The latest rugby news stories from Wales and beyond

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Wednesday, March 25.

Wales star signs new deal

Wales Six Nations star Alex Mann has committed his future to Cardiff and will stay in Welsh rugby after signing a new contract with the capital club.

Mann’s current deal was due to expire at the end of the season and news of his new contract is a big boost to the region amid a standout season for club and country.

The 24-year-old was the top tackler in the entire Six Nations and broke the tournament record for a single match with 33 against Ireland in Dublin.

Mann said: “I’m really happy to be able to extend my contract with Cardiff and I’m just looking forward to the future and what we can achieve as a group.

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“This is obviously my home club, I have been here since I was 16 years old and have a lot of mates here, so it means a lot and I remain really grateful to all of the coaches and staff who have believed in me over the years and given me the opportunity.

“This season has gone well for me and I just want to continue developing and giving my very best for the Blue & Black jersey.

“As a group, we still have plenty to play for in the months ahead so I am really eager to get back out there with the boys and give my all.

“Representing such a famous club is a privilege, even more so at the Arms Park and I am excited for the future here. We are heading in the right direction and I am looking forward to playing my part.”

Mann, who came through the Cardiff Rugby pathway, captained Wales Under-20s in two consecutive seasons before stepping up to the senior game. He made his debut for the senior Cardiff team in 2021.

Head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “We are really pleased that Alex has decided to continue his journey at Cardiff, particularly on the back of such an impressive season so far, most recently with Wales in the Six Nations where he put in some big performances.

“He has been brilliant for Cardiff during my time at the club. It is very clear that he really cares about the club, his teammates and the people we represent.

“On the pitch, he clearly has an all in mentality. He puts his body on the line, is very versatile and has an all-round game where he can make an impact on both sides of the ball.

“So he is a really important player for us both on and off the pitch and I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to develop at Cardiff.”

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Wales legend Jones set to stay at Quins

Wales legend Adam Jones is set to remain at Harlequins amid a massive coaching shake-up that has seen former Australia head coach Robbie Deans appointed as director of rugby next season.

The English club announced three major appointments on Tuesday, with Deans leading a new-look set-up, Jason Gilmore becoming head coach and Rob Hunter to join as forwards coach in July.

It has been confirmed Hunter will work alongside scrum guru Jones next term. The Welshman has been a coach at Harlequins since 2018 and was drafted in to help coach Wales during last year’s Six Nations.

Quins have endured a difficult season, with the departure of head coach Danny Wilson for Wales last year seemingly having a de-stabilising effect.

Harlequins chief executive Laurie Dalrymple said: “In Rob, we are recruiting a coach with exceptional experience, and he is a proven winner. The titles won at Exeter speak for themselves. We believe he is going to help maximise the ability and robustness of our pack and give us the platform to play the style of rugby synonymous with Harlequins.

“He has also previously been involved in the England pathway, so he has a real eye for talent. Rob will work closely with Matt Ferguson and Adam Jones to develop the promising young forwards coming through our player pathway.”

WRU make second interim appointment

The Welsh Rugby union has announced Steve Salvin has been appointed as Wales Women’s interim forwards coach for the 2026 Six Nations campaign.

Salvin has been seconded from his role as Exeter Chiefs Women’s head coach to take up his position with Wales. It follows the interim appointment of former Wales international Ashley Beck as attack coach

Salvin was part of the coaching team that guided Exeter Chiefs to back-to-back PWR finals in 2022 and 2023. He will join a new Wales Women’s coaching team, alongside Tyrone Holmes, defence coach, and Beck, interim attack coach.

Salvin said: “The opportunity to work at international level with Wales and in the Women’s Six Nations was too good to turn down.

“Sean (Lynn) is a coach I have coached against in the PWR and all the coaches respect what he built at Gloucester-Hartpury and the success he had building a successful high-performance team.

“His teams are always built on a real work ethic, grit and determination and his ability to bring players together and forge an identity has always been key.

Lynn added: “Steve is a coach I know well and respect from my time in the PWR and his experience of the women’s game with the Chiefs is three to see.

“His forward pack have always been resilient, well-organised and a well-drilled outfit, and they make sides work hard throughout a game.”

The organisation said the time until September 6 allowed affected members and their families to plan, prepare, access support and decide when they felt ready to leave

Transgender girls have been told they must leave Girlguiding by September 6, following the organisation’s announcement in December, 2025, that membership would be restricted to cis girls and young women.

Described by Girlguiding at the time as a “difficult decision”, the move came almost eight months after the Supreme Court ruling in April, 2025, which determined that the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 referred to biological women and biological sex.

