Dai Flanagan insists Dragons players need to enjoy the company of their coaches as he looked forward to the rest of the season in charge at the region, following the sidelining of Dean Ryan. Although the Dragons have yet to confirm the departure of director of rugby Ryan, it is expected to be announced this week after the agreement of a financial settlement. It means head coach Flanagan will step up to be the man in charge and he has vowed to create a healthy environment, building on the feelgood factor of Sunday’s 23-17 victory over Munster.

Toby Booth has told the Ospreys it’s time to wise up after what’s shaping up to be a disappointing weekend for the four Welsh regions. Only the Dragons – who host Munster on Sunday afternoon – can prvent a clean sweep of defeats for the Welsh sides in the United Rugby Championship. With Cardiff having conceded eight tries in a 52-24 thrashing in Glasgow, the Scarlets also shipped over a half century of points at home to Ulster, and leaked seven tries, in going down 55-39.

Duty calls for Wales star Alex Cuthbert these days – but not in the way it once did. The Ospreys wing, whose team face the Emirates Lions on Saturday night, admits he once spent too long playing Call of Duty on his PlayStation. Now, at 32, he is one of the elder statesmen of the Ospreys squad and the duties are those of a father of two children and father-figure to the young thrusters among the region’s exciting back line.

Liam Williams is facing a battle to be fit in time for next year’s Six Nations after being ruled out for a period of 16 to 20 weeks. The Wales full-back has undergone surgery on the broken collarbone he suffered playing for Cardiff against Munster last weekend. His club have now issued a medial update which states that the 31-year-old will be sidelined until next January while he recovers.

Josh Adams wants Cardiff to set a minimum target of the United Rugby Championship play-offs after helping them get away to a flier. Adams was part of the side that beat Munster 20-13 at the weekend in their league opener to give coach Dai Young plenty of encouragement for the campaign ahead. “The play-offs certainly should be a target, and with the quality of the squad we’ve got there’s no reason why we can’t achieve that but when you start a new season you always look to better your last,” said Adams.

The 2023 Six Nations is still 20 weeks away, but we know already it will be very different this season. Eddie Butler won’t be there. That voice, so sturdy, comfortable and familiar, won’t be around to guide and reassure. That ability to add to and embellish the picture, without ever obscuring it, will be missing.

Will Rowlands has insisted the four Welsh teams have to improve in the United Rugby Championship – or else the “depressing” outcomes of recent seasons will undermine the national team. On the eve of a new campaign for the regions, the Wales and Dragons second row believes there is a collective responsibility to make a real impact.  Last season, none of the four Welsh sides managed to reach the URC knockout stages and the highest ranked among them – the Ospreys – were presented with the Welsh Shield for finishing ninth. 

It may be that other events have overshadowed its build-up, or that last season’s Welsh contribution was extremely modest, but the United Rugby Championship is back this weekend. The summer break has sometimes appeared long and disjointed, but Daniel Parker has tied it all together in one very helpful preview. Thanks, Dan. After what feels like a long and disjointed summer break, the United Rugby Championship returns this weekend. The pick of the opening round matches is the Loughor Bridge derby between the Ospreys and the Scarlets – a tie which should set the early tone of the new campaign for Wales’ two best-performing regions last term

Captain Hannah Jones insists Wales are a better team than the one which suffered the second worst defeat in their history on Wednesday night. In their final match before the women’s World Cup in New Zealand next month, Wales were hammered 73-7 by England at Ashton Gate in Bristol. There is no shame in conceding 11 tries to the world champions as England dish out that kind of treatment to almost every opposition they meet, but there was still frustration within the Welsh ranks that they had only managed a single try themselves in response.

Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham believes his team’s game against England at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night is a vital building stage towards the World Cup. The match is the last run-out for the squad ahead of the forthcoming tournament in New Zealand. Cunningham will announce his squad for the competition next week and believes this is the perfect chance for some players to book a place on the plane.

