Former Wales second row Lou Reed is hoping his form for Merthyr in the opening weeks of the season can get him back into regional rugby. For the first time in a decade, the former Scarlets and Cardiff Blues lock is without a full-time professional deal. Reed left Sale by mutual consent in February after struggling for regular appearances, but the 29-year-old reckons he has plenty of miles left on the clock at the top level.

The Guinness Pro14 – 16.6% bigger and possibly better than last season – kicks off on Friday night. Robin Davey examines what might happen on the opening weekend and how the four Welsh regions might perform this season. The phoney war is over, pre-season friendlies which can be meaningless are done, and now it’s the real thing as a new professional rugby season in Wales gets under way on Friday night. The Guinness Pro 12 League has evolved into the Pro 14, split into two conferences of seven teams with the addition of two South African sides, bringing in a much-needed injection of capital.

Leigh Halfpenny has revealed overcoming the serious knee injury that put him out of the last World Cup has proved tougher than he ever imagined. The Wales full-back will make his Scarlets debut on Saturday at home to the Southern Kings after moving from Toulon earlier this summer. His fractious departure from the French club came whilst he was trying to win a Test place with the Lions in New Zealand, but Halfpenny believes his most significant setback in recent times was regaining full fitness.

Leigh Halfpenny will be wearing a Scarlets shirt this season, much to the disappointment of his former region, the Cardiff Blues. Robin Davey believes his choice should be respected and that any draft system – for both older and younger players – would be a mistake. It’s August and it’s holiday time for many, so that means it’s the silly season when it comes to news – and rugby is no different. Hot topic this week is the draft system and whether it’s a good idea or not. Not a silly subject for sure, but silly thinking it could work in Wales.

Leigh Halfpenny will be wearing a Scarlets shirt this season, much to the disappointment of his former region, the Cardiff Blues. Robin Davey believes his choice should be respected and that any draft system – for both older and younger players – would be a mistake. It’s August and it’s holiday time for many, so that means it’s the silly season when it comes to news – and rugby is no different. Hot topic this week is the draft system and whether it’s a good idea or not. Not a silly subject for sure, but silly thinking it could work in Wales.

The Ospreys have rarely flown under the radar, but change at the other three regions has left them undetected so far this summer, says Geraint Powell. When the season starts, though, that could all change. The Ospeys, without any shadow of a doubt, have been the one real success story in the post-2003 Welsh regional rugby era. A whole far greater than the sum of Swansea and Neath, and I don’t just mean replica shirt sales. Ospreylia. “The one true region”, spreading 37 miles from east to west and for 24 miles from its northern-most point to the southern coastline. Ospreylia has a total boundary of 151 miles, according to the Ordnance Survey map once commissioned. And usually financially stable as a business, at least relative to the heavily loss making Scarlets and Blues.

The Welsh Rugby Union has agreed to loan defence coach Shaun Edwards out to Cardiff Blues on a consultancy basis this season. Hot on the heels of their take-over of the Dragons, the WRU have stepped in to help the cash-strapped Blues following the loss of skills coach Paul John and rugby general manager Billy Millard. Edwards is the current Wales and former British & Irish Lions defence coach and he has already started working alongside head coach Danny Wilson and backs coach Matt Sherratt as the Blues prepare for the newly expanded Guinness PRO14 season.

The Welsh Rugby Union has agreed to loan defence coach Shaun Edwards out to Cardiff Blues on a consultancy basis this season. Hot on the heels of their take-over of the Dragons, the WRU have stepped in to help the cash-strapped Blues following the loss of skills coach Paul John and rugby general manager Billy Millard. Edwards is the current Wales and former British & Irish Lions defence coach and he has already started working alongside head coach Danny Wilson and backs coach Matt Sherratt as the Blues prepare for the newly expanded Guinness PRO14 season.

The grass has been cut, the lines have been painted, and the pre-season friendlies are up and running as the new rugby season beckons. Robin Davey insists there’s much to get excited about. It’s all systems go, at last – the new Guinness Pro 14 League fixtures are out, major pre-season friendlies start this weekend and the countdown is on for the start of what promises to be an exciting new season. The Scarlets will defend the title they won so gloriously last season, the Ospreys look to rediscover the form they lost so dramatically, Cardiff Blues will aim to prove the doubters wrong and the Dragons will finally seek to end a shocking run under the management of the Welsh Rugby Union.

The grass has been cut, the lines have been painted, and the pre-season friendlies are up and running as the new rugby season beckons. Robin Davey insists there’s much to get excited about. It’s all systems go, at last – the new Guinness Pro 14 League fixtures are out, major pre-season friendlies start this weekend and the countdown is on for the start of what promises to be an exciting new season. The Scarlets will defend the title they won so gloriously last season, the Ospreys look to rediscover the form they lost so dramatically, Cardiff Blues will aim to prove the doubters wrong and the Dragons will finally seek to end a shocking run under the management of the Welsh Rugby Union.

The Ospreys are to offer free tickets to compensate for the loss of a home match in the new expanded Guinness Pro14. Members who bought season tickets for the new campaign on the basis of 11 Pro12 home games as usual in the old format, will now only have 10 home games this season in the two conference set-up. To make up for the loss of a fixture they have already paid for, fans will be offered two complimentary tickets to bring friends and family to a home match of their choice.

The Guinness Pro 14 is coming your way. Phil Bennett welcomes the expansion but says the B-listers have it easy compared to Conference A and worries for the South Africans when they head a long way from home. The Scarlets were envied as Guinness Pro12 champions last season – and the jealousies will only have increased in Wales after the splitting of the new Pro 14. The two Conferences are meant to be equal, but if you gaze at the lists of Zebras, Cheetahs, Dragons and Kings, you’ll be reminded of George Orwell’s quote that some animals are more equal than others. Conference B is aptly named, as it’s definitely somewhere behind Conference A.