Girlguiding stated that, following the ruling, it had carried out “detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members”, its council and board of trustees. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

The organisation confirmed that trans girls who were currently members might remain so until September 6.

It also stated that any trans girl or trans woman presently volunteering in a role designated for women only would need to move by this date to a position open to both males and females.

In a statement, Girlguiding explained the period between now and September 6 “allows affected members and their families time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel ready to leave”, reports the Mirror.

Membership of the organisation spans ages four to 18, with approximately 300,000 members currently across the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers groups within Girlguiding, alongside around 80,000 volunteers.

The organisation has previously indicated it does not gather gender identity data on its members and consequently cannot provide figures for how many individuals might be impacted by the policy change.

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The star explains just why more people need to be watching the show’s second season

One of the stars of a highly rated series that has returned for a second season has explained exactly why everyone should watch.

A cast member of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat believes that the show’s return is what ‘ the world needs right now’. While the debut season was a cult hit, they hope even more people tune in for the follow up.

The original series of Jury Duty was a unique mix of reality series, sitcom and mockumentary when it made its debut back in 2023. It saw a fake court trial set up with almost everybody taking part being an actor. Even the case was fictional.

However, there was one person who thought everything was real – Ronald. Everything that happened, inside and outside the courtroom, was planned and scripted.

Meanwhile, the new season captures a corporate offsite event at a family-owned hot sauce company from the perspective of Anthony, a recently hired temporary worker. What he doesn’t realise is the entire experience is staged.

Every colleague around him is performing a role and each moment whether in conference rooms or during downtime has been meticulously orchestrated. As the founder prepares to step down, the getaway transforms into a clash between big corporate ambitions and small business values, with control of the company hanging in the balance.

As it stands the series, which is streaming on Prime Video, boasts a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In an exclusive chat, Alex Bonifer, who plays the role of Dougie Jr, the CEO’s son hoping to take over the company, told us exactly why everyone should be watching.

He said: “I would just say it’s a show that the the world needs right now. There’s a lot going on in our world, in our show I think is Is is fun and funny and uplifting.

“And there’s a lot of heart. So if you want a good uplift, if you want a good break from everything that’s going on in our society, check out Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat.”

He also added that the new hero of the piece is another reason to tune in as his actions leading up to the show’s finale, set to stream on April 3, will give the audience hope in their own lives.

Alex added: “Every single person can learn from Anthony Norman and what he does [in the finale]. I felt so – and I will for the rest of my life – so honoured to be there at the end. Witnessing what he did, without giving anything away.

“He didn’t stand anything to gain, if anything, he had a lot to lose and he did what was right for a group of individuals that he had fallen in love with and we him, you know. So I think just like acting out of like, just pure kindness and pure love, is something that I hope people take away.

“That is a choice that people can make. It is a choice to act for the benefit of others and not always, for the benefit of yourself. That’s what I hope is a one of, if not, the biggest type of way.”

Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is streaming on Prime video

Countries around the world, including France, Spain and Malaysia, are planning to follow Australia in enacting a ban on young people using social media. And now the UK is considering moving in the same direction.

These bans have emerged out of concerns about the effects of social media on children’s mental health, and increasing attempts to regulate teenage life. The UK recently brought in a “lifetime” smoking ban for anyone aged 15 or younger.

The potential ban on social media use is often explicitly justified by the support of parents. When announcing her party’s support for the measure, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she knew “as a parent” that a ban was needed. It is seen as common sense that parents are leading proponents of these bans.

Bans offer two core promises to parents. They offer protection from the perceived harms of social media, and greater simplicity in managing day-to-day life. Rather than parents having to negotiate their child’s social media, parents may believe that once a ban is in place, they can simply say to their children that this behaviour is not allowed.

Official sanction can be used by parents as evidence that society views children’s use of social media as unacceptable. But in order to fulfil these promises, bans would need to be highly effective and socially endorsed. There are strong reasons to think this won’t be the case.

Teenage rebellion

Far from being passive, teenagers are technologically literate, socially networked and highly motivated. Recent UK experience with age verification for certain websites shows how quickly workarounds spread.

Since the passing of the Online Safety Act, the UK has seen a huge surge in downloads of virtual private networks (VPNs). These allow users to register as being from a different country to the one they are physically in. Teenagers may be able to use VPNs to bypass the bans.

They can also circumvent parental controls in less technologically savvy ways. This might mean buying a burner phone from a friend to access social media outside of their parents’ evening restrictions. Anecdotally, there are similar accounts of school children finding workarounds to avoid the increasingly prevalent “pouches” that restrict access to smartphones during the school day.

