By Tom Prosser Sam Costelow kicked a match winning 10 points in his 18th and final appearance for Wales U20s as he steered his side to a 32-24 win over Scotland. It meant Wales finished their U20 Six Nations campaign in fourth place in a frantic match which saw the lead change hands seven times and a total of eight tries. This defeat left winless Scotland with the Wooden Spoon.

Warren Gatland has welcomed South Africa elevating their ‘A’ clash into an unofficial fourth Test, but the British and Irish Lions head coach has emphatically ruled out meeting for a second time on Saturday. The Springboks have picked seven starters from the XV that crushed England in the 2019 World Cup final for Wednesday’s fixture in Cape Town, including world player of the year Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Faf De Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe. Following a severe outbreak of coronavirus that has produced 26 positive tests, South Africa were forced to cancel last Friday’s second Test against Georgia and now need to give inactive players some game time, with the series against the Lions just 12 days away.

Ioan Cunningham will be looking to round off Wales’ U20 Six Nations campaign on a high note as they battle to avoid the wooden spoon against Scotland on Tuesday. The championship has not gone Cunningham or Wales’ way and whilst they kicked off their tournament with an impressive win against Italy in round one, they were not able to keep their foot on the gas and lost their following three matches. Scotland’s campaign has also proved a difficult one and they have yet to win any of their matches.

By Paul Jones Seven Welsh players have been included in a strong Lions line-up that appears to resemble a shadow Test side as the tourists prepare to face South Africa A on Wednesday. Lions coach Warren Gatland has included Louis-Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams and Dan Biggar in his back line, with Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Josh […]

Dwayne Peel has revealed how the opportunity to coach the Scarlets was too good to turn down and insists he is confident he can get the west Walians firing again. The former Wales scrum-half was recently appointed head coach of the Scarlets, having originally signed a contract to become backs coach at the Cardiff Blues. Peel’s decision to renege on his contract in the Welsh capital was met with outrage in some quarters, but he insists the opportunity to coach his home club was a chance he had to grab with both hands.

By Tom Prosser Wales and Argentina shared the spoils in an enthralling test match at the Principality Stadium. Wayne Pivac’s men showed plenty of intent throughout but lacked the clinical edge to put away a powerful Pumas outfit.

Jonathan Davies will lead Wales out against Argentina on Saturday in a game that should have been happening in South America, not Cardiff. But there are many who believe Davies is still in the wrong country and that he should be in South Africa, wearing the red of the Lions, not Wales. Harri Morgan says Davies has a chance to reinforce that view against the Pumas. Just shy of four years to the day since what was one of the iconic plays of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, Jonathan Davies set out to reel in an interceptor clad in a black jersey. Again.

Wales continue their summer tour – flipped from Toronto and Buenos Aires to halfway down Westgate Street – on Saturday when they meet Argentina at the Principality Stadium. For scrum-half Kieran Hardy it’s another opportunity to press his claims for one of the most competitive spots on the team, as Graham Thomas reports. Kieran Hardy is determined to run the whole race against Argentina this weekend – after pulling up short on the final bend in the biggest match of his life. The last time Wales fans saw Hardy start a game was when he had to limp away from the action during the late stages of the Six Nations victory over England in February.

By Paul Jones Wales U20’s fell to their third successive defeat in the Six Nations with a 45-3 loss to the so far undefeated England who will now have hopes of completing the grand slam at the Arms Park next Tuesday. Wales Captain Alex Mann couldn’t fault his sides effort and is aiming to end the Six Nations campaign with a win over the so far winless Scotland. “It was really tough, I’m disappointed for the boys as I thought we deserved more but now we have got to put things right and learn from our mistakes, particularly with our discipline,” said Mann.

By Graham Thomas Ireland U20 captain Alex Kendellen will be giving it plenty of hammer when he aims to drive his team back into contention for the Six Nations title. West Ham fan Kendellen found that whatever bubbles he tried to blow against England in the last round did not see his Irish youngsters rise to the top of the age group table. But following that 24-15 defeat – which leaves Ireland in second place in the table with two rounds to go – the back row forward is convinced his team can stay in touch with the leaders by beating Italy at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday.

