Andy Farrell says Ireland must make a statement of intent against Wales to demonstrate their Guinness Six Nations title credentials. The Irish return to Cardiff on Sunday for the first time since a 25-7 defeat in 2019 saw Wales replace them as Grand Slam champions. Head coach Farrell was unable to help his adopted country reclaim the crown during an inconsistent first year in the job, eventually finishing a prolonged tournament third behind England and France.

Dan Lydiate will return for Wales after more than two years away when he plays against Ireland on Sunday. It’s a good call, according to Mike Ruddock, but the former Leinster and Ireland U20 coach reckons Wales will need to do a lot more than simply defend around their back row as he tells Graham Thomas. Mike Ruddock has warned Wales that English pair Andy Farrell and Mike Catt are looking to unleash a new multi-weaponed Ireland against them on Sunday. Wales’ former Grand Slam-winning coach believes it will not be enough for Wayne Pivac’s side to concentrate solely on blocking Ireland’s steam-rollering pack.

New women’s head coach Thomas Brindle is relishing chance to progress the Wales Rugby League national team. The 34-year-old takes over from Craig Taylor, who stood down at the end of last year for personal reasons, having been involved in the sport for many years.

Wayne Pivac has vowed his Wales team will give the country reason to get excited when they launch their Guinness Six Nations campaign against Ireland in Cardiff on Sunday. The Wales coach has picked George North at centre and recalled wing Hallam Amos and flanker Dan Lydiate for the opening match of the tournament as injuries and the axing of Josh Adams forced the coach’s hand. Ospreys wing North, who wins his 99th cap, is partnered by Johnny Williams in midfield as Wales go into action without Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies.

With no fans inside the Principality Stadium for the Six Nations – and no pubs or rugby clubs open – predictions competitions are one way of keeping supporters feeling involved and together. Leading results agency All Wales Sport have extended the deadline for theirs to Friday and are going all out with a £200 prize pot for charity. Entry is free and all you have to do is predict each Six Nations result – in terms of overall points difference – starting with Saturday’s tournament opener between Italy and France.

Wales’ preparations for their Six Nations opener with Ireland have been thrown into turmoil after star wing Josh Adams was removed from Wayne Pivac’s squad for breaching Covid-19 protocols. Adams – the top try-scorer at the 2019 World Cup – attended a family event at the weekend in a decision which went against every protocol the Wales management had provided. To minimise the risk of coronavirus infecting their squad, Wales are spending longer periods in their bubble at their Vale of Glamorgan training base.

A Six Nations tournament in the year of a Lions tour always adds extra spice, but for Wayne Pivac it might just be food that keeps him alive, according to Harri Morgan. With Lions places dangled on a string in front of them, he expects a few Wales players to step forward. As a fan, with designs on following the Lions to the southern tip of Africa, my preference would be for a postponement until 2022. The ‘+1’ approach is conceptually simple.

Wales back row international Ollie Griffiths has received a double boost – signing a contract extension at the Dragons and returning to training after ankle surgery. The 25-year-old, who won his only cap to date as a replacement in the summer tour victory over Tonga in Auckland in 2017, has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons, but is now targeting a return to action next month. His latest problem came in the Champions Cup defeat to Wasps, when he damaged his ankle. Successful surgery was followed by rehab and now he is back running at the region’s Ystrad Mynach training base.

WillGriff John says family reasons and a desire to be playing a vibrant band of rugby led him to sign for the Scarlets for next season from Sale. The prop – who came close to his first cap last season before the lockdown stalled his ambitions – would have been outside the eligibility category for the next campaign had he remained in England. But the tight-head has decided against renewing his contract at Sale in preference of a move to Parc y Scarlets.

Wales have played six games since Hadleigh Parkes decided to pack his bags and head to the Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese Top League and in that time Wayne Pivac has tried four different players to fill the gap. Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Johnny Williams and George North have all been given a run in the Welsh midfield as the experiment of trying to find the right man to accompany Jonathan Davies has been given an extended run since Parkes won his 29th and final Welsh cap against England last March. Davies has always thrived on playing with a regular centre partner – he started 46 times with Jamie Roberts for Wales and once with the British & Irish Lions and then played for region and country with Parkes – but the right balance has yet to be found for the 2020s.

