Wales have named the side to face Australia in their opening World Rugby U20 Championship game in Béziers on Wednesday. (8pm). Cai Evans (Ospreys) starts at fullback, with Rio Dyer (Dragons) and Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets) on the wings. An all-Scarlet midfield features Ioan Nicholas at 12 and Corey Baldwin at 13, alongside a Cardiff Blues combination of fly-half Ben Jones and scrum-half Dane Blacker.

Johnny McNicholl has called for rugby to ban artificial pitches as the Scarlets soothe their wounds ahead of the weekend’s Guinness Pro 14 final in Dublin. The New Zealander was one of several players left with cuts, burns and blisters following their semi-final win over Glasgow on the plastic surface at Scotstoun. The injuries follow three recent significant career-threatening injuries suffered on artificial pitches at Glasgow, Saracens and Cardiff Blues:

The celebrations from Cardiff Blues epic Challenge Cup comeback win over Gloucester in Bilbao may finally be subsiding. Now, as Geraint Powell argues in his latest column for Dai Sport, the issue is getting things right off the pitch to ensure future success. Few would begrudge the Cardiff Blues region their 31-30 win over Gloucester in the final of the second tier European Challenge Cup final in Bilbao last Friday.

The Scarlets and the Ospreys have much to live up to after the Cardiff Blues’ display last weekend, says Robin Davey. But there are plenty of reasons for genuine optimism. It’s a big weekend for rugby in the west, with both the Scarlets and the Ospreys facing key qualification games. For the Scarlets, already buoyed by a hugely successful season which saw them reach the European Champions Cup semi-finals, it means a trip to Scotland to face Glasgow in a Guinness Pro 14 play-off on Friday night.

It’s not been a bad few days for the Thomases. Cardiff Blues chairman Peter picked up the European Challenge Cup in Bilbao on Friday night and his brother, Sir Stan, saw his Merthyr team complete the double in Bargoed. They may be at different ends of the rugby playing spectrum, but the Merthyr story is no less compelling than that of the Blues. Their 35-7 bonus-point win made it 23 wins in 28 league matches this season and they retained their title with a game to spare.

Josh Navidi looks set to miss Wales’ summer tour after picking up a suspected dislocated shoulder in Cardiff Blues’ European Challenge Cup triumph in Bilbao. Navidi came off after only seven minutes in the 31-30 victory over Gloucester as he landed on the point of his right shoulder in a typically strong carry. Olly Robinson came on to replace him and picked up the Heineken Man of the Match award.

Gareth Anscombe revealed patience, perseverance and pinpoint accuracy enabled him to win the European Challenge Cup for Cardiff Blues. The Wales star – who was denied a match-winning role with a disputed try attempt against England at Twickenham in the Six Nations – showed nerves of steel to land a penalty kick that snatched a thrilling 31-30 victory over Gloucester in Bilbao. It meant the perfect send-off for departing head coach Danny Wilson, who is joining Wasps as forwards coach this summer.

Danny Wilson admits lifting a trophy in his final game as Cardiff Blues head coach would be the cherry on the cake. The Blues face Gloucester in the European Rugby Challenge Cup Final at Bilbao on Friday night.(8pm)

The last threads of the rugby season are about to be tied up, with three of the four regions still having key matches remaining. The Dragons, though, are already under pressure to deliver from the opening week of next season, says Robin Davey. A runners-up finish for Wales in the Six Nations, with three of the four regions still left with something to play for in the closing weeks of the season – not exactly vintage, perhaps, but reasonably successful all the same. A Wales squad, minus many leading players who have been rested, head off to North America where they face South Africa in a fairly odd arrangement, then travel to Argentina where they will play two Tests.

Ellis Jenkins will captain Cardiff Blues in the European Challenge Cup final against Gloucester on Friday night (8pm) Jenkins, who was named Wales co-captain earlier in the week is one of 10 changes to the starting line-up that faced the Ospreys two weeks ago.

Ed Slater will skipper Gloucester Rugby against Cardiff Blues in the European Rugby Challenge Cup Final in Bilbao on Friday evening. The second row leads a side that is very similar to the one that took the field against Bath a fortnight ago, the one exception seeing Ruan Ackermann start at number eight instead of Ben Morgan.

Gareth Anscombe has paid tribute to Dan Biggar as the two Wales No.10s go their separate ways next season. Arsene Wenger’s farewell at Old Trafford was not the only meeting of old foes turned friends at the weekend. While the Arsenal manager shook hands and smiled with Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson for one last time, Anscombe and Biggar did the same at the Principality Stadium at the end of Judgement Day.