The larger lesson here is that by forcing behaviour to become covert, parents can often lose oversight of what their children are doing.

These examples are not too different to traditional tricks to get around social bans, like having a fake ID or getting an older friend to purchase cigarettes or alcohol. If parents reflect on their own experiences of teenage life, it may be evident why the act of banning does not eliminate this behaviour – and may even increase its attraction.

Even more importantly, as we also know in relation to alcohol or sexual activity, just because it is prohibited doesn’t take away the necessity of parents having conversations with their children about these topics.

Parents know that even if they harshly sanction their children for underage drinking, their child’s peers may have parents who turn a blind eye, condone alcohol, or supply it themselves. This means that getting teenagers to think about their use is essential – and the same holds true for social media.

Whether there is a ban or not, prohibited teenage behaviour continues. Navigating these risks is an unavoidable part of parenting adolescents.

As we have argued, parenting should be seen less as about achieving specified outcomes, and more as about valuing the individual relationship.

Putting the relationship between parent and child centre-stage means recognising there are different positions on the use and value of social media, and managing those differences successfully.

While digital life is novel and frankly scary to some parents, seeing the issue in a wider context of teenage life – sometimes risky, contested and hidden – makes these new issues more explicable to older generations.

Just as parenting requires understanding why a young person might choose to drink, have sex or use drugs, the case of social media also depends on understanding teenagers’ (online) worlds. This means engaging with the value and benefits of social media, and gaining some understanding of what platforms are being used and their content.

This is not to say that more effective regulation is impossible, just as legal regulation is important for other dangers that children and teenagers face. However, such regulation will not – and cannot – take away parents’ involvement, and its related challenges.

A court has heard how Douglas Rogers was caught beating his girlfriend in the street when he turned his vicious attack on a passer-by

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A woman who desperately called 999 as she witnessed a dangerous thug beat his partner in the street was then subject to a violent attack herself. Douglas Rogers paused his assault on his first victim as he turned on the Good Samaritan and smashed her head with a hammer.

A court has heard how the woman thought she was going to die and “screamed for my life” when Rogers cracked her skull with a hammer, raining down four blows to her head. The wicked abuser has now been jailed for nine years for the violent assaults on both victims, reports Chronicle Live.

The victim recalled how she came across Rogers and his partner, who was terrified with blood on her face, in a scuffle in the street. The woman asked the stranger to call the police, yet as she did so, was punched by Rogers.

As he was sentenced and branded dangerous, she told the court how the attack in Sunderland has left her traumatised and scarred. In a victim impact statement, she said: “I went to help her because I heard her screaming. I was acting as a Good Samaritan and I never thought by helping her I would be in danger.

“I was viciously attacked and I thought I was going to die. I ended up being taken to hospital by ambulance with serious injuries to my head.

“(A child) saw me being attacked with a hammer, being hit repeatedly in the head and screaming for my life.”

She added that she now has tinnitus, suffers daily constant headaches, has PTSD, some of her scars are visible due to hair loss in those areas and she is anxious and conscious about that. She told the court: “I think about this attack and how it’s affected me every day and I have flashbacks.

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“This has not only impacted me but my family. My mam thought she was going to lose her child.

“I can’t live my life like I did before the attack. Every day I look in the mirror and see the scars, the scars I got for being a Good Samaritan.

“I didn’t do anything to the girl but try to help her. I did nothing to the man who attacked me, I don’t know why he attacked me.

“He was so calm while hitting me numerous times with the hammer. I never thought by helping someone I could end up being the victim of a serious assault.”

The court heard Rogers had been in a relationship with the first victim for around a year. On Saturday September 27 last year, having called at a pub, when they got home she said he “seemed a bit off” with her, as if he wanted an argument. He went into the kitchen and the woman heard a smash and saw a bowl had been broken on the floor and Rogers was angry.

She removed items, including her father’s motorbike helmet, and took them to the bathroom, fear he would cause further damage. Rogers followed her and punched her to the face and side then hit the helmet with a hammer on a number of occasions before taking her phone and hitting that with a hammer, smashing it.

The court heard the victim was terrified, crying and screaming as he waved the hammer towards her then used it to smash a TV. The woman ran to the front door but couldn’t get it open and Rogers pinned her against a wall using his forearm across her throat with so much force she couldn’t breathe properly and felt that if she moved, her neck would crack.

She screamed for help but Rogers put his hand over her mouth to stop her. The woman then seized an opportunity to run out of the house but he followed her and there was a tussle in the street.

