By Mathew Davies

Copyright walesonline

These are your morning headlines on Saturday, September 20 Louis Rees-Zammit showed impressive signs on a chaotic first start back in rugby. The Welshman scored a try, bombed another and received a yellow card for scrapping with Gloucester’s Caio James as he was booed and heckled throughout. The 24-year-old received a mark of 7 out of 10 for his display from Bristol Live, who described his central performance as “rugby theatre”. The publication wrote : “The first-half was indeed the Rees-Zammit show. He scored in the 21st minute of the game with an Incredible finish as he showed his lightning pace and charged around Gloucester full-back Jake Morris. “The ball then broke to Rees-Zammit in the 27th minute and he expertly grubber kicked down the line and showed his pace. All he had to do was regather the ball to score but he spilled it five metres out! “The Gloucester fans enjoyed that one as they booed and heckled the Bears winger throughout. Soon after, he got yellow carded for being a main contributor in an old-school rugby brawl with Caio James, who also received a yellow. “The two Welshmen were still banging heads as they walked off the pitch in the 35th minute in a moment of pure rugby theatre.” The Scarlets have announced that Ryan Elias and Eddie James will be spending a period on the sidelines through injury. Both players have undergone surgery, the club have confirmed. Hooker Elias has had a procedure on his elbow that will keep him out until November, while midfielder James is now recovering from a back issue. Elias hasn’t played for Wales in 2025, while James was handed his Six Nations debut for Wales’ round two clash with Italy in Rome earlier this year. He is now likely to miss Wales’ autumn series, which sees them face Japan, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand in Cardiff . The news comes after Cardiff Rugby confirmed that Wales pair Mason Grady and James Botham have also gone under the knife and will miss Steve Tandy’s first block of games in charge. By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent Canada stormed into the World Cup final with a conclusive 34-19 victory at Ashton Gate but were forced to weather a second-half storm from defending champions New Zealand. Alex Tessier’s side raced 31-7 ahead with a performance that will have sent shockwaves through the women’s game before displaying their mettle to withstand a determined fightback from the favourites. England or France await in the final – the Six Nations rivals clash in Bristol on Saturday – and both will have watched the precision of their play with apprehension ahead of a possible Allianz Stadium showdown next weekend. Six-time champions New Zealand had not lost a World Cup match since 2014, a run comprising of 18 consecutive wins, but on this night they ran into opponents who excelled in every department. It was the Black Ferns’ eighth semi-final and they had only lost once to Canada in 19 previous encounters, yet they looked like rabbits caught in the headlights as they fell 17-0 down within 24 minutes. True to predictions of a thriller in the clash between rivals positioned second and third in the global rankings the ball was kept alive with impressive accuracy, but it was Canada who were showing the killer instinct. Sinead Peach has been banned for four matches following her crude comments aimed at an official last month. The York Valkyrie player was shown a red card in the defeat to St Helens, where she asked the referee late on in the game “which player are you s*******?” after a call went against her. At a tribunal hearing she was found guilty of Grade E “Other Contrary Behaviour” and received a four-match ban along with 24 disciplinary points. Having already served one game of her suspension, she will now miss Sunday’s semi-final trip to St Helens and should Valkyrie progress Peach will also be unavailable for the Grand Final. “Sinead Peach of York Valkyrie has been suspended for four matches after being found guilty of a grade E charge of other contrary behaviour by the RFL’s independent operational rules tribunal,” read a statement from the governing body. “The tribunal began on September 9 but was adjourned to allow further evidence to be presented following Peach’s dismissal in a Betfred Women’s Super League fixture against St Helens on August 30. “The parties had already agreed that Peach would serve the first match of any suspension in York’s BWSL fixture against Leeds Rhinos last Sunday, so she has three matches remaining to serve – with 24 points added to her disciplinary record.” Newcastle