Justin Tipuric believes the Ospreys’ successful battle to make European rugby’s elite underlines the character in their squad. The Wales flanker was part of the O’s side that beat rivals the Scarlets on Saturday night to clinch their place in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup. The 21-10 Guinness Pro 14 play-off victory at the Liberty Stadium proved that after a period where their dominance had been usurped by the Scarlets – and briefly threatened by the Cardiff Blues – the Swansea region are once again top of the pile in Wales.

The Ospreys proved they have reasserted themselves as the best team in Wales as they deservedly beat the Scarlets 21-10 to take their place in the Heineken Champions Cup next season. George North, Olly Cracknell and Hanno Dirksen scored their tries as the Scarlets were comfortably overcome in the Guinness Pro 14 play-off decider at […]

Leigh Halfpenny has urged his Scarlets to finally deliver a complete performance tonight when they battle with the Ospreys for a place in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup. The Wales full-back has had a frustrating season on an individual level with injuries and concussion problems, but he also admits his team have failed to match their previous high standards. They can make some kind of amends this evening at the Liberty Stadium, though, by beating their biggest rivals in the play-off battle for the last Guinness Pro 14 spot in Europe’s top tier next season.

Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke has revealed his team are fighting fit for their crunch Heineken Champions Cup play-off clash with the Scarlets. Clarke’s men will boast home advantage for the winner-takes-all Liberty Stadium clash on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.45pm). Whoever comes out on top will seal a place in the Champions Cup – European […]

Ospreys coach Allen Clarke praised his Heineken Champions Cup chasers as he claimed they deserved their play-off showdown with the Scarlets. The two regions – who were encouraged by the WRU to merge earlier this year – will instead go head-to-head at the Liberty Stadium on May 17 or 18  for the right to play in Europe’s top tier next season. The Ospreys earned their place by finishing fourth in Conference A of the Guinness Pro 14 after a 26-23 victory over the Cardiff Blues in their Judgement Day meeting at the Principality Stadium.

Wayne Pivac has defended his final campaign in charge of the Scarlets and predicted they will rise again next season. The New Zealander – who takes over from Warren Gatland as Wales coach after the World Cup – failed to bow out with a victory in his last game of the regular Guinness Pro 14 race. Instead, the Dragons gained their first league win away from Rodney Parade for four years with a 34-32 victory in their Judgement Day clash at the Principality Stadium.

John Mulvihill accepts that 80 minutes of rugby will deliver a rightful verdict on his Cardiff Blues side when they face the Ospreys on Judgement Day. The Blues head coach has overseen a strangely inconsistent campaign, during which the region have recovered from a poor start, hit some admirable heights in mid-season, and then faded away again in recent weeks with defeats to Munster and Connacht. All of which makes a shoot-out against the resurgent Ospreys – for a play-off stab at qualification for the Heineken Champions Cup – a suitable finale.

Judgement Day is less about a final verdict this season and more about opportunity. Either the Ospreys or the Cardiff Blues will take a European side-door pass, although the bouncers still have to be won over. For Robin Davey, the outcome depends on three initials – AWJ. It’s the end of season Judgement Day showdown on Saturday – but this one will be like no other. The Dragons aim to end their abysmal record against the Scarlets when east meets west at the Principality Stadium, followed by a likely rip-roaring clash between the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues.

Gareth Anscombe has been hailed as bringing the “X-factor” to the Ospreys as Sam Davies prepares to make room at the region by leaving for the Scarlets. Anscombe’s decision to leave the Cardiff Blues for their regional rivals – a prospect dismissed by Blues coach John Mulvihill just a week ago – will spark a re-shuffle among the No.10s in Wales. Davies has been offered a move to the Dragons and has also previously interested the Blues, but is instead likely to join the Scarlets.

Wayne Pivac looks likely to be working alongside both Shaun Edwards and Byron Hayward with Wales next season. The Scarlets head coach – who takes over from Warren Gatland after the World Cup – appears to have persuaded the Welsh Rugby Union to employ both defence coaches in his management team. Hayward’s departure from the Scarlets has been confirmed, while Edwards’ distancing himself from job offers with Wigan and Wasps – as reported by Dai Sport at the start of the week – seems to have paid off.

A week ago, Robin Davey suggested there was plenty to be alarmed about in Welsh rugby when it came to the dysfunctional Premiership. Now, the sirens have started wailing with the news that Cross Keys do not even have enough money to finish the season. And they are far from alone. The desperate news that Cross Keys have launched a survival fund just in order to finish the season proves just how quickly the shine from a Grand Slam can fade. Scratch below the glittering surface of Welsh rugby and there is so much that looks in a state of disrepair – like a respray job covering a multitude of sins under the bonnet.

They’ve just written off £8m of directors’ loans, still owe £2.6m to Carmarthen County Council and saw their annual losses rise by £40,000 to £643,035. And now the Scarlets, often perceived as the paragon of so many virtues in Welsh rugby, are heading into potentially even choppier financial waters after their latest slip-up on the playing field. Last weekend’s 20-12 home defeat to Edinburgh virtually put them out of the race for a quarter-final berth in the Guinness PRO14 finals series and even stacked the odds against them making the play-off for the final Heineken Champions Cup spot.