Wales lock Will Rowlands has confirmed he will miss the Six Nations with a shoulder injury. The Dragons second row is set to return in April after undergoing surgery on the injury sustained during Wales’ Autumn Nations clash with Argentina last month. Rowlands will be a big miss for his nation, who begin their campaign against Ireland on February 4 before concluding against France six weeks later.

Luke Morgan aims to jog Warren Gatland‘s memory when he steps out for the festive derbies – starting with the Ospreys’ clash  against the Scarlets on Boxing Day. The wing will be part of an Ospreys line-up aiming to build on their eye-catching victory over French champions Montpellier last week, where they host their biggest rivals in a match that is live on S4C. Morgan was a tryscorer against the Sharks earlier this month in his region’s previous URC game and will be out to repeat his part in a hugely impressive collective show of strength out in France last week.

By Harry Corish The fierce West Wales derby between the Scarlets and the Ospreys will bring the curtains down on an action-packed day of Welsh regional festive celebration. The two derbies will inevitably show the best of regional rugby, as bumper crowds are expected to liven up Welsh club rugby’s most exciting day of the […]

By Harry Corish Newport head coach Tyron Morris insists his team are now back to their best and expects his Black and Ambers to avenge their opening day defeat to local rivals, Ebbw Vale when they meet on Boxing Day. The big Gwent derby at Eugene Cross Park is one of four sets of festive […]

Wales will be part of a new tournament aimed at bridging the gap between club and international rugby ahead of next year’s Women’s Six Nations. The Welsh Rugby Union have joined the Irish and Scottish unions in creating the Celtic Challenge, which will start next month. One team from each of the three countries will compete in the tournament in the first year, while the aim is to launch a six-team tournament with two from each union in 2024.

By David Williams Forer Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap who retired following the conclusion of the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup aged 35, with 51 caps to her name, has been appointed as the forwards coach of Wales Under-18s. The dynamic backrower made her debut for Wales against Ireland in 2016 and had captained the since […]

Ospreys boss Toby Booth says his team’s emotional Heineken Champions Cup win out in Montpellier has set the benchmark ahead of the BKT United Rugby Championship festive derbies. Booth’s men pulled off a stunning 21-10 victory away to the French title holders thanks to tries from hooker Sam Parry, centre Kieran Williams and Player of the Match, No.8 Morgan Morris. It’s handed them a huge boost in morale as they prepare for the URC Boxing Day clash at home to the Scarlets and then the New Year’s Day trip to the Arms Park to take on Cardiff.

Dai Young has urged his Cardiff players to keep their feet hard down on the pedals and build on their European success by dominating the forthcoming festive derbies. The Arms Park director of rugby was full of praise for his team after their thumping 47-10 victory away at Newcastle in the European Challenge Cup. But he has urged them to maintain the momentum in the URC when they make a Boxing Day trip to Rodney Parade to take on a Dragons side who have received plaudits for their performances this season.

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth praised his team after their first win in Europe for two years – but insisted it was just reward for their recent efforts. The Swansea-based region shocked the TOP 14 champions with tries from Sam Parry, Kieran Williams and Morgan Morris, and produced an immense defensive effort to restrict the hosts to just one score. Brandon Paenga-Amosa crossed for Montpellier, who were ultimately outfought and outclassed on their own turf.

It’s close on a decade now since Rhodri Williams made his Wales debut as a fresh-faced 20-year-old. There were outings off the bench against Tonga, Australia and Scotland, complete with a try in the last of those games. The Swansea-born scrum-half has been away from the international stage since 2014, but fast forward eight years and you find him playing some of the best rugby of his life.

Max Clark insists he was right to buck the trend and move from English to Welsh rugby as he believes joining the Dragons has jolted him out of his comfort zone. At a time when the likes of Dragons forward Will Rowlands and Cardiff centre Max Llewellyn are leaving Wales, Clark moved in the opposite direction when he left Bath to move to Rodney Parade this summer. Having earned his stripes alongside the likes of Jamie Roberts and England star Jonathan Joseph at the Rec, Clark will be aiming to maintain the Dragons’ unbeaten start to their European Challenge Cup campaign on Saturday when they host Pau in a match that is live on S4C.

By Simon Thomas It’s been a momentous few weeks in the rugby life of young Sam Costelow. His fine early season form in the BKT United Rugby Championship saw the Scarlets fly-half named in Wales’ squad for the autumn internationals – but that was just the start of it. The late withdrawal of team-mate Leigh […]

By Paul Jones Warren Gatland insists it’s a good thing that he will collide head-on with the best team in the world when his second stint as Wales coach begins in just 51 days. Under the re-fashioned Gatland era, Wales kick off their Six Nations campaign against Ireland in Cardiff on February 4. Ireland will […]

Warren Gatland wants to operate in a “no excuses environment” after taking up the reins for a second stint as Wales head coach. The New Zealander’s previous spell at the helm between 2007 and 2019 delivered four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-final appearances and a brief time as rugby union’s world number one team. This time around, though, he takes charge after a year that produced just three victories from 12 starts under Wayne Pivac, which included home defeats against Italy and Georgia.

There were times when Kristian Dacey feared his playing career may be over. The Welsh international hooker admits he found himself in some dark places amid a catalogue of injuries. But, with the help of his family, he soldiered on and is now so glad he did.

Dragons coach Dai Flanagan has been handed some welcome headaches as he looks towards the festive derbies. During an extended three week stay in South Africa, he gave game-time to a large group of players and is delighted by the way they all put their hands up. He now faces some tricky selection decisions, first for Saturday’s EPCR Challenge Cup tie at home to Pau and then the back-to-back BKT United Rugby Championship games against rivals Cardiff and the Scarlets over the holiday period. The Dragons returned from South Africa with three Challenge Cup points thanks to a highly creditable 31-31 draw with the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg, having been competitive in URC defeats to the Emirates Lions (33-25) and the DHL

Dewi Lake has enlisted the help of an England World Cup winner to ensure he lands his darts as a line-out thrower. The Ospreys hooker – who could make his comeback from injury against Montpellier in the Heineken Champions Cup this weekend – is taking advice from Simon Hardy, a line-out specialist with Sir Clive Woodward’s all-conquering World Cup winning side of 2003. Lake, who has been transformed from a No.8 to an all-action hooker in the professional ranks, has been having one-to-one coaching with Hardy at the Ospreys.

Cardiff laid down a statement of intent as they go in search of their third EPCR Challenge Cup title, with a resounding seven-try, 41-0 win against Brive in their opening game at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday. “We would have settled for that before the game. But the nil is just as pleasing as the seven tries,” said  director of rugby Dai Young. Kristian Dacey, with two, and returning Wales wing Josh Adams scored first-half tries.

Joe Hawkins has been tipped by his coach Toby Booth and teammate Max Nagy to help turn around the Ospreys’ fortunes when they welcome the English Champions, Leicester Tigers, to the Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday.  Hawkins made his senior international debut for Wales last month in the agonising 39-34 loss to Australia.  Now, the 20-year-old inside centre has been tipped to revive the Ospreys in a tough Heineken Champions Cup opener, which is live on S4C. 

Cardiff scrum-half Lloyd Williams will reach a major landmark this weekend when he plays his 250th game for the team he joined 12 years ago. It was way back in March 2010 that Williams made his debut for Cardiff Rugby. Now, he is set to make a landmark appearance for the BKT United Rugby Championship outfit when they take on French club Brive in the EPCR Challenge Cup at the Arms Park on Saturday. Only retired prop Taufa’ao Filise has played more games for the region and the 32-times capped Williams is within sight of the Tongan’s record tally of 255.