Friday Round-Up

Walsh retires: The Australian Rugby Union have today confirmed that referee Steve Walsh has retied with immediate effect from all forms of match officiating, The news comes little over a week after Walsh pulled out of refereeing the Wales Vs Ireland gamin Cardiff last weekend, citing business interests as the primary reason. Once again, Walsh has said his decision lies in his pursuit of personal business away from the game of rugby union. A man who made his professional refereeing debut back in 1997, Walsh is a veteran of four Rugby World Cups, taking charge of his first test match all the way back in 1998 when France played Argentina. In total, Walsh has been the man in the middle for 56 test matches, making him the third most capped international referee of all time. Speaking of his departure from the game, Walsh said he had lived out his dream and was trull grateful for every experience he had gone through on the field of rugby, calling it an incredible journey.

Lopez controversy: French flyhalf Camille Lopez is now at the centre of controversy in his home nation, as speculation rises surrounding the real reason behind him pulling out of France’s clash with England on Saturday. As we reported yesterday, Lopez dropped out of Philippe Saint-Andre’s national squad on Wednesday evening, citing a knee injury. However, according to head coach Saint-Andre, Lopez trained fully on Wednesday and only decided to remove himself from selection having spoken with his club side Clermont. With Clermont due to play their European Champions Cup quarter-final on April 4th against Northampton, it seems Lopez would rather ensure his fitness for that club clash than pull on his side’s national jersey, something which will undoubtedly concern French fans and coaching staff alike.

Ryan Sheady