Former Scarlets trio Harri Williams, Griff Evans and Iestyn Rees have all joined English Championship outfit Ampthill. Scrum-half Williams is set to play for Wales U20 at next month’s World Junior Championships in South Africa, while lock Evans and back row man Rees will join him in adding further Welsh flavour to Paul Turner’s Ampthill mob next season.

Former Ospreys coach Steve Tandy has signed up with Scotland for a further three years. Assistant coach Tandy, John Dalziel and Pieter de Villiers have all followed the lead of head coach Gregor Townsend in extending their contracts until April 2026.

Alun Wyn Jones will captain the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday in the game against a World XV. It will be the 37-year-old Ospreys lock’s 15th international outing at the home of English rugby in a game that will see him make his debut for the Baa-Baas.

With the Scarlets dumped out at the semi-final stage by Glasgow Warriors, the only skin in the game for Welsh rugby at Friday night’s European Challenge Cup Final is with the man wearing No.10 for Toulon – Dan Biggar. The Wales outside-half will be calling the shots, kicking the goals, catching his own high balls, waving his arms, ear-bashing the referee and generally doing what Dan Biggar does at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which at least means a Welshman could have a big say in the outcome.

The back door entry into the Heineken Champions Cup for the Welsh regions is set to close next season. The Scarlets, Ospreys, Dragons and Cardiff have all had the opportunity to qualify for Europe’s top tier tournament by winning the Welsh Shield – a contrived competition amongst themselves – but that route now looks over.

Byron Hayward has resigned as Wales U20 coach and been replaced on a temporary basis by former Wales wing Mark Jones. Hayward – who was in his second stint in the age group set-up – has stepped down as lead pathway coach after a difficult season in which his side finished bottom of the U20 Six Nations table after losing all five games.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has promised seven-times capped England prop Henry Thomas will “bring something different” to their preliminary World Cup training squad. Montpellier tighthead Thomas, who has played for Sale and Bath in the Gallagher Premiership, was capped by England between 2013 and 2014 and has served World Rugby’s stand down period of three years to represent another country.

Warren Gatland has warned that Wales’ top teams – including the national side – need to become more successful or else more players will follow Joe Hawkins out of Test rugby. The Wales coach believes the three regions and Wales all need to improve, otherwise young players like Hawkins could decide to put club before country.

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel has called on his players to use their semi-final defeat in the Challenge Cup as motivation to grow and improve for next season. The Llanelli region were beaten 35-17 by Glasgow Warriors at a packed Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.

Wales prop Wyn Jones has spoken of his admiration for Dwayne Peel in guiding the Scarlets to the threshold of a European final. Jones – who will pack down in the front row when Glasgow visit Parc y Scarlets on Saturday – admits he can’t quite believe how his head coach has dealt with so many obstacles in a campaign like no other.

Wales international Dafydd Jenkins will miss Exeter’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle after receiving a three-week ban. The second-row forward, who has won six caps, was sent off for a dangerous tackle during Chiefs’ Gallagher Premiership victory over Bristol.

Thomas Young took a starring role in the absence of his dad as Cardiff beat the Ospreys 38-21 to clinch the Welsh Shield and Heineken Champions Cup qualification in their final URC game. Director of Rugby Dai Young wasn’t at the Principality Stadium for the Judgement Day showdown having been suspended by the region ahead of the game.