Here are your rugby morning headlines for Sunday, November 19.

Tipuric set for time on sidelines

Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric is facing some time out after picking up a thumb injury in their defeat to the Dragons.

The openside, who retired from international duty earlier this year, was replaced by returning Wales captain Jac Morgan before going to hospital to have his hand problem assessed.

"It doesn't look good," said Ospreys head coach Toby Booth. "He is the iconic leader of this group but it provides an opportunity for others.

"It was good to see Jac Morgan back out there and he came on and was visible, while Morgan Morris is also stepping up as a leader."

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Reffell praised after star turn

Leicester head coach Dan McKellar was full of praise for Wales flanker Tommy Reffell following their 26-17 win over Northampton Saints.

The Tigers delivered a much-needed performance full of physicality, with Reffell to the fore in a player of the match performance.

“We had to grind out a win and we did that,” said McKellar. “You need to win. When you’re one from five, we obviously weren’t happy with that.

“I don’t think it was must-win territory but when it’s a Tigers-Saints derby game, you don’t want to lose. Physically, we were outstanding. We had set-piece dominance and our defensive pressure in the first half in particular was what won us the game.

“It would have been nice to have scored one or two more, but overall we’re really pleased. You’ve got to defend well to give Tommy the opportunities that he had and it was good to have him back.

“With the game these days, you can’t be defending for 20 or 30 phases so to have someone like Tommy to be able to force turnover on the ground off the back of what others do, just adds another string to our bow.”

England star facing anxious wait before Six Nations

England star Ben Earl is facing an anxious wait to discover the severity of the knee damage he sustained when warming up for Saracens ahead of their win over Harlequins.

Earl suffered the injury shortly before kick-off, with a brace being placed on his leg - leaving the back-row walking with crutches. Earl will now have the knee scanned, with his Six Nations potentially in doubt.

“Ben hurt his knee in the warm-up and it’s too early for us to know how serious that’s going to be. We’ve lost him probably for a while,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said.

Flanagan full of pride after long-awaited victory

Dragons coach Dai Flanagan has spoken of his pride after the Rodney Parade side recorded their first victory of the season.

The 20-5 win over the Ospreys was the Dragons' first in five attempts this season, while it was their first win at Rodney Parade in over a year.

“The emotion is pride,” said Flanagan afterwards. “I asked the group to take the shackles off this week because we looked like we were playing within ourselves.

“I told them to ignore results. Let everyone else talk about that. We had a great meeting with the leadership group and players about the process and I was really proud of that tonight.

“I know we had the red card, but we moved the ball and we dominated with our speed and tempo. I was really pleased.

“Winning is a habit and is so losing. The boys wanted to express themselves and get a good result.

“We talk about pressure and the players read everything that is said. It’s naïve to think that they don’t.

“They are a tough changing room, they are good and hard people, and they want it so much and are so desperate for success. It is nice that we can give a little back.“