Keiron Assiratti will never forget April Fools’ Day in 2023 – it was the day his career suddenly took off. Up until then both he and his fellow prop Corey Domachowski had doubts hanging over their ability, their playing futures and their livelihoods.

When you are battling for a starting place against the Golden Boot winner for the last two seasons in the JD Cymru Premier, your first hat-trick in professional football certainly helps your cause. Brad Young’s trio of goals in The New Saints’ 6-2 win at Barry Town United not only pushed his claim, but also gained revenge for the 2-2 draw their hosts had squeezed out of their earlier meeting at Park Hall.

Matt Grimes has insisted Swansea City’s home defeat to Leicester City has to be viewed in the context of the exceptional quality of the visitors. The Swans captain finished on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline as Leicester came from behind and made history by becoming the first ever side in the second tier to win their opening six away matches of a league campaign.

Dwayne Peel admitted the Scarlets got what they deserved from their United Rugby Championship opener in South Africa – precisely nothing. The Scarlets coach watched his team get trampled over by the Bulls as they lost 63-21 in South Africa to complete a conspicuous weekend whitewash of four defeats for the Welsh regions.

Toby Booth has admitted his Ospreys team were “a rabbit in the headlights” at Connacht where they lost their United Rugby Championship opener. Booth conceded the visitors gave themselves far too much to do to recover, even though they ran in three second half tries to at least secure a bonus-point against last season’s URC semi-finalists in Galway before losing 34-26. The Ospreys produced a stirring second-half fightback came after they trailed 27-5 at the break, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the home side’s new head coach, Pete Wilkins, marking his competitive debut with a win.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt admitted his team got what they deserved after they lost at home to Benetton in their United Rugby Championship opener. The Italians won 23-22 at the Arms Park after they snatched victory following a straight red card given to Cardiff prop Ciaran Parker for a reckless high tackle. The visitors had trailed 19-3 after 32 minutes but went up a gear in the second half to snatch the spoils in the final minute of the match.

Erol Bulut has ordered his Cardiff City players to harden up after they lost their third match in five to drop further down the Championship table. A 1-0 reverse at Blackburn Rovers has left the Bluebirds in 11th place as they crashed to a third successive away defeat. Joe Rankin-Costello’s first goal of the season earned Blackburn their victory – Rovers’ only on-target attempt of the afternoon.

With Wales having been mauled by the Pumas at the World Cup, it’s been a week for licking wounds in Welsh rugby. This weekend, though, seven days on after losing to Argentina in the quarter-finals, there is a chance for the domestic game to shows its claws have sharpened when the United Rugby Championship season begins.

Kidology, mind games, or maybe just an off-guard truth – whatever it was, Michael Duff must have his players wandering at Swansea City. After going on a five-match unbeaten run – with four successive victories – the Swans players might have imaged their boss would be bigging them up before they take on Championship leaders Leicester City this weekend.

Glamorgan teenage pair Henry Hurle and Asa Tribe have something to celebrate this weekend – new contracts. The two 19-year-olds have both earned rookie deals for the next two seasons.

The top tiers of women’s football should have stronger financial controls to halt the growing disparity between big clubs and smaller ones, according to Crystal Palace co-owner and chairman Steve Parish. The Women’s Super League and second-tier Championship – that includes most of the current Wales squad – have a salary cap system where clubs can spend up to 40% of their turnover on salaries.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) returns this weekend with the four Welsh regions all looking to bed in new recruits and plenty of internal promotions. There will be some familiar faces, but plenty of unknowns, too. To help you on your way, here’s our guide to who’s who and where did what’shisname go?

Shane Williams believes the Scarlets will be the strongest performing Welsh team in the BKT United Rugby Championship this season. The former Wales wing also feels there will be an opportunity for a number of talented youngsters to break through across the four regions.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has named a squad of 23 to take on former captain Alun Wyn Jones and the Barbarians in Cardiff on Nov. 4, with 16 retained players from their Rugby World Cup campaign in France. Gatland, though, will be without a significant number of his leading players through injury and the inability to call on those contracted to clubs in England, France and Japan as the fixture falls outside of the international window.

Liam Cullen believes Swansea City have a chance to test their quality when they resume their Championship campaign at home to Leicester City on Saturday. With the international break over, Cullen has returned from Wales duties to a club keen to pick up the momentum gained by a draw and four successive victories in their last five matches.

Hannah Jones will captain Wales and win her 50th cap against Canada in the inaugural WXV1 clash at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on Saturday. Jones was called into the Wales senior squad at the age of 15 and made her full Test debut at 16 in the 39-3 win against Scotland back in 2015.

Warren Gatland is to remain as Wales head coach and lead them to the 2027 World Cup – his fifth in charge. Gatland placed his future in the hands of the Welsh Rugby Union following his side’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina on Saturday.

Six Wales internationals have been left without a club after Worcester Warriors Women withdrew from this season’s league and cup competitions with immediate effect. Worcester’s men’s team entered administration in September 2022 but the women’s team secured backing that allowed them to carry on playing.

Welsh jockeys have crowned their own champion in Connor Brace and helped raise £15,000 for Welsh children’s cancer charity, Latch. Brace – whose younger brother Max plays rugby for the Ospreys Academy – won the Welsh Jump Jockeys’ Derby last weekend at Chepstow Racecourse.

The Wales squad have arrived home from France and it turns out there are different ways of reacting to losing a Rugby World Cup quarter-final. You did not need to know the results, or have watched the games, the faces of Wales, Ireland and France players gave it away.