The four Welsh regions have a break from the United Rugby Championship this weekend, but that doesn’t mean life is going to get easier. In fact, it looks tougher in some respects with three of them facing club opposition in Europe and the Ospreys up against the Italians of Benetton who they lost to last week.

George North has agreed a two-year deal to join second-tier French side Provence from the Ospreys at the end of the season North was part of the Wales side that lost in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals to Argentina and can still play for his country as he has many more than the 25 caps needed to play outside of Wales, with 119.

Wales’ World Cup scrum-halves Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams will go head-to-head in a mouth-watering individual battle at the Arms Park on Saturday when Cardiff host the Scarlets. They are likely to be the frontrunners once again for the No 9 jersey in the Six Nations, so it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top in this derby clash.

Keiran Williams has been set the target of forcing his way into Wales’ Guinness Six Nations squad, having put the hangover from World Cup rejection behind him. The 25-year-old Ospreys centre missed the cut for France after making his Test debut in the warm-up defeat to England at Twickenham in August.

Erol Bulut has jumped to the defence of Cardiff City’s Arsenal loanee Alex Runarsson and claimed he was not at fault for the goal that gave West Brom victory over the Bluebirds. Bulut watched his team fail to seize the chance to move into the play-off spots as they lost 1-0 at home to the Baggies on Tuesday night.

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.

Toby Booth says staying calm in the pressure cooker will be crucial in Sunday’s west Wales derby between the Ospreys and the Scarlets. It’s a game that always has a bit extra on it and that will be no different in this weekend’s United Rugby Championship showdown at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Dragons lock Ben Carter is facing a race against time to be fit for consideration for Warren Gatland’s Guinness Six Nations squad in the New Year after being ruled out for up to four months with a severe hamstring tear. The 22-year-old picked up the injury in his side’s first win of the season last weekend, the 20-5 home triumph over Ospreys, and is due to see a specialist in London next week.

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.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan has urged his team to keep their winning form when they travel to South Africa, following their landmark win against the Ospreys. The Rodney Parade club had not won in front of their own fans for over a year, but finally broke that awful sequence with a 20-5 victory on Saturday night. Dragons head of performance Dan Baugh could be in trouble with United Rugby Championship (URC) officials after a dispute with referee Ben Whitehouse but Flanagan will demand the success is not a one-off flash in the pan.

It’s been a very eventful year in the life of Cai Evans as his rugby dreams have come true. The young utility back was a bolter selection in Wales’ World Cup training squad and then went on to make a surprise start against South Africa in August, winning his first cap, figuring once more versus the Barbarians earlier this month.

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.