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.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt admitted his team got what they deserved after they lost at home to Benetton in their United Rugby Championship opener. The Italians won 23-22 at the Arms Park after they snatched victory following a straight red card given to Cardiff prop Ciaran Parker for a reckless high tackle. The visitors had trailed 19-3 after 32 minutes but went up a gear in the second half to snatch the spoils in the final minute of the match.

With Wales having been mauled by the Pumas at the World Cup, it’s been a week for licking wounds in Welsh rugby. This weekend, though, seven days on after losing to Argentina in the quarter-finals, there is a chance for the domestic game to shows its claws have sharpened when the United Rugby Championship season begins.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) returns this weekend with the four Welsh regions all looking to bed in new recruits and plenty of internal promotions. There will be some familiar faces, but plenty of unknowns, too. To help you on your way, here’s our guide to who’s who and where did what’shisname go?

Rob Howley and Matt Sherratt are the early main candidates to take over from Dai Young at Cardiff Rugby. Sherratt – currently one of only two senior coaches left at the Arms Park following a raft of departures – is the current favourite at 6/4 with Welsh Bookmaker DragonBet.

Dwayne Peel has spoken of the “special bond” between Scarlets fans and the region after turning his back on Cardiff Blues to return to Llanelli. The former Wales and British & Irish Lions scrum-half Dwayne Peel will go back to his old side as head coach this summer from Irish province Ulster. Peel had agreed a deal to join Cardiff Blues for the 2021-22 season as the man in charge of their attack and signed a contract to that effect.

The Ospreys had still to confirm the sacking of head coach Allen Clarke on Tuesday evening, with their only reference to him on their website being his recent rallying call to pull through troubled times. But there is no mention of the fact they have dismissed him in the wake of their record 44-3 Heineken Champions Cup defeat at Saracens last weekend. The Welsh region travelled to Allianz Park with 15 players on the injury list and conceded six tries as they slumped to a seventh defeat in eight outings this season.

Gareth Anscombe has revealed he left the Cardiff Blues to join the Ospreys because he wanted to be back at No.10. The Wales fly-half moved from the Arms Park to the Liberty Stadium at the end of last season after a protracted stand-off over a new contract following five years in the capital. Anscombe appealed against the new banding system for Wales players’ salaries brought in by the Welsh Rugby Union – arguing he should have been in the top tier – but after that was rejected on the basis he had yet to make a Lions squad he opted to leave the Blues and join the Ospreys.

Ken Owens believes it will be trial by television when the Scarlets go to the Liberty Stadium for the second of the Welsh festive derbies on Saturday. The trial in this sense is one for Warren Gatland’s national selection with the Scarlets hooker suggesting Wales places could be won and lost depending on performances between the old rivals. Owens’ side may have won their last 10 derbies, including their last visit to the Ospreys, but this game has a far more open feel to it than in recent years. And given the announcement earlier in the week that Stephen Jones will be joining Wayne Pivac in the new Welsh coaching team next year, it will have an extra edge.

Danny Wilson hailed his side’s European Challenge Cup win over Pau as the best of his three year tenure in charge at Cardiff Blues. The 16-10 win set-up a possible perfect leaving present for the Blues head coach, and his assistant Matt Sherratt, before they move on this summer to Wasps and the Ospreys respectively. “For your last game in charge at home to be a European semi-final win is something really special and something I will certainly treasure,” said an emotional Wilson.

Danny Wilson has paid tribute to his coaching team for helping mastermind Cardiff Blues’ march to the European Challenge Cup semi-finals. The Blues head coach – who is leaving at the end of the season – plotted the 20-6 victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield that has set up a home semi-final against French club Pau on the weekend of April 20-22. But Wilson has praised the contributions of backs coach Matt Sherratt, assistant Richard Hodges, and defence consultant Shaun Edwards for putting their team one step from the final of Europe’s second tier tournament.

Wales wing Alex Cuthbert is set to quit Cardiff Blues at the end of the season. Cuthbert – who will follow head coach Danny Wilson and assistant Matt Sherratt through the Arms Park exit door – is expected to join his home town club Gloucester. The 27-year-old joined the Blues in 2011 and his impressive form quickly earned him a place in the Wales squad that won the Grand Slam the following year.