Barry Maddocks has worked at the cutting edge of professional rugby for the best part of 20 years – but now faces one of the biggest challenges of his career. The west Walian may not be a household name, but he has forged a reputation in rugby circles as one of the most forward-thinking attacking coaches around. After a decade coaching in England with Bath and England Sevens, before four years at the Dragons, Maddocks has jumped into the unpredictable cauldron of French rugby.

Theo Cabango admitted it was the fulfilment of a dream when he announced his arrival as a tryscorer in top level rugby on Saturday. The 19-year-old scored a stunning 50-metre try for Cardiff as their young, patched-up side went toe-to-toe with Harlequins before fading in the final quarter and losing 43-17 in their Heineken Champions Cup clash. Cabango – younger brother of Swansea City and Wales defender Ben Cabango – scored a magnificent first-half effort, one of three scored by the visitors before the break, in a contest that was still level at 17-17 until the 58th minute.

By Graham Thomas Joe Davies insists the Dragons will not settle for more hard luck stories as their European campaign reaches an early crossroads. The big second row is keen to throw his weight around and help subdue high-flying French Top 14 side Lyon when they visit Rodney Parade on Friday night in a European […]

The man who has scored more international tries than any other Welsh rugby player – Jim Roberts – has announced his retirement from wheelchair rugby. He goes out at the top, having scored 24 tries in a Paralympic final, and 208 tries across two Paralympic Games, but insists there will be no U-turn from his […]

Carmarthen Quins hope to offer a glimpse of the future when they host rivals Llanelli in the first West Wales showdown of the new Indigo Premiership. Both clubs are feeders within the Scarlets region and regulars at Parc y Scarlets have had plenty of reasons to be grateful to the Quins’ production line in recent years. Wales scrum-half Kieran Hardy, hooker Ryan Elias and Scotland squad prop Javian Sebastian are just a few of the former Quins players to have hit the heights in the last couple of seasons and on Thursday night there could be evidence of more to follow.

By Rob Carbon The Ospreys were beaten 21-13 by Sales Sharks in their Heineken Champions Cup opener. Toby Booth’s side warmed up with Ifan Phillips’s name on the back of their shirts after the 25-year-old suffered life-changing injuries in a road traffic accident. Ospreys head coach Booth said: “It’s been an emotional week, for sure. […]

Josh Adams has forged himself a reputation as one of the best wings in world rugby, but he is prepared to add more strings to his bow. The Cardiff star has scored 17 tries in 34 Test matches for Wales and is one of the first names on Wayne Pivac’s team sheet. Centre is somewhat of a problem position for Pivac, and while the return of George North for the Six Nations will come as a huge boost, Wales need to develop more options especially in the number 13 jersey.

Cardiff’s interim head coach Gruff Rees praised the resolve and determination shown by his side of misfits – thrown together after a whopping 42 squad members were unavailable for selection – even though their European campaign began with a heavy defeat. Any match under the circumstances of so many of their squad in isolation would have been tough going, but they were tasked with facing a fully loaded Toulouse outfit stacked with quality. Most notably, and significantly, they had to face recently crowned world player of year, Antoine Dupont.

By Graham Thomas The Dragons will embark on an incredible 2,000-mile day-trip to start their European campaign – but Adam Warren insists it might just jolt them into form. Centre Warren and his teammates face Perpignan on Saturday, but the region has opted to fly to the southern-most city in France, play the game, and […]

By Tom Prosser Ospreys head coach Toby Booth pledges “continuous” support to Ifan Phillips but insists “the show must go on” after an emotional week for everyone at the region.   Phillips suffered “life changing” injuries after being involved in a motorcycle accident on Sunday and Booth says it’s important that everyone at the club is professional in the aftermath of this tragic injury. “It would be artificial for us to pretend that this has been a normal week because it hasn’t,” says Booth.

