Finally finding a way to beat the All Blacks after 68 years of heartache is all in the mind according to Wales’ most capped scrum half, Mike Phillips. Wayne Pivac’s Welsh side take on New Zealand in the opening game of their Autumn International Series on Saturday with the head coach already having hit the warning light by telling fans to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. You have to go back to 1953 for the last time Wales managed to beat one of their biggest rivals. Since then it has been one-way traffic with the Kiwis winning 31 in a row.

The top end of the Swansea Valley has been a hotbed breeding ground for sporting talent for years. Bleddyn Bowen, Robert Jones, Greg Thomas, Justin Tipuric and Ben Davies are just some of the stars the local schools have honed in various sports. The current crop isn’t bad, either – Wales and Cardiff City footballer Rubin Colwill and Ospreys centre Joe Hawkins, who plays against Munster on Saturday night, and who spoke to Graham Thomas. Joe Hawkins is keen to follow his old football rival Rubin Colwill onto the full international stage, but is happy to bide his time. Ospreys centre Hawkins and fellow 19-year-old Colwill – already a senior Wales football international after a breakthrough year at Cardiff City – used to play football against each other as 15-year-olds, until Hawkins gave his sole attention to rugby.

By Lucy Rees Wales have launched their new kit for the coming international rugby season, which they insist is “green” because of its environmentally friendly credentials. The new Macron kit is 100% green, in spirit at least. Wales has played in red since the first international in 1881, and that isn’t changing as ‘green’ is just […]

By Alex Bywater Cardiff Rugby and Wales full-back Hallam Amos caused a shock last week when he announced he was retiring from professional rugby at the end of the season aged just 27. Amos has been studying to become a doctor alongside his career at the highest end of the sport but will call it quits on his on-the-field career come the summer. Amos won 25 caps for Wales scoring six tries and he featured in two Rugby World Cups in 2015 and 2019 after making his debut against Uruguay in Cardiff in the first of those two tournaments.

By Steffan Thomas Wayne Pivac believes more exiles will follow Thomas Young’s lead and return to Welsh rugby.  Despite having only three test caps to his name Wasps back-row star Young was named in the Wales squad for this autumn’s tests against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji, and Australia after signing a contract to join Cardiff Rugby next season.  And Pivac is confident the likes of Leicester’s Tommy Reffell, Bristol’s Callum Sheedy, Bath’s Taulupe Faletau, and Gloucester’s Louis Rees-Zammit will eventually join a Welsh region in the near future. 

By Steffan Thomas Gareth James has scaled the heights of semi-professional rugby in Wales and is one of the most prolific points scorers that level has ever seen. Having spent nine years as a semi-professional representing Narberth, Bonymaen, Neath, Llandovery, and Ebbw Vale James was rewarded with a Welsh Crawshays cap, while he was also […]

Rhys Priestland’s form has been given the thumbs up by Dai Young, just two weeks before Wales face the All Blacks. Cardiff No.10 Priestland kicked 13 points and steered his side to a hard-earned 23-17 victory over the Sharks which earned the approval of his coach. It meant the 34-year-old signed off a successful few days, having been recalled for Wales duty earlier in the week.

Scarlets defence coach Hugh Hogan made the move to West Wales from Leinster this summer after winning four consecutive Pro 14 titles and a Heineken Cup. But he is now looking to get one over his old team when they clash in Dublin on Saturday, as Tom Prosser reports. Hugh Hogan admits it was difficult to leave Leinster but says the opportunity to work with Scarlets legend Dwayne Peel was too good to turn down as he aims to emulate his success with Leinster here in Wales. “When the opportunity came up to speak to Dwayne about the job at the Scarlets, there were a lot of things that made sense,” explains defence coach Hogan, who spent eight and a half years in various coaching roles at Leinster.

Not everyone wants to follow their father into the family trade. But Ireland’s 27-times capped Rhys Ruddock – a former Wales U18 international – is curious to find out whether the coaching business suits him. He’ll be playing for Leinster against the Scarlets on Saturday night, then thinking about his next coaching session, as he tells Graham Thomas. Rhys Ruddock has taken his first tentative steps into coaching, with a certain Grand Slam-winner on speed dial for when he’s in need of advice. The Leinster and Ireland forward is contemplating a future after his playing days and whether or not he fancies becoming a chip off the old block – in this case his father, Mike.

