Wales skipper Hannah Jones has told her players to park their disappointment at being pipped by Italy in the second round of their WXV2 campaign and challenged them to finish on a high against Japan on Friday. The prize is a first win in WXV having failed to win in the top-tier tournament last year and having fallen to both Australia and Italy in South Africa this month.

Cameron Winnett’s stellar first season in senior rugby has been crowned with him being named as the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association Welsh Young Player of the Year for 2024. The 21-year-old Cardiff Rugby full back not only nailed down the full back berth at his region but is now the proud owner of seven senior Welsh caps.

No player has started more Test matches for Wales over the past 12 months than Gareth Thomas. He may not have the public profile of some of his team-mates, but the Ospreys prop has established himself as a real mainstay of the national side. Thomas has worn the No 1 jersey for 11 of Wales’ 13 Tests going back to September of last year, taking in the World Cup, the Six Nations and the summer tour of Australia.

Ebbw Vale team manager Dan Haymond believes his club have struck a significant blow by inflicting back-to-back defeats on Llandovery. The Steelmen have played the pre-season favourites for the Super Rugby Cymru title twice in successive weeks and won both matches.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan insists there are still reasons to be cheerful – even though his team lost part three of their season-opening trilogy. The Sharks did to the Dragons what they had done to the Ospreys in the opening round of the BKT United Rugby Championship by striking in the final play to win a pulsating game 33-30 at the weekend.

Ospreys coach Toby Booth believes his team’s “never-say-die attitude” can help them build a firm foundation from which to rock Munster on Saturday night. Last week, the Ospreys came from 13-3 down to claim a 37-24 United Rugby Championship bonus point victory over the Stormers in Bridgend – a performance head coach Booth reckons can form the basis for what would be a shock away in Cork.

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt admitted his team had been on a rollercoaster ride that eventually ended with them thrown off the track by Glasgow. The Arms Park club had their moments, but were often a defensive shambles as they were eventually hammered 52-26 in front of their own fans.

Aaron Wainwright is the rugby coach who has no interest in being “a rugby coach.” That is to say, the Wales back rower and newly crowned Welsh Rugby Writers’ Player of the Year for 2024, is not coaching with a view to a fresh career when his playing days are over.

Wales can climb one place in the world rankings if they beat Italy on Friday night, but this will be a battle of two first round strugglers at the WXV2 tournament in South Africa. Ioan Cunningham’s team can move from 10th to ninth – and swap places with their opponents – if they can win in Cape Town.

How best to utilise the undoubted talents of Mason Grady is one of the big debates in Welsh rugby. At 6ft 5ins and 17st 9lbs, with bags of pace and power, the 22-year-old Cardiff star has all the raw ingredients.

Gloucester winger Christian Wade feels “exceptional” Louis Rees-Zammit needs to keep improving his American football fluency if the former Wales rugby union player wants to succeed in the NFL. Wade left rugby in 2018 to pursue an NFL career, making his debut with Buffalo Bills the following year and even scoring a touchdown in that pre-season game, but spent the rest of his tenure on the practice squad.

Coach Ioan Cunningham has admitted he can offer no excuses for his team’s humbling defeat to Australia which has put Wales on the back foot after just one game of the WXV2 tournament in South Africa. Having been thrashed 37-5 by a team they had beaten eight days earlier, Wales must bid to avoid a second defeat when they face Italy on Friday.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt insists he won’t be getting carried away by his team having opened their United Rugby Championship campaign with back-to-back bonus point victories. They followed up the round one maximum against Zebre by coming from behind to claim another as they won 24-15 away to the Scarlets in Saturday’s Welsh derby. It has put them level on 10 points with Leinster at the top of the table and set them up nicely for Friday’s big Arms Park clash with champions Glasgow.

Can lightning strike twice in eight days? Having beaten Australia for the first time at Rodney Parade last weekend, Keira Bevan will lead the Welsh side into battle with the Wallaroos once again in the opening round of the WXV2 in Cape Town.

Dragons coach Dai Flanagan admitted his team were brought back down to earth after their last gasp home win over the Ospreys was followed by a heavy defeat to Leinster in Dublin. Flanagan watched his side go down to a 34-6 loss against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies will be aiming to celebrate a major career landmark in winning style when the Scarlets host Cardiff in the first Welsh derby of the season on Saturday. Davies will become just the third player – after front row duo Ken Owens and Phil John – to make 250 appearances for the Scarlets since the start of the regional era.

Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney has insisted there is still more to come for women’s rugby in Wales after the union issued new full-time professional contracts to 37 players. The move – which comes as Ioan Cunningham’s squad prepares to face Australia in the WXV2 tournament in South Africa this weekend – includes many extended two-year deals for the first time.

For Rio Dyer, his moment of rugby renewal this summer came from watching a Frenchman connect with his nation. Dyer – who had an extremely busy 2023-24 season for Wales and his Dragons region – could have been forgiven for switching off completely from the sport after a 12-month stretch that went from last year’s World Cup build-up to this summer’s tour to Australia.

Tom Shanklin is backing the Scarlets to edge out Cardiff in Saturday’s big Welsh derby clash. Both teams made positive starts to the BKT URC season, with Cardiff recording a bonus point win over Zebre Parma and the Scarlets coming tantalisingly close to a landmark victory away to Benetton Rugby before ultimately drawing 20-20.

After some 12 years as a professional rugby player, Dan Thomas is finally about to experience his first Welsh regional derby. It will be all the more special for the new Cardiff flanker as it will take him down west towards his family roots and back to the club where it all began for him.