Toby Booth says staying calm in the pressure cooker will be crucial in Sunday’s west Wales derby between the Ospreys and the Scarlets. It’s a game that always has a bit extra on it and that will be no different in this weekend’s United Rugby Championship showdown at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Dragons lock Ben Carter is facing a race against time to be fit for consideration for Warren Gatland’s Guinness Six Nations squad in the New Year after being ruled out for up to four months with a severe hamstring tear. The 22-year-old picked up the injury in his side’s first win of the season last weekend, the 20-5 home triumph over Ospreys, and is due to see a specialist in London next week.

The Ospreys have been dealt a cruel blow ahead of their massive west Wales derby with Scarlets on Sunday with skipper Justin Tipuric being ruled out of action for up to two months. The 93-times capped triple British & Irish Lions tourist broke his thumb in the defeat to Dragons at Rodney Parade last weekend and will undergo surgery next week.

Ystrad Rhondda are marching on at the top of Admiral Championship East. They have opened up a 10-point gap at the top of the table, although both Newbridge and Bargoed have games in hand.

Pontypridd full-back Josh Phillips has praised his 13-man team as their recovery continues in the Indigo Group Premiership. Ponty delivered a backs-to-the-wall defensive display as they secured four welcome points at Aberavon at the weekend to make it back-to-back wins.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan has urged his team to keep their winning form when they travel to South Africa, following their landmark win against the Ospreys. The Rodney Parade club had not won in front of their own fans for over a year, but finally broke that awful sequence with a 20-5 victory on Saturday night. Dragons head of performance Dan Baugh could be in trouble with United Rugby Championship (URC) officials after a dispute with referee Ben Whitehouse but Flanagan will demand the success is not a one-off flash in the pan.

It’s been a very eventful year in the life of Cai Evans as his rugby dreams have come true. The young utility back was a bolter selection in Wales’ World Cup training squad and then went on to make a surprise start against South Africa in August, winning his first cap, figuring once more versus the Barbarians earlier this month.

Dai Sport contributor Simon Thomas explains the background to his new book ‘Rugby Lives’. It all started with a question that kept on popping up in my head: “I wonder what happened to so and so?” Now the identity of “so and so” would change from week to week and month to month, but there was a common thread.

Having spent a World Cup campaign of highs and lows vying with Elliot Dee and Ryan Elias for the Wales hooking berth, Dewi Lake is now ready to resume battle with his rivals on the URC stage. This Saturday, he travels to Rodney Parade with the Ospreys for a derby clash against Dee’s Dragons and then, eight days later, it will be a home encounter with Elias’ Scarlets.

The great debate about who should be in at No 10 for Wales is raging once again following the retirement of Dan Biggar. Not only that, Gareth Anscombe is unavailable to Warren Gatland for the Six Nations because of his club commitments in Japan, Sam Costelow and Owen Williams are both currently injured and Jarrod Evans is ineligible following his switch to Harlequins.

The Welsh Rugby Union was an “unforgiving, even vindictive” environment to work in for some of its employees. Witnesses interviewed as part of Dame Anne Rafferty’s review of the union reported feelings of powerlessness and fear, with the WRU described in the review’s report as an organisation which was “unsure on its feet”.

The Welsh Rugby Union have pledged to let someone else mark their homework as a result of disastrous failings in the governing body. Of the 36 recommendations made in a damning independent report – all of which the WRU says they will implement – the most significant is the agreement to hand over ultimate judgement on how it operates to an independent body.

The Dragons have confirmed that former head coach Paul Turner will be returning to the region in a consultancy capacity to work alongside Dai Flanagan and his coaching team. Turner – who previously worked at the club between 2005 and 2011 – is joining the ‘Men of Gwent’ on a part-time basis.

It was a weekend to forget for the Welsh regions, with all four teams losing at home in the United Rugby Championship – but it could have been such a different story. Both the Scarlets and Ospreys were leading with less than five minutes to go against the Emirates Lions and Glasgow Warriors respectively, only to concede late scores.

Morgan Morris insists he is unconcerned that his consistent form for the Ospreys has yet to earn him a place in the Wales squad. The back row forward has been a stand-out performer for his region over the past couple of seasons with his tireless carrying and work over the ball.

Just a couple of months ago, there seemed next to no chance of Willis Halaholo becoming a Cardiff Rugby centurion. It looked as though his seven-year stay at the Arms Park was over, with no new contract having been put in place, leaving him stranded on 97 appearances.

Steve Phillips was given a near £500,000 pay off when he quit the Welsh Rugby Union earlier this year. But that was only a quarter of the £1.9m shelled out to former employees who left over a chaotic 12-month period, including former Wales coach Wayne Pivac and his assistants.

Wales fly-half Sam Costelow is expected to be sidelined until January after suffering shoulder and hamstring injuries. Scarlets playmaker Costelow was hurt during Wales’ 49-26 victory over the Barbarians on Saturday and went off at half-time.

A 36-13 win at Bridgend may have taken reigning Indigo Premiership champions Llandovery back to the top of the table, but head coach Euros Evans is preparing for the pressure to be turned up this month. Pontypool head to Church Bank on Saturday and are bang in form having won seven matches in a row, while Newport are the visitors a fortnight later.

Gareth Davies believes the Scarlets can continue the repair job on their URC season after their victory over Cardiff. The Wales scrum-half is likely to be a key figure again for his region when they host South African side, the Lions on Saturday.