Rugby evening headlines as 'sad' Wayne Pivac leads tributes and Welsh rugby crowd record broken

Your rugby evening headlines for Friday, April 1.

Wales boss Wayne Pivac has paid tribute to Scarlets flanker James Davies, who has had to retire from rugby with immediate effect.

Davies has hung up his boots due to the ongoing effects of concussion and has not played since representing Wales against Georgia in the autumn of 2020. The larger-than-life flanker played an integral role in Pivac's Scarlets team that clinched the Pro12 trophy in 2017.

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Pivac said: “It’s very sad to hear about Cubby’s retirement. I was fortunate enough to coach him at club and international level and not only is he a good player but he’s a great person. His enthusiasm and sense of humour are second to none and he is one of the game’s genuine characters. I wish him all the best for whatever comes next. I know that whatever he turns his hand to he will make a success.”

A bumper crowd is set to file into the Arms Park this weekend to watch Wales Women take on Scotland in the TikTok Six Nations.

Ioan Cunningham's side, now boasting a plethora of professionally contracted players, kicked off their campaign with a win over Ireland last weekend. They'll be looking to build on that when Scotland come to the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon.

And over 4,200 tickets have now been sold for the match, eclipsing what is believed to be a previous record for a standalone women's rugby fixture in Wales. That currently stands at 4,113.

A significant portion of Wales internationals will be returning to the field for the first time since the Six Nations this weekend.

After Wales lost to Italy in Cardiff, the bulk of Pivac's side were given a bit of time off by their regional