If you were to pick two players from the past 20 years who have done more than anyone to personify and showcase Welsh rugby to the wider world, then Shane Williams might be one. The other would probably be Jasmine Joyce.

Welsh Rugby Union chairman Richard Collier-Keywood insists Warren Gatland has his “full support”. The head coach is under significant pressure following a run of nine consecutive international defeats, including all five matches at the 2024 Six Nations.

Head coach Liza Burgess has named her Wales Women U20s side to take on Canada at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday in the Transatlantic Quad Series (KO 8pm). Both teams enter the match on the back of encouraging wins from the last round

The Wales U20 squad arrived home from their South African trip a frustrated group after falling to a 47-31 defeat to host nation South Africa at the World Junior Rugby Championship. It meant Ryan Woodman’s side ended eight overall with just one win, against Spain, from their five matches. It was a drop of two places on their 2023 finish, but performances and results in all games were closer than before.

Wales’ campaign in the World Rugby U20 Championship finished in disappointing fashion with a 47-31 defeat to hosts South Africa in the 7th place final at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. The Junior Springboks were determined to finish the championship on a winning note after suffering two defeats to Argentina.

Warren Gatland has admitted it was a terrible idea to make Cory Hill a Wales captain. The Wales coach said he regretted the decision to give the honour to Hill for the final game of the tour to Australia, what proved to be a one-point victory over Queensland Reds.

Morgan Morse will become the most-capped player for Wales U20 when he plays against the Junior Springboks in the final game at the 2024 World Rugby Junior Championship. It will be his 24th appearance, taking him past the 23 won by former Scarlets wing Ryan Conbeer, but he could go on to win 10 more next season.

No-one is exactly sure why, but Wales play Queensland Reds on Friday. It’s something to do with a planned Test against Samoa not materialising, other international opponents being touted, and the final conclusion that a game against provincial opponents might still swell the coffers, anyway, so what the heck.

Former Wales star Alix Popham has called for more to be done to protect rugby players after a new study showed players who suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more prone to developing motor neurone disease (MND) and other conditions. Popham – who has been diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy and early onset dementia – is co-founder of charity, Head For Change.

Wales Women have announced two major Test matches against Scotland and Australia ahead of their WXV2 campaign in South Africa during September. Ioan Cunningham, the Wales head coach, guided his side to an eight-try 52-20 win over Spain to secure World Cup qualification for England 2025 and WXV2 in Cape Town.

Every cloud needs a silver lining, so what shouldn’t Regan Grace provide it in the “Sunshine State” of Queensland? There have been a few bright individual moments during Wales’ tour of Australia – Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin and Taine Plumtree come to mind – but in the main it’s been a continuation of the long dark cloud Warren Gatland has been under for almost 10 months.

Warren Gatland insists he still has the hunger to coach Wales despite overseeing nine straight defeats in a row. The New Zealander says he remains excited by what the future holds for his young team, even though the pressure is building after what will soon extend to a whole year without winning a game. Wales are winless since the pool stages of last year’s World Cup after the retirement of a host of big name players and with others out injured.

James Botham should have been planning for his wedding this summer but there won’t be a more delighted Welshman in Melbourne this weekend when the Cardiff Rugby flanker gets a start against the Wallabies. Putting the name of Botham and Australia into the same sentence conjures up images of the great England cricketer Ian, Jim’s grandfather, taking on the Aussies on the cricket field. A number of those battles came at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

By Gareth James Cardiff Demons and South Wales Jets have teamed up to help secure the future of women’s and girls’ rugby league in South Wales. Together they will be running two development programmes. One, for women and girls aged 15-19, at Cardiff University Sports Park, Mendip Road, Llanrumney, Cardiff, runs for ten weeks, starting […]

You can tell when a team has its back firmly up against the wall because there is nowhere else to reach for new explanations. Wales have tried them all. They’re under-strength, they’re over-cooked, they’re rebuilding, they’re short on preparation time, there are too many rookies, not a big enough player pool, too many overseas players in the way at regional level, the fly-halves are too small, the props are too raw, there are leaves on the line and we’re experiencing exceptional call volumes at this moment in time, so please continue to hold

Wales have been forced into four changes, two of them positional, for the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday. Two of the changes come in the back row, where Taine Plumtree moves to number eight with Aaron Wainwright ruled out of the remainder of the tour by a hamstring injury.

Former Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb has insisted he will appeal a four-year ban from the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) for taking a growth hormone substance. Webb, 35, tested positive in July 2023 and was provisionally banned the following month having joined French second-tier club Biarritz earlier in the year.

Wales have suffered a huge blow – the loss of number eight Aaron Wainwright – ahead of Saturday’s second Test against Australia in Melbourne. Wainwright, who won his 50th cap when Wales went down to a 25-16 defeat in the series opener last weekend, suffered a leg injury and was forced off during the closing stages.

Wales’ hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the U20 World Championship were blown of course in storm-ridden Cape Town when defending champions France secured a 29-11 victory at Athlone Stadium. Wales were unable to capitalise in the first half when they had a gale force wind behind their backs. France scored three converted tries to give the defending champions a comfortable 21-6 lead at the break.

The former Swansea, Oxford University, London Welsh and Wales prop Ian Buckett has died at the age of 56. Born in north Wales, Buckett was admired and feared in equal measure as a loose head prop who played for Wales throughout the age-grade ranks before going on to win senior honours. He made 186 appearances for Swansea over 10 seasons and played for the All Whites against New Zealand in 1989 and South Africa in 1994.