Former Wales wing Tom James has announced his retirement from rugby at the age of 33. Currently with the Scarlets, James made his name with the Cardiff Blues and went on to earn 12 international caps, in a 14-season career during which he scored 86 tries in 234 appearances for Cardiff RFC, the Blues, Exeter Chiefs, the Scarlets and Wales. James joined the Scarlets at the start of the current season, but made just four regional appearances before the current shutdown.

The Welsh fitness coach who helped the Springboks win the World Cup last year is returning to British rugby to take over as Head of Physical Performance at Leicester Tigers. Aled Walters had been the Head of Athletic Performance at SA Rugby since 2018 and was widely credited with having played a key role in the 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph. He had previously spent four seasons at the Scarlets, worked as head of S&C with Tarakanki and then took over as athletic performance coach at the Brumbies in Super Rugby.

It was the kick that broke 10,000 Scarlet hearts. Tim Stimpson looked an unlikely assassin, but 18 years ago a blend of deviousness, dedication and technique denied Welsh rugby a team in the final of Europe’s showpiece, as the former England full-back recounts to Graham Thomas. Tim Stimpson tells the story with the practised air of a confident and experienced after-dinner speaker. In a classic match played 18 years ago this week, there were two minutes left between Leicester and Llanelli in a tension-wrapped Heineken Cup semi-final at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.

Wales and Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias is desperate to recapture the thrill of springtime 2017 – when he broke through for both region and country. In fact, the highs Elias experienced three years ago as he clinched a Guinness Pro14 champions’ medal and won his first Welsh cap on the summer tour are firmly in mind as he strives to stay fit during the current rugby lockdown. The Scarlets’ final triumph over Munster – a classic which is being repeated in full by S4C on Saturday at 5.45pm – is a cherished memory for the 13-times capped 25-year-old.

Hadleigh Parkes and Owen Williams are poised to leave Welsh rugby – a move that will bring down the curtain on their respective Wales careers. The pair are heading for lucrative moves to Japan after attempts to keep Parkes at the Scarlets and lure Williams from Gloucester to a Welsh region both failed. Instead, the two centres will follow the money trail to the far East and therefore be unavailable to Wales coach Wayne Pivac as they fail to meet the 60-cap threshold for overseas-based players.

Alix Popham has sent out an emotional plea to Welsh rugby fans to tune in to the funeral of his former Newport, Dragons and Wales team mate Matthew J Watkins today. Watkins lost his brave battle to a rare form of pelvic cancer on March 7 at the age of 41. He won 18 Welsh caps and played for Newport, the Dragons, the Scarlets and Gloucester. Due to restrictions on public gatherings during the current lockdown, only close members of his family will be able to attend what would otherwise have been a massive funeral at Thornhill Crematorium in Cardiff.

Workers are making rapid progress on converting Parc y Scarlets into a temporary hospital to provide extra beds for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contractors have been working tirelessly on site since Monday as they look to complete a project that will see up to 500 beds installed at three separate locations on the stadium site. The biggest project is being undertaken at the indoor arena training facility, which will house 252 beds. There will also be a hospital area in the Quinnell Lounge in the South Stand and the first floor concourse.

The Dragons and Scarlets will have to wait to discover if and when they can play their European Challenge Cup quarter-finals after EPCR decided to postpone this season’s knock-out matches. In a statement from CEO Vincent Gaillard on Tuesday, EPCR said they had taken the step because of an unprecedented situation with the threat to public health and safety posed by COVID-19. “European club rugby tournaments have been suspended since 16 March and with the health of all stakeholders of primary importance, the decision has been taken to postpone the semi-finals and Finals Weekend of the 2019/20 season in addition to the quarter-finals originally scheduled for April 3-5,” said Gaillard.

Wales will wear black armbands against England at Twickenham today following the sad passing of former international centre Matthew J Watkins at the age of 41. In 2013, Watkins was diagnosed with a rare form of pelvic cancer and in January this year revealed it had spread to his head. In recent years Watkin helped […]

The Ospreys are searching for a young, charismatic coach to take over and have added Dwayne Peel to a hit list of options. The 38-year-old former Wales scrum-half – currently coaching at Ulster – fits the age profile the region are seeking in a new talisman to revive their fortunes. The Ospreys have been impressed by the impact Brad Mooar has had at the Scarlets – on and off the field – in just a few months and want a coach in a similar mould to both lift a downtrodden squad and re-connect with a disillusioned fan base.

Wales’ rival scrum-halves Gareth Davies and Rhys Webb could get a European showdown after the Six Nations – providing Toulon play ball. The pair have been drawn together in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup after the Scarlets and Toulon both made it through to the last eight. Webb’s Toulon topped their pool but will face runners-up Scarlets – and Davies – in the first weekend of April, after the Welsh region sneaked through as the final qualifier.

Liam Williams look set to rejoin the Scarlets within weeks – rather than next season – as Saracens bid to bring their financial house in order. The Wales and Lions star already seems to have played his last game for the English champions and will spend the next month trying to get fit for the Six Nations, before pulling on his old Scarlets shirt once more. Sarries are loath to pick the 28-year-old again as he has not played for them so far this season. If it stays that way then he will not be included in salary calculations, which would mean they have £230,000 extra head room. To work with.