These are your evening rugby headlines on Saturday, April 6. Welsh centre forces 'awkward conversations' Gloucester boss George Skivington says he's set for 'awkward conversations' as Wales international Max Llewellyn continued his fine run of form against Castre on Friday night. The centre, who won his first two caps for Wales last summer but missed out on selection for this year's Six Nations , has impressed for the Cherry & Whites in recent weeks and put in another brilliant performance as his side emerged 30-25 winners in the Challenge Cup knockout clash. A constant threat with his powerful carrying, Llewellyn beat five players on the night and capped the fine display with a remarkable try that saw him bulldoze his way through the Castres defence, carrying some defenders on his back as he stretched out his arm to score. READ MORE: Departing Welsh rugby boss says it was not his decision to leave as statement issued SIGN UP: Get the new exclusive Inside Welsh rugby newsletter for full insight into what's really going on around all the big issues. This special offer will get you full access for the entire year for just £10 instead of £40. His run of form has seen him tipped to add to his Wales tally on the summer tour of Australia, with Warren Gatland looking for new midfield options following the retirement of George North and injury to Joe Roberts. While Skivington is naturally pleased with the 25-year-old's progress, he admitted that his form is giving him somewhat of a selection headache amid thriving competition in midfield at Kingsholm. "We've got some really good centres and the competition is really, really tight," he said. "Max is really, really good at [carrying] and each of our centres have a slightly different strength to their game. Week to week, we've got to make decisions now because there is genuine competition as to who is going to fit each game best. "We went with Max this week and I think he paid us back for that but equally we only put Chris [Harris] on at the end and he had a really strong five minutes. There's really good competition there, it makes for a few awkward conversations for me, but that's a good spot [to be in]." GloucesterLive handed Llewellyn a 9/10 rating for his performance, adding: "The Welsh international showed us some of that hard-hitting ball-carrying for Gloucester’s third try. He seemed to carry three Castre players on his back, before getting his arm free, and with one hand dotted the ball down. "This impressive showcase of power put him in the lead for defenders beaten, five. Max Llewellyn was one of the many players in the mix involved in Mercer’s try. This was probably the Welshman’s strongest performance. He is slotting in nicely into the back line and offered that ball-carrying ability tonight too."
Irish giant linked with Scarlets Exeter Chiefs lock Jack Dunne is set to join the Scarlets , according to reports. After WalesOnline reported that
Scotland and Exeter prop Alec Hepburn would be heading to Parc y Scarlets next season, he looks set to be joined there by his team-mate, Dunne, whose contract runs out at the end of the current campaign. The 6ft 8in former
Ireland U20s star has played 31 times for the Chiefs since he was signed from Leinster ahead of last season, but having missed a large chunk of the current season through injury will now join up with Dwayne Peel's side, according to RugbyPass. The same publication also reports that scrum-half Joe
SNOW will depart Exeter at the end of the campaign and follow the likes of former Cardiff back Jamie Hill and Frankie Nowell, the brother of
England international Jack, to Australia’s Shute Shield. Ireland star 'taken aback' by abuse Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray says he was "taken aback" by the abuse he received from fans in the wake of his side's dramatic Six Nations loss to England. The 34-year-old found himself on the receiving end of scathing criticism from frustrated supporters, as he kicked the ball back into England's possession moments before Marcus Smith won the game with a last-gasp drop goal. While Ireland ended up easing to the championship crown, that defeat to Steve Borthwick's side ended their Grand Slam hopes - but Murray was still stunned at the abuse he received. "Genuinely, we've been around long enough to know how long you can hold on to the ball in your own '22, that was the right call; we'd do it again, it was what happened after," he said. "Chatting to Andy, we had a giggle about it, it was wild. Unfortunately, that's just the way the world is. But I was taken aback by it, the level of messages coming into my phone. "Just abuse, really, just: 'What the f*** are you doing kicking the ball away'. People who, in fairness, 'support' Ireland and are frustrated that we lost and they're just looking for some way to vent and they see they can message you on
Instagram. It was mad, but if I'd made a mistake or missed a tackle you'd think, not fair enough, but you could see the reason for it. But, genuinely, that didn't come up in the review." The Irishman added that the experience gave him a new understanding of why his former Lions half-back partner Owen Farrell walked away from Test rugby at the end of last year, adding: "That came into my mind after that England week, I was like...It was very brief, but I thought, 'what's the point here if you can't win?' "But that was very quickly ironed out. I just let lads know. I was like, 'Jesus, I'm getting serious heat here' and they're like, 'about what?' I told them and I knew but it was just nice to share that with your team-mates and your coaches and then just chat about it and it was like, 'no, it's irrelevant'. "It's irrelevant but it's not right at some point," he added. Some of the messages aren't just aimed at you, they're aimed at your family and stuff and you're like, 'who's writing these'. “You just delete all of it. I genuinely just looked at a couple. I looked at my phone and it just flooded up with messages. "I looked at a few and it was just 'f***ing hell' and then just deleted all at the bottom. There was no point. If you read it all, some of it's going to seep into you. Whether I made a mistake or not, I wouldn't read it. You're aware of it. You can't not be aware of it, that's the thing in this day and age, you can't not see it. Whether you read it all is up to the player themselves but I just saw enough to go, 'no, I'm gone'.” European match moved over safety concerns Tonight's Challenge Cup clash between Edinburgh and Bayonne has been moved to Murrayfield just hours ahead of kick-off. The match was due to be held at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium, but with a yellow weather warning for high winds in effect in the Scottish capital today due to Storm Kathleen, a last-minute venue change was enforced over safety concerns. Club officials met with representatives from the MET office and concluded that moving the clash to Murrayfield gave the game "the best chance to go ahead". Supporters have also been warned to prepare for travel disruption. “The safety of our fans, players, and people is paramount" said Edinburgh's managing director, Douglas Struth. "Unfortunately, Storm Kathleen and the worsening weather forecast has meant that the only way to now play this match safely and securely is in the bigger main bowl at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. "We’re obviously very disappointed not to be playing in our home, Hive Stadium, but I hope that people will understand. We know our fans love Hive Stadium, and the atmosphere we’ve built there over the past two seasons is second to none, but I’d encourage all our supporters to bring that same passion and energy to the main bowl this evening."