Leigh Halfpenny enjoyed beating England – again – and having done it in a warm-up, he wants to repeat the trick at the World Cup. Halfpenny put the boot into the auld enemy to pick up his fifth win in 12 games against England at the weekend and now wants the chance to do it again.

Jac Morgan passed his audition as Wales captain as his team responded with a hugely encouraging dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Head coach Warren Gatland has claimed he will use two different captains in the remaining warm-up games before the tournament, but Morgan has set a benchmark in the 20-9 victory over England that will be difficult to ignore.

It’s a well known fact that rugby players are getting bigger, but when centres can look their fathers in the eye – including those who played internationally in the second row – then you know the game is heading towards the clouds. Gareth Llewellyn was 6ft 6in when he stood tall in the Wales line-out throughout the Nineties.

Warren Gatland has compared his new Wales captain Jac Morgan to former skipper Sam Warburton, ahead of the World Cup warm-up clash against England. Gatland has turned to 23-year-old Morgan as the man to wear the armband at the Principality Stadium on Saturday and a positive leadership performance is likely to make him firm favourite to gain the job for the tournament in France.

Like Wales’ Gareth Anscombe, Danny Care has unfinished business with the World Cup but refuses to hold back during England’s warm-up games even if it means repeating one of his career’s most crushing disappointments. Japan-bound half-back Anscombe was injured in a warm-up match against England at Twickenham four years ago and missed the 2019 tournament.

Mike Phillips played at two World Cup tournaments and believes the key to success is self-belief – not a quality in which he was ever really found wanting. But the former Wales scrum-half – who seemed to swagger his way through big matches – believes Warren Gatland can still build some of that conviction, even though many people have already dismissed their chances of success in France next month.

The inaugural Wales Rugby League Wheelchair Invitational League kicks off this Sunday with a mouth-watering couple of fixtures at the Cardiff City House of Sport, starting at noon.

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.