With Wales having been mauled by the Pumas at the World Cup, it’s been a week for licking wounds in Welsh rugby. This weekend, though, seven days on after losing to Argentina in the quarter-finals, there is a chance for the domestic game to shows its claws have sharpened when the United Rugby Championship season begins.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) returns this weekend with the four Welsh regions all looking to bed in new recruits and plenty of internal promotions. There will be some familiar faces, but plenty of unknowns, too. To help you on your way, here’s our guide to who’s who and where did what’shisname go?

Shane Williams believes the Scarlets will be the strongest performing Welsh team in the BKT United Rugby Championship this season. The former Wales wing also feels there will be an opportunity for a number of talented youngsters to break through across the four regions.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has named a squad of 23 to take on former captain Alun Wyn Jones and the Barbarians in Cardiff on Nov. 4, with 16 retained players from their Rugby World Cup campaign in France. Gatland, though, will be without a significant number of his leading players through injury and the inability to call on those contracted to clubs in England, France and Japan as the fixture falls outside of the international window.

Warren Gatland prefers ancient history to modern history, which is why he reckons Wales will beat Georgia on Saturday. The Wales coach has been talking about Wales’ final Pool C opponents at the Rugby World Cup, the Georgians.

Jac Morgan has gone from part-time rugby player to full-time prospect as potential Lions captain in the course of four years. After his superb leadership of the Wales team so far at the Rugby World Cup in France, Morgan is the name on everyone’s lips.

We’re still in the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup but the big beasts are starting to stir. The Dragons of Wales, the Australian Wallabies, the leaping Springboks, the crowing French cockrell, and the . . err, prickly roses of England and spikey Scottish thistles are all on show.

Scrum half Joe Williams came off the bench to help himself to a second half try hat-trick as Cardiff beat RGC 35-17 at the Arms Park in the Indigo Premiership. It was 14-3 to the Blue & Blacks at the break before Williams popped up to secure the bonus-point win. Prop Freddie Barnes opened the scoring with a close-range effort before Wales U20 outside half Harrison James hit a hat-trick of penalties.

So, Wales have announced their World Cup squad – one that coach Warren Gatland reckons “will do something special” in France next month. They go there ranked 10th in the world, meaning just getting out of their pool would exceed expectations.

Tom Rogers has become the latest addition to the Wales starting XV to face the world champions Springboks in the final game in the Vodafone Summer Series. The Scarlets back three player has been brought off the replacements bench to take the place of Alex Cuthbert. Louis Rees-Zammit has been brought into the matchday 23 to take over from Rogers.

Wing Alex Cuthbert and centre Johnny Williams will make their first appearances of Wales’ World Cup warm-up schedule against South Africa on Saturday. Williams partners Mason Grady in midfield, while there are also starts for the likes of scrum-half Kieran Hardy and hooker Elliot Dee.

Not everyone is a fan of Taine Plumtree’s rapid rise to a Wales starting spot, but Neil Jenkins – like Warren Gatland – prefers to stress the back row forward’s qualities as well as his perfect qualifications. When Plumtree came on to win his first cap against England in Cardiff last weekend, Ross Moriarty was unimpressed.