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These are your evening rugby headlines on Saturday, December 14.
Match abandoned as referee ‘knocked out’
The RFU Championship match between Ampthill and Hartpury had to be abandoned after less than half an hour after the referee was reportedly knocked out on the pitch.
Alex Thomas was officiating the second tier clash when he was struck by a clearance from Hartpury fly-half Harry Bazalgette, with the BBC reporting that he “appeared to be knocked out” after being hit by the ball.
READ MORE: Montpellier 59-15 Ospreys: Welsh side crushed in sorry display as hosts run in nine tries
READ MORE: Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies in hospital for second surgery and has ‘cage’ fitted
He was then treated on the field before being stretchered off, with the game abandoned on 28 minutes. At the time, Hartpury were leading 14-0 thanks to tries from Ethan Hunt and Aristot Benz-Salomon.
In a statement, Ampthill said: “We appreciate that the decision is disappointing for supporters who have travelled to the game but our priority is for health of the players and match officials. Our thoughts are with Alex for a swift recovery.”
Gatland given injury scare
Ospreys and Wales prop Gareth Thomas looked to have suffered an arm injury during his side’s Challenge Cup mauling at the hands of Montpellier, in what could be a potential injury blow for both club and country.
The 31-year-old was struggling towards the end of the first half in the south of France and play was paused as he received treatment on the pitch. While he later got back to his feet having had his arm heavily strapped, he continued to grimace and didn’t reappear after the break as he was replaced by Steffan Thomas.
In his absence, the Ospreys – who were already trailing 26-3 at half-time- were blown away by their opponents, who ran in five more second-half tries to complete a 59-15 mauling.
The severity of the injury remains to be seen, but head coach Toby Booth will be hoping for good news with 11 other players already unavailable. They include Wales international Adam Beard, who faces around three months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Warren Gatland will also be interested to hear how Thomas is, with Wales’ Six Nations opener against France now less than seven weeks away.
England international linked with URC move
English centre Dan Kelly is reportedly set to leave Leicester Tigers at the end of the season, with Premiership and URC clubs thought to be interested.
The 23-year-old has been at the club since 2020, while he won his first and so far only England cap the following year against Canada.
However, RugbyPass report that he is now set to become the third player to leave the Tigers next summer, with his contract expiring at the end of the current campaign.
Kelly is expected to depart alongside Pau-bound Julian Montoya and fly-half Jamie Shillock, who is close to agreeing a move to Brive in the French D2.
Springbok star Handre Pollard is also set to leave, with Leicester holding talks with Wales fly-half Sam Davies, who is currently in the form of his life playing for Grenoble.
Northampton beat Bulls amid injury blow
By Andrew Baldock, PA Rugby Union Correspondent
Northampton overcame the loss of injured captain George Furbank to post a statement 30-21 Investec Champions Cup win against the Bulls in Pretoria.
England international full-back Furbank went off 10 minutes before half-time after suffering an issue with his right arm following a tackle by Bulls skipper Elrigh Louw.
The Gallagher Premiership champions dug deep, though, at Loftus Versfeld, with Furbank’s replacement George Hendy and number eight Juarno Augustus scoring first-half tries en route to a bonus-point triumph.
Augustus’ score came immediately after Saints prop Emmanuel Iyogun had been yellow-carded, which underlined a resilient performance at altitude in temperatures of more than 30 degrees.
Wing Tommy Freeman added two tries after the break, while fly-half Fin Smith kicked two conversions and two penalties. Back-row forwards Cameron Hanekom (two) and Marcell Coetzee touched down for the Bulls, with Johan Goosen converting all three.
Saints’ victory leaves them in charge of Pool Three following a bonus-point success against Castres in their Champions Cup opener.