Gareth Anscombe admitted the Cardiff Blues made hard work of their derby victory over 14-man Dragons in a game that the Wales fly-half will not be re-visiting in his dotage. Anscombe kicked a late penalty to deny the gritty visitors a draw at the Arms Park and earn a 19-16 victory, but neither team were capable of rising above the distinctly ordinary in demanding blustery conditions. The Dragons will be pleased with their resolve, but angered their temperament undermined their efforts after Neil Fairbrother was sent off after only half an hour for a flying elbow at a ruck.

Dragons flanker Aaron Wainwright believes the underdogs can find their bite when they face rivals Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park on Friday night. The back row forward – on the fringes of the Wales team despite the handicap of having to perform every week in a mostly losing line-up – insists the sacking of Bernard Jackman can be a catalyst for improvement at Rodney Parade. The Dragons lost again last week – their third defeat in a row where they have shipped over 45 points – but there were some signs for optimism, says Wainwright in their 49-24 reverse at Clermont Auvergne in the European Challenge Cup.

IT’S derby time when grounds will be packed over the holiday period and the battle for who’s best, east or west, will resume. Largely because of the Dragons’ ineffectiveness – to put it politely – the west has generally proved to be best which would delight the late, lamented Ray Gravell.

The hottest ticket in town will soon be Wales v England in the Six Nations. But what about the regions? How warm are those seats? Not heated by enough bums on them, according to Peter Jackson of The Rugby Paper, who has compared the numbers watching Wales’ favourite rugby team with those who supply all their players. A startling fact can be unearthed from the mound of attendance figures at the Millennium Stadium last month – that more than 36,000 fans support Wales at the expense of their regional teams.

Welsh interest in the Heineken Champions Cup – in terms of the knockout stages, at least – is already over. It contrasts sharply with the success of Wales in the autumn, so as we head towards the Six Nations, Geraint Powell tries to unravel the contradiction. It is always difficult to dispassionately analyse a Welsh autumn internationals campaign in the immediate aftermath, for the mood in Welsh rugby nowadays only ever veers wildly between “world beaters” or “the end of the world is nigh”. The story of the Warren Gatland era has been of disappointment in the November friendlies, relative to the Welsh performances in the tournament rugby of the Six Nations and the World Cup.

John Mulvihill has pleaded relative poverty after the Cardiff Blues succumbed to Saracens, so ending their hopes of any progress from the pool stages of the Heineken Champions Cup. The Blues coach – who is in his first season at the Arms Park after taking over from Danny Wilson – has claimed the Blues are the poorest of the 20 teams in European rugby’s premier tournament. Two teams from Wales are in the tournament this season – the Blues and the Scarlets – along with seven from England, six from France, three from Ireland and two from Scotland.

John Mulvihill has admitted his Cardiff Blues side struggle to match the depth of Saracens as he reflected on a seven-try hammering at the home of the English champions in the Heineken Champions Cup. The Australian must now try and patch up his team for the return clash at the Arms Park this weekend, following their 51-25 defeat which leaves them outsiders to make progress to the quarter-finals. Both teams were missing key players but the Blues – who led 18-13 at half-time – were blown away in the second-half and Mulvihill conceded there is a gap between the two squads.

Cardiff Blues coach John Mulvihill has told his players to put themselves in the spotlight by eclipsing Saracens on their own patch on Sunday afternoon. The Blues travel to Allianz Park to take on the English champions – a team that are unbeaten this season and are many pundits’ tip to retain their European crown. The Blues have won in Lyon but lost at home to Glasgow so far in Pool Three and their Australian coach has called on them to defy the odd again on their travels.

It’s crunch time in Europe, so Robin Davey looks at the big questions. Do the Scarlets have a backstop position against Ulster even though Leigh Halfpenny is injured? Can the Cardiff Blues avoid a very hard border crossing when they go to Saracens? And what was the advice from the WRU given to the Dragons before they published their teamsheet? Europe is back on the rugby agenda and though it’s only the second block of the pool stages at least one Welsh region is in danger of crashing out without a deal. Last minute soundings are being taken with some final persuading to be done as the Scarlets count down to the crucial Champions Cup vote tonight.

Dominic Day has warned his Saracens team-mates the Cardiff Blues will be no pushovers when the Welsh region visit the English champions on Sunday. The Blues go to Allianz Park to take on the most powerful team in the Gallagher Premiership, a side that last lost a game eight months ago and are unbeaten at home since February. The Blues, by contrast, have lost four of their last five matches and few will expect them to create an upset this weekend.

While Ellis Jenkins waits to see a surgeon in London next week to discuss what happens to his injured knee, Cardiff Blues coach John Mulvihill is backing his skipper to be back in time to go to the World Cup next year. The Blues have admitted that Jenkins suffered “a significant knee injury” against the Springboks last weekend, and that “specialist reviews are needed to establish an accurate prognosis following surgery”, but no time frame has been put on his potential return.

While Wales take on Australia this weekend, the four Welsh regions take a breather for the next three weeks until the Guinness Pro 14 resumes. Geraint Powell takes the temperature of the four of them and says all need to warm up quickly when the action resumes. The first block of the Welsh regional rugby season is over. The first eight rounds of the Guinness Pro14 and two rounds in Europe have been completed and the best Welsh rugby players are now in Test camp with Warren Gatland.