Project Reset has been. . err . . . re-set – at least until the start of the 2020-21 season. But the various ideas for the reform of the regional game in Wales have not been shelved, just shuffled along the desk a little. Robin Davey looks at the options and says money, as usual, will trump those quant little considerations like performance or fair play. Those people disturbed and confused by Brexit ought to turn for comparison to domestic rugby in Wales, where the future is at best uncertain and at worst a nightmare. Project Reset – which was supposed to be the new deal between the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions – has yet to be signed. The players are increasingly anxious about their future, contracts can’t be finalised, and nobody knows where they stand.

Tomos Williams grew up wishing he was Kobe Bryant or Shaq O’Neal but now wants to be the new Mike Phillips. Wales have not had an undisputed, unchallenged, first-name-on the-team-sheet scrum-half since the days of Phillips, the almost original Iron Mike. But Williams – who grew up favouring basketball over rugby and idolised the top American stars – has big plans ahead, starting with Friday night in Paris, and Warren Gatland might just share them.

Owen Lane was been praised for scoring “an international wing’s finish” after his try helped lift the Cardiff Blues to within two points of the top three places in the Guinness Pro 14 Conference A. Lane – who also scored a notable try against Lyon last week – was left out of Warren Gatland’s squad for the Six Nations. But after he touched down for the crucial score against Connacht in the Blues’ narrow 8-7 victory, coach John Mulvihill said: “Owen finished really well in the corner. That’s an international wing’s finish.

Allen Clarke has admitted his Ospreys team were simply not up to the mark as realistic Welsh interest in the knockout stages of European rugby came to an end. The Ospreys head coach watched his side stumble to a 20-18 home defeat to a Worcester team that showed 13 changes to their regular Gallagher Premiership side. It means the region need a mathematical miracle to make the last eight of the European Challenge Cup, while the Dragons had long since ruled out that possibility.

Sir Gareth Edwards has stepped down as a director of Cardiff Blues after 22 years. The Welsh rugby legend joined the board at the start of professional rugby having spent 12 years as a player at the Arms Park.

Allen Clarke insisted his Ospreys team had dominated the Cardiff Blues as they ended their rivals’ hopes of a derby clean sweep. The Ospreys coach saw his team win 20-11 at the Liberty Stadium – a venue where the Blues have now not won for 14 years – to leave the Blues five points adrift of their opponents in the Guinness Pro14 Conference A table. It brought the Blues’ resurgence to an abrupt halt after their victories over the Scarlets and the Dragons with Clarke claiming it was a reflection of the home team’s control.

Samu Manoa has left Cardiff Blues on compassionate grounds to return to California. The 33-year-old USA international was seen as a major signing when he arrived in the summer but played just seven games.

John Mulvihill’s true impact on Cardiff Blues this season will be put to the test at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday when his side looks to beat the Ospreys in Swansea for the first time since 22 December, 2005. Thanks to their back-to-back regional derby triumphs over the Dragons and Scarlets, the European Challenge Cup holders will head west once again at the weekend chasing an impressive hat-trick of derby wins in the space of 16 days.

Cardiff Blues stunned the Scarlets 43-5 in the West v East derby at Parc y Scarlets. Here, Dai Sport’s Harri Morgan analyses how Blues coach John Mulvihill got his tactics spot-on. Martyn Williams use of the rope a dope analogy in commentary on the East versus West derby at Parc Y Scarlets, was just about spot on.

John Mulvihill praised his Cardiff Blues for baiting the trap he insisted the Scarlets had fallen into after becoming the first team to win in Llanelli in the Guinness Pro 14 for over two years. It was a dominant, bullying 34-5 victory for the Blues on Saturday evening who were happy to let the Scarlets have plenty of ball, knowing they could do little with it other than hand over possession. A brace of tries from Ray Lee-lo plus a try apiece from Gareth Anscombe and Lloyd Williams was enough to see off Wayne Pivac’s side. All the Scarlet could muster was a first-half score from Johnny McNicholl.

Jonathan Davies has told his Scarlets teammates they need to be bold if they are to save their season in 2019. The Wales centre has urged the region to return to the swashbuckling style of a year ago when they host the Cardiff Blues on Saturday evening. Davies admits the Scarlets have been found wanting in recent weeks with seven defeats in their last nine matches, including four on the trot going into the latest Welsh derby.

Wayne Pivac has admitted his Scarlets team owe it to their fans to prevent a blip growing into a crisis. The Wales coach-elect has challenged his players to respond when they host the Cardiff Blues in Saturday’s Welsh derby following a four-game losing sequence. The region have seen their European dreams disintegrate in recent weeks and their Guinness Pro 14 ambitions also took a blow – not to mention their local pride – when they were beaten by the Ospreys just before Christmas.