The Ospreys are ready to sign Wales prop Tomas Francis from Exeter, who look unlikely to be able to offer him a club and country base next season. Francis has often pledged his loyalty to the Chiefs, who are the current European champions and have become the strongest side in England following Saracens’ demise. Only last season, he said: “It would be a terribly difficult decision to leave Exeter, one I do not want to have to make.

The Welsh regions believe they require a £40m injection of cash to keep them from collapsing during the current pandemic. That figure is double the amount the four have so far been promised in the form of a loan, secured by the Welsh Rugby Union but for which the regions themselves are liable. Last week, the chief executive of Cardiff Blues, Richard Holland, led the call for Welsh Government support and now one of the most respected figures in the game, Ospreys chairman and current Professional Rugby Board (PRB) member Rob Davies, has demanded a “fair and proportionate share of state funding” to help keep the professional game afloat. 

Dan Lydiate has told the Ospreys they must now build on their corner-turning victory over Castres and mount a European campaign like those of old. The region ended the worst losing streak in their European history as they put the French club to the sword with a five star performance in a 39-15 win. The Ospreys had lost their last nine European games, but hit back in style to get their 2020-21 campaign off to a flying start at the Liberty Stadium. It also proved to be an extra-special night for new Wales hooker Sam Parry, who marked his 100th game for the region with two of the five tries.

The Ospreys begin their European campaign tonight in the Challenge Cup and will include a man who knows his way to the final. Former England cap Stephen Myler tells Steffan Thomas why and how he thinks his new team can enable him to make it a hat-trick of final appearances. Stephen Myler has vowed to earn European success with the Ospreys this season – and repeat two of the highlights of his distinguished career. Back 2014 the England international kicked 20 points as Northampton Saints clinched the European Challenge Cup with a dramatic win over Bath in Cardiff. 

The Scarlets, Dragons, Cardiff Blues and Ospreys are all in action this weekend, as international rugby moves aside and the new format of the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup gets underway. James Dodd takes a look at the chances of the four Welsh teams going into round one.  Like most else in our lives, European rugby is different this year. Thanks again, pandemic. In the top tier competition, the Heineken Champions Cup, there will be two pools, each containing 12 teams.

Dwayne Peel has revealed it was always his plan to return to Wales after Cardiff Blues confirmed he would join them next season from Ulster. Former Wales and Scarlets scrum-half Peel will leave the Irish province in the summer to take up a role as senior assistant coach at the Arms Park – a job that would appear designed to prepare him as a natural successor to current head coach John Mulvihill. Where current assistant coach Richie Rees – another Wales scrum-half – fits into any succession plan remains to be seen.

Dewi Lake has been tipped as the Wales hooker of the future but only if he improves his throwing in at the line-out. The former Wales Under 20s captain has been in red hot form for the Ospreys recently with his dynamic ball-carrying and raw physicality catching the eye, despite their struggles in the Guinness Pro 14. In the absence of veteran hooker Ken Owens, both Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee have struggled to fully convince for Wales in this autumn’s Nations Cup.

Former Dragons boss Bernard Jackman has urged the WRU to follow the IRFU’s lead by pumping more money into the four Welsh regions or see them slip further into the abyss. Three of the four professional sides in Wales are privately owned with the WRU normally providing them with payment for the services of their players.

The dates for the regional festive derbies in the Guinness Pro 14 have been confirmed with the Dragons hosting the Cardiff Blues on Boxing Day afternoon and the Ospreys taking on the Scarlets in the evening. The Rodney Parade match will be live on S4C and Premier Sports, while Premier Sports have sole rights to the clash at the Liberty Stadium. On New Year’s Day, S4C will show live coverage of the Scarlets against the Dragons, along with Premier Sports, with the subscription broadcaster then showing Cardiff Blues v the Ospreys from the Arms Park.

Australia could be on their way back as a rugby force following last week’s victory over New Zealand. Next week they take on Argentina, who themselves have shaken up the order by beating the All Blacks for the first time. At the centre of things for the Wallabies, but behind the scenes, is Welshman Craig Whelan, who spoke to Steffan Thomas. Growing up as a huge rugby fan in Port Talbot, Craig Whelan could never have imagined himself working in the sport on the other side of the world. But the man at the centre of a new era for Australian rugby says he wouldn’t swap his journey for anything now he counts Dave Rennie and Scott Wisemantel as Wallaby colleagues.

By Rob Cole Nicky Smith has eaten his way back into the Welsh squad by piling on the pounds in a bid to make it back onto the international stage by being bigger, better and stronger. Dropped by new Wales coach Wayne Pivac after winning his 35thcap in the World Cup Bronze Final last year, […]

It says something about how things have changed at the Ospreys that after winning their first away game since the 2018/19 season skipper Justin Tipuric was still disappointed. “When he came off he told me he was disappointed that we didn’t get a bonus point. That shows the attitude of the group – they’re hungry to work hard and to keep improving,” said a beaming head coach, Toby Booth. Not many would have given the Welsh region much of a chance of breaking their duck this season at Murrayfield.