Howley in contention for Commonwealth honours

Rob Howley is back in the spotlight – a month after retiring from international rugby.

The scrum-half Howley, capped 59 times by Wales, has been named in the preliminary 20-strong Wales Sevens squad for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester at the end of July.

"I wouldn't call this international rugby, it's the Sevens tournament," Howley explained. "I missed the last Commonwealth Games and this is a great opportunity for me.

"I was asked to put my name forward and I'm happy to do that. Sevens is becoming a major part of the international calendar."

Also recalled for the Games, despite playing no part in last season's International Rugby Board tournament, is the British Lions winger Dafydd James.

"Rugby is part of the Commonwealth Games and we'll be flying the flag for the Welsh nation, not just the rugby part of it," he said. "I'll be proud to go up there representing Wales, and hopefully we'll get a medal."

Howley added: "We're not going to make the numbers up, there's a mind-set that we're going to do well."

In Johannesburg, the South Africa Under-21 coach Jake White will not make any changes to his side for the second match of the IRB Under-21 World Cup against France today. In their opening game of the tournament, South Africa thrashed Romania 135-0 and White has chosen the same team to start against the French at Johannesburg's Bill Jardine Stadium.

That means Clyde Rathbone, who scored a hat-trick of tries against Romania, will again skipper the side.

White said that Friday's opening game against Romania had done much to boost the confidence of his charges, and that he was looking for the same level of confidence and determination against the French.

In Adelaide, the France A coach Yves Ajac has named six Stade Toulousain players in his side for tonight's historic match against Australia A at the Adelaide Oval.

The game will be the first rugby international at the ground, and Ajac has been impressed with what he has seen.

"It is beautiful," Ajac said. "We are enjoying our time here and looking forward to the match tomorrow. We would like to create space for our players to run into. We like to play an open game." The No 8 Didier Chouchan is the only representative from French Top 16 champions Biarritz to make Ajac's team.