Wales U20 have made seven changes to their starting line-up to face England at Kingston Park on Friday (19:45). Prop Rhys Carre, Man of the Match in the 36-3 win against Scotland last Friday, and Cardiff Blues hooker Iestyn Harris are this week joined by a new front row partner in Ospreys tighthead Rhys Henry.

Coach Rowland Phillips has picked 10 uncapped players in his Wales Women Six Nations squad. Phillips has named the new faces as part of a squad of 36 with potential debutantes among forwards and backs. The new players are Ospreys trio Natalia John, Amy Thomas and Cara Hope, Scarlets’ Beth Lewis and Cardiff Blues’ Awen Prysorin the forwards; Ospreys’ Alecs Donovan, Cardiff Blues’ Hannah Bluck, and Scarlets trio Jade Knight, Lisa Neumann and Angharad De Smet among the backs.  

This time last year Jack Roberts was in Paris playing Champions Cup rugby with Leicester Tigers against Dan Carter’s Racing 92 superstars. Twelve months on the north Bangor-born, Llandovery College educated centre will be hoping to kick-start his Cardiff Blues career with an appearance against Leinster A in the British & Irish Cup at Sardis Road. It is not the route into the big-time in Welsh rugby that Roberts had been hoping for after returning home from the Tigers. Injuries have restricted him to a mere 22 minutes of first-team action at Blues after he suffered a knee injury on his Guinness PRO14 debut against Munster in September.

Nick Williams will extend his stay at Cardiff Blues into a third season after signing a new one-year extension at the Arms Park. The New Zealander was out of contract at the end of this campaign, but has re-signed despite the uncertainty over the region’s coaching set-up. In his two seasons with the Blues so far, the 34-year-old No.8 has made 35 appearances and scored seven tries, providing the Blues with a ball-carrying presence they had lacked before his arrival.

The Ospreys will check further on the fitness of young centre Owen Watkin on Monday following his neck injury suffered in their 29-28 weekend victory over the Cardiff Blues. The Wales international was hurt during the late stages of the Guinness Pro14 derby at the Liberty Stadium and taken to hospital for medical checks. Watkin was released home on Saturday night but the 21-year-old is due to undergo more tests at the Ospreys’ training base before it will be known whether the injury will rule him out of European Champions Cup and Six Nations contention over the next few weeks.

Steve Tandy is expecting a regional derby thriller when Cardiff Blues arrive at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday. The Swansea-based region got over their defeat to West Wales rivals Scarlets with a convincing 22-9 triumph at the Dragons on New Year’s Eve and head coach Tandy believes the recovery will grow against their city rivals.

Dan Lydiate and Hallam Amos have handed Wales head coach Warren Gatland a few injury headaches ahead of the NatWest Six Nations campaign next month. Both were victims of the full-blooded Welsh regional derbies over the Christmas period. The 23-year-old Amos injured his ankle in the Dragons’ Boxing Day loss to Cardiff Blues, while the 30-year-old Lydiate picked up a bicep problem in the Ospreys’ New Years Day triumph at Rodney Parade. “We’re just waiting to see if we can rehab the injury or decided if Hallam will need an operation. We’re just liaising with the Wales medics to see what’s the best course of treatment – five or six weeks is the pessimistic outlook,” said Dragons coach Bernard Jackman.

Gethin Jenkins could face another spell on the sidelines following a head injury suffered during the Cardiff Blues’ clash against the Dragons. The Wales prop is due to have X-rays following a heavy collision in the Blues’ 22-17 Guinness  Pro 14 victory on Boxing Day. Jenkins had come off the bench when prop Brad Thyer was sin-binned during the first-half at Rodney Parade.

By Robin Davey Never let it be said, but all is not lost in Welsh regional rugby as we reach the halfway point of the season.

Look away now if you don’t want to know how awful Welsh teams have been in the tournaments meant to develop elite players for the future. Rob Cole asks, if the regions themselves don’t care then why should their fans? What should we make of the fact that when you look at the Anglo-Welsh and British & Irish Cup league tables, Welsh regions prop up the majority of the pools? Only the Ospreys, with an away win over the Blues, and the Dragons, with a home win over the Scarlets, have managed a win in two rounds of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, while the Dragons, Blues and Ospreys are all awaiting their first wins in the B&I Cup.

Danny Wilson has paid tribute to the grit shown by Cardiff Blues as they gained useful revenge over Sale Sharks to boost their chances of making the quarter-finals of the European Rugby Challenge Cup. The Blues coach saw his team earn a hard-fought 14-6 win at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday. Matthew Morgan’s second half try proved decisive as the Blues made amends for their 24-0 loss in the reverse fixture last week.

Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson has been appointed the new forwards supremo at Wasps. The former Wales Under 20 boss will leave the capital city region at the end of the current season after three years at the helm. Wilson will link up with former Wales international and ex-Blues head coach Dai Young in Coventry. “The opportunity to work with Dai was one of the big attractions of moving to Wasps,” said Wilson.