Alun Wyn Jones can help toughen up the Toulon dressing room, insists the French club’s director of rugby, Pierre Mignoni. The former Ospreys and Wales legend has joined Toulon on a short-term contract.

Head coach Mark Jones has named a starting side boasting five changes for the crucial Pool A encounter against France at Athlone Stadium on Tuesday 4th July in the U20 World Rugby Championship. (Live S4C, 3.30pm UK)

You can often judge a team by how they react to a narrow defeat, so look out for a positive reaction from the Wales U20s in South Africa on Thursday. At 1.00pm UK time, the Wales youngsters take on Japan in the World Rugby U20 Championship and they have not spent the last few days celebrating losing.

Warren Gatland is weighing up making Dewi Lake or Jac Morgan the Wales captain at the World Cup – or even both. The radical plan has been forced on the head coach due to diminishing options among the older guard who are dropping by the wayside weeks before the action starts in France.

Morgan Morse is ready to show why he is one of the most exciting prospects in Welsh rugby when he takes on New Zealand on Saturday. The Ospreys No.8 will be a key figure for Wales U20s when they begin their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign in South Africa.

Wales international hooker Scott Baldwin has announced his retirement from playing and will take up a coaching role at Gallagher Premiership club Newcastle. Baldwin, 34, made more than 180 appearances for the Ospreys, in addition to spells in the Premiership with Harlequins and Worcester. He also won 37 Test caps, and featured three times as a replacement during Wales’ Guinness Six Nations campaign last season.

Former Ospreys flanker Sam Underhill has made England’s initial 28-player Rugby World Cup training squad – despite not having played for his country for almost a year. The Bath forward has been included in the group named by head coach Steve Borthwick alongside former Cardiff Met No.8 Alex Dombrandt.

Gareth Thomas is backing Tommy Reffell to fill the void left by the ‘outstanding’ Justin Tipuric and play a key role in Wales’ World Cup charge. The emergence of flanker Reffell was one of the bright spots of Wayne Pivac’s reign as Wales boss but the Leicester Tigers man started just one match during the 2023 Six Nations following Warren Gatland’s return.

What do you get when you add Bradley Davies to James Hook, Paul James and Andrew Bishop? A ‘Dream Team’ of coaches to help bring through the next generation of Ospreys stars. After 66 Welsh caps and more than 210 professional games for Cardiff Blues, Wasps and Ospreys, the 36-year-old Davies is all set to become the latest international ex-pro to be attached to the backroom staff at his old region after hanging up his boots.

Former Scarlets trio Harri Williams, Griff Evans and Iestyn Rees have all joined English Championship outfit Ampthill. Scrum-half Williams is set to play for Wales U20 at next month’s World Junior Championships in South Africa, while lock Evans and back row man Rees will join him in adding further Welsh flavour to Paul Turner’s Ampthill mob next season.

Alun Wyn Jones has confirmed he will not be an Ospreys player next season. The former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain announced his retirement from international rugby last month after making a world-record 170 Test match appearances.

It was a chance to relax, to briefly escape the political and economic ills besetting, along with much else in British life, rugby union in Wales. A bright, warm evening completely unlike the last full international at St Helen’s, an atrociously cold and sodden encounter with Tonga in 1997.