Sam Warburton is the right man to help tap into the full potential of the current Wales squad, according to new defence coach Byron Hayward. The former Wales captain has been added to the Wales coaching team as an advisor because he can bridge the generational divide. The playing days of new head coach Wayne […]

Blade Thomson will make his first Scarlets appearance of the season as Brad Mooar’s side face Benetton in Llanelli on Saturday night. Thomson was one of Scotland’s better players at the World Cup and he will start at No 8 with Ed Kennedy and Josh Macleod either side of him in the back-row. Elsewhere in the pack, Taylor Davies comes in for Marc Jones at hooker. Davies packs down in a front row that includes Phil Price and Wales international Samson Lee. Lewis Rawlins and Steve Cummins again get the nod in the second row.

The Scarlets’ home fixture against London Irish will be live on free-to-air TV as part of a deal reached by S4C to show live coverage of the Welsh regions’ matches in the European Rugby Challenge Cup this season. With three of the regions in this season’s competition, supporters will be able to watch one live match per round during the group stages, after an agreement was made with rights-holders BT Sport and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). The first two fixtures have been confirmed. Round one will see the Scarlets’ home match against Pool Two opponents London Irish being broadcast live on S4C, on Saturday 16 November. The second match to be televised will be the Pool Five clash between Cardiff Blues and Leicester Tigers on Saturday 23 November.

Steff Hughes will captain the Scarlets for the first Guinness Pro 14 fixture of the Brad Mooar era against Connacht this evening. The Scarlets are without 15 players who are on international duty at the World Cup in Japan but have selected a squad brimming with young Welsh talent for a match which is live […]

The Scarlets have given their Welsh international trio of Rob Evans, Samson Lee and Steff Evans a chance to get over the disappointment of not being picked for the World Cup by starting them against the Dragons at Rodney Parade this weekend (Saturday, 4.00pm). They have all been back in full training with their regional team mates this week and have earned fulsome praise from new head coach Brad Mooar ahead of his final warm-up match before the Guinness PRO14 opener against Connacht at Parc y Scarlets on 28 September. “Their engagement, their connection with the team and their desire to be involved has been outstanding. They’ve been fully involved and couldn’t have done any more,” said Mooar.

When James Davies took a blow to the head playing against England, he thought the brother he calls “Golden Balls” had turned him over again. Big bro Jonathan – three years older (28 to 31), 70 more caps for Wales (five to 75) and a double Lions tourist (no caps v six) – has always made sure James lives in his shadow. Who knows? You wouldn’t be surprised if you heard that Jonathan had been upgraded to first class on the squad’s flight out to Tokyo last night, while James had been relegated from business class to cattle.

Only 31 seats on the plane are available to Wales players seeking a place at the World Cup. James Davies can further his case against Ireland today, but Harri Morgan insists the Scarlets No.7 has a broader influence that may swing tight selection decisions in his favour. At the back end of April, my post-stag do brain drew upon reserves in an attempt to consume the 42 names that Warren Gatland had announced in his Rugby World Cup training squad. I don’t really recall any of the inclusions or omissions being particularly emotive.

As players go back into regional pre-season training this month, they will be hearing plenty of different accents – Aussie, Kiwi, Ulsterman, English . . . but just not Welsh. Robin Davey wonders why it’s so deeply unfashionable to have learned your coaching trade in the nation that has just won the Grand Slam. It is one of the great ironies of Welsh rugby that while players who have left the country are being encouraged to return home, native coaches can’t get a look-in. The dismissal of Jason Strange from Cardiff Blues proves yet again that when it comes to coaching, anything stamped “import version” is best in the eyes of the WRU and the regions.

The Ospreys will have to plunge straight into a pool of death next season as they re-enter the Heineken Champions Cup. The Swansea region – who are back in the top tier tournament – have been drawn in pool that appears about as tough as it can get as they must play holders Saracens, last season’s semi-finals Munster, and top French club Racing 92. Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke said: “Everyone knows we are up against some serious contenders there.

What price the Ospreys or Dragons reaching the play-offs of the Guinness Pro 14 next season after a shake up in the formatting of the two conferences? The Ospreys may have been the best of a bad bunch of Welsh regional performers in the Pro 14 last season, but their reward has been to find themselves in the same conference as the two finalists from 2019, Leinster and Glasgow, and semi-finalists Ulster. The ranking is based on the two conferences being put together and ranked in terms of points. It means that Leinster, despite the fact that they are Pro 14 champions, are ranked as the second Irish team behind Munster who edged them out by a point last year.

The Guinness Pro 14 has been re-shuffled with the two conferences re-drawn – theoretically to keep them evenly-balanced. Robin Davey believes it makes life tough for the Ospreys and Dragons next season, but that all the Welsh regions will need to hope their youngsters come of age. The World Cup will obviously dominate the start of the next rugby season, but all the top leagues will carry on regardless – meaning for the Welsh regions it will be very much a test of their strength in depth. And that is where they have often come up short as they compete against the Irish provinces with bigger budgets and the Scots who have just two regions to fund compared with Wales’ four.

The Scarlets believe they have brought valuable goods over the border by recruiting England U20s coach Richard Whiffin from Gloucester. Whiffin – currently preparing as part of the England coaching team for the Junior World Championships in Argentina – will start at Parc Y Scarlets on his return. His arrival as attack coach will complete a five-strong team at Llanelli which will take over from departed head coach Wayne Pivac and his assistant Stephen Jones, who are due to lead Wales after the World Cup.