The Welsh Rugby Union’s net debt has increased to £114.4million but the group was able to record a modest profit before tax of £400,000 in its financial results for the year ending June 30, 2021. With the coronavirus pandemic still in full force, the story of its impact can be found in WRU’s 2021 Annual Report published on Thursday. Turnover was down to £58.1m from £79.9m in 2020 while the £17.2m increase in the group’s bank debut highlights the necessary measures taken to survive the implications of Covid-19 on sport in the country.

By Rob Carbon Tomas Francis was the biggest arrival in Welsh rugby this summer in every sense of the word. He is now looking forward to getting his Ospreys career underway and is impressed with how his new team have performed under coach Toby Booth. The Ospreys almost went out of existence in 2019 when a merger with bitter rivals Scarlets was proposed.

Jonathan Davies may look one of the coolest rugby players on and off the field, but anyone not pulling their weight for the Scarlets may soon feel a fiery blast from the region’s new captain. The 33-year-old, who has won 91 caps for Wales, has replaced Ken Owens, who has led the region as Scarlets skipper for the past seven seasons. Davies often looks one of the calmest players around but insists: “I can be quite hot-headed when I need to be.

Cardiff Rugby and Scarlets look set to play their first away games against the new South African franchises in the new United Rugby Championship in Italy. With South Africa still appearing on the ‘red list’ of countries during the Covid pandemic, if the two regions went there to play they would be subject to 10 days in managed quarantine on their return. That would mean they would be unable to fulfil their first round fixtures in the Heineken Champions Cup, which take place on the weekend of 10/11/12 December.

Scott Quinnell will be joining Gabby Logan as one of the new faces of BBC Wales’ Scrum V programme after the controversial axing of Phil Steele Former Wales and Lions star Quinnell – who has been a regular part of Sky Sports’ rugby coverage for over a dozen years – will step into Steele’s former role as pitchside reporter. The move is part of BBC Wales’ strategy to throw more money at building a higher profile, celebrity  presentation team in a bid to attract more viewers.

Australia have confirmed they are coming to Cardiff to play Wales on November 20 – and the magical Quade Cooper could be running their show. The Welsh Rugby Union had already announced the clash as one of their four autumn Tests, but the Aussies had not been able to rubberstamp the fixture because of ongoing travel restrictions in their homeland due to Covid-19. But the Wallabies have now confirmed they are able to undergo a four-match tour that will see Tests against Japan, England, Scotland and Wales.

Tributes have poured in for former Cardiff Rugby back-row forward Owain Williams who has passed away at the age of 56 after a battle with cancer. Williams made 221 first-team appearances for Cardiff and established himself as a hugely popular figure at Cardiff Arms Park in a fine playing career. He also won one cap for Wales against Namibia in June 1990.

Gabby Logan is set to be the marquee signing for BBC Wales’ coverage of the new United Rugby Championship season when it begins on September 24. The URC – formerly known as the Guinness PRO14 – returns to terrestrial television for the 2021/22 campaign in a move which has been heralded as a huge boost for the competition by its organisers.BBC Wales and Welsh language channel S4C will, between them, broadcast 75 per cent of the season’s live games involving Wales’ four professional sides for the next four years.

Gareth Anscombe has paid heartfelt thanks to those who have helped his recovery after coming through his first rugby match for just over two years. The Wales international played 37 minutes for the Ospreys in their pre-season friendly at Northampton on Friday night before he was withdrawn as the region said they had always planned. Afterwards, the 30-year-old outside-half – who many feared would not resume a top level career – paid tribute to those who have assisted his recovery from a serious knee injury, that has involved overcoming several setbacks.

By Alex Bywater  Gareth Anscombe is set to end 761 days of injury troubles when he makes his Ospreys debut against Northampton Saints on Friday. Wales fly-half Anscombe hasn’t played since August 2019 when he suffered a serious knee injury facing England in a Rugby World Cup warm-up clash at Twickenham. Anscombe, 30, missed that year’s tournament as a result and has spent more than two years on the sidelines while recovering.