Jonathan Davies insists his priority now is to help the Scarlets achieve a super-charged start to the season and that any Wales ambitions must flow from that. The 34-year-old was left out of Wayne Pivac’s squad that toured South Africa this summer, but that does not mean he has accepted his international days are over. But what has changed for a player who has been as integral as anyone to the national cause for over a decade is the pecking order of his personal focus.

Star-gazers looking for the future bright lights of Welsh rugby should tune in to the start of the National Schools and Colleges League this week, according to former Pontypridd, Newport and Cardiff full back Llywarch ap Myrddin. The current director of rugby at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf has a proud reputation to uphold from the school that has produced the likes of Jamie Roberts, Jamie and Nicky Robinson, Rhys Patchell, Seb Davies, Ioan Lloyd and Manon Johnes in recent years. But according to ap Myrddin, it’s not just live TV games or highlights shows that can catapult players forward these days. So, too, can their highlights reel on social media.

By Steffan Thomas VAEA FIFITA has been tipped to take the United Rugby Championship by storm following his high-profile move from Wasps to Scarlets. The 11-times capped All Black, who has now thrown his lot in with Tonga following the change to World Rugby’s eligibility laws, can play lock or blindside, and his signing is […]

Following two years of negotiations, the Welsh Rugby Union have performed a dramatic U-turn and tabled a six-year multimillion pound deal for the professional game which relies upon further debt and benefactor support having previously choreographed their removal. Wales’ four professional sides – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – have been struggling on and off the field for the best part of a decade with the WRU refusing to invest in its professional game the same way as their United Rugby Championship union counterparts.  After months of discussions surrounding a way forward for the professional game in Wales, including the resignation of Professional Rugby Board chair Amanda Blanc, the WRU’s long-term funding deal is set to meet stiff opposition.

Welsh international rugby star Sam Davies has had plenty of dramatic moments on live TV – but now it’s the turn of his partner, Elianna Chavez. Dragons No.10 Davies will be among those tuning in this weekend for the start of the Genero Adran Premier League, when interest and hype around women’s football has never been higher. The success of this summer’s Euro 2022 tournament, hosts England’s triumph in the final, plus Wales’ gathering momentum towards a possible first World Cup finals qualification, has all combined to focus attention on the sport.

Aled Ward has bucked the trend – thanks to BUCS rugby – and will aim to prove it for Pontypridd on Saturday night. The Ponty back row forward is a player who has swum against the tide, moving from English rugby to Welsh at a time when so many youngsters are heading eastwards. He intends to show the benefits of that switch back home on the opening weekend of the Indigo Premiership, when Ponty host rivals Cardiff in a familiarly ferocious clash that is live on S4C.

Welsh club rugby is back. The whole chaotic, crazy jamboree returns this weekend in full throttle once more after three years of Covid-affected restrictions. The Indigo Premiership looks healthy, but if it’s real life drama you’re after, then Daniel Parker reckons you need to drop down a notch and take in the vibrancy of the Admiral Welsh Championship. After months of impassioned – and often acrimonious – debate around the future of domestic rugby in Wales, the spotlight on the semi-professional game could not be more intense. It’s a good job, then, that the upcoming 2022-23 campaign promises much to hold the attention.

By Gareth James Pontypridd head coach Justin Burnell believes Nikola Matawalu can set the Premiership alight this season. Pontypridd RFC announced the signing of Fijian star Nikola Matawalu as player/skills coach from French Top 14 side Racing 92. Having set the Pro 14 alight at Glasgow Matawalu is sure to have a big impact on […]

The Indigo Group Premiership returns to a full-blown home and away competition this weekend and it will feature a fascinating father v son battle in its opening round. There are a round of derby matches to kick-off the new campaign, but all eyes will be glued to the clash at Sardis Road between Pontypridd and reigning champions Cardiff. A big game in its own right, it will also have a fascinating sub-plot with the home side coached by Justin Burnell and the visitors likely to give his son, Ben, a debut at outside-half.

Cardiff Demons retained their Betfred Women’s Super League South trophy in style at Cross Keys with a 34-4 victory over London Broncos.