The Indigo Welsh Premiership finally returns on Thursday night, when Aberavon host the first game of the campaign at home to regional rivals Swansea. It’s been a much debated and much tweaked structure and even now the Welsh Rugby Union have revealed plans to increase the numbers from 12 clubs to 14. Whatever happens, Aled Thomas insists the league has a big role to play as he tells Tom Prosser. World Cup winner Aled Thomas has demanded more respect for Welsh Premiership rugby and insists the league plays a crucial role in developing the stars of the future. Thomas took Wales to the global summit in 2009 when he scored a dramatic late winning try in the Rugby Sevens World Cup final.

Ospreys and aspiring Wales hooker Ifan Phillips has suffered “life-changing injuries” after being involved in a serious road traffic accident in Swansea on Sunday. Phillips is in a stable condition and is being treated at Morriston Hospital following a collision between two motorcycles. The 25-year-old, who is the son of Neath rugby legend Kevin Phillips, is being supported by his family and friends as well as his Ospreys team-mates.

S4C chiefs believe their new Six Nations deal has reinforced their position as the primary TV broadcaster of Welsh rugby from the grass roots to the international game. The Welsh language broadcaster has secured the rights to every Wales men’s Six Nations match for the next four years. It will be the only broadcaster to show every Wales game, after successful negotiations with the primary rights holders, the BBC and ITV.

Wales star Josh Adams wants Cardiff to show “no fear” in an odds-defying mission against European champions Toulouse on Saturday. The Heineken Champions Cup clash will take place amid a back-drop of 42 Cardiff players and staff being in isolation at a hotel just outside London until next week. The likes of Adams and his Cardiff and Wales team-mates Tomos Williams, Dillon Lewis, Seb Davies and Ellis Jenkins did not travel to South Africa, which became a UK Government red-listed country last month as fresh travel restrictions were imposed following the discovery of a new coronavirus variant.

With the return of the Indigo Welsh Premiership this week, debate has begun again over what are the best routes to develop the regional and international stars of the future. Former Wales head analyst Alun Carter, now working at Cardiff Met, reckons the university’s system of developing talent like Wales’ Aaron Wainwright and England’s Alex Dombrandt proves a formidable pathway is already here under the noses of the Welsh Rugby Union.

The Scarlets have had the door slammed in their faces by European rugby bosses who will not permit any escape route from this weekend’s opening Heineken Champions Cup fixture. The Llanelli region had pleaded for a postponement of their Pool B clash at Bristol on Saturday because of the chaotic fall-out from their South Africa trip. Their coaches and players are still locked down in a Belfast hotel serving out their quarantine, which will not finish until Friday – just 24 hours before the match.

By Steffan Thomas   The walls inside Whitchurch High School are already lined with pictures of famous Welsh internationals but they need to find room for another.  Alongside the photographs of the school’s most famous sons – Gareth Bale, Geraint Thomas and Sam Warburton – some space must be found for Christ Tshiunza following his Wales breakthrough in October and the prospect of more Test caps to come in the Six Nations in a couple of months’ time. 

By Rob Carbon New Wales Women U18 coach Liza Burgess is set to step down as vice-chair of the Welsh Rugby Union. It has long been an established rule that if you are employed by the WRU, you cannot sit on the board so Burgess will step down as vice-chair after accepting a full-time coaching […]

New Wales cap Bradley Roberts has admitted he has to move to Wales to continue his international career and the Dragons are working to offer him a deal. They face stiff competition from Cardiff, however, in trying to sign the Ulster hooker. Roberts’ contract with the Irish province runs out at the end of the season and the Welsh Rugby Union’s 60 cap selection policy means he will have to join a Welsh side if he is to extend his Test career into a second season.

Georgia Evans is hoping to gain bragging rights over three of her Welsh international back row rivals when Saracens welcome table-topping Bristol Bears to the StoneX Stadium for the game of the season in the Allianz Premier 15s on Saturday. They won’t come any bigger than the top two unbeaten teams going head-to-head in a match that will hold much appeal for Wales coach Ioan Cunningham. Both teams have won their six league games and only one try bonus-point separates them.