These are your evening headlines on Saturday, November 18
Scottish rugby issue apology to Siobhan Cattigan's family
The Scottish Rugby Union have issued an apology to the family of Siobhan Cattigan after they admitted they failed to pass on her funeral details to her team-mates.
The SRU have admitted that they let the family down in certain aspects, including an inadequate tribute at Murrayfield and their failure to inform Cattigan's team-mates of her funeral.
New SRU chair John McGuigan admitted in the AGM on Saturday that they 'did not intend to cause distress to the family through our actions it's clear we should have managed this tragic situation better.
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Cattigan passed away at the age of 26 in November 2021, having died very suddenly with no cause of death given at the time. Since her death, there have been questions raised over the lack of protocols surrounding players who have sustained repetitive brain injuries.
During the AGM, McGuigan said: 'Siobhan was a hugely talented rugby player who played for Scotland, earning 19 caps. She was passionate about rugby being a committed ambassador for the sport, alongside her significant academic achievements and charity work.
'I'm therefore very grateful to Mr and Mrs Cattigan and Ms Taylor for inviting me into their home and providing a deeply personal account of Siobhan's time with Scottish Rugby. Having listened to the family I want on behalf of Scottish Rugby to say sorry.
'We also take responsibility for Scottish Rugby’s handling of certain elements surrounding Siobhan’s funeral, including not relaying the family’s wishes to every player which meant some of Siobhan’s team-mates did not get the opportunity to attend her funeral.
'We also let the family down by not directly contacting the family nor visiting after Siobhan’s passing to offer our condolences."
Monye backs bunker in club rugby
Former England wing Ugo Monye says he would "100 per cent" back the use of the bunker system in club rugby.
The bunker was introduced ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France to take pressure off referees and allow for more informed decisions to be made regarding foul play, with players sent to the sin-bin and play continuing while off-field officials decided whether the incident was worthy of being upgraded to a red card.
The system drew criticism in some quarters, but Monye believes it should be used in club rugby as well.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” Monye told TNT Sport when asked if he would welcome the bunker in the Gallagher Premiership. “I thought it worked really well at the World Cup.
“It was swift, we didn't have replay after replay up on the screen. It was down to where people got to focus on the rugby, and we got to make right decisions.
“It takes the pressure off the referees, so it allows whatever man or woman who's away from the pressure of an in-game match to sit and properly look at all the different angles to come to the right decision.
“I liked it, I thought it was a success.”
Wales star not bothered by try drought as he 'finds his voice'
Wales wing Rio Dyer is not bothered by his mini try drought as he continues to find his voice in senior rugby.
The Dragons star hasn't crossed the whitewash since April 1, going scoreless in his last 11 games for club and country. That's not through a lack of trying, with Dyer impressing across the park regardless of whether he has dotted down or not.
“It’s not just about tries. It’s defending and chasing kicks, not just the glitz and glamour,” said Dyer.
“I'm always trying to get in the game, I'm trying to score tries because that's what every winger wants to do, but it's not everything.
“I want to score tries, but it's a team game and you put the efforts in for the team. If a try comes, it comes, you are just looking for work as much as you can.
“Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, it's just going out and looking for the work rather than being individual.”
And, as he seeks to end that try drought against the Ospreys today, he feels that he's making strides as a Dragons player after his World Cup experience.
"It’s more about trying to find my voice a little bit more now," he added. "Every day I'm trying to learn something new, that's the main takeaway, because I’m still a young player,” said Dyer, who profited from the intensity of the World Cup experience.
“There's still a lot to learn and at international rugby you can see that with people who've probably played 50-plus games.
“You can be found out so whether it is at Dragons or there, you learn every day. I love that, it’s part of rugby, and it's all about seeing what I can get better at and trying to perfect everything.”
Belcher: Bitter pill to swallow
Cardiff captain Liam Belcher says their last-gasp draw with Zebre on Friday night was a "bitter pill to swallow".
Matt Sherratt's team were heading for victory as the clock went red at the end of the second half, but a try from replacement Leonard Krumov five minutes into stoppage time was coolly converted by Geronimo Prisciantelli as the game finished 22-22 in northern Italy.
Skipper Belcher described the result as feeling more like a loss than a draw in the aftermath of the game.
Belcher said: “Looking back and I think obviously they missed nine points at goal. So that could have gone the other way really, when you put it in hindsight.
“The second half was a lot better than first half. We spoke about the first half, we just weren't at the races attitude-wise. We lost stuff that doesn’t require talent like kick-chase, escorts and the breakdown.
“I thought it was a lot better in the second half but even then we had a few entries in the 22. But we either coughed up through turnovers, the contact area or just handling. That's not good enough. It's great the effort from the boys there at the end. That's the things that we didn't have in the first half, which could have put us out of touch when it came to that last 20 minutes.
“With the young group of boys we’ve got, that's probably the first time in Italy for some of them, especially playing against Zebre. I think that's a big learning curve for them.
“But it's a bit of a pill to swallow. On Monday, we go over what did work well, what didn't work well. That's what we can do - win or lose you've got to be consistent between Monday and Thursday or Friday in your training week and then go from there. Obviously on Saturday (or Friday), that's where you've got to perform.”
Former Dragons lock heads to the US
Former Dragons second-row Huw Taylor has joined Major League Rugby side, Seattle Seawolves.
The 27-year-old spent five years at Rodney Parade, with the Welsh-qualified former England U20s lock having joined from Worcester.
After initially joining RGC following his release from the Dragons, he has now headed stateside to link up with the Seawolves.
“Having played professional rugby for ten years, I have had the opportunity to travel across Europe and South Africa," he said. "I recently married England rugby winger Kelly Smith, and we both are excited to by the opportunity to explore Seattle and contribute to the Seawolves winning the MLR Shield.
I really appreciate the opportunity given to me by Clarkie and am looking forward to throwing myself into it and meeting all the players, staff, and fans soon!”