By David Williams Ross Moriarty has returned from injury to lead the Dragons into action against the Stormers at Rodney Parade on Friday night. Director of rugby Dean Ryan has made three changes with Argentina scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou and second-row Ben Carter starting. Last weeks try scorer Jordan Williams starts at full-back and is joined […]

Christ Tshiunza may only have an hour of Premiership rugby under his belt, but the Welsh teenager could find himself playing against the world champion Springboks next month. The 19-year-old Exeter University student was the surprise package announced in Wayne Pivac’s Welsh squad for the four autumn internationals against the All Blacks, Springboks, Fiji and Australia. Born into a ‘French Christian family’ in the DR Congo, the 6ft 6in tall, 17st 7lbs giant came to the UK with his family when he was six.

Wayne Pivac believes Wales have a unique talent in Christ Tshiunza – whether or not he is unleashed on opponents this autumn. Tshiunza was the shock selection in Pivac’s squad for the autumn Tests, although the head coach suggested the 19-year-old may, for the moment, be coming along just for the ride. The 6ft 6in, 17st 6lbs forward, who was born in the Congolese capital Kinshasa but moved to Cardiff as a child, has only played four times off the bench for Exeter Chiefs, but he did make a few dents for Wales U20s last season.

Wayne Pivac has been given the green light to drive straight through Wales 60-cap regulation and bring in Wasps’ Thomas Young for the autumn series. The Wales coach is set to include the Wasps back row star in his squad that will be announced on Wednesday afternoon for matches against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia. Young only has three caps, leaving him way short of the 60-cap threshold for players based outside of Wales to gain selection.

By Paul Jones Wales legend Ieuan Evans will lead a new group tasked with the aim of looking into the feasibility of a Women’s British & Irish Lions team. The creation of a Women’s Lions team could provide a big opportunity for Wales players such as ‘try machine’ Jasmine Joyce, who represented Great Britain in rugby sevens at the recent Tokyo Olympics.  The 13-person group will be chaired by Evans, and is made up of experienced administrators from across professional rugby, business executives, as well as former international standard athletes from the world of sport.

When he was Wales U20 coach, Jason Strange seemed to be a man in hot demand after leading his age-group team to a Grand Slam in 2020. He was also at Cardiff Blues, but lasted just one season under former coach John Mulvihill. Now, a Grand Final winner with St. Helens, he tells Steffan Thomas he feels glad to have left Welsh rugby behind. Jason Strange has revealed how he turned down offers to return to rugby union to stay in league and insists the codes are poles apart. Strange left his role as Cardiff attack coach in 2019, just one year after taking the job, but admits it was a relief to depart Welsh rugby.

By Rob Carbon Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel has told his players not to dwell on their six-try, 43-13 defeat to Munster, but focus on putting things right ahead of Friday night’s trip to face reigning champions Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. A Munster side showing 11 changes to the team that had comprehensively […]

Dragons’ man of the match Taine Basham admitted the frustration of losing to Leinster at Rodney Parade the previous weekend spurred his side on to notch their first win in Ireland since 2015. The 35-22 bonus-point victory over Connacht in Galway was not only the Dragons’ first competitive victory of the season, but also their first over Irish opposition since they beat Connacht 21-8 on 15 September, 2017. There had been 21 defeats and a single draw since then, but now the long wait is over after they triumphed at the Sportsground for the first time in 17 years.

Siwan Lillicrap and her Wales Women’s team have not won a rugby match for two years. But the captain is “open-minded” about the future and believes her team can move beyond their recent turmoil, as she tells Lucy Rees. As she looks ahead to the autumn campaign to kick start their Rugby World Cup countdown, […]

Cardiff host the Bulls on Saturday night and for Neil Jenkins that means a throwback to a quarter of a century ago when the South Africans first came to Wales for tournament matches. Nowadays, though, the Wales assistant coach has his thoughts on the present as he tells Graham Thomas. Neil Jenkins believes the competitive addition of the top South African teams will raise standards in Wales as he sizes up the candidates for his old Wales No.10 jersey. The Wales assistant coach was in Swansea last weekend to see the Ospreys’ Gareth Anscombe go head-to-head with Rhys Priestland as Cardiff were edged out, 18-14.

By Tom Prosser Ospreys forward Adam Beard tested himself against South Africa whilst on British & Irish Lions duty this summer, but he is now looking forward to taking on The Sharks for his region this evening (Friday). The Ospreys are unbeaten so far this season after claiming wins against The Dragons and Cardiff Rugby, but The Sharks are still searching for their first victory in United Rugby Championship. “The South Africans come with a good set piece, but they also have some dangerous backs who like to have a go and play from anywhere,” explained Beard.