The second victim then walked out of a bike lane and asked what was going on. Rogers’ partner, who had blood on her face, asked her to call police and she did so.

Andrew Walker, prosecuting, said: “While she was on the phone to the police, the defendant punched her to the face, causing her to stumble. She then saw him go to a nearby house and he emerged carrying a hammer.

“He then approached her and hit her about four times to the head with the hammer.”

The woman was taken to hospital by ambulance and was found to have an open depressed fracture to the right side of her skull along with a number of lacerations to her head caused by the hammer.

Rogers, then went on to smash his then-partner’s car window and windscreen with the hammer, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, strangulation, battery, two counts of criminal damage and possessing an offensive weapon.

The court heard the 49-year-old has 25 previous convictions, including for wounding with intent in 2005 and wounding in 2019.

Recorder David Brooke KC jailed him for nine years, with an extended licence period of a further four years due to him being dangerous. He told Rogers he is “high risk” and said: “These are very bad offences indeed and they are set against a background of an appalling record for violence. This was a disgraceful incident.

“I hope you are thoroughly ashamed of yourself. She went merely to help someone who was in distress and you responded by attacking her in a horrible way, striking her four times to the head, causing a depressed fracture to her skull.”

Christopher Morrison, defending, said Rogers is “extremely sorry and remorseful”, apologises for his actions and has mental health issues.

Italian justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro has resigned after it emerged he had held a stake in a restaurant linked to the mafia.

His departure was one of two resignations in Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government on Tuesday, after a referendum to reform the country’s judiciary was defeated.

Mr Delmastro, who is a member of Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy Party, held a stake in a Rome restaurant alongside the daughter of a man convicted of having ties with Camorra, a mafia group based in Naples.

Mr Delmastro said he had sold his stake when he learned that his 18-year-old business partner’s father, Andrea Caroccia, had been linked to the organisation.

However, a 2023 photo showing him alongside Caroccia later emerged, suggesting the two men knew each other well.

It also came to light that he did not disclose his stake to parliament.

“I have ​always fought crime and achieved concrete, important results,” Mr Delmastro said.

“Although I did nothing wrong, ⁠I made an error of judgment, which I corrected as soon as I became aware of it. I take responsibility for that”.

Along with Mr Delmastro, the justice ministry’s chief of staff, Giusi Bartolozzi, also stepped down on Tuesday.

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Ms Bartolozzi resigned after she controversially urged voters to back the reform so Italy could “get rid ‌of” a judiciary she described as a “firing ​squad”.

The departures added to the political turmoil after the referendum to reform Italy’s judiciary failed on Monday, in the first significant defeat for Ms Meloni and her right-wing coalition.

In a brief statement, Ms Meloni accepted the ​resignations of both officials, and, in an unusual move, also called on her tourism minister Daniela Santanche “to make the same choice”.

Ms Santanche was ordered to stand trail last year on charges of false accounting related to a publishing group she used to own.

She has resisted calls to quit since then, and had enjoyed Ms Meloni’s support.

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Denmark goes to the polls in a snap election

The shake-up suggests Ms Meloni is seeking to reassert control by containing the political damage, and signalling she can still act decisively after voters rejected the landmark reforms.

Both Ms Meloni and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio have resisted calls that they should also resign after 54% of Italians rejected the proposal to modernise the country’s judiciary.

Denmark’s centre-left prime minister has said she wants to stay in her job after inconclusive election results left the country facing weeks of coalition talks.

Mette Frederiksen has been seen by some in Britain’s Labour government as a role model for success, especially concerning her tough approach to immigration.

Read more: Does UK fancy Danish model?

But her Social Democrats have been left bruised from the left and the right after a campaign dominated by the cost of living, which has proved damaging for incumbent leaders around the world in recent years.

She had called an early election for Tuesday hoping her handling of foreign affairs – notably the crisis sparked by Donald Trump’s ambitions for Greenland – would see voters place their trust in her again.

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What are the results?

While her party is again the largest on 21.9% of the vote, it’s well down on the 27.5% secured in 2022.

Tuesday’s vote leaves the Social Democrats with 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Denmark’s Green party, to the prime minister’s left, won 11.6% of the vote and 20 seats.

The centre-right Liberal Party and Liberal Alliance won 18 seats (10.1%) and 16 seats (9.4%) respectively.

The anti-immigration Danish People’s Party won 9.1% of the vote and 16 seats – its vote share up 7% on last time.

With the left nor the right securing enough votes to form a coalition, it could leave the Moderates party – firmly in the centre ground – as kingmakers.

