How do rugby players spend Christmas Day? For Wales forward Jake Ball, it’s pretty much every other dad, except for large helpings of  self-discipline and denial – at least until the Scarlets have played the Ospreys on Boxing Day, as he tells Graham Thomas. Giant Jake Ball will limit himself to one tiny helping of Christmas pudding the night before – to ensure he’s lean and mean on Boxing Day when he tries to make mincemeat of the Ospreys. The Wales forward – who requires plenty of forkfuls of the right food to fuel his 19-stones body – admits he has a bit of a weakness for festive cake and pudding.

Justin Tipuric has admitted the Ospreys have reached rock bottom by losing for the 11th time in 12 matches and for the first time at home to Cardiff Blues for 14 years. The Wales star – who captained his team while they await the return of Alun Wyn Jones – confessed that the region are currently a team devoid of confidence after they lost 19-16. Swansea has been has been a nightmare venue for the men from the capital for more than a decade, but their luck changed at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday night – despite Filo Paulo, Tomos Williams and Josh Adams all spending spells in the sin bin.

Ospreys forwards coach Carl Hogg praised his young side’s attacking intent as they scored five tries in a 40-27 Heineken Champions Cup defeat by Racing 92. The beleaguered region still only have one win to their name this season, but with a host of senior players missing their young team stood up to be counted in the second half in Paris. Wing Lesley Klim crossed twice after Luke Morgan had opened the scoring and there were also tries for Luke Price and Shaun Venter as Ospreys grabbed their first point in Pool Four.

Amy Evans has retired from Test rugby with Wales women to focus on work and family commitments. The 29-year-old, who also represented her country at weightlifting, won 35 caps after making her debut in the famous win against England in 2015. Evans, last season’s Ospreys Women player of the year, owns a gym in Aberdare and recently became engaged.

The Scarlets are closing in on the signing of Wales star Liam Williams but face stiff competition from French giants Toulon. Williams’ contract at crisis-hit Saracens expires at the end of the current season and the 28-year-old has been weighing up his options. The Wales and Lions full-back visited Parc Y Scarlets recently and was impressed with head coach Brad Mooar’s vision for the region.

Mike Ruddock could extend a month-long stint as a consultant to the Ospreys, but he is unlikely to fill the vacant head coach role at the region. The former Wales Grand Slam-winning coach starts work this morning at the troubled region, where he has agreed to oversee a review of their coaching set-up. But Ruddock is keener to move towards consultancy work than hands-on coaching, even though he has been doing both in Dublin, where he has made Lansdowne the strongest club side in Ireland by leading them to three All-Ireland titles.

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.

Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke admitted his injury-ravaged side were taught a lesson during their 44-3 hammering by Saracens at Allianz Park. The result leaves the region already needing a miracle if they are to qualify for the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup following back-to-back defeats in the opening two rounds. The team that once dominated the Guinness Pro 14 and regularly reached the knockout stages in Europe have now won just once in eight matches so far this season.

They once boasted one of the strongest playing rosters in European rugby and were famously labelled the ‘Galacticos’ of Welsh rugby. But the Ospreys’ opening Heineken Champions Cup 32-13 defeat to Munster this weekend – a loss so predictable to many there was some relief that it could have been worse – only underlined the gap they now have to make up. The start of Europe at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday came at the worst possible time for the Ospreys with 18 players unavailable due to a combination of a World Cup rest period and injuries.

Dan Lydiate insists the demands of a European pool of death can shock the Ospreys into life as they start their Heineken Champions campaign at home to Munster on Saturday. Lydiate’s region have made a shocking start to their season – losing five of their opening six Guinness PRO14 fixtures. Head coach Allen Clarke admitted they were “at the bottom of the pit” after their embarrassing home defeat to lowly South African outfit the Southern Kings last weekend. But former Wales and British & Irish Lions flanker Lydiate, who will captain the side at the Liberty Stadium, insists they will get their act together for the visit of the two-time European champions in a pool that also includes Saracens and Racing 92.

Blade Thomson will make his first Scarlets appearance of the season as Brad Mooar’s side face Benetton in Llanelli on Saturday night. Thomson was one of Scotland’s better players at the World Cup and he will start at No 8 with Ed Kennedy and Josh Macleod either side of him in the back-row. Elsewhere in the pack, Taylor Davies comes in for Marc Jones at hooker. Davies packs down in a front row that includes Phil Price and Wales international Samson Lee. Lewis Rawlins and Steve Cummins again get the nod in the second row.

Scott Williams will guide the Ospreys back into Guinness Pro 14 action tonight – just a month after Wales decided he was too much of a fitness risk to take to the World Cup. The centre – who played at the 2011 and 2015 tournaments – was left at home by Warren Gatland, who concluded that a back injury suffered by the 28-year-old last season had taken too heavy a toll for him to make the squad for Japan. Instead, Williams has a chance to relive his frustrations by lining up for the Ospreys away to Ulster in Belfast in the first Pro14 fixture of the season.