Glenn Delaney spent years trying to snatch players away from the Scarlets but is now reaping the rewards from one of the best rugby academies in the UK. One of the graduates of the Scarlets school – Dan Jones – kicked 11 of their 16 points on Boxing Day as they beat neighbours the Ospreys in the festive derby which was switched to Llanelli. While coaching at London Irish, Delaney openly admits how the Exiles used to target the Scarlets academy for potential new recruits.

There was relief written all over the face of Cardiff Blues defence coach Richard Hodges after his side edged their way to a nail-biting 13-12 Christmas derby win over the Dragons at Rodney Parade. If it wasn’t a Christmas cracker, there was enough tension to the end to keep everyone on the edge of their seats – especially in the Blues coaching box. Hodges was wired up to head coach John Mulvihill, who had to miss the game because he was isolating due to a Covid-19 contact.

Toby Booth has admitted the Ospreys have given themselves a harder task by taking their Boxing Day derby clash against the Scarlets to the home of their opponents. With the Liberty Stadium pitch being relaid, Booth’s region did not have much choice in the matter but their head coach reckons the move to Parc Y Scarlets has forced a hardening of their mentality for what is always a testing fixture. “It doesn’t affect our preparation. In fact, it means we probably have to be even better. We are putting more pressure on ourselves by playing away, said Booth.

Jingle, jingle, the Welsh festive derbies are here. They kick-off today at Rodney Parade where the Dragons host Cardiff Blues. The home side are looking for their fourth straight Guinness Pro14 victory and Aaron Wainwright is looking to earn a first, famous derby win as he told Graham Thomas. Aaron Wainwright insists the Dragons can get the Dean Ryan revolution back on track over the festive Welsh derbies. The Wales flanker is desperate to get stuck into the Cardiff Blues in the Boxing Day clash at Rodney Parade after being forced to miss his region’s last two matches.

Jamie Roberts insists he’s a lover not a fighter, but he would love nothing more than to get one over his old Cardiff Blues mates when the Dragons host a Boxing Day dust-up with their rivals. The giant centre, 34, made 87 appearances for the Blues between 2007 and 2013 winning the European Challenge Cup and the EDF Energy Cup in that time. Since leaving Wales’ capital region, Roberts has played for Racing 92, Harlequins, Bath and the Stormers in South Africa, but is now back in Welsh rugby with the Dragons – and is ready to get back into seasonal derby action at Rodney Parade.

Wales Rugby League is searching for a new women’s head coach after Craig Taylor resigned due to a change in his personal commitments. The 45-year-old, the side’s first-ever coach, led them to a historic 24-20 win over England Community Lions at St Helens in 2019.

The Welsh Rugby Union have joined forces with unions in England and Scotland to obtain funding to field GB Sevens teams for the 2021 season ahead of the Olympics. The deal was made possible because of a commercial partnership with The National Lottery promotional fund. It is not being funded by money allocated for National Lottery Good Causes or by Camelot. Both men’s and women’s GB Sevens teams will take part in the HSBC World Sevens Series in the build-up to next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, and then will continue for the climax of the 2021 season.

The Welsh Rugby Union and the country’s four professional sides have met for detailed crisis talks to discuss their potential liabilities for concussion-related damages. Former Dragons and Wales Under-20 centre Adam Hughes is one of six new players who have given their backing to supporting legal action against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the WRU for alleged failure to protect them from the risks caused by concussion and head injuries. Rylands Law, the legal firm representing the players, delivered its letter of claim to the defendants last week and its receipt has been acknowledged by the WRU. At a time when Welsh rugby has lost £50million inflicted by the devastating consequences of Covid-19, the WRU and the regions are well aware of the potential ramifications should the players’ legal case be successful.

The Ospreys will face another tough away day task on Boxing Day – just a week after their stunning weekend comeback victory at Worcester Warriors. The region made it three successive victories for the first time since April 2019 as they came from 29-18 behind to win 38-29 in their European Challenge Cup tie at Sixways. Now, though, they are poised to lose home advantage for their crunch Boxing Day clash against the Scarlets with the game now set to be played in Llanelli.

Cardiff Blues have thanked Stade Francais for their “professionalism” after the French club chose not to come to Wales for their European Challenge Cup tie. The match, planned for Saturday night, was cancelled because of the French side’s Covid-19 concerns and their decision not to travel. John Mulvihill’s Blues and the Scarlets – whose Heineken Champions Cup game with Toulon was also cancelled – have both been awarded automatic 28-0 wins.

Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan has called on European rugby to establish clear rulings surrounding close contacts as his team continues to be decimated by Covid-19. The Dragons are in France tonight at Bordeux-Begles just a day after Top 14 giants Toulon refused to play at the Scarlets because of infection fears. That fixture was postponed, but doesn’t like being replayed and it’s expected the Scarlets will be awarded the points and a 28-0 victory.

By David Williams The Scarlets have been left in the lurch after their Heineken Champions Cup clash against Toulon this evening was called off less than an hour before kick-off. Tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby have confirmed Toulon decided not to play because of coronavirus-related concerns. But rather than suggest the contest would be […]

The Scarlets may be 12 international players down going into their crucial Heineken Champions Cup home clash with Toulon tonight, but head coach Glenn Delaney isn’t worried about tackling the French giants with a reduced squad. Instead, he is looking forward to giving more youngsters their chance to shine by taking on players of the calibre of Ma’a Nonu, Eben Etzebeth and Sergio Parisse. Jonathan Davies returns to the midfield to join acting skipper Steff Hughes to face Nonu, while wannabee Wales flanker Josh Macleod gets his first start after recovering from the hamstring strain that robbed him of the chance of winning a first cap in the Nations Cup.

The Ospreys are on the point of doing something they haven’t done for over 18 months – winning three matches in succession. Their captain, Dan Lydiate, admits last season “wasn’t pretty” but insists change has come under new head coach Toby Booth, as he tells Graham Thomas. Dan Lydiate has thrown his weight behind Toby Booth’s Ospreys revolution and believes the English coach has already unified the squad after the cracks of last season. The region’s captain – who took over from Justin Tipuric and led the Ospreys to a convincing win over Castres last week – reckons Booth is starting to make his mark after 10 matches in charge.

Head injuries, brain damage and dementia continue to cast a dark and troublesome backdrop for rugby. Former Dragons centre Adam Hughes is the latest to have joined the legal challenge to the authorities for negligence. The games’ rulers claim the game has never been safer. But Harri Morgan says the sport’s defence only applies to the professional level and for the grass roots, it’s a whole new and worrying ball game. The righteous beer. A glorious swig. An act many of you reading this will have engaged in – but never classified. The term was introduced to me via The Socially Distant Sports Bar Podcast, a rare fairway in a year of rough and bunkers.

Shane Williams has revealed that former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards used “bone on bone” sessions in training with the Wales squad which the former wing felt were more physical than the matches themselves. The claim comes amid increasing concerns in the game over the long term effects of concussion injuries and the revelations of early onset dementia. One of Williams’ former Wales teammates, Alix Popham, has been diagnosed with the condition and last week it was announced that Popham and former England World Cup winner Steve Thompson were part of a group legal case for negligence being brought against World Rugby.

Gareth Davies has backed Wayne Pivac to turn things around with Wales and says the evidence for his optimism lies in the coach’s impact with the Scarlets. The Wales scrum half, fresh from another superb try to cap his 200th appearance for the Scarlets at Bath in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend, has admitted Pivac’s men weren’t where they wanted to be when they gathered for the autumn internationals. Wales lost their first three games, to France, Scotland and Ireland, beat Georgia and then went down to England. They won their final game but didn’t really manage to finish with the anticipated flourish against Italy.

The Ospreys are ready to sign Wales prop Tomas Francis from Exeter, who look unlikely to be able to offer him a club and country base next season. Francis has often pledged his loyalty to the Chiefs, who are the current European champions and have become the strongest side in England following Saracens’ demise. Only last season, he said: “It would be a terribly difficult decision to leave Exeter, one I do not want to have to make.

Wayne Pivac insists there is still plenty to get excited about over Wales’ World Cup draw – including the prospect of Alun Wyn Jones still being at the 2023 tournament at the age of 38. The pool draw for France 2023 has once again seen Wales grouped alongside Australia and Fiji. It is the third successive World Cup for that to happen, while Wales’ pool will be completed by qualifiers from Europe – potentially Georgia – and the winner of a four-team final qualification tournament involving sides from Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia/Pacific.

The Welsh regions believe they require a £40m injection of cash to keep them from collapsing during the current pandemic. That figure is double the amount the four have so far been promised in the form of a loan, secured by the Welsh Rugby Union but for which the regions themselves are liable. Last week, the chief executive of Cardiff Blues, Richard Holland, led the call for Welsh Government support and now one of the most respected figures in the game, Ospreys chairman and current Professional Rugby Board (PRB) member Rob Davies, has demanded a “fair and proportionate share of state funding” to help keep the professional game afloat.