By Steffan Thomas

Copyright walesonline

These are your rugby headlines on the evening of Friday, October 3. Wales international Christ Tshiunza is facing up to three months on the sidelines after he suffered a broken foot in Exeter Chiefs’ clash with Northampton Saints at the weekend. Director of rugby Rob Baxter confirmed earlier in the week that the lock picked up an injury and Tshiunza himself posted a picture of his foot in a brace on Instagram. Baxter has now confirmed he will miss three months – thus missing Wales’ autumn campaign in its entirety – although he does not require surgery. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. Baxter said: “Christ came off at half-time last weekend in some pain and on further investigation this week, it has been found that he has broken his foot. “Following further assessment, the decision has been made that the injury will be able to heal by itself over time and not require surgery.” The Chiefs estimate he’ll be back in around eight to 12 weeks. Tshiunza has previously broken his foot, suffering a similar injury after the 2023 World Cup that kept him out for five months. RugbyPass report Wales international Josh Adams could leave Cardiff at the end of the season. The wing is out of contract at the Arms Park, they report, with interest being shown from all quarters; his name is said to be doing the rounds of PREM Rugby, Top 14 and Pro D2 clubs, while the same outlet report he could be tempted by a lucrative move to R360. Adams has won 64 caps for his country and is set to face Munster in the URC tomorrow. He signed a new contract with the capital city club back in April. “I’m really happy to sign this new contract with Cardiff,” said Adams. “I have a young family and we are all very settled here in Wales, and are enjoying being at home. “In terms of the club we have made some good improvements from last season and you can see us getting better and developing. “I really enjoy the environment here and I’m very happy at the club. The Arms Park is the best ground in Wales and especially so when it is sold out. You simply cannot beat it. “I’m looking forward to playing my part in helping this group progress and cannot wait to be back out on the pitch at the Arms Park.” The Welsh Rugby Union’s director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin has poured cold water on the prospect of an Anglo-Welsh league. An Anglo-Welsh league is the preference of the vast majority of Welsh rugby fans and is evidently the a significantly more attractive proposition than the United Rugby Championship. There had been suggestions from well-placed sources both within the Welsh game and over the Severn Bridge that PRL would consider offering two places to teams from Wales. But Reddin insists the WRU are committed to the URC. “I think the URC is an incredibly high-level competition,” he told the BBC’s ScrumV podcast. “There’s some really elite teams in it. “Like other leagues it’s struggling a little bit for broadcast income and that’s part of the challenge for it. “Of course it’s something that comes up in every consultation meeting ‘what about an Anglo-Welsh?’ “Anglo-Welsh is not on the table. It’s not that there’s no demand there. “We hear the public voices of course, supporters who don’t travel to South Africa would rather travel to Gloucester. “We hear that. There isn’t a simple transition here. “We made a commitment to the URC, are committed to the URC and we have to be faithful to that.” Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards says he is honoured by the legacy of the Welsh 10 jersey as he bids to retain it this autumn. Edwards was the last man to wear the jersey that defined the likes of Barry John, Phil Bennett and Jonathan Davies – guiding Wales to their first victory in nearly two years against Japan this July. “I take pride in it, especially with the players who have worn it before,” he told the URC website. “You don’t want to let the shirt down or let that type of legacy down. “It’s really good to have had those players before you wearing the jersey. Hopefully you can put the jersey on again and do good in it. “There are a lot of contenders for the position and that’s the way you want it to be. Competition only makes you better and drives you on a lot more. “I am really excited to firstly play well for the Ospreys and put my marker down and hopefully get a shout of getting selected again.” Cardiff are looking to back up last season’s memorable victory over Munster at the Arms Park by stunning the Irish giants on their own ground. Last season Cardiff beat Munster 26-21 in front of a bumper crowd at the Arms Park but it will be much tougher in Limerick. Cardiff started the season with a solid home victory over the Lions while Munster beat the Scarlets in Llanelli . “The game here against them was one of our best performances and atmospheres,” said lock Cardiff lock Josh McNally. “To win in that manner put us in the play-off race and was a huge part of our season, we took huge confidence from that. “We are really excited to test ourselves and a big message this week has been that we have not won outside of Wales for a while. “The biggest thing we had against Munster last season was our fight. We were physical, didn’t do anything too flash but really fronted up and challenged them. “There’s no harder place to go than Ireland but we will look to match them physically and see where that gets us after a great week.” Head coach Corniel van Zyl has made four changes to the starting XV with Rory Jennings replacing the suspended Ben Thomas at inside centre. Up-front Danny Southworth comes in for Rhys Barratt at loosehead prop while Dan Thomas starts at openside flanker and Jacob Beetham replaces Cam Winnett at full-back. Liam Belcher captains the side at hooker with Javan Sebastian at tighthead prop while Teddy Williams joins McNally in the second-row. Alex Mann and Alun Lawrence form a strong backrow alongside Thomas on the openside. Behind the scrum Johan Mulder and Callum Sheedy are the half-backs while Harri Millard lines up in midfield alongside Jennings. Beetham, Tom Bowen and Josh Adams make up a potent back three. “It’s going to be a tough test away at Munster,” said van Zyl. “They pride themselves on doing the basics really well – set-piece, breakdown, kicking game, and they obviously have a good attack. They also pride themselves on the fighting spirit of the game. “They had an away win, which is great, and they will have some confidence from that. I’m sure the fans over there will be very excited to see them at home first game. So it will be a nice atmosphere. “It will test the boys, but we’ve obviously prepared for that. “We want to put our game on the field again and show that fight again. We were pleased to get the five points against Lions but going away from home to Thomond Park, this will be a bigger challenge. It will be a good gauge of where we are.” Munster: O’Connor; Daly, Kelly, Nankivell, Abrahams; Crowley, E Coughlan; Loughman, Scannell (capt), Jager, Kleyn, F Wycherley, Ahern, R Quinn, Coombes. Replacements: Barron, J Wycherley, Foxe, J O’Donoghue, Gleeson, Patterson, Butler, S O’Brien. Cardiff: Beetham; Adams, Millard, Jennings, Bowen; Sheedy, Mulder; Southworth, Belcher (capt), Sebastian; McNally, Williams, Mann, D Thomas, Lawrence. Replacements: D Hughes, Barratt, Wainwright, Donnell, Basham, A Davies, I Lloyd, Emanuel. Referee: Griffin Colby (SARU) Assistant referees: Keane Davison, Shane Gaughan (IRFU) TMO: Chris Allison (SARU)