Rugby: Injury rules Ferris out of Lions tour

IRELAND flanker Stephen Ferris is likely to miss this year’s British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia starting in June after his club Ulster said last night he would be out of action for another three months with the ankle injury that has wrecked his season.

Ferris, 27, has played only four times for Ulster this season and last started for Ireland in last year’s Six Nations. He had surgery on Wednesday and will take no part in the rest of Ulster’s Heineken Cup campaign. He was in the Lions squad who travelled to South Africa four years ago, but injury ended his tour before the test matches against the Springboks.

Canadian sponsor for Hawick Sevens

HAWICK have secured a sponsor for their annual sevens tournament from Canada. The club has agreed a deal with RBC Capital Markets, part of the Royal Bank of Canada.

Hawick RFC president Rory Bannerman said: “HRFC is delighted to join forces with RBC Capital Markets. Each of us, in our own way, has a long history of success and recognition in our fields and is innovative and dynamic in our approach to modern circumstances. We look forward to a better, stronger, sevens tournament as a result

of this partnership.”

The 119th Hawick Sevens takes place on Saturday, 20 April at Mansfield Park and will feature most of Scotland’s leading clubs.

Wales legend Jones poised to retire

STEPHEN Jones, Wales’s most capped international player, is to retire from rugby at the end of this season. Jones, 35, will join the coaching staff at his current club Wasps, the Aviva Premiership outfit announced.

The former Scarlets and Clermont Auvergne fly-half has scored more points for Wales than anyone apart from Neil Jenkins. In addition to winning 104 Wales caps, he also made six Test match appearances for the British and Irish Lions. “I feel incredibly lucky to have played for some fantastic sides down through the years,” Jones said.