Nel pens new Edinburgh contract and reveals he has coaching ambitions
Long-serving Edinburgh Rugby prop WP Nel has signed a contract extension with the club – and has admitted that he now has one eye on a coaching career.
The Scotland internationalist, who joined the BT Murrayfield outfit in 2012, will be with the club until at least the summer of 2022 after agreeing his new contract.
Nel joined Edinburgh from the Cheetahs and made his Scotland debut three years later, starring in several Six Nations campaigns and two World Cups.
The 34-year-old has played more than 150 times for Edinburgh and has won 42 caps for Scotland, the latest of which came during Saturday's narrow Six Nations defeat by Wales at Murrayfield.
The South Africa-born tighthead has made Scotland his home, settled in the capital with his wife and four children, and will embark on a tenth consecutive season with the club.
Nel said: “Edinburgh is such a special place and club for me. My family and I are well settled in this beautiful city we now call home.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would still be here after all these years and still playing at 34.
“But I can’t complain about the way I’m playing at the moment. It’s still a huge honour to be selected for both Edinburgh and Scotland.
“To reach 150 games for the club earlier this season was really special for me and to join guys like Fordy [Ross Ford], Gilcho [Grant Gilchrist] and Stu [Mcinally] in that group was awesome.”
Nel has started his coaching pathway with Watsonians and Edinburgh youngsters and is looking to go further down that avenue.
“Coaching is something I would like to explore further in this next two years,” he added.
“I already like to work with the younger players at the club. I feel like I can help them improve as players and hopefully I can help them go and represent Scotland.
“We have a lot of exciting and young forwards at the club and there are exciting times ahead with our new stadium.
“I think it going to be special for us as a club to move into our new home. We can now have our own identity and build on it.”
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill could not hide his delight at securing Nel for another season.
“WP is a club legend and we’re delighted he’ll pull on the jersey for his tenth season at Edinburgh Rugby,” Cockerill told the Edinburgh website.
“He continues to be a pivotal member of the squad and you only had to see his performance at Parc y Scarlets earlier this season, or from the bench against Wales on Saturday, to see that he’s still a special player.
“WP has played a lot of games for this club and his contributions throughout a near-decade of rugby in Edinburgh should be recognised and celebrated.
“He is and will continue to be a real role model for the next generation of Edinburgh Rugby props.”
Adam Hastings will make his return from injury when Glasgow take on Ulster tonight.
The Scotland stand-off will make his first Warriors appearance since suffering a shoulder injury in a Guinness Six Nations victory over Wales in October.
The Gloucester-bound 24-year-old is among 12 internationals in Danny Wilson's starting line-up for the Guinness Pro14 encounter at Scotstoun.
Leone Nakarawa will make his first start in a year after recovering from a knee injury, lining up against the club he will join in the summer.
Oli Kebble, Huw Jones and Richie Gray have been released from Scotland duty to start while Sam Johnson is back in midfield following a period of self-isolation. Winger Rufus Mclean retains his place following his debut.
Grant Stewart and D'arcy Rae are among the replacements after being released from Scotland duty while 21-year-old second-row forward James Scott will also be on the bench after joining on loan from Worcester this week.
Head coach Wilson told glasgowwarriors.org: "It's good to have five players back from Scotland camp to get some game time, and it's great to have Adam back fit and available to us.
"Ulster gave us a real tough day over at the Kingspan earlier in the season. They're a very powerful side and I'm sure
they'll also have Irish internationals back with them."
Ulster will be captained by openside flanker Jordi Murphy for the first time, while Kieran Treadwell will become the club’s latest centurion when he starts in the second row.
In the front row, Eric O’sullivan returns from international duty to join John
Andrew and Marty Moore, who will make his 50th Ulster appearance.
In the backs, scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart Mccloskey also start after being released from the Ireland camp.
Andrew is expecting a fastpaced game against the Warriors on Scotstoun’s artificial pitch. “That’s what they like to
do; they pride themselves on fast ball and working teams on the edge,” said the hooker.
“We’ve looked at that; we’ve had five weeks off and this has been the carrot at the end of it that we’ve been looking forward to. We’re expecting a fast game and we’ll hopefully be able to implement our game plan and not let them dictate play.”
Serena Williams bade a tearful farewell to the Australian Open amid questions about whether she may have played at the tournament for the last time.
Williams gave the crowd inside the Rod Laver Arena a long wave goodbye with her hand on her heart, following her 6-3 6-4 semi-final defeat by Naomi Osaka.
The gesture prompted speculation about whether the 39-year-old would ever be back competing at Melbourne Park, where she has won the title seven times. In her post-match press conference, Williams, who had never previously lost a semifinal in Melbourne, responded: "I don't know. If I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone. So ..."
Williams then became tearful during the next question, a relatively mundane enquiry about her unforced errors during the match, and said: "I don't know. I'm done," before leaving the room.
Williams once again came up short in her 11th attempt to move level with Margaret Court's record haul of 24 grand slam singles titles, and it is now a year-and-a-half since she made a final.
Speaking on Eurosport, her old rival Justine Henin said: "I think she was better 10 years ago. Also the impact she had on the other players, we were really scared to play Serena. She was impressive, she was winning a lot.
"The determination – I don't say she doesn't have the same motivation but her life also has changed. Physically she was also probably at a better level.
"She's 39, it's amazing what she's able to do, physically, mentally, but the game also has changed, it's getting faster and faster and all the players know they can beat Serena, she's going to be more pushed, and this is what's the hardest for her."
Japanese third seed Osaka, the champion in 2019, overcame a nervous start in front of a limited crowd, let back in after Victoria's coronavirus lockdown was lifted.
From 2-0 down she won eight out of the next nine games before ultimately wrapping up victory in an hour and 15 minutes. Osaka said: "I was a little kid watching her play, so coming up against her on the court for me is a dream."