By Rob Carbon  Oh brother, have Wales got a few problems to solve when the All Blacks arrive in the Welsh capital to kick-off the autumn series at the end of next month. As if it wasn’t tough enough contending with the Barretts – Beauden, Scott and Jordi – in the recent past, now Wayne Pivac’s men will have to find a way to stop the Ioanes. A 38-21 win over Australia at the weekend made it a clean-sweep for New Zealand in the three-match Bledisloe Cup series and took them a point clear of reigning world champions South Africa two games into the Rugby Championship.

By Steffan Thomas Last March Ethan Lewis found himself surplus to requirements at Cardiff Rugby with his future as a professional rugby player in doubt.  But fortune favours the brave and after a successful loan spell at Saracens the 27-year-old hooker finds himself as a key cog in the English club’s shot at redemption. Having starred for Wales at under 20s level the Treorchy product didn’t get the opportunities he deserved in the Welsh capital, but he is relishing his second opportunity at Saracens. 

David Moffett has slammed the current state of World Rugby labelling the game “as boring as bat shit,” a “dog’s dinner” and believes private equity will seize control of the global game from the national unions. Moffett was one of world rugby’s most experienced administrators having been chief executive at the WRU, NZRU, the NRL and head of Sport England. He was the man who cobbled together the regional structure in Wales in 2003, left in 2005, came back briefly in 2014, and then co-wrote a new set of rules for the game last year.

Gold medal-winning Welshman Jim Roberts insists he holds no grudges against those who cut funding for wheelchair rugby. Roberts, from Welshpool, top scored with 24 tries to seal a memorable 54-49 victory over the USA at the Paralympic final in Tokyo on Sunday It was the first gold medal won by team GB in a Paralympic team sport since the Olympics and Paralympics became aligned under one organising committee 20 years ago.

Dafydd Lockyer has finally decided to hang up his boots, bringing to an end one of the great semi-professional careers in Welsh rugby. The long-term Pontypridd skipper  let the Sardis Road faithful know of his decision in a Captain’s Blog on the official club website and the game in Wales will be all the poorer without him. “It has been a tough decision, one that I’ve taken some time to consider, but one that I’ve now made. I’ve discussed the situation with my family, with the Ponty coaches and the decision has been made – it’s time to take a step back from the Ponty squad,” he wrote.

Sean Fitzpatrick is confident the Scarlets can turn their fortunes around under new head coach Dwayne Peel but has warned it won’t be a quick fix. The west Walians endured a difficult time last season with former coach Glenn Delaney parting ways with the club after failing to get results, despite having a strong squad at his disposal. The appointment of a new look coaching team headed up by Dwayne Peel, with Irish defence coach Hugh Hogan, and highly rated head of performance Nigel Ashley-Jones the other new additions excites All Blacks legend Fitzpatrick – now on the region’s board – but he urges Scarlets fans to be patient.

Shane Lewis-Hughes has admitted he is almost back to square one when it comes to convincing Wayne Pivac he is the back rower for Wales. Lewis-Hughes, 23, was plucked from relative regional rugby obscurity to make his international debut against Scotland in the rearranged Guinness Six Nations game in October last year. The Cardifff Rugby forward went on to feature in the Autumn Nations Cup against Ireland and England, impressing head coach Pivac and the Wales management not only with his talent, but also his incredible dedication.

Trystan Bevan has become the first “insider” to back the radical plan to limit substitutions in rugby. Bevan – who is high performance co-ordinator at Cardiff Rugby – believes there must be a curb on the number of replacements allowed on the field to make the sport less dangerous. Four-time Lions head coach Sir Ian McGeechan was part of a group of former coaches and players to sign an open letter this week calling on World Rugby to change its rules.

An injury to Cardiff Demons and Wales captain Shaunni Davies on 75 minutes meant that it was a premature end to this hard-fought Betfred Women’s Super League South semi-final, with the result standing. Davies was injured in a legitimate tackle and unable to be moved, so there was no chance of restarting the game.

Jonathan Davies wants to get back on the big red bus. The Wales and Scarlets star can’t wait to tackle rugby’s southern hemisphere superpowers this autumn, but the biggest thing he is looking forward to is playing in front of a full house at the Principality Stadium once again. The world champion Springboks, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji are all due in the Welsh capital this autumn and Davies, who captained Wales during the summer series against Argentina, says the players are relishing the chance to face the world’s best.