Most English eyes will be focused on Wembley tonight, but for age group rugby fans there’s another significant showdown happening at Cardiff Arms Park – Wales v England. The U20 Six Nations clash sees unbeaten England looking to take a penultimate step towards a Grand Slam and Wales aiming for their first win, nicely chilled thanks to a certain TV show as Tom Prosser reports. Wales U20 star Sam Costelow has been preparing to kick England out of their Grand Slam villa by watching Love Island. The Scarlets youngster has revealed he and the rest of the squad have relaxed ahead of their Six Nations showdown by nightly dates with the ITV show, interspersed with occasional games of table tennis.

Late call-ups Josh Navidi and Adam Beard will make their Lions debuts on Wednesday when the tourists face the Sharks in Johannesburg. The Wales pair – who replaced Justin Tipuric and captain Alun Wyn Jones after injuries in the match against Japan – will make their bows for the British and Irish Lions in their second game on South African soil. Flanker Navidi of the Cardiff Blues and Ospreys lock Beard will join Tom Curry, of Sale Sharks and  England, in wearing the Lions shirt for the first time at Ellis Park, now called Emirates Airline Park (kick off 6pm BST).

The new Cardiff Demons Women’s Super League South side had an outstanding start to life on Saturday when they stormed to an 88-6 win over Golden Ferns in Bristol. Their hosts, the female arm of the All Golds club, were on the back foot from the start after Wales captain Shaunni Davies scored in under 90 seconds. Ffion Lewis, who became Wales’ 100th dual code international rugby player last week, converted.

Growing up as a football-mad River Plate supporter in the Argentinian city of Santiago del Estero, Tomas Lezana dreamed of a career with a round ball rather than an oval one. But now the Pumas flanker is a Test rugby star, and after helping his country to a famous win over the All Blacks last autumn Lezana is now set to embark on a new chapter of his career in west Wales with the Scarlets. “The rugby in the region I come from is not strong at all,” said the 27-year-old. 

Josh Adams has made a strong early case for inclusion in the Lions Test team to face South Africa later this month. The Wales wing maintained his hot streak as he scored four tries in the British & Irish Lions’ 56-14 win over the Sigma Lions in Johannesburg. The top try scorer at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, he won the right to tour with Warren Gatland’s Lions side in South Africa by scoring tries in his last three games for Wales as he helped them secure another Six Nations title.

Leigh Halfpenny is waiting to hear how many more months he will have to spend on in the sidelines following the knee injury he suffered against Canada. The Wales full-back – whose career has been consistently interrupted by various injury setbacks over the years – is waiting for scan results after his latest blow. The Wales full-back made his 100th Test appearance in a 68-12 hammering of Canada, but what should have been a milestone match for the 32-year-old lasted just 30 seconds.

Leigh Halfpenny realised his boyhood dream 13 years ago, but today he will achieve something he never could have imagined in his wildest fantasies. Away from the spotlight of the Lions tour, before a restricted crowd at the Principality Stadium against low key opposition, Halfpenny will run out to play a Test match for the 100th time. He becomes the eighth Welsh player to reach three figures – alongside Alun Wyn Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Stephen Jones, George North, Martyn Williams, Gareth Thomas and Adam Jones.

By Tom Prosser Wales U20s head coach Ioan Cunningham stressed the importance of his players learning from their mistakes after his side lost 36-19 to France. Wales have now lost back to back games and face the so far unbeaten England at the Arms Park on Wednesday. “Frustration again, if I’m honest, especially in that first half I felt we gifted France 24 points,” said Cunningham.

Scotland coach Sean Lineen admits he has been left dismayed by his team’s 43-3 thrashing at the hands of Italy at Cardiff Arms Park in the third round of the U20 Six Nations. The Scots – who meet Wales in the final round of the tournament – were flattened by an efficient and impressive Italian outfit who rain in six tries. “Poor, very poor,” said dejected head coach Lineen.

By Paul Jones Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys can’t wait for the fans to create a buzz again at the Principality Stadium when Wales take on Canada on Saturday.   This will be the first Wales home game with a crowd in 15 months, this is something that some of the players have never experienced before.   “It is sad that some people have won first caps and had massive experiences while friends and family can’t be there,” said Humphreys.