Wales coach Wayne Pivac admits his men are on a mission to restore lost pride when they face the daunting challenge of South Africa this week. The tourists will meet the world champions with faces still red after Wales’ 22-21 defeat to Italy in their last match of the Six Nations. “I hope we are going to be a lot better than our last game,” pledged Pivac.

By Daniel Parker A rare note of cautious optimism chimed around Rodney Parade with the appointment of Dai Flanagan as Dragons head coach. Flanagan – a former Pontypridd and Cardiff Blues fly-half who hails from the Gwent-Glamorgan frontier in the Rhymney Valley – will take on day-to-day managerial duties from hereon in, with Dean Ryan […]

As the soft, summer rain fell, barely three miles from where Phil Bennett helped Llanelli famously beat New Zealand 9-3 at Stradey Park 50 years ago, family, friends, players past and present, coaches and rugby supporters gathered at Parc y Scarlets to honour his legacy. Bennett was described as “a great gentleman and a great rugby player” as giants of the sport from Wales and beyond united in tribute to him at a remembrance service at the stadium. Bennett, who died earlier this month after a long illness at the age of 73, captained Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

By Stuart Taylor “I’m off for a quiet pint – followed by fifteen noisy ones,” said former Bath and England prop Gareth Chilcott. The quote is pretty much the embodiment of how people view rugby’s relationship with alcohol. It is a relationship that has stood the test of time. Indeed both have been good for […]

Adam Beard has described his second-row colleague Alun Wyn Jones as “the ultimate professional” ahead of Wales’ South Africa tour. Jones has made a world record 162 Test match appearances for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. A shoulder injury and two operations hampered him this season, though, and he has only featured once […]

Wayne Pivac insists Wales are up to the “ultimate challenge” of facing world champions South Africa three times in their own back yard. Two of those matches will be played at altitude and the Springboks, who are also ranked number one in the world, have a formidable home record. But Pivac – last seen in a post-match interview room after Wales were humbled at home by Italy in the Six Nations – is relishing the challenge.

By Harry Corish The Dragons have appointed Dai Flanagan as their new head coach as part of a coaching restructure, with Dean Ryan staying on as Director of Rugby. The reshuffle will mean that Ryan will continue on the Dragons’ board, but the coaching responsibilities will now rest in the hands of Flanagan. The former […]

Nick Williams’ globetrotting career might have come to an end, but the former Junior All Black is concerned with the direction his former club Cardiff are heading in. Prior to his retirement in 2020 the gigantic No 8 experienced professional rugby in New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, and Wales, respectively. In total Williams represented the Auckland Blues, Munster, Aironi, Ulster, and Cardiff but it is the Welsh capital he now calls home. Williams left an indelible impact at the Arms Park, and it is no coincidence Cardiff emerged victorious in 59 percent of the games he started, and only had a 14 percent win ratio when the New Zealander was absent.

By Gareth James Will Rowlands has been awarded Wales Player of the year by the Welsh Rugby Writers Association, following what has been a tremendous season from the Dragons second row. The 18-times capped Dragons lock was a consistent performer in Wales’ boiler house during the 2022 Six Nations and despite the absence of stalwart […]

I once had reason to walk down the high street in Llanelli one afternoon, alongside Phil Bennett. It felt like the scene from a sentimental Hollywood film. Women shouted their hellos from every shop front, men yelled down from scaffolding and every other car beeped cheerily and drivers waved at the town’s most famous and best-loved resident. But the really striking thing was that as the Scarlets’ greatest ever rugby player responded, he seemed to know the name of every well-wisher.

By Steffan Thomas Sam Wainwright has spent 12 years fighting against the odds and has no plan to stop his hard work anytime soon as he is scheduled to meet with the Wales squad at their Vale of Glamorgan training base in two weeks’ time. His inclusion, a replacement for the injured Leon Brown, was […]

A night to celebrate James Hook’s testimonial in Neath produced a high-scoring encounter as some of Welsh rugby’s biggest names turned out to honour a true great. The match at The Gnoll was the one of the highlights of former Wales, British & Irish Lions, Neath, Ospreys, Perpignan and Gloucester star Hook’s testimonial year. A James Hook Select XV took on a Classic Lions side in front of an impressive crowd of around 5,000 – and Hook’s heroes edged it, 45-43.

By Rob Carbon Georgia Evans is back in the mix for World Cup consideration after coming back with a bang for Saracens in the Allianz Premier15s final at Sixways last weekend. Thirteen weeks after breaking her arm so badly in a league game at Bristol Bears there were fears she could lose it, she came […]

By David Williams Uncapped Saracens prop Sam Wainwright has been called into Wales’ South Africa tour squad as replacement for Leon Brown. The Welsh Rugby Union said that Brown had failed to recover from a nerve issue suffered on club duty. And his place in Wayne Pivac’s 33-man squad has gone to 24-year-old Wainwright. Wainwright, […]

By Stuart Taylor As the latest dust covering settles on another pathetic domestic season, many feel it will take more than a symbolic spring clean to solve the structural issues that continue to trouble Welsh rugby. After years of failing to maintain the upkeep of Welsh rugby, independent consultants Oakwell Sports Advisory were commissioned to […]

By David Williams Wales wing Tom Rogers has extended his stay at Parc y Scarlets by signing a new contract for his home region club. Capped twice by Wayne Pivac in 2021, the 23-year-old back three star has become the latest player to put pen to paper on a new deal at the Scarlets ahead […]

Wales international centre Ashley Beck has extended his stay at Sixways by signing a new contract with Warriors. Beck joined Warriors from Ospreys in the summer of 2018 and after his first season was cut short by a broken ankle, he has become a rock in the midfield over the past three seasons. The 32-year-old made his 50th appearance against Northampton Saints at Sixways in January and has now played 59 games and scored eight tries.

By Harry Corish The Ospreys have secured the Welsh Shield and qualified for the Heineken Champions’ Cup, following a pulsating final weekend of United Rugby Championship action.   They went into the weekend needing to equal or better the Scarlets’ upcoming result to confirm their European qualification and top spot in the Welsh shield. The weekend […]

By Rob Carbon Mountain Ash adapted an old darts trophy and Llandudno re-used their 2019 league title glass bowl as clubs around Wales continued to improvise at the end of the season to mark their achievement in coming out on top in the Admiral Leagues. Championship winners Bargoed set the tone when they made their own banner […]

By Paul Jones Wayne Pivac believes Wales may not have enough quality players to either sustain four professional teams or efficiently feed the national team. The Wales coach is open to cutting one of Wales’ four professional sides and believes doing so may even improve the quality of players at his disposal. Welsh rugby is […]