Leigh Halfpenny will finally win his 100th cap for Wales against England on Saturday in a team captained by Jac Morgan. Three players are at the other end of the spectrum and will make their international debuts – Keiron Assiratti (tighthead prop), Corey Domachowski (loosehead prop) and Max Llewellyn (centre).

Louis Rees-Zammit insists he has only shown a fraction of his talent in his short career to date as he targets a World Cup debut. The Wales and Gloucester winger has scored nine tries in 25 Test matches and earned British and Irish Lions selection since making his debut as a teenager in late 2020 but, still only 22, he wants to take his game to another level.

Ryan Elias intends to strike against England next Saturday, even though he was nowhere near his Wales comrades when they almost downed boots in the Six Nations. The Scarlets hooker was absent from any picket line with an Achilles injury back in February, when angry Welsh dragons nearly scorched the fixture in a dispute over delayed contracts.

Tributes have been paid from across the rugby world to former Wales captain and coach Clive Rowlands, who has died at the age of 85. Rowlands, who played 14 times for Wales as scrum-half, also managed the British & Irish Lions and served as president of the WRU.

Former Wales and British & Irish Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones says he “couldn’t turn down” the chance to join Top 14 side Toulon as cover during this year’s World Cup. The 37-year-old second-row forward is available after surprising many in bringing down the curtain on his stellar Test career – he played a world record 170 matches (158 for Wales, 12 for the Lions) – in May.

Rob Howley and Matt Sherratt are the early main candidates to take over from Dai Young at Cardiff Rugby. Sherratt – currently one of only two senior coaches left at the Arms Park following a raft of departures – is the current favourite at 6/4 with Welsh Bookmaker DragonBet.

Thirty-five cyclists have departed the Principality Stadium, riding to Paris for charity safe in the knowledge the ambitious task of raising £300,000 had already been reached. The ride is spearheaded by former Welsh Rugby Union commercial manager Craig Maxwell, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer last July.

Brian Juliff is to stand down as chair of Wales Rugby League from August 1st.

Cardiff Rugby fans are bracing themselves for confirmation of the departure of director of rugby, Dai Young. A decision on the future of Young – who remains a hugely popular figure within the fans base – is said to be “imminent” by chief executive Richard Holland. Cardiff ‘s backs and back row forwards may now be back in full training ahead of the 2023-2024 season, but there is still no indication who will be coaching them in the new campaign.

Josh Adams insists there can be no holding back when Wales face England in a couple of weeks – even though any injuries could disrupt both teams’ World Cup plans. After a challenging two-week training camp in Switzerland, Adams is looking forward to the next instalment in Turkey as the Wales senior men’s squad starts to turn its attentions to next month’s Vodafone Summer Series.

Former Ospreys forward Sam Underhill has been left out of the updated England training squad as head coach Steve Borthwick steps up preparations for the Rugby World Cup.

The future of the current broadcast deal for the United Rugby Championship is in doubt after Viaplay announced it is ending its coverage in the UK. The Nordic broadcaster currently shows every match in the tournament, including all games featuring the four Welsh regions.

Gareth Anscombe has spoken about his excitement over a new rugby challenge in Japan, but insists he aims to continue his international career. Talking exclusively to Sportin Wales, the World Cup-bound Wales No.10 revealed he has signed a two-year deal with Suntory Sungoliath and will relocate to Japan after the tournament.

George North was barely out of short trousers when he made his debut as a teenager at the World Cup against South Africa in New Zealand. That was a dozen years ago, and the child prodigy has grown into one of the greatest players of his generation, underlined by two Grand Slams, two more Six Nations titles, two World Cup semi-finals, two tours with the British & Irish Lions and 44 tries in 113 games for Wales and two more in Lions Tests.

Billy Boston has described a statue of him and fellow Welsh rugby greats Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman in his home city of Cardiff as among the “highlights of my life”. Boston celebrates his 89th birthday next month and was in the Welsh capital to see three of rugby’s ‘codebreakers’ honoured with the first statue in Wales to feature non-fictionalised, named black men.

Wales will be without Taulupe Faletau and Alex Cuthbert, who are among five players from the Wales squad who will not travel for the team’s next training camp in Turkey between July 23-31.

The British and Irish Lions are set to play in front of a record crowd of around 100,000 at Melbourne Cricket Ground during their 2025 tour of Australia. The MCG has been announced as the venue for the Lions’ second Test against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies on Saturday, July 26.

The new rugby season will begin with the country’s brightest youngsters reliving whether or not they reached their true potential. As the senior Wales squad continue their preparations for the World Cup in France, the Wales U20s are reflecting on what might have been.

Mark Jones earned a lot of plaudits for the way in which he turned around the Wales U20 team at the World Rugby U20 Championship, but the former Wales wing will return home to an uncertain future. Having picked up the head coaching reins when Bryon Hayward stepped down a month before the tournament, he helped to transform a team that was a bunch of losers in the Six Nations into a side that picked up two wins and ended sixth overall in South Africa.

Over the last six Junior RWC they have finished in 6th or 7th, so it’s an opportunity for these players to go one better than previous Welsh teams.