Allen Clarke insisted his Ospreys team had dominated the Cardiff Blues as they ended their rivals’ hopes of a derby clean sweep. The Ospreys coach saw his team win 20-11 at the Liberty Stadium – a venue where the Blues have now not won for 14 years – to leave the Blues five points adrift of their opponents in the Guinness Pro14 Conference A table. It brought the Blues’ resurgence to an abrupt halt after their victories over the Scarlets and the Dragons with Clarke claiming it was a reflection of the home team’s control.

John Mulvihill’s true impact on Cardiff Blues this season will be put to the test at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday when his side looks to beat the Ospreys in Swansea for the first time since 22 December, 2005. Thanks to their back-to-back regional derby triumphs over the Dragons and Scarlets, the European Challenge Cup holders will head west once again at the weekend chasing an impressive hat-trick of derby wins in the space of 16 days.

Having binned one unwanted tag, Dragons caretaker coach Ceri Jones is now keen to shed another. Fresh from gaining their first derby victory for four years thanks to their 23-22 win over the Ospreys on Sunday, the Dragons are now aiming to gain their first away victory in the Guinness Pro14 for almost four years to maintain their momentum. That opportunity will come at another Welsh region – the ailing Scarlets – on Saturday, a possible case of waiting for two arrivals for so long they had almost been given up on, when all of a sudden they both arrive at once.

So, how were the first Welsh festive derbies for you? Full of good cheer? A winter warmer to give you a glow right through to the Six Nations? Harri Morgan watched the Ospreys do battle with the Scarlets and was left wondering whether he should have gone shopping instead. As the game got underway at the Liberty, yesterday, I struggled to reconcile the vast number of empty seats with the occasion – or at least my own perception of the occasion. Ok, it wasn’t Boxing Day, but this was, nonetheless the West Wales Christmas derby – not quite the Catalina Wine Mixer of Welsh Rugby days – but it’s up there. The festive games have come to be the last bastion of the rivalries that once were, or at least so I am told.

Luke Morgan insists he has no regrets he spent so long in Sevens rugby – even though he’s ripping it up in the full form of the game. Morgan added to his growing reputation with a true predator’s match-winning try for the Ospreys in their festive derby victory over the Scarlets on Saturday. The 26-year-old – who made his Wales debut against Scotland last month – outpaced Tom Prydie to touch down for the only try of the game as the home side claimed a 19-12 victory at the Liberty Stadium.

Ken Owens believes it will be trial by television when the Scarlets go to the Liberty Stadium for the second of the Welsh festive derbies on Saturday. The trial in this sense is one for Warren Gatland’s national selection with the Scarlets hooker suggesting Wales places could be won and lost depending on performances between the old rivals. Owens’ side may have won their last 10 derbies, including their last visit to the Ospreys, but this game has a far more open feel to it than in recent years. And given the announcement earlier in the week that Stephen Jones will be joining Wayne Pivac in the new Welsh coaching team next year, it will have an extra edge.

IT’S derby time when grounds will be packed over the holiday period and the battle for who’s best, east or west, will resume. Largely because of the Dragons’ ineffectiveness – to put it politely – the west has generally proved to be best which would delight the late, lamented Ray Gravell.

The hottest ticket in town will soon be Wales v England in the Six Nations. But what about the regions? How warm are those seats? Not heated by enough bums on them, according to Peter Jackson of The Rugby Paper, who has compared the numbers watching Wales’ favourite rugby team with those who supply all their players. A startling fact can be unearthed from the mound of attendance figures at the Millennium Stadium last month – that more than 36,000 fans support Wales at the expense of their regional teams.

Welsh interest in the Heineken Champions Cup – in terms of the knockout stages, at least – is already over. It contrasts sharply with the success of Wales in the autumn, so as we head towards the Six Nations, Geraint Powell tries to unravel the contradiction. It is always difficult to dispassionately analyse a Welsh autumn internationals campaign in the immediate aftermath, for the mood in Welsh rugby nowadays only ever veers wildly between “world beaters” or “the end of the world is nigh”. The story of the Warren Gatland era has been of disappointment in the November friendlies, relative to the Welsh performances in the tournament rugby of the Six Nations and the World Cup.

Wales prop Nicky Smith may struggle to be fit in time for the Six Nations after suffering an ankle injury playing for the Ospreys. The loose-head prop – who has become his country’s first choice in recent months – was forced off during his region’s 51-20 European Challenge Cup victory over Stade Francais at the Liberty Stadium. Ospreys coach Allen Clarke admitted the injury appears a serious one and suggested the 24-yar-old will struggle to make a quick comeback.

It’s crunch time in Europe, so Robin Davey looks at the big questions. Do the Scarlets have a backstop position against Ulster even though Leigh Halfpenny is injured? Can the Cardiff Blues avoid a very hard border crossing when they go to Saracens? And what was the advice from the WRU given to the Dragons before they published their teamsheet? Europe is back on the rugby agenda and though it’s only the second block of the pool stages at least one Welsh region is in danger of crashing out without a deal. Last minute soundings are being taken with some final persuading to be done as the Scarlets count down to the crucial Champions Cup vote tonight.

Alun Wyn Jones will pass another milestone on Friday night with a salute from one of those he has overtaken on the way. The Wales captain will play his 233rd match for the region when they host Zebre at the Liberty Stadium – more than any other player in their 15-year history. Andrew Millward, the Ospreys’ managing director, is one of those who have been long passed on the road by the second row who will edge past Paul James’ mark of 232.