Glenn Delaney has told his Scarlets team that conceding 50 points at home is “dreadful” and there has to be an immediate response. The New Zealander is facing up to his first crisis in his time in charge at the region after a third successive defeat was inflicted by Leinster who walloped the Welsh region, 52-25. Admittedly, the Scarlets were without 12 of their 1st XV but Leinster arrived without 17 Irish squad members and still put half a century of points on the home side.

Dai Young’s arrival as interim Cardiff Blues director of rugby was music to the ears of wing Josh Adams who hopes the former Wasps boss can get him and his team firing on all cylinders. In nine years in English rugby, Young took Wasps to the Gallagher Premiership play-offs for three straight years between 2016 and 2018. His success in that time came with an enterprising brand of attacking rugby that had the likes of Danny Cipriani, Kurtley Beale, Willie le Roux and Christian Wade at its heart.

The Scarlets bid to recover from back-to-back defeats against Cardiff Blues on Saturday night when they host Guinness Pro 14 champions Leinster. But there will be more than just points at stake as two opposing props – one on the way up and one on the way back – have something to prove, as Graham Thomas reports. It will be a tale of two tight-heads when the Scarlets host Leinster on Saturday night with all eyes on Javan Sebastian and Tadhg Furlong. In the red corner will be Sebastian, who has played in every Guinness Pro 14 match for the region so far this season and was this week rewarded with a new contract.

Wales Women head coach Warren Abrahams is looking forward to mixing it with hosts New Zealand as well as Australia at the Rugby World Cup 2021 in September. Wales will also play the final qualification winner in a demanding group, with matches starting on September 18. “International rugby doesn’t come much better than that,” said Abrahams, who was appointed as head coach in November.

Dean Ryan believes Will Rowlands can make a big impact at the Dragons now the Wales second row’s move from Wasps has been confirmed. Rowlands has ensured he will continue to be able to play for Wales when his current contract at the Ricoh Arena expires this summer. The 29-year-old would have been barred from Wales selection under the WRU’s 60-cap policy, which restricts players who play their club rugby outside the four regions from representing Wales if they fall under the threshold.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones believes that this year’s planned British and Irish Lions tour should go ahead “if it can”. The Lions are due to visit South Africa in July and August, highlighted by a three-Test series against the world champions. However, the coronavirus pandemic has created considerable uncertainty over whether the eight-match trip will take place.

Wayne Pivac will know that whatever allowances may have been made for Wales’ poor performance in 2020 will not extend into this year’s Six Nations as he looks for improvement in all areas, but maintains his side are in a “good space”. Wales won just three of their 10 Tests last year, with those successes coming against Italy [twice] and Georgia. It was a huge step backwards from the form of the previous two seasons under Warren Gatland, but a change to a more ball-in-hand style and injuries to key individuals have been a factor.

Prop Javan Sebastian has signed a new contract with the Scarlets. The 26-year-old tight-head has featured in every Guinness PRO14 match this season and also came off the bench to make his mark in the Heineken Champions Cup victory over Bath in December. Having come through the Scarlets academy system, Sebastian was capped by Wales at U18s level and has played for Carmarthen Quins in the Welsh Premiership.

Wales Under-20s head coach Gareth Williams has admitted his genuine concern the country’s next generation of promising talent could be lost forever due to the devastating impact of Covid-19. Williams’ side did complete their junior Six Nations campaign last year, but last summer’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy was abandoned. The 2021 Under-20 Six Nations has also been postponed until later this year because of the pandemic with a date for the tournament still yet to be decided.

Stephen Myler has been described as “fit as a butcher’s dog” and an extra coach on the field by the Ospreys chief who has just given the 36-year-old another year’s contract. Toby Booth has showered praise on the English outside-half, who has signed for a further season with the region even though he will be 37 this summer. Myler struck three conversions on Sunday as the Ospreys earned a 26-20 Guinness Pro 14 victory away at Connacht.