As we wait for the Welsh Six Nations squad to be announced for the 2024 campaign there are a few interesting selections for Warren Gatland’s coaching team to consider. The general considerations that the coaches will take into account are player form and performance, injuries, balancing experience and youth, versatility, set piece strength, leadership qualities, previous international experience and cultural fit to a Gatland squad.

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.

The first Six Nations after a World Cup often sees a changing of the guard, with new faces emerging as a fresh four-year cycle begins. This season’s tournament is likely to be another example of that, following the retirement of a number of seasoned campaigners and the rise of a host of talented youngsters who have shone in the BKT URC over the past few months.

FORMER Ireland captain Rhys Ruddock is ready to re-ignite his international career – by dramatically switching to Wales. Ruddock has won 27 caps for Ireland, but the last of those was earned almost three years ago against France.

Match-winner Morgan Morse has been patted on the back by Ospreys coach Toby Booth – and also told to work on his rough edges. The shrewd verdict was delivered after Morse became the talk of Welsh rugby following the 18-year-old’s sensational try in his region’s New Year’s Day victory over Cardiff.

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.

Jac Morgan is set to miss the Six Nations because of knee injury that requires surgery. The Wales World Cup captain is poised to undergo an operation within days and may struggle to be fit before the end of the season.

Llandovery College made history by becoming the first school side to win the WRU’s elite WSC Rugby Cup with a 28-13 win over 14-man Ysgol Glantaf. The win at Principality Stadium ensured Joe Denman’s side completed an unbeaten season in the tournament and went one better than two years ago when they fell at the final hurdle to Cardiff & Vale College.

Dwayne Peel has admitted his sinking Scarlets were second rate in a one-sided derby defeat to the Ospreys in Swansea. The Scarlets coach watched his team suffer a crushing 31-9 humbling at the Swansea.com Stadium at the hands of their fiercest rivals.

The Ospreys have been dealt a cruel blow ahead of their massive west Wales derby with Scarlets on Sunday with skipper Justin Tipuric being ruled out of action for up to two months. The 93-times capped triple British & Irish Lions tourist broke his thumb in the defeat to Dragons at Rodney Parade last weekend and will undergo surgery next week.

Having spent a World Cup campaign of highs and lows vying with Elliot Dee and Ryan Elias for the Wales hooking berth, Dewi Lake is now ready to resume battle with his rivals on the URC stage. This Saturday, he travels to Rodney Parade with the Ospreys for a derby clash against Dee’s Dragons and then, eight days later, it will be a home encounter with Elias’ Scarlets.

Warren Gatland has underlined the importance of patience as he nurtures a new generation of Wales international players. Welsh rugby bid farewell to three of its biggest names – Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Leigh Halfpenny – in a tribute game that saw Wales beat Principality Stadium opponents the Barbarians 49-26.