Sam Warburton will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery, the Welsh Rugby Union has announced The Lions captain – who has not played since he returned from tour in New Zealand – is currently out with a neck injury but decided to have an operation to fix an existing problem with his knee. The recovery time is anticipated to be between four and six months and means the 29-year-old flanker will miss the Six Nations as well the Cardiff Blues’ remaining campaign in the Guinness Pro 14 and Europe.

RGC 1404 half-backs Jacob Botica and Alex Schwarz will team-up in the Scarlets Premiership Select XV for the British & Irish Cup clash with top-of-the-table Cornish Pirates at Carmarthen Park on Sunday, 10 December (kick-off 2.30pm). Former Wales Under 20 Grand Slam skipper Tom Phillips will lead the side into the third round. The Scarlets currently sit in the second position in their pool after securing a victory over Hartpury and suffering a narrow defeat to Ulster A in the opening two rounds. Hard running RGC centre Tom Hughes also gets a first start in the game as he and his Gog team mates return to the ground where they suffered a loss against Carmarthen Quins in the top of the table West Division clash in the Principality Premiership.

Wales wing Alex Cuthbert is set to quit Cardiff Blues at the end of the season. Cuthbert – who will follow head coach Danny Wilson and assistant Matt Sherratt through the Arms Park exit door – is expected to join his home town club Gloucester. The 27-year-old joined the Blues in 2011 and his impressive form quickly earned him a place in the Wales squad that won the Grand Slam the following year.

Danny Wilson has admitted he could understand Nigel Owens’ decision to red card Taufa’ao Filise – but still felt the decision was harsh. The Cardiff Blues coach has paid tribute to his team’s tenacity after they lost 40-16 at Glasgow on Friday night, where they played all but the opening half hour with 14 men. They were reduced to 13 when flanker Olly Robinson was sent to the sin bin, but it was the dismissal of Filise for a high tackle that proved the real turning point.

George North is returning to Wales and all four regions are keen to sign him up. But with Wales the priority, Peter Jackson wonders what value they will get from a player who has so often been kept on the sidelines through injury. George North arrived at Franklin’s Gardens from West Wales one year after Chris Ashton left for North London. The Welsh colossus reported for duty in the summer of 2013 fresh from some famous deeds for the Lions in Australia and eager to help Northampton continue to lord it over the rest as newly-crowned champions of England. They had won the title, what’s more, at the expense of the opponent they love to beat more than any other, Saracens – and Ashton to boot.

George North will conduct “interviews” with all four of the Welsh regions before deciding which one to play for next season. The Wales wing – currently out of action with a knee injury – is to leave Northampton at the end of this campaign and return to Wales on a dual contract. But whilst 60 per cent of his salary will be paid for by the Welsh Rugby Union, the contributor of the remaining 40 per cent has yet to be determined with the Scarlets, the Ospreys, the Cardiff Blues and the Dragons all keen to add North to their squad.

George North will leave Northampton at the end of this season and return to Wales on a national dual contract, with the Dragons believing they can tempt him to Rodney Parade. The Lions wing, who has won 69 Wales caps and scored 30 tries, has agreed a deal from next term, the Welsh Rugby Union have announced. North has been one of the biggest names in the European game over recent years and his tally of caps means he could have chosen to stay in English rugby, or moved to France, and still have been eligible for Wales selection as he is comfortably above the new 60-cap threshold.

Seb Davies admits he has no role models as a No.8, but would be happy to base his game on Taulupe Faletau – the player Warren Gatland hopes he will one day challenge. Davies makes his first home Test appearance for Wales against Georgia on Saturday, but not in the role Cardiff Blues fans have seen him catch the eye as a ball-handling second row this season. Instead, the 21-year-old – who won his first two caps on tour against Tonga and Samoa this summer – will pack down at No.8.

Cardiff Blues coach Danny Wilson paid tribute to Gethin Jenkins as his Wales prop helped inspire a 37-8 thrashing of Zebre at the Arms Park on Saturday night. It was skipper Jenkins’ first game since injuring his knee in the Blues’ Judgement Day win over the Ospreys at the Principality Stadium on April 15. The Lions prop – who will turn 37 this month – played for 56 minutes and looked as though he had never been away.

Gethin Jenkins will return to captain Cardiff Blues as one of 10 changes to face Zebre in the Guinness Pro14 on Saturday. The Wales front-row forward has been side-lined since April with knee and calf muscle injuries, but leads an experienced pack against a rejuvenated Zebre side. Jenkins packs down alongside Matthew Rees and Taufa’ao Filise in the front-row while Macauley Cook and Damian Welch form the second-row and Josh Turnbull starts at blindside flanker.

Last weekend’s Welsh derbies in the Guinness Pro14 attracted attendances that could best be described as modest. Geraint Powell traces the decline in crowds and says the problems are deep-rooted. The issue of crowds at the regions – or, rather, the consistent lack thereof – has returned towards the top of the domestic rugby agenda. Even before the “Welsh derby” matches, Brendan Gallagher of The Rugby Paper, and a 1980s veteran of the Western Mail Championship/Whitbread Merit Table circuit from his time with the South Wales Echo, had tweeted about how big rugby spectator bases had been “brazenly abandoned” and “never returned” in South Wales.

USA Eagles wing Blaine Scully has said he wants to help the Cardiff Blues reach their potential after re-signing with the region. Scully has signed a new contract of unspecified length, but it is thought to see him committed to the Arms Park until 2019. The 29-year-old joins Seb Davies, Josh Turnbull, Rhun Williams and Corey Domachowski in agreeing a new deal, although a large number of Blues players remain in the final months of their existing contracts.