’ prep; not everyone trains, not everyone takes part. So to get that result is massive.
“You can’t get bored of playing finals, especially at Twickenham, and to be in that contest to win is incredible.
“I’m proud of all the lads, all the coaches and all of Cornwall.”
Scotland star gutted as title hopes slip away
By Anthony Brown, Press Association
Deflated Kyle Steyn admitted Glasgow have to become stronger in the biggest moments if they are to remain serious contenders for silverware.
Warriors finished top of the regulation URC table to ensure they would have had home advantage all the way through the play-offs.
But they fell short in the semi-final at Murrayfield on Saturday as they relinquished a 21-3 lead to lose 22-21 against the Bulls, who set up a final showdown away to Leinster on June 20.
“We’re devastated,” said captain Steyn. “The hard truth of it is the Bulls came out in the second half and they wanted it more than us. They got to breakdowns before us and, at big moments, they just did simple things better than we did.
“That’s what really devastating for us as a player group. For all that’s been put into the season, with the squad the size it was, with the challenges stacked the way they were, for what everyone involved in this group did to get into these kind of games and then to walk off and feel like we haven’t absolutely left everything out there.
“The gut feeling is that we lost the game, we weren’t beaten. I don’t want that to sound arrogant because credit to the Bulls for staying in the fight. But for everything that’s gone into it this season, it was disappointing.”
Glasgow won the URC title in 2024 but have now suffered semi-final disappointment in the last two seasons.
“We have to take the next step,” said Steyn. “We absolutely have to take this punch on the chin and learn the way we should. But also we’ve been here often enough now to know what it takes.
“We’ve got to regroup and when we come back we’ve got to be hungry and challenge ourselves to show up in more of these moments. If you show up in more of these moments, then you can win these big games.”
England urged to recall star after impressive outing
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent
England have been urged to recall Henry Slade after the Exeter man inspired a 32-12 victory over Saracens that secured the Chiefs a Gallagher Prem play-off against Bath.
Slade accumulated 17 points, including a key second-half try, in a man of the match performance as Exeter came from behind to finish emphatic winners over their fierce rivals at Sandy Park.
The 33-year-old won the last of his 74 caps against Argentina last autumn and was consistently overlooked during the Six Nations despite being one of 25 players to be given an enhanced England contract for 2025-26.
Steve Borthwick’s men face Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina next month and Exeter attack coach Dave Walder said: “If I was picking an England team, I’d have Henry Slade in there.
“I see him every day and I know what he’s capable of. He’s doing everything you would expect of a player who’s not being picked by playing well week-in, week-out on both sides of the ball. I’m sure he’s in their thoughts.
“He’s doing all right at the moment. Defensively he was outstanding last week and against Saracens it was his ability on the ball and goalkicking, all those bits and pieces.
“He just gives us a bit of calmness. He’s playing very well and is in a good space.”
Exeter soaked up heavy Saracens pressure in the second quarter before taking command of their shoot-out for the final available play-off spot to set up a clash with Bath at the Recreation Ground on Saturday.
It will be a treasured victory for the Chiefs, whose duel with Saracens was the Prem’s greatest rivalry of the 2010s and the bad blood between the clubs – intensified by the Londoners’ salary cap scandal – still lingers.
“Nobody around here lets you forget the history between the two clubs, two great and successful clubs,” Walder said.
“It was important we got our emotional level right and we didn’t over-hype the game and the boys were brilliant at that.
“We weren’t as clinical as we could have been in the first half and the second half was more of a reflection of the balance of the game and we got the reward for our pressure.
“We play Bath at The Rec and we go there with confidence knowing we can play, but at the same time we respect a Bath team that is stacked with internationals and have a great home record.”
Saracens’ defeat signalled the end of Mark McCall’s time at the club with the most successful director of rugby in Prem history stepping down at the end of the season after 15 years in charge.
McCall masterminded six Prem titles and three European crowns and said: “I feel OK. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the highs and the lows.
“I’m absolutely blessed to have worked with the people at the club for as long as I have done. I feel lucky.”