Welsh rugby officials have acknowledged that top players will need to find opportunities abroad if the national game is to survive amidst a climate of financial turmoil. Although Warren Gatland’s Wales team have lost all three of their Six Nations matches, off-field issues have been even more concerning. Out-of-contract Welsh players are currently unable to sign new deals, and even if they could, the proposals on the table are unimpressive considering the severe budget cuts that the country’s four regions are set to face next season.

Gareth Thomas insists Wales will go at England with “all guns blazing” on Saturday despite shooting themselves in the foot in an extraordinary build-up to their Six nations clash. The Ospreys prop admits he has never been involved in preparation as badly focused as the lead in to what is always the biggest game in the Welsh calendar. There was only one topic of conversation in the team room, at meal times and with roommates in the hotel and it was not how England’s pack was set-up for a defensive line-out near their own 22.

Alun Wyn Jones has laid the blame for the Wales players’ strike threat firmly at the door of the Welsh Rugby Union. he world’s most capped rugby player and former Wales captain says the possibility of player strike action is “hard to deny” as elsh rugby finds itself gripped by a professional contracts freeze. Ultimately, if you treat people badly for long enough, you get to where we find ourselves,” said the 37-year-old Ospreys forward.

Toby Booth, the English coach caught up in a very bloody Welsh rugby civil war, says he “would completely understand” if his Ospreys players went on strike. The top region in Wales last year, and conquerors of the French and English champions in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the Ospreys have 14 players in the current Welsh Six Nations squad. A proposed meeting of the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association (WRPA) prior to the third-round clash between Wales and England is due to determine whether or not strike action is on the table.

Llien Morgan had a tough call to make between rugby and athletics – until the Ospreys and Welsh sprinting sensation Jeremiah Azu helped make up his mind. Morgan – the quicksilver Wales U20s wing – will bid to add to his two tries against Ireland last week when he faces Scotland U20s at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow on Friday night, in a match that is live on S4C. But had he taken a different path as recently as last summer, then Morgan might have pursued an athletics career on the track rather than one with a ball under his arm for Wales.

Wales coach Warren Gatland is considering major changes to his side ahead of their Six Nations match against Scotland on Saturday. Gatland is looking to reinvigorate the Welsh pack with youngsters Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza after a disappointing 34-10 loss to Ireland in the first round of the tournament. The head coach is contemplating giving Exeter Chiefs captain Jenkins his first Test start, while Jenkins’ teammate Tshiunza could also earn a place in the starting lineup, depending on his fitness.

Rhys Webb has taken inspiration from football greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after ending more than two years in the international rugby wilderness. Ospreys scrum-half Webb is on course to make his first Wales appearance since November 2020 in next Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Ireland. Webb, who toured New Zealand with the 2017 British and Irish Lions, featured on just five occasions during Wayne Pivac’s 34-Test reign as Wales head coach.

The Ospreys will have to hit the road again after being drawn away to Saracens in their Heineken Champions Cup last-16 tie. A late try from flanker Ben Earl secured Saracens a losing bonus point at the DAM Health Stadium as they were beaten 20-14 by Edinburgh. That pushed them ahead of Edinburgh into fourth place in Pool A on tries scored, handing them a home game with Ospreys.

Toby Booth has revealed a back-to-basics campaign has been the bedrock to the Ospreys’ success in Europe this season. The Swansea region are waiting to learn their opponents after securing a home draw in the last 16 of the Heineken Champions Cup – the first time they have reached the knockout stages for 13 years. It came after they earned one the best results by any Welsh team in Europe, a dramatic 27-26 away at Leicester Tigers on Friday night.

Alex Cuthbert reckons the blend of wise old heads and fresh-faced kids is the secret to the Ospreys’ revival this season. The 32-year-old Wales wing will be part a team in red hot form when they face Leicester Tigers in a decisive Heineken Champions Cup clash on Friday night which is live on S4C. Cuthbert retained his place in the Wales squad this week, alongside his thirtysomething Ospreys teammates, Alun Wyn Jones, 37, Rhys Webb 34, Justin Tipuric, 33, and 30-year-old George North.

Cai Evans has earned fulsome praise from Ospreys head coach Toby Booth after his superb goal-kicking helped take his side to the brink of qualification for the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup. Evans landed three conversions and three penalties to claim 15 points as the Ospreys beat Montpellier 35-29 in Swansea, despite being outscored by five tries to four. The difference was the goal-kicking of Evans – son of Wales legend and Welsh Rugby Union chairman, Ieuan – as the French champions missed four attempts at goal.

Former Ospreys coach Sean Holley has backed his old team to do the double over Montpellier this weekend – but doesn’t expect them to go deep into the Heineken European Champions Cup. The Ospreys will bid to repeat their stunning December victory over the French champions on Saturday night at the Swanssea.com Stadium in a match that is live on S4C. Holley – now a respected TV pundit and analyst for a host of broadcasters – reckons the only Welsh region in Europe’s premier tournament are capable of repeating their 21-10 triumph across the channel.