Calls for 'stronger messaging' after Josh Adams Covid breach
Watch the report by ITV Wales Sports Reporter Beth Fisher
There are calls for "stronger messaging" following the revelation Wales rugby player Josh Adams broke Covid regulations to attend a gender reveal party with his family.
Family footage of the small gathering which cost Josh Adams his place in the Wales squad for the first two matches of the Six Nations was seen on social media, which he attended between training camps for the tournament.
Adams and partner went to a relative's home on Sunday as they discovered they are expecting a baby girl in July.
Wales did not become aware of the gathering until after Adams had trained on Tuesday, when team manager Martyn Williams informed Wayne Pivac what had happened.Wales' players had been allowed to leave camp over the weekend but are under strict instructions to follow Covid-19 lockdown rules. Players and their families were given advice on what they could and could not do ahead of the tournament.
The WRU confirmed it had suspended Adams and acted "robustly and swiftly" to take action.
Under the current level four restrictions, people are not permitted to meet up with anyone they do not live with, except in very limited circumstances such as providing or receiving care.
Following the WRU announcement on Wednesday, Adams said he "apologised unreservedly" for his actions.
But one MP said the "messaging has to be stronger" for people in the public eye.
Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour MP for Gower, told ITV News, "It's a massive privilege to be putting on your Welsh jersey particularly this weekend - so to have done what he's done is very disappointing and the message has to be stronger. He has let people down."
MP Alex Davies-Jones agreed and said, "It's incredibly frustrating to see anybody breaking the guidelines - we've all had significant family milestones we've all had to miss and we've had to make sacrifices because of the virus.
"Then when you've got somebody in the public eye who is put on that pedestal and is a role model for young people - breaking the guidelines is infuriating."
Monmouthshire PE teacher Danielle Doherty told ITV News his actions were "completely irresponsible".
"A lot of children are struggling with the lack of socialising. Many parents I've spoken to have commented on how they're not allowed to go out yet you see these famous people on social media doing it, it really impacts on them. And then it's really hard on the parents to then say to no if they ask to go out. So it's really difficult for the parents to enforce that".