Alex Craig is an “old school” rugby player enjoying a new lease of life. The second row’s move to the Scarlets has seen him secure a return to the Scotland squad, with his fine form earning him a call up for the Six Nations.

Dwayne Peel has challenged his Scarlets team to end the season with a flourish after their first United Rugby Championship win for over three months. There was a mixture of relief and delight for Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel following a last-gasp 16-13 victory over Benetton Rugby. Peel said: “I am pleased for the boys because they have been on the wrong end of those losses and they put a lot of hard work in. It was big for us to get that win at the end.

Sam Costelow has been urged to play with a smile on his face and enjoy his rugby as he returns to United Rugby Championship action. It was a difficult Six Nations for Costelow as he shared in Wales’ wooden spoon, while the spotlight is always on the No.10 position in Welsh rugby.

The Scarlets miserable season continued as they were beaten 31-19 in their fourth and final EPCR Challenge Cup pool match as 13-man Edinburgh romped into the Round of 16. This latest defeat left the Scarlets anchored to the bottom of Pool 3 as they were outgunned by five tries to three.

Warren Gatland will receive reports on his long list of injured players on Monday before he finalises selection decisions for the Wales Six Nations squad. The head coach is due to announce his group for the tournament on Tuesday lunchtime, but has a raft of players he would like to pick currently unfit.

Home is still very much where the heart is when it comes to the regional derbies in the BKT United Rugby Championship. After nine of the 12 games played already this season, only three have ended up in away victories. At the start of last month the Scarlets won 29-23 at the Arms Park, while last weekend saw the Dragons pip Scarlets by a point at Rodney Parade and the Ospreys came from behind to beat Cardiff Rugby.

Dai Flanagan has told his Dragons players their victory over the Scarlets must become the baseline standard and not a high-point one-off. The Rodney Parade coach – under pressure after his team’s embarrassing capitulation to Cardiff on Boxing Day – praised his team for their 13-12 home win over Dwayne Peel’s men.

New Year but same old pecking order for the Welsh regions? Coach and rugby analyst Tomas Marks examines the evidence from the Boxing Day derbies and looks for clues as to what might happen on New Year’s Day when the Ospreys host Cardiff and the Dragons welcome the Scarlets. Cardiff and the Ospreys were the resounding winners of the Boxing Day derbies with Cardiff blowing the Dragons away with ease within 40 minutes. The Ospreys survived a tough first half against the Scarlets but managed to score 25 points in the second half to win at Parc y Scarlets for the first time since 2015.

With only two wins in the BKT United Rugby Championship in the first half of the 2023-24 season, Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel is hoping for a better start to 2024 when he takes his side to Rodney Parade for a New Year’s Day derby clash with fellow strugglers, the Dragons. The Dragons are currently propping up the table with only one win, at home against the Ospreys, to their credit.

Toby Booth declared it a case of “job done” after his Ospreys team earned a routine 25-11 derby victory over the Scarlets. The Boxing Day clash was the first time the Ospreys had won at Llanelli since 2015, but the over-riding feeling was, why had it taken them so long?

Cardiff Rugby have gained local authority permission to increase the capacity of the Arms Park to around 12,000 for their URC Boxing Day derby against the Dragons. The demand for tickets has seen 10,000 sold already.

Shane Williams says the Scarlets will want to produce a big performance for their discontented fans in the west Wales Boxing Day derby – but he’s predicting an Ospreys victory. The Scarlets went down to a 23-7 defeat at home to Black Lion of Georgia in the EPCR Challenge Cup last weekend, leaving them with just two wins from their nine matches in all competitions this season.