Wales’ first World Cup opponents Fiji have suffered a major blow ahead of their clash on Sunday – the loss of fly-half Caleb Muntz for the entire tournament. Muntz has been ruled out of Rugby World Cup 2023 after sustaining a knee injury during the team’s training run on Monday.

Taulupe Faletau has bridged a big fitness gap to put himself in contention for Wales’ World Cup opener, according to coach Warren Gatland. “He (Faletau) has been taking a full part in training for the past three weeks,” said Gatland ahead of the crunch tie against Fiji in Bordeaux on Sunday..

Wales centre Mason Grady has a tough family act to follow at his first Rugby World Cup. To gain selection for rugby union’s global spectacular just five months after your 21st birthday is no mean feat.

David Watkins has been the subject of glowing tributes throughout Welsh rugby after the death of one of rugby’s cross-code greats at the age of 81. Blaina-born Watkins, known affectionately as “Dai”, played rugby union for Newport and was part of the team which famously beat the touring All Blacks in 1963.

Martyn Williams insists his infamous flatlining failure against Fiji 16 years ago will not be repeated when Wales begin their World Cup campaign. It will be the same opponents in the same nation when Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake’s co-captained squad start their Pool C campaign next week in Bordeaux. But Williams – now Wales’ team manager – is confident there will be a different outcome to the shock 38-34 defeat of 2007 that literally left him not knowing if he was coming or going.

The clouds finally parted over Port Talbot yesterday as fans arrived back at the Talbot Athletic Ground for this season’s opening round of the Indigo Premiership. And while it was a long-awaited derby showdown between Aberavon and Neath, and two clubs with a colourful history, it was the Wizards’ Frankie Jones who stole the show. The winger put in a versatile performance, finishing off the game at outside centre and making some important defensive efforts, having scored two tries earlier in the game.

Ospreys back row powerhouse Morgan Morris got an early season boost when he picked up his award as the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association Young Player of the Year for the 2022-23 campaign. The 25-year-old already has 76 appearances for his home region under his belt and is hoping to add a senior Wales cap to the ones he has already earned at U16, U18 and U20 levels.

Australia are unlikely to copy South Africa’s forward-based game plan at the Rugby World Cup when they face Wales. But Wallabies coach Eddie Jones says the Springboks’ “bold and courageous” use of their bench should be viewed as innovation and not a threat to the game.

Llandovery will kick-off the defence of their Indigo Premiership title at the home of arch-rivals Carmarthen Quins as the tournament launches with a series of local derbies. While the Drovers head to Carmarthen Park on Saturday, Cardiff head up the A470 to face Pontypridd at Sardis Road, Swansea will host Bridgend and Aberavon will welcome Neath to the Talbot Athletic Ground.

Wales will take on opponents who have moved three places clear of Warren Gatland’s men in the world rankings when Fiji take the field in France in their World Cup opener on September 10. The flying Fijians’ stunning victory over England at Twickenham last weekend has seen the South Seas Islanders move up to seventh in the World Rugby listings.

Scarlets scrum half Gareth Davies has revealed he came close to giving up on his international career before Warren Gatland’s return as head coach. The 33-year-old will head to France this weekend for his third World Cup, but only after overcoming an 18-month period in which he lost form and confidence due to a breakdown in his relationship with Wayne Pivac.

Dan Biggar has announced that he will retire from international rugby after the upcoming Rugby World Cup – in order not to become an absent dad. The 33-year-old is due to compete in his third tournament after his selection was confirmed in Warren Gatland’s final 33-player squad ahead of the tournament in France. But Biggar has confirmed he plans to call time on his stellar international career, having made 109 appearances since his Wales debut in 2008.

Corey Domachowski readily admits that any suggestion of playing prop as a schoolboy would fill him with dread. A former centre and goalkicker at his local rugby club, a future in the front-row could not have been further from his mind.

There are probably few bets to be made over what job Dan Lydiate decides to do next when he packs up professional rugby. The Wales flanker – one of the daddies of the pack heading to the World Cup at 33 years of age – is firmly odds-on to become a full-time farmer, a lifestyle he has embraced to varying degrees since he was a boy. But there might be more scope for a wager over whether or not he will make the starting XV when Wales face Fiji on September 10.

It’s not just the Rugby World Cup that is on the near horizon. Before the tournament starts in France, the domestic season in Wales kicks-off and that means a new Indigo Premiership campaign which begins on September 2. Some new clubs, but they are old and very familiar faces as Mark Orders reports.

Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell will miss England’s opening Rugby World Cup match against Argentina after being handed bans following their red cards in warm-up fixtures, that included a second match against Wales. Vunipola was sent off against Ireland last weekend and has been banned for three matches, but it will be reduced to two if he agrees to attend tackle school.

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit believes he is “definitely quicker than last season” as he prepares to blast out of the starting blocks at his first World Cup. The 22-year-old has carved out a reputation as one of world rugby’s finest finishers, combining blistering pace with a box-office ability to score spectacular tries.

Elinor Snowsill has revealed she is not sure she is leaving the Wales squad at the right time. The veteran playmaker – one of the most influential players ever to play for her country – has mixed feelings about leaving the field after 14 years at the top.

Wales prop Corey Domachowski recalled “bittersweet” emotions after gaining World Cup selection on the same day as his great-grandmother’s funeral. The 26-year-old Cardiff prop was among 16 players in head coach Warren Gatland’s 33-strong squad who will have a first taste of World Cup action during September and October.

So, Wales have announced their World Cup squad – one that coach Warren Gatland reckons “will do something special” in France next month. They go there ranked 10th in the world, meaning just getting out of their pool would exceed expectations.