By Rob Carbon The Ospreys have asked European rugby bosses to confirm their players will not be Cup-tied before they lend some of them to the Scarlets. The Swansea-based region are willing to help out their rivals following the Scarlets’ enforced quarantine which has wrecked planning for their opening match of their Heineken Champions Cup […]

The Scarlets have urged European rugby bosses to re-think their strategy of punishing teams with automatic defeats when they struggle to fulfil fixtures. Officials at European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) are coming under pressure to reassess their policy on forfeiting games with Covid-19 set to cause chaos to the first round of Champions Cup fixtures. Currently, any side which pulls out of a game due to the virus automatically loses the fixture 28-0 with the justification being there is no room in the calendar for rearranged matches.

The Dragons’ campaign in Europe this season will be shown live on S4C. The Welsh broadcaster has struck a deal to show live European rugby matches from both the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup this season, including matches involving both Cardiff and the Scarlets. In all, they will screen two matches from the Champions Cup group stages, in addition to all four of the Dragons’ matches from the Challenge Cup.

European rugby bosses are coming under increasing pressure to shift from their hardline stance over fulfilling scheduled fixtures in this season’s tournaments. Much arm-twisting is going on behind the scenes following the chaotic preparations for the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup being experienced by Cardiff, the Scarlets, Munster and Zebre. Most of Cardiff’s stranded group in South Africa are hoping to fly back to the UK on Thursday, where they will undergo 10 days of quarantine in a hotel near Heathrow.

By James Skeldon Dean Ryan has urged his Dragons players to “challenge themselves” ahead of their trip to Glasgow on Saturday. The Dragons have lost five of their six matches so far in the United Rugby Championship and were swatted aside by Edinburgh at the weekend. After an error-ridden first quarter where nothing went right for the home team and an ineffective second half performance, Ryan could only congratulate Edinburgh after the match.

Cardiff and the Scarlets are facing a massive joint hotel bill of £250,000 as well as major disruption to their European campaigns if they are forced to self-isolate in hotel quarantine for 10 days following their troubled trip to South Africa. The Scarlets have made it back as far as Belfast – via Durban, Cape Town and Dublin – but their whole party is now in a UK government-approved isolation hotel as they await further news. Cardiff, however, are still in South Africa, with two of their group having tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend, with one of those cases suspected to be the Omicron variant that sparked travel restrictions on flights from South Africa to the UK.

With the autumn internationals over, two of the Welsh regions are back in action this weekend. The Dragons host Edinburgh on Saturday, while on Friday night it’s the Ospreys who kick things off away in Connacht. The Scarlets and Cardiff are both attempting to return from South Africa after the postponement of their fixtures due […]

Cardiff and the Scarlets are trying to return to Wales from South Africa after the country was added to the UK Government’s travel red list. The Scarlets were set to face the Sharks in Durban on Saturday, with Cardiff also due to feature in the United Rugby Championship against the Lions in Johannesburg on Sunday. Irish province Munster and Italian club Zebre Parma are also in South Africa ahead of fixtures against the Bulls and Stormers respectively, and all four sides are due to play a second round of matches in the country next weekend.

You’re a six-year-old boy whose just been vomited on during your first ever visit to the national stadium. But come on son, brush it off. Your parents might have told you a treat was in store, and had you believe you’d be experiencing an atmosphere you’ll never forget. But that’s their problem. After all, no one forced you to be here. And a clear majority don’t get spewed on, so what’s the issue?

By Tom Prosser Welsh Rugby Union Community boss Geraint John says he hopes S4C’s new broadcast deal to show the Indigo Premiership will pack out clubhouses up and down the country. “We have worked closely with S4C on a new and exciting plan for the Indigo Group Premiership which we hope will bring in new audiences as well as satisfy the existing fan-base for the very best of Welsh club rugby,” says John “All clubs in the Indigo Group Premiership are set to feature in at least one live match during the season, in a regular slot on Thursday evenings.

By Steffan Thomas  The English Gallagher Premiership is set to hit Welsh language television with S4C to show highlights of English rugby’s top tier in the new year.  BT Sports show live coverage of the Premiership, but Channel 5 decided not to renew their contract to show highlights allowing S4C an opportunity fill the gap.

Wales ended their autumn campaign with a respectable 50 per cent success rate, but you’d be foolish to think Wayne Pivac’s side are in a good place going into the Six Nations as defending champions. To be blunt, Wales are miles off the standard required to win the Championship for the second time in succession. To sit and watch three Test matches in succession at the weekend, was a revealing experience.

Wales women’s coach Ioan Cunningham has praised his team for their autumn efforts – even though they were reminded how far they still have to go by a formidable Canada side. Cunningham saw Wales lose 24-7 at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday night, even though the Canadians played for the last 50 minutes with just 14 players after captain Olivia DeMarchant was sent off for a dangerous tackle. The North Americans showed why they are ranked the third best team in the world as they shrugged off the loss of their skipper and prop to outscore Wales by four tries to one.

Wales coach Wayne Pivac said it was a “funny game” but Dave Rennie wasn’t laughing. Pivac saw his team almost let a commanding lead slip against 14-man Australia but rallied to win 29-28 with a penalty after the hooter at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. But fuming Wallabies coach Rennie has called for big match rugby officials to be held more accountable after being left convinced his men were robbed of a tour-ending Test triumph by “horrendous” decisions.

James O’Connor rates Cardiff as one his favourite rugby venues, but that won’t stop him wanting to silence the Principality Stadium on Saturday. The Australia star has graced every leading rugby stadium across the world – plus one or two late night bars along the way – but a more mature version of the one-time wild child of the Wallabies will be out to deny Wales a major scalp of their autumn series. O’Connor, now 31, first played in the Welsh capital over a decade ago but with periods overlooked or unavailable through selection policies, will earn only his 62nd cap in a match that will feature in extended highlights on S4C.

By Lucy Rees Wales Women’s Keira Bevan is hoping to put her skills to the test against Canada when the two sides meet at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday. After being out for a year coming back from injury, the scrum-half is looking forward to being back in the squad. “All being well, this will […]

Wayne Pivac insists he has not left Wales and Lions star Jonathan Davies stranded on 99 caps. Scarlets centre Davies was left out of the Wales squad to face Australia on Saturday, but Pivac moved quickly to dispel suggestions that the 33-year-old’s Test career is already over. Cardiff centre Uilisi Halaholo, who tested positive for coronavirus last month and spent 10 days isolating, will partner Nick Tompkins in midfield against the Wallabies.

Australia will concentrate on setting solid foundations when they face Wales in Saturday’s final autumn Test series weekend, according to Wallabies star James O’Connor. The Aussie No.10 says his side must aim to provide a firm set-piece platform if they are avoid a third successive defeat to Wales for the first time since 1975. Both nations will go into the Principality Stadium clash desperate for a victory that would turn around perceptions of fraught November campaign.

By Paul Jones Jonathan Humphreys believes Ryan Elias has been a huge positive for Wales this autumn and insists the experience of playing the best sides in the world will stand them in good stead moving forward. Scarlets hooker Elias produced two outstanding performances against South Africa and Fiji respectively.   And Wales forwards coach Humphreys, who was a top international hooker in his playing days, is confident Elias will go from strength to strength after his experiences this autumn. 

By Steffan Thomas Welsh rugby has been told it must continue to bring its best players back if they are to achieve continued success at test level. This week former Wales centre Jamie Roberts became the latest high-profile figure to criticise the Welsh Rugby Union’s controversial 60 cap selection policy. The Dragons midfielder accused the WRU of blackmailing players with less than 60 caps to remain at one of the four Welsh regions.