By Steffan Thomas Willis Halaholo is desperate to represent Wales at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and believes Cardiff’s no excuse culture can help him achieve his goals. After excelling at regional level for the past four seasons Halaholo finally made his Wales debut in February’s Six Nations win against Scotland and having played an […]

Scott Williams has been tipped to recapture the form which originally made him a star on the international stage now he has rejoined the Scarlets. The 58-times capped Wales centre left the Scarlets three years ago to join the Ospreys, but his time at the Liberty Stadium was plagued by injuries. But he’s now returned home to Llanelli, and new Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel is confident he can get the best out of the 30-year-old.

Gareth Anscombe has come through the mental and well as the physical tests and is ready for his competitive comeback, according to Ospreys coach Toby Booth. The Wales fly-half will line up at No.10 for the Ospreys in their opening United Rugby Championship clash when they make a derby trip to Rodney Parade to face the Dragons on Sunday. Anscombe, Tomas Francis and promising young flanker Jac Morgan will all make their competitive Ospreys debuts.

When Dwayne Peel helped the Scarlets win the Celtic League title in 2004, Kieran Hardy was just a small face in the ground. Now, Peel is at the helm for their URC opener at Edinburgh on Saturday and scrum-half Hardy is hoping to absorb plenty of his coach’s know-how as he tells Graham Thomas. Kieran Hardy believes his boyhood hero Dwayne Peel can be the guiding light that enables him to hold onto the Wales No.9 shirt this season. Scarlets scrum-half Hardy was just eight-years-old when his father took him to Stradey Park to see Peel in his pomp clinch the old Celtic League title back in 2004.

By Rob Carbon Newly appointed Cardiff Rugby captain Josh Turnbull is set to realising a teenage ambition of playing in one of the world’s most exciting rugby tournaments when he leads his side into the United Rugby Championship. The Wales back-row man believes the expanded, 16-team competition, which will include the top South African franchises […]

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.