Led by foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, a former PM, it won 14 seats.

It was part of the 2022-2026 coalition, with the Social Democrats and Liberal Party.

Coalition talks to commence

Ms Frederiksen said she was ready to stay on, saying Denmark “needs a stable government” in an “unsettled” world amid war in Europe and the Middle East.

“We are ready to take the lead,” she added.

Mr Rasmussen echoed the PM’s call for stability, saying Denmark – a NATO and EU member – “is a small country of six million people”, and “we must come together”.

But Liberal Party leader Troels Lund Poulsen, the defence minister, has indicated he will not go into coalition with the Social Democrats again.

Coalition governments are the norm in Denmark, like many other European countries, and there will now be weeks of negotiations about the make-up of the next administration.

What were the key issues?

Ms Frederikson has been PM since 2019. Now 48, she was the country’s youngest ever leader when first elected.

She defended her record during the campaign, citing having to deal with the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and being “threatened by the American president”.

But domestic issues like the cost of living and beyond were front and centre for voters, while she has been squeezed from the left and right.

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Ms Frederikson has overseen one of the toughest approaches to migration in Europe, with refugee status temporary, ⁠conditional support and expectations of integration in society.

Some on the left believe she’s been much too tough, but the Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt increased his support with a pledge to ensure net zero migration of Muslims.

On the economy, Ms Frederiksen had sought to enhance her leftist credentials with a wealth tax proposal – one of the policies which drove a wedge between her and Liberal leader Mr Poulsen.

Engineers are working at the scene after the issue at Bolton station

Passengers are being warned to expect a day of disruption affecting trains at Bolton. No services are able to run between Bolton and Preston this morning (March 25) – affecting several Northern and TransPennine Express routes between Lancashire and Manchester.

The issue has been caused by damage to the overhead lines between Bolton and Lostock, according to National Rail. It says passengers are likely to see major disruption throughout the day.

A spokesperson for National Rail said: “Damage to the overhead wires between Bolton and Lostock means that all lines are blocked between these stations. Trains are unable to run between Bolton and Preston until the damage has been repaired.

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“Trains scheduled to run between these stations will divert via an alternative route, resulting in delays of up to 30 minutes. Some services may also be cancelled or revised to reduce congestion whilst trains are diverting. Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.”

The issue is affecting Northern services between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North, Manchester Victoria and Clitheroe, Manchester Airport and Barrow-in-Furness, Manchester Victoria and Southport, and Wigan Wallgate and Stalybridge. Diversions will be in place on these routes, meaning passengers will be delayed throughout the day.

Rail replacement buses are running from Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly at 8am, and from Preston to Manchester Piccadilly at 8.15am, calling at all stations. TransPennine Express services from Scotland to Manchester will also be unable to call at Bolton.

Network Rail staff are on site investigating the issue. A spokesperson for Network Rail in Manchester posted on X: “Due to a track fault in the Bolton area lines are currently blocked.

“Our engineers are working on a fix and will get you on the move asap. This affects services between Preston and Wigan and Preston to Manchester. Check your journey.”

Pickering Town CIC (PTCIC) are leading the bid with support from Beck Isle Museum, St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Ryedale Festival, English Heritage and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Carrie Brackstone, PTCIC Operations Manager said: “The deadline was tight but we quickly managed to draw a good bunch of creatives and volunteers from the Town into a workshop to ask them what ‘their story’ of Pickering would be in order to form the bid. The workshop was a tremendous success with representation from Beck Isle Museum, Pickering Memorial Hall, Ryedale Festival, Kirk Theatre, Pickering Book Tree, Pickering Castle and Pickering Rocks.

“Pickering has a wealth of creative talent and a strong ethos of community volunteering. Over the past three years, we have proved as a small Town that we can make big things happen on a shoe-string; imagine what we could achieve if we were given a bigger budget!

“We also have some brilliant venues in our Town; a heritage railway, a motte and bailey Castle, our Church with its beautiful wall-paintings and a cosy theatre venue. We also have our Market Place which we close twice a year to host larger events like Pickering 1940s Weekend and Pickering Rocks.”

Joy Andrews, North Yorkshire Councillor for Pickering added: “Pickering is a small Town that packs a mighty punch. In many ways, our rural location has given us an advantage as our local musicians and artists have had to hone their skills independent of any formal training. This is evidenced by the thriving live music scene in Pickering and the proliferation of Art Groups at our Memorial Hall. Pickering talent is abundant and home-grown and with support from the PTCIC volunteers, the sky is the limit.”