It may be that other events have overshadowed its build-up, or that last season’s Welsh contribution was extremely modest, but the United Rugby Championship is back this weekend. The summer break has sometimes appeared long and disjointed, but Daniel Parker has tied it all together in one very helpful preview. Thanks, Dan. After what feels like a long and disjointed summer break, the United Rugby Championship returns this weekend. The pick of the opening round matches is the Loughor Bridge derby between the Ospreys and the Scarlets – a tie which should set the early tone of the new campaign for Wales’ two best-performing regions last term

Nick Williams’ globetrotting career might have come to an end, but the former Junior All Black is concerned with the direction his former club Cardiff are heading in. Prior to his retirement in 2020 the gigantic No 8 experienced professional rugby in New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, and Wales, respectively. In total Williams represented the Auckland Blues, Munster, Aironi, Ulster, and Cardiff but it is the Welsh capital he now calls home. Williams left an indelible impact at the Arms Park, and it is no coincidence Cardiff emerged victorious in 59 percent of the games he started, and only had a 14 percent win ratio when the New Zealander was absent.

Kirby Myhill admits there was some dark humour used to soothe any nervousness when he and the rest of the Cardiff squad checked into their South African hotel this week. For the hooker and most of the others in the group, this was a return to the country where they had become unscheduled long term inmates following the outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 back in December. “There were a few jokes flying around when we checked into the hotel about how long we might be here, but hopefully this will be a better trip than last time,” says Myhill.

By Haydn Evans Cardiff RFC’s in-form backs Theo Cabango and Jacob Beetham have arrived in South Africa as part of the regional team’s 33-man playing squad for their games against the Lions and Stormers. Their call up has come as no surprise to Cardiff cult hero Dan Fish who has been playing and training with […]

By Graham Thomas Tomos Williams has warned Wales they will face an emergency if they only shout, “nine, nine, nine!” when they defend their lines against France on Friday night. The two most skilled scrum-halves in the Six Nations will go head-to-head in Cardiff when Williams faces French superstar Antoine Dupont. But even though Dupont […]

By David Williams Josh Navidi could make a return for Wales in the final two rounds of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations after being named in the Cardiff team to face Ulster in Belfast on Friday night. The flanker suffered a dislocated shoulder in early October and was originally expected to miss the entire Championship. […]

By Haydn Evans Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young, and Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel both believe their nightmare visits to South Africa before Christmas will not be repeated. Both regions were left stranded after an outbreak of the omicron variant of Covid 19. Most of the blue and blacks’ squad were stuck in South […]

By Adam Cleary Ryan Wilkins has had to grow up quickly this season, so a Thursday night match in front of the cameras against Ebbw Vale should hold few fears. The 19-year-old centre went from the Indigo Welsh Premiership to trying to stop Antoine Dupont and Marcus Smith in the Heineken Cup and now he […]

By Steffan Thomas Seb Davies insists his “awesome” Cardiff teammate James Ratti can make a massive impact on the international stage. Ratti was the shock selection in Wayne Pivac’s Wales squad for the Six Nations, with the 24-year-old having only recently converted from a second row to a No 8. But Davies is confident he […]

By Steffan Thomas James Ratti is relishing the prospect of linking up with the Wales squad next week after taking the hard route to the top. The Cardiff Rugby No 8’s journey to international rugby has been a bumpy one, with many ups and downs along the way. Just three years ago the 24-year-old was […]

By Paul Jones   Dwayne Peel has admitted there has to be some soul-searching among his Scarlets players after their latest European hammering. The region were thrashed 45-10 by Bordeaux-Begles at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in the third round of the Heineken Champions Cup. It rounded off a bleak weekend for the four Welsh teams in […]

By Paul Jones Liam Williams says he is excited by what is to come in the next chapter of his career after agreeing a switch to Cardiff for the 2022/23 United Rugby Championship season. The Wales and British & Irish Lions international full-back, who can also operate on the wing, has been signed from Welsh […]