Cardiff will have the benefit of home comforts when they host Bath at the Arms Park on Saturday in the European Champions Cup, but head coach Matt Sherratt has urged supporters to bring patience and realism along with their backing. The Welsh regions are facing financial struggles with the budgets of the four professional sides reduced to £5.2m for the 2023-24 season, which is much less than the top French, Irish and English sides.

Wales fly-half contender Ioan Lloyd produced a “box office” display in the Scarlets’ 29-23 bonus point victory over Cardiff Rugby at a packed Arms Park. The No 10 spot in the Six Nations is very much up for grabs with Dan Biggar having retired from international rugby and Gareth Anscombe unavailable following his move to Japan, while Sam Costelow is currently out injured.

Dwayne Peel believes his Scarlets teams have answered questions over their character with their victory at Cardiff – although he knows there are tougher examinations to come. The head coach saw his team gain a bonus point 29-23 win at the Arms Park, where home flanker Ellis Jenkins was sent off for a dangerous tackle after 28 minutes. It’s a result that bunches three of the Welsh regions together in the lower mid-reaches of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table with the Ospreys in 11th, Cardiff in 12th and the Scarlets 13th.

Wales World Cup wing Mason Grady claims there is a new “brotherhood” of local talent ready to take Cardiff Rugby out of the doldrums and push them up the URC table. Speaking in the wake of his man of the match performance in his side’s dramatic 31-24 home win over the Stormers, the 21-year-old said the region’s investment in young, home-grown talent is reaping rewards.

Matt Sherratt admitted he could hardly watch as his Cardiff team held their nerve late on to earn a dramatic 31-24 victory over the Stormers in a Friday night thriller at the Arms Park. The Cardiff head coach saw his team fall behind early on, but reveal plenty of character as they came surging back to snatch the win.

It was a weekend to forget for the Welsh regions, with all four teams losing at home in the United Rugby Championship – but it could have been such a different story. Both the Scarlets and Ospreys were leading with less than five minutes to go against the Emirates Lions and Glasgow Warriors respectively, only to concede late scores.

Just a couple of months ago, there seemed next to no chance of Willis Halaholo becoming a Cardiff Rugby centurion. It looked as though his seven-year stay at the Arms Park was over, with no new contract having been put in place, leaving him stranded on 97 appearances.

Gareth Davies believes the Scarlets can continue the repair job on their URC season after their victory over Cardiff. The Wales scrum-half is likely to be a key figure again for his region when they host South African side, the Lions on Saturday.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt has paid tribute to his region’s Wales World Cup contingent for returning to action sooner than expected. Tomos Williams, Corey Dowachowski and Mason Grady all offered their services and proceeded to play their part in Cardiff’s 16-9 victory over the Dragons at a wet and windy Rodney Parade last weekend.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt made few apologies for the lack of drama as his team won a 17th successive derby clash against the desperate Dragons. The BKT United Rugby Championship clash between the rivals went the way of all the others in the last nine years, but Sherratt admitted the 16-9 win at Rodney Parade will not live long in the memory.

You have to go back to 2 January, 2021 for the last time Zebre won an away match in the BKT United Rugby Championship and last weekend’s opening round defeat to Ulster was their 20th defeat in a row. But Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, who has spent the past week studying the Italian side, knows his team will be in for a battle at the Swansea.Com Stadium in Round 2.

If the four Welsh regions need reminding of the need to get their Wales World Cup players back in action as soon as possible, it was provided by Glasgow Warriors at the weekend. Glasgow coach Franco Smith spoke of his pride in the Scotland World Cup stars who helped secure a 43-25 victory over Leinster on the opening weekend of the URC season.