Ospreys centre Ben John will take a year off from the game to recover from a series of head injuries. The 26-year-old has suffered three incidents since the start of 2017, the latest of which came on Boxing Day when he sustained an injury following an aerial collision. He has not played since and after taking medical advice has opted to take a 12-month sabbatical, despite only being ruled out by doctors for the rest of the season.

Ospreys interim coach Allen Clarke had admitted he is realistic about the region’s chances of getting back into the European Champions Cup. The Southern Kings of South Africa visit the Liberty Stadium on Friday night with the Ospreys back in sixth place in Conference A of the Guinness Pro14, eight points behind the fourth-placed Cardiff Blues. Only the top three from each conference automatically qualify for the Champions Cup, but with the South African sides not involved in that process, it is the Blues the Ospreys are chasing.

Former Wales U20 captain Will Jones has signed his first professional contract with the Ospreys. The 19-year old openside – who has played 10 games for the region this season – has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign featuring in both the Guinness PRO14 and European Champions Cup. He is the second youngster to secure a professional deal in recent weeks, following on from scrum half, and fellow-Wales U20 representative, Reuben Morgan-Williams. Jones, who came through at Penclawdd RFC and Gowerton Comprehensive, said: “I’m very happy, obviously. I’ve been here since the U16s and this is the next step. I’m really proud to have been involved with the senior team this season but now I’ve got an opportunity to really establish myself with my home region.

Wales U20 have made seven changes to their starting line-up to face England at Kingston Park on Friday (19:45). Prop Rhys Carre, Man of the Match in the 36-3 win against Scotland last Friday, and Cardiff Blues hooker Iestyn Harris are this week joined by a new front row partner in Ospreys tighthead Rhys Henry.

Rhys Webb will watch Wales face Scotland from the sidelines after suffering a long term knee injury. After that, all is uncertain, says Peter Jackson who believes Webb is the victim of a battle the WRU had no choice but to fight. The lucky ones find a way of bowing out with a World Cup or a Grand Slam in their hands, the acclaim of a grateful country ringing in their ears. Few manage the hazardous task of leaving when they choose to before someone else opens the back door and shoves them through it. Rhys Webb had always looked good enough to leave on his own terms.

Rhys Webb has spoken of his devastation at missing the upcoming Six Nations through injury. The Wales scrum-half was withdrawn from the squad on Thursday after tests revealed the seriousness of a knee injury he suffered playing for the Ospreys against Clermont Auvergne. Webb – who missed the 2015 World Cup and has a history of injury problems that have left him well short of the 60-cap threshold to continue to be able to play for his country whilst based in France next season with Toulon – is likely to need an operation.

The Ospreys have dismissed head coach Steve Tandy midway through an under-achieving season. The region announced on Monday afternoon they were parting company with Tandy after six years in the job – despite a recent upturn in both results and performances. It is the first time the region have got rid of their coach midway through a campaign.

Dan Biggar’s shoulder will be assessed by Wales medical staff on Sunday after the Ospreys’ No.10 was injured during his team’s defeat to Clermont Auvergne which ended the region’s campaign in Europe. It leaves Wales worrying over the fitness of their outside-half just a fortnight before their opening NatWest Six Nations game against Scotland. And it comes barely 24 hours after his fellow Wales No.10 Rhys Priestland was sidelined for the majority of the tournament due to a hamstring problem.

Coach Rowland Phillips has picked 10 uncapped players in his Wales Women Six Nations squad. Phillips has named the new faces as part of a squad of 36 with potential debutantes among forwards and backs. The new players are Ospreys trio Natalia John, Amy Thomas and Cara Hope, Scarlets’ Beth Lewis and Cardiff Blues’ Awen Prysorin the forwards; Ospreys’ Alecs Donovan, Cardiff Blues’ Hannah Bluck, and Scarlets trio Jade Knight, Lisa Neumann and Angharad De Smet among the backs.  

Former Ospreys wing Tommy Bowe has announced he is to retire at the end of the season. Currently out injured with a shoulder problem, Bowe, 33, is arguably Ireland and Ulster’s greatest ever wing, but spent a good chunk of his peak years with the Welsh region. Out of form and suffering a career dip at his native Ulster, Bowe moved to the Ospreys in 2008 and went on to re-ignite his fortunes with 36 tries in 77 appearances.

Dan Biggar has insisted the Ospreys made the right choice in opting to take a draw against Saracens in order to keep their European Champions Cup quarter-final hopes alive. The Wales fly-half kicked a late penalty to tie the scores against the defending champions at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday night. The 15-15 draw means the Ospreys can finish top of Pool Two and make the knockout stages if they beat Clermont Auvergne in France this weekend.

This time last year Jack Roberts was in Paris playing Champions Cup rugby with Leicester Tigers against Dan Carter’s Racing 92 superstars. Twelve months on the north Bangor-born, Llandovery College educated centre will be hoping to kick-start his Cardiff Blues career with an appearance against Leinster A in the British & Irish Cup at Sardis Road. It is not the route into the big-time in Welsh rugby that Roberts had been hoping for after returning home from the Tigers. Injuries have restricted him to a mere 22 minutes of first-team action at Blues after he suffered a knee injury on his Guinness PRO14 debut against Munster in September.