The latest rugby news from Wales and around the world

Basham: I want to train the house down

Taine Basham says he is determined to make the most of his Wales recall after being named in Steve Tandy's squad for the autumn internationals.

The Cardiff back-row has earned his first call-up under Tandy after an impressive spell of form at club level, having won the last of his 17 caps against England in 2024.

Basham revealed he had spoken to the Wales head coach towards the end of last year, following Cardiff's double-header against the Stormers, and was encouraged to maintain his standards.

"It's nice to get the call-up," he said.

"We had a talk on the phone towards the end of last year after the Stormers game. He just said to me, 'Keep going, keep improving, you fronted up really well against the Stormers'.

"He said to carry my form into the season. So I'm going to keep going."

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a resurgence since joining Cardiff from the Dragons in 2025, establishing himself at No 8 and producing a series of impressive performances in the United Rugby Championship.

His form had strengthened the case for his inclusion before Tandy named his squad, with Basham offering power, dynamism and a strong carrying threat in the back row.

However, he knows earning selection is only the first step, with the challenge now to convince the coaching staff he deserves an opportunity on the international stage.

"The hard work starts now in terms of the international scene," he said.

"Getting in the squad is one thing, but getting in and making an impact is another.

"So, hopefully, I'll train the house down and see how we go from there and I get some game time."

Basham first emerged as one of Welsh rugby's most exciting prospects during the 2021 autumn internationals, impressing against New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

After a difficult spell, his move to Cardiff appears to have reignited his career, and he will now be hoping to translate that form into a meaningful role under Tandy as Wales build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Saracens player sack 'victory for club', says boss

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has described the club's decision to sack academy player Totoa Auvaa as a "victory for the club" after his latest off-field incident.

The 21-year-old back-rower left Saracens with immediate effect following an alleged altercation in St Albans in the early hours of Sunday, October 11.

Auvaa had previously been involved in an incident with England cricket stars Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson in June, when he aimed a punch at Atkinson that missed and struck an ECB security guard, who required stitches.

Saracens investigated the incident at the time but did not formally sanction Auvaa, with the club later coming under scrutiny after his involvement in the latest alleged altercation.

Venter has now praised chief executive Ed Coetzee for his handling of the situation, insisting the club had acted decisively after reviewing the evidence.

"We saw the evidence, Totoa was wrong, we've given him a chance, it was decisive," Venter said.

"I actually think it was a victory for the club in that way because Ed dealt with it really well, I don't think he could have dealt with it better."

Saracens had confirmed Auvaa's departure in a statement, saying his conduct had fallen short of the standards expected of everyone representing the club, both on and off the pitch.

Hertfordshire Police are investigating an alleged assault in St Peter's Street, St Albans, between 2.15am and 2.20am on Sunday, October 11. Enquiries are ongoing.

The latest incident came just months after Saracens had stood by Auvaa following the June incident, with England international Jamie George describing his behaviour at the time as "unacceptable" while also stressing the need to support the young player.

Wales name team for Japan

Head Coach Sean Lynn has named the Wales Women side for the first Test against Japan at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo on Saturday, October 24th (KO:10.30am, UK Time).

Flankers Alex Callender and Kate Williams will co-captain a side with five changes, two positional, to the starting line up that faced the USA.

Callender, who made her Wales debut against France in the 2019 W6N, will win her 50th cap for her country against Japan in WXV.

Nel Metcalfe returns to action after missing the recent 2026 W6N campaign and is selected on the wing to face the Sakura Fifteen.

Seren Lockwood is back at scrum half and partners Keira Bevan, who moves to fly-half, at half back to face Japan.

Lock Jorja Aiono is named in the Wales engine room alongside Branwen Metcalfe, while Carys Cox moves to centre to partner Freya Bell in the Welsh midfield.

The Wales starting line-up includes 12 players who have played Celtic Challenge rugby for Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning.

Wales recorded a 50-19 win over South Africa and went down 26-24 to a USA Eagles ranked sixth in the world rankings.

Wales: 15. Lisa Neumann. 14. Nel Metcalfe. 13. Carys Cox. 12. Freya Bell. 11. Amy Williams, 10. Keira Bevan, 9. Seren Lockwood, 1.Maisie Davies, 2. Kelsey Jones, 3. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 4. Branwen Metcalfe, 5. Jorja Aiono, 6. Kate Williams, 7. Alex Callender, 8. Bryonie King

Replacements: 16. Molly Reardon, 17. Gwenllian Pyrs, 18. Elan Jones 19. Gwen Crabb, 20. Georgia Evans, 21. Bethan Lewis, 22. Lleucu George, 23. Courtney Keight

Van Zyl: Hyron Andrews death puts rugby into perspective

Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl says the loss of Lions lock Hyron Andrews has put rugby into perspective, following the second-row's sudden passing.

Last week was a difficult week for South African rugby, after the 31-year-old died the day before the Lions' Champions Cup match with La Rochelle.

One of Andrews' former clubs, the Sharks, travel to the Arms Park this week to face Cardiff - with South African-born van Zyl admitting the shocking news had hit everyone hard.

"Obviously, over the weekend you definitely had the sense of why are we here? What are we doing? What's the purpose of everything?

"It's definitely putting everything into perspective. I'm sure there's a lot of people at the Sharks would have been close friends with him.

"Last week would have been tough for them. This week is probably no different, because there's no manual for that.

"You can't know what to do. It's just you have to adapt on the go."

Uncapped Ulster duo named in Ireland squad

By Press Association Sport staff

Ulster's uncapped pair Jamie Benson and James McNabney have been included in Andy Farrell's 36-man Ireland squad for next month's Nations Championship matches.

Fly-half Benson, 24, and back row McNabney, 23, get their first senior call-ups, while Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan has been named as captain.

Ireland will resume their Nations Championship fixtures against Argentina (November 6), Fiji (November 14) and South Africa (November 21) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Farrell's side opened their campaign in the southern hemisphere with wins over Australia (33-31) and Japan (36-20) before losing 40-21 to New Zealand in Auckland.

Key players ruled out through injury include Jack Boyle, Harry Byrne, Jack Conan, Jack Crowley, Caelan Doris, Iain Henderson and Paddy McCarthy, while first-choice scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park has been included despite not appearing for Leinster this season due to a groin injury.

The Nations Championship Finals Weekend will be held on November 27-29 at the Allianz Stadium in London.

Forwards: Ryan Baird (Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Billy Bohan (Connacht), Thomas Clarkson (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Sam Illo (Connacht), Sean Jansen (Connacht), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), James McNabney (Ulster), Darragh Murray (Connacht), Tom O'Toole (Ulster), Andrew Porter (Leinster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), James Ryan (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ulster), Nick Timoney (Ulster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster).

Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Rob Baloucoune (Ulster), Jamie Benson (Ulster), Craig Casey (Munster), Nathan Doak (Ulster), Ciaran Frawley (Connacht), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Mack Hansen (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Hugo Keenan (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Jimmy O'Brien (Leinster), Tommy O'Brien (Leinster), Jamie Osborne (Leinster), Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster).