Nearing the business end of the season – URC round 16 preview

Following a weekend where the semi-finals of the Champions and Challenge Cup saw Leinster and the Sharks make it two URC sides to reach the final of their respective competitions, the attention will now head back to the URC with the final three rounds of the season set to commence over the next three weekends. 

There’s a six point gap separating the Stormers in fifth and the Lions in 11th, with three teams within the top eight on 44 points. 

Edinburgh are sat in ninth as they welcome Zebre on Friday night in the Scottish capital, league leaders Glasgow Warriors will look to confirm their place in the URC playoffs as they head to Pretoria to face the Bulls, Benetton will look to keep their top 8 ambitions alive as they face the Sharks in Durban. There is an Irish derby as Munster host Connacht in Limerick. 

But what’s in store for the four Welsh teams this weekend? 

Friday 10th of May: Dragons vs Stormers – 7:35 pm UK time | Premier Sports & BBC Wales 

It has been quite a busy period off the field for the Dragons over the last couple of weeks, with on field signings with Solomone Funaki and Harry Wilson joining from Super Rugby teams Moana Pasifika and Waratahs. 

Before announcing former Scarlets second row Steven Cummins and Cardiff flanker Shane Lewis-Hughes will be strengthening Dai Flanagan’s side next season. 


There have been some signings off the field as well with Ryan Chambers joining as head of performance whilst former Osprey Filo Tiatia will take the reins of defence coach at Rodney Parade. 

They also announced a short term signing of Stormers winger Chris Hollis, who is set to make his debut on Friday night against his former club. 

Flanagan’s side came up short against Connacht last time out, but the recent news has seen real positivity around the club. 

Welsh internationals Aaron Wainwright and Elliot Dee both start in the pack, whilst Aneurin Owen & Rio Dyer join Hollis in the back line. 


The bench includes Moldovan international Dimitri Arhip and Welsh international Taine Basham, there’s a potential debut for scrum half Morgan Lloyd who has been a regular in the Welsh Premiership this season with Pontypool and Angus O’Brien could make his 100th URC appearance. 

Slamaan Moerat captains the South African side who will be looking for back-to-back wins after being Leinster last time out, Springboks Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe and Evan Roos all start up front, with halfback duo Herschel Jantjies & Maine Libbok both featuring in the starting XV. 

Inside centre Dan Du Plessis scored against the Ospreys last month and keep an eye out for his centre partner Wandisile Simelane who is a dangerous threat with ball in hand. 

Former Dragons fan favourite Bro Harris is on the bench alongside Hacjivah Dayimani and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. 

If the Dragons can stay in the forward battle, particularly in the set-piece, they could make it difficult for the Stormers, especially if the Rodney Parade crowd get behind them. 

Although, similarly to the Connacht game, I think they will just fall short despite another valiant effort – Stormers by 10. 

Saturday 11th of May: Scarlets vs Ulster – 3:05 pm UK time | Premier Sports 

Whilst the Dragons have been making announcements left, right and centre. It has been rather quiet in Llanelli with the Scarlets. 


Until Thursday when they announced 15 players will leave the club at the end of the season, including internationals such as Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams and Wyn Jones a couple of weeks after the retirement of Ken Owens. 

They will attempt to end the league season on a positive note as they welcome Ulster to Parc Y Scarlets on Saturday afternoon.

Dwayne Peel’s side are in 14th in the URC table whilst the Irish province are in seventh, it was an encouraging performance from the Scarlets against a fully loaded Sharks side last month, but they fell short losing 32-27. 

However, this week they will be without Tongan duo Vaea Fifita and Sam Lousi whilst Scottish international Alex Craig is also unavailable due to injury. 


Morgan Jones and Jac Price come in to start in the second row, with Carwyn Tuipulotu starting at number 8 as Ryan Elias captains the side from the front row. Welsh internationals Gareth Davies and Sam Costelow combine at halfbacks whilst youngsters Eddie James and Toni Lewis start. 

Internationals Kieran Hardy, Ioan Lloyd and Scott Williams are amongst the replacements with South African Harrod Taylor returning from injury. 

Ulster welcome back Rob Herring and Kieran Treadwell into the starting XV but will be without Stephen Kitshoff who has played his last game for the province following injury as he will be leaving in the summer. 

An experimental look to the back row does see Cormac Izuchukwu start at blindside flanker for the first time. 

John Cooney starts at scrum half with Stuart McCloskey at inside centre, fullback Mike Lowry is set to make his 100th appearance for the province. There’s a 6/2 split on the bench with flanker Dave Ewers wearing the 23 jersey. 

Similarly to the Sharks game, I expect the Scarlets will be aiming to put on a good performance in front of their home crowd. 

Whilst they could help out one of their Welsh rivals in their pursuit of a URC playoff spot by beating Ulster, I think the Irish province will just have enough to claim victory – Ulster by 6. 

Lions vs Cardiff – 5:15 UK time | Premier Sports & S4C 

Cardiff are the final Welsh side to head to South Africa this season, with only one win coming from six away matches this season from the other three teams. Although, last season the Blue and Blacks did win in Durban as they beat the Sharks 35-0, a lot has happened since then in Welsh rugby. 

Matt Sherratt’s side have been playing a nice brand of rugby, but have picked up nine losing bonus points in their league matches this term. 

A disappointing display against Edinburgh last time out at the Cardiff Arms Park ended in a 24-7 defeat, they face a Lions side who lost 33-13 to Munster and have tasted defeat to Welsh opposition at home this season against the Ospreys in the Challenge Cup. 

The Lions are still in the hunt for a top 8 finish and have Sanele Nohamba starting at fly-half. 


Ruan Dreyer and Asenathi Ntlabakanye start up front, whilst brothers Franke & Quan Horne are standouts in the Lions side at number 8 and fullback, while Emmanuel Tshituka is a useful name to have on the bench. 

Ellis Jenkins left the field with an injury against the Scottish side last month, with Sherratt making five changes. 

Welsh international Evan Lloyd starts in the front row alongside Rhys Carre and Keiron Assiratti, Rory Thornton and James Botham move into the starting XV whilst Ben Donnell moves into the back row as Seb Davies returns from injury. 

Inside centre Ben Thomas captains the side as he partners Mason Grady in the middle, whilst Gabriel Hamer-Webb makes his first appearance of the season after re-joining the club from Northampton Saints and forming an exciting back three alongside Theo Cabango and Cam Winnett. 

Welsh sides have found it tough heading to the southern hemisphere this season, I feel Cardiff will give a good account of themselves in Johannesburg on Saturday but will fall short – Lions by 5. 

Leinster vs Ospreys – 7:35pm UK time | Premier Sports & S4C

Toby Booth’s side will be hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive as they head to Dublin to face Leinster. 

Despite reaching the Champions Cup final after beating Northampton Saints, the recent South Africa tour saw the Irish province lose both games against the Stormers and the Lions. 

The Ospreys are sat in 10th following a heavy defeat against the Bulls after a brilliant victory over the Stormers, you sense a win in Dublin would put them right in the mix for a playoff place. 

Leinster coach Jaques Nienaber was full of praise for the Welsh side, saying “If you even think of taking them lightly, you will bump your toe.” 

This shows in the Irish side’s selection, with internationals Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong and Caelan Doris all starting. Robbie Henshaw and Jamie Osborne start in the centre whilst there is a return for Jimmy O’Brien on the wing. 

If you thought the starting XV was strong, there’s the likes of Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, Josh Van Der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park on the bench. 

The Ospreys welcome the return of flanker Jac Morgan who is set to make his first appearance since December, with fellow Welsh international Dewi Lake making his first start since Boxing Day. James Ratti has been an unsung hero in the Ospreys pack this season as he starts at lock as Harri Deaves, Justin Tipuric and Morgan Morris all start in the back row. 

They will be without lock Adam Beard who has suffered from an ankle injury which will rule him out for the rest of the URC season and Wales’ summer tour to Australia. 

Dan Edwards returns from a head injury sustained in their win against the Stormers in round 14 to start at fly-half, whilst the remainder of the backline remains unchanged for the third round in a row. 

On the bench, Tom Botha returns from suspension as Cheetahs duo Victor Sekekete and Evardi Boshoff are both involved in the 23-man squad. 

Heading to Leinster is one of the toughest tests in club rugby and with the Irish side not taking the Ospreys lightly like they did with their South African tour, Booth’s side will have to be at their best to win. 

Although, I think this Leinster side could be too strong despite the Welsh side’s best efforts – Leinster by 15.

A win and last minute heartbreak – URC round 14 review

The 14th round of the URC saw plenty of action with 57 tries scores across seven games.

Glasgow Warriors kicked off the weekend with a 21-10 win over the Sharks before the Emirates Lions beat league leaders Leinster 44-12 out in South Africa, Munster went to Pretoria and claimed a bonus point win over the Bulls whilst Connacht scored eight tries to comfortably beat Zebre in Galway.

But how did the four Welsh regions get on in their weekend matches in the URC?

Ospreys win in South Africa

Toby Booth’s side became only the third team to win away at the Stormers following a 27-21 victory last Saturday.

A first half try from Sam Parry was sandwiched by a brace for winger Luke Morgan as the Welsh side led 17-7 at the break. Despite a late yellow card for Max Nagy, a Harri Deaves score in the second half was enough to claim victory over a Stormers side that had several South African internationals.

Morgan’s first try comes from a neat period of possession from the Ospreys.

Following a few forward carries, the Welsh side play off 10 with fly-half Dan Edwards passing to Rhys Henry, whilst Stormers outside half Manie Libbok has come up from the backfield to cover the wing.

Edwards notices the space in behind the rushing defence and puts a clever grubber kick in behind as Morgan gets to the ball first ahead of fullback Warrick Gelant to score.

The Stormers spent most of the first half attempting cross field kicks off the boot of Libbok and were caught out before halftime.

Ospreys replacement Jack Walsh reads this kick perfectly as he takes the ball and beats South African number 8 Evan Roos before winger Morgan stepping inside to beat the Springboks fly-half and scores.

Whilst up front, the pack would tend to carry in a pod of two which saw Parry and Deaves cross over for their tries.

Across the Ospreys squad, there were many standout performers, including Nicky Smith who gave Springbok tighthead Frans Malherbe a tricky time in the scrum. Tighthead prop Henry was also solid in the scrum against the experienced head of Brok Harris.

Second row Huw Sutton made two jackal turnovers during the second half and James Ratti has been an unsung hero at blindside flanker.

They will face the Bulls on the weekend hoping to claim their fifth win of the season against South African opposition.

Cardiff’s 9th losing bonus point of the season

Friday night saw a rather controversial ending as Ulster pipped Cardiff 19-17 in Belfast.

A late try for winger Theo Cabango was ruled out by referee Mike Adamson and TMO after a deliberate knock on from Cardiff replacement Rhys Carre.

These events came following a Cormac Izuchukwu try saving tackle where the Ulster replacement looked to have kicked the ball out of Thomas Young’s hand and a John Cooney knock on, which seemed to have been ignored by the officials.

I don’t often write about referee calls because I want to focus on the actual rugby and just like any player, a referee can also make a mistake.

The knock on in the build up to the only Ulster try was missed by all match officials, which was a rather big error. If you’re slowing down a clip so much to find a mistake, then there’s nothing clear about a marginal call as close as that.

Following the full-time whistle, there was plenty of discussion surrounding the standard of officiating in the league whilst the WRU wrote in their match report that Matt Sherratt’s side were “robbed”.

One of the long term issues of the URC and in its previous disguises has been the standard of officiating.

When a player makes an error or has a bad spell of form, they tend to get dropped. Of course, there aren’t that many referees compared to players but complaints about the officiating in this league has gone on for too long.

Back to the rugby, it was great to see Cabango back on the field following a long term injury and he took his tries well, Ben Thomas has impressed throughout the season after giving a firing miss pass to his winger ahead of the second try.

But Cardiff will be bitterly disappointed with the 10-minute period where Ulster were down to 14-men following a Jacob Stockdale yellow card.

The Blue and Blacks return to the Cardiff Arms Park this weekend as they welcome Edinburgh.

Last weekend’s defeat in Belfast probably ended any URC playoff hopes for Cardiff ahead of welcoming the Scottish side who are sat in the final playoff spot and are 14 points ahead of Sherratt’s side.

It will mark the final appearance at the Arms Park for flanker Ellis Jenkins who announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season.


Jenkins was hitting the form of his career before a cruel injury against South Africa in 2018 halted his career by two years and despite making it back into the squad in 2021, it would be a case of ‘what if’ had Jenkins stayed fit throughout his career.

Disappointment for Dragons & Scarlets

There wasn’t much success for the Dragons or the Scarlets in their away games last weekend.

The Dragons slipped into a 19-0 halftime deficit and after scoring three second half tries, they fell to a 36-19 defeat away against Benetton.

Dai Flanagan’s side were poor in the opening 40 minutes, offering very little in attack, which was summed up by Aneurin Owen’s speculative pass being intercepted by English scrum half Andy Uren who ran in to score from his own half unopposed.

Replacements Harrison Keddie and Aaron Wainwright brought some impact from the bench and an interception try of their own through wing Jarred Rosser but it was enough as Italian side ran in six tries.

From an Italian perspective, it was interesting to see Leonardo Marin play on the wing, he has spent most of his career to date at centre or fly-half.

For their opening try, Marin comes off his wing to create an opportunity for fullback Rhyno Smith to score on his 50th Benetton appearance.

Flanagan’s side return to Rodney Parade next weekend as they welcome Connacht.

Despite leading 18-17 with the game heading into the final quarter, Dwayne Peel’s side conceded 25 unanswered points as Edinburgh ran away with a bonus point victory.

The opening score from winger Tom Rogers came from a Vaea Fifita offload that wouldn’t look out of place on a basketball court, after Gareth Davies’ second half try, the Scottish side wrestled back momentum with scores from Scottish internationals Duhan Van Der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman and Mark Bennett.

Fijian international Bill Mata rounded off the evening with an excellent try to round off a convincing victory for Sean Everitt’s side.

It’s been a poor season for the Scarlets, only winning three games from 18 in all competitions and despite the performances of Fifita, Sam Lousi and Alex Craig, the pack have been outmuscled on several occasions.

They sit in 14th but are only a point ahead of bottom of the table Zebre, Peel’s team will be looking for a positive end to the season as they welcome the Sharks to Parc Y Scarlets on Friday.

Rolling their sleeves up and finding a way, how did Ospreys beat Sale?

06.04.24 – Ospreys v Sale Sharks – European Rugby Challenge Cup – Reuben Morgan-Williams of Ospreys celebrates scoring a try

The Ospreys picked up their first knockout win in a European competition with a 23-15 win over Sale Sharks at the Dunraven Brewery Field in Bridgend.

Following a first half try from Morgan Morris, second half scores from Keelan Giles and Reuben Morgan-Williams were enough despite a late rally from the English side with Aaron Reed and Ben Curry scoring.


It sets up another Anglo-Welsh clash in their quarter-final as they head to Kingsholm Stadium to face Gloucester.

So, how did Toby Booth’s side claim victory in Bridgend and how far can they go in this year’s Challenge Cup?

Acclimatising to weather conditions

Despite the win, It wasn’t the greatest opening from the Ospreys who started a little slowly in the opening quarter.

It started with Tom O’Flaherty taking an early high ball before the first scrum went against Gareth Thomas according to referee Mathieu Raynal before the Welsh loosehead tackled Rob du Preez off the ball which allowed the South African outside half to kick the opening points.

Owen Williams saw his restart go out on the full before a kicking tactic of kicking to the corners wasn’t working as the Sale defence had it well covered.

It was unusual to see the Ospreys kick for the corners as the majority of the season had seen them kick down the middle of the field and look for territory, but that did change throughout the first half.

Yet after holding out early pressure from the Sharks with Justin Tipuric and Harri Deaves getting stuck into the breakdown battle, Ospreys fly-half Williams kicked well out of hand after a shaky start.

One example saw him send an up-and-under from first phase lineout ball which Sale fullback Telusa Veainu failed to gather, a penalty from the resulting scrum levelled the scores.

From that restart, Williams kicks long but ensures it bounces in between the two Sale players in the backfield and fullback Veainu’s kick was rushed due to a brilliant chase from Tipuric as Booth’s side won that particular kicking battle.

Before the fly-half catches winger Aaron Reed in two minds with a neat chip over the top which resulted in a Sale lineout inside their own 22.

Pressure leading to points

Following Williams’ chip into the corner, an attempted box kick from Raffi Quirke was charged down by loosehead prop Thomas with the ball falling kindly to Deaves.

They spent a few phases attempting to break the Sale defence but weren’t winning collisions due to the blitz defence approach from Alex Saunderson’s side.

Despite fly-half Du Preez and winger Reed flying out of the defensive line and putting a lot of pressure on the Ospreys attack, a couple of neat offloads from Williams and Jack Walsh puts Watkin in space behind the defence.

A simple miss pass to try scorer Morris who does brilliantly well to hurdle over the final defender to score.

They switched to the rolling maul at the start of the second half and forced a penalty to get into the Sale 22, the English side defended well but Morgan-Williams headed to the blindside with a miss pass to Giles.

A neat one-two between Giles and Williams put the winger in the corner, which was a brilliant start to the second half for Booth’s side.

This was topped with their third try through an interception by Morgan-Williams, which was mentioned by head coach Booth as something they had worked on during the week.

The scrum half manages to get into the gap between the two Sale forwards and reads Du Preez’s pass perfectly, before running in from inside his own half to score.

Stand out performers

There were some excellent performances in the Ospreys squad from Saturday’s win.

The backrow of Deaves, Tipuric and Morris caused havoc in the breakdown and won five turnovers between them. Lewis Lloyd at hooker had a fine game despite being a late call up following an injury to Sam Parry.

Second rows Adam Beard and James Ratti controlled the lineout well, which was faultless for the opening 55 minutes. Whilst the centres were switched around in terms of the numbers they wore on their backs, Watkin and Keiran Williams have been a steady centre pairing.

Williams offered his trademark crash ball carrying game, whilst Watkin was used for his distribution which was key to the Morris try in the first half.

Booth’s side travel to Gloucester on Friday night in search of a spot in the final four of the Challenge Cup.

Can the Ospreys beat Sale?

09.12.23 – Ospreys v Benetton – European Challenge Cup – Adam Beard of Ospreys is challenged by Malakai Fekitoa of Benetton

The Ospreys are the sole Welsh representative in the European knockout stages this season.

Following wins over Benetton and Perpignan, Toby Booth’s side sealed qualification with a comeback win out in Johannesburg against the Emirates Lions in January.

In the URC, the Ospreys sit seventh following a bonus point win over the Lions in Swansea last weekend. Attention will now turn to the Challenge Cup as they welcome Sale Sharks in the last 16 at the Dunraven Brewery Field.

Sale are in eighth place in the Gallagher Premiership after 14 rounds but are only five points adrift of Harlequins who are in the final playoff spot following a convincing 41-5 win over Exeter Chiefs last Sunday.

Alex Sanderson’s dropped down to the competition following defeats to Leinster, Stormers and defending champions La Rochelle in the Champions Cup.

So, can the Ospreys keep Welsh hopes alive for at least another week in Europe?

Team News

The Ospreys welcome back Wales international Nicky Smith back to the squad following a rib injury as he starts on the bench with Wales loosehead Gareth Thomas starting.

Following his 150th Ospreys appearance last Saturday, Sam Parry starts alongside Tom Botha in the front row.

James Ratti moves into the second row to partner Adam Beard as Rhys Davies has picked up an injury.

Whilst Harri Deaves joins captain Justin Tipuric and Morgan Morris in the back row, Keiran Williams starts at outside centre as South African centre Evardi Boshoff is cup-tied. Youngsters Morgan Morse and Dan Edwards feature on the bench.

Sale have made 11 changes from their win over Exeter last weekend and will head to Bridgend without English internationals George Ford and Manu Tuilagi.

Tongan International Telusa Veainu starts at fullback whilst former Osprey Tom O’Flaherty starts on the wing.

South African fly-half Rob Du Preez is at 10 for the rested Ford as brother Jean-Luc starts at number 8.

Ben Curry captains the side from blindside flanker, Argentine international Agustín Creevy starts up front with England U20s prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour.

Ospreys kicking game

A part of the game which will be vital in deciding the outcome of the tie would be the kicking battle between the two sides.

The Ospreys kicking game has gone well in recent weeks, with scrum half Reuben Morgan-Williams box kicking seems to be causing trouble to opponents alongside a solid defensive chase.

Although when they enter a kicking exchange, teams tend to cover the corners to avoid a 50/22, leaving plenty of space in the traditional fullback position.

A couple of times this season where fly-half Owen Williams has spotted space in the middle of the back field and has kicked there, one example where it didn’t go to plan was against Munster, which saw a kick bounce over the dead ball line.

Yet against the Lions it seemed to work with Booth’s side pinning the South African side inside their own too and winning the territory battle as they only spent 10% of their possession inside their own 22.

Booth mentioned in this week press conference that Ford is one of the best game managing 10s and the introduction of Du Preez into Sale’s side will bring added physicality.

So, it’s vital that the Ospreys halfback pairing and fullback Walsh can kick accurately whenever in kicking exchanges.

A chance to end the European losing streak?

Despite qualifying for several knockout stages in both European competitions over the years, the Ospreys have never won a knockout match.

Their last European knockout defeat came against Saracens 12 months ago in which they led at halftime following tries from Michael Collins and Keiran Williams.

Whilst their last Challenge Cup defeat came against Newcastle Falcons in 2021 after racing into a 14-0 lead.

It will be a tough ask despite Sale making several changes.

Whilst internationals Ford and Tuilagi are missing, Sale bring several strong players with internationals such as Creevy and Veainu involved, there are still a number of battles set to play out at the Brewery Field.

The scrum-half battle between Morgan-Williams and Raffi Quirke will be interesting, with the inform Jack Walsh up against Veainu.

A test for the Ospreys second rows who will be up against Hyron Andrews who starts his first game for Sale since joining from the South African Sharks and the head-to-head between Morgan Morris and JL du Preez could be the one to watch.

It is set to be a physical encounter in Bridgend with both sides hoping to gain an advantage at set-piece, although, this season has showed that the Ospreys are a team that don’t give up easily, they will need to find a way on Saturday evening if they are to progress to the last eight.

I think this will be the year where Booth’s side do end their European knockout duck, but it will be very close between two evenly matched sides – Ospreys by 6.

Content creation in rugby: An insight with Andrew Forde

Cardiff and Wales flanker Ellis Jenkins, who is the profile picture of YouTube content creator Andrew Forde.

With over 134,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, Andrew Forde offers a different style of rugby coverage compared to TV. 

Whilst playing for local side Cardiff Saracens RFC and a season ticket holder with Cardiff Rugby, Forde explains his work on YouTube and recalls making his first video:

“I just do rugby compilations, so it can be anything from the best tries, the best tackles, best sidesteps and also focus on players aswell, so kind of finding their best stat and making a video on their best moment, even if it’s specific moments.

“I was always abit of a wizz on the laptops growing up, a long time ago I was making rugby videos when I was 10 or 11 but obviously wasn’t particularly going far.

“When I was 17, Alex Cuthbert was having a tough time from the Welsh rugby public and he was getting abuse saying he wasn’t good enough and I kinda thought he had been huge for Wales over the years and for Cardiff at that time. 

“So I just did a video of his best bits and ended up posting it on YouTube and within 48 hours it had 2,000 views and an article had been made on WalesOnline. 

“A few of my mates were encouraging me to carry it on because it took abit of time to do but not a ridiculous time out of my day to do and I was in sixth form at the time, it was flexibly to make videos and from there I just carried on with it and it grew and grew and I never really thought it would come to this. 

“I think it was within the first 12 months, I managed to get a video that got 100,000 views and that was quite remarkable and 24 months in I managed to get a video that got a million views”.

Copyright is an often threat whenever anyone publishes any rugby footage, Forde has been fortunate to keep in touch with copyright holders: 

“I haven’t had any impact with copyright strikes for a few years, a lot of my videos get copyright claims which is just apart of the process but I’m quite fortunate I’ve had dialog with copyright holders, the rights holders and a few of the leagues. 

“A lot of them are just happy for me to crack on with it so I’m always grateful for that,” Forde said.

“A lot of people are trying to grow the game and I think certain bodies are very positive but some governing bodies are far too harsh on it.

“The World Cup is a perfect example of almost all eyes are on the sport and you see it with other sports with a lot of people watch that sport when it’s a World Cup. it was a perfect time to reach a wider audience and they missed a trick there”

Forde will hope that he and other content creators will be able to avoid copyright strikes throughout the remainder of the rugby season. 

Italy claim back-to-back victories in Cardiff as Wales handed wooden spoon for the first time since 2003.

Italy handed Wales the wooden spoon in the Six Nations with their second ever win at the Principality Stadium. 

Tries at either half from Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani with fly-half Paolo Garbisi kicking nine points was enough despite late tries from Elliott Dee, Will Rowlands and Mason Grady. 

Italian fly-half Garbisi opened the scoring after six minutes with a routine penalty following a Danillo Fischetti turnover. 

Visiting skipper Michele Lamaro was next to win the battle of the breakdown as he pounced on a Welsh error to win the penalty which resulted in Garbisi kicking his second penalty of the afternoon. 

Garbisi and Monty Ioane were causing the Welsh defence problems in the as they combined for a linebreak in midfield before a neat pass to the winger who crossed unopposed. 

Gatland’s side barely threatened in the first half as for the fourth time this tournament Wales have played 40 minutes of rugby without scoring a point. 

Gonzalo Queseda’s side picked up a second try at the start of the second half from a lovely first phase move with Ioane making the break before providing the pass to fullback Lorenzo Pani who stepped the final Welsh defender to score. 

The hosts eventually picked up points in the 64^th minute through hooker Dee who drove over the tryline from short range as they looked for a last quarter comeback. 

Garbisi added his third penalty before replacement Martin Page-Relo kicked a long-distance penalty to seal the victory.  

Wales managed a couple of consolation tries through replacements Rowlands and Grady but Warren Gatland’s side finish bottom of the Six Nations without a win with the Auzzrri taking a 24-21 win. 

Star player – Michele Lamaro (Italy)

The Italian captain led by example with a brilliant display in defence.

He made two crucial turnovers in the first half with one of them reliving pressure off his defence following a line break and he made 21 tackles, honourable mentions go to Garbisi and Ioane who were brilliant in attack. 

Wales: 15. Cameron Winnett 14. Josh Adams 13. George North 12. Nick Tompkins 11. Rio Dyer 10. Sam Costelow 9. Tomos Williams 

1. Gareth Thomas 2. Elliott Dee 3. Dillon Lewis 4. Dafydd Jenkins © 5. Adam Beard 6. Alex Mann 7. Tommy Reffell 8. Aaron Wainwright 

Bench: 16. Evan Lloyd 17. Kemsley Mathias 18. Harri O’Connor 19. Will Rowlands 20. Mackenzie Martin 21. Kieran Hardy 22. Ioan Lloyd 23. Mason Grady 

Italy: 15. Lorenzo Pani 14. Louis Lynagh 13. Ignacio Brex 12. Tommaso Menoncello 11. Monty Ioane 10. Paolo Garbisi 9. Stephen Varney 

1. Danilo Fischetti 2. Giancomo Nicotera 3. Simone Ferrari 4. Niccolo Cannone 5. Federico Ruzza 6. Sebastian Negri 7. Michele Lamaro 8. Lorenzo Cannone 

Bench: 16. Gianmarco Luccesi 17. Mirco Spangolo 18. Giosue Zilocchi 19. Ricardo Favertto 20. Ross Vincent 21. Manuel Zuilani 22. Martin Page-Relo 23. Leonardo Marin 

What can Wales expect from Italy?

Wales head into the final round of the Guinness Six Nations attempting to avoid a whitewash as they welcome Italy to the Principality Stadium in the opening sequence of Super Saturday. 

Following a 45-24 home defeat to France in round 4, Warren Gatland’s side will be hoping to avoid a first Six Nations whitewash since 2003. 

Against Fabien Galthie’s side, the young Welsh side didn’t disgrace themselves and were leading after an hour through tries from Rio Dyer, Tomos Williams and Joe Roberts. The final quarter saw the French take control with the bench proving vital as the visitors ran in three unanswered tries. 

Italy are the visitors to Cardiff, who will be looking for their second consecutive win in Cardiff after a dramatic victory in 2022. Gonzalo Quesada’s team will be targeting a second win in a row following their 31-29 win over Scotland last weekend, which was their first win in Rome in the Six Nations since beating Ireland in 2013. 

So, what can Wales expect from an Italian side that will be travelling to the Welsh capital with bags of confidence and can Gatland’s side avoid the wooden spoon? 

A classy operator getting back to his best

One of the regulars within this Italian side has been fly-half Paolo Garbisi, who arrived on to the international scene with a try against Ireland four years ago. 

Garbisi kicked the winning conversion two years ago and was impressive with Benetton as he won the Rainbow Cup in 2021. His performances with the Italian club earned him a move to the Top 14, where he joined Montpellier and won the league in his first season. 

Although, his time with the French club saw him pick up a few injuries and he was battling for the 10 shirt alongside Handre Pollard before Louis Carbonnel joined the club. 

The Italian outside half had been moved to inside centre for some games to enable himself and Carbonnel to play together yet it hasn’t seemed to be working, last month it was announced that Garbisi would join Toulon with immediate effect. 

Of course, it doesn’t always go to plan for the fly-half when he is on the field as he is prone to the odd error and moments not going his way, as we have seen with the love hate relationship Garbisi currently has with his kicking tee. 

When at his best, Garbisi is excellent at drawing defenders to help create but isn’t afraid to run with ball in hand or to put some neat kicks in behind the defence. 

Starting inside the fly-half will be Welsh born Stephen Varney, who dotted down for a try last Saturday as he sniped over from short range. The Gloucester scrum half can lift the tempo of attacking play when needed.

The pair started in the Italian U20s win over their Welsh counterparts in Colwyn Bay four years ago, which was a landmark result for Italy’s age-grade team at the time.

A dangerous centre pairing

Outside of Garbisi, the Italians have back three threats in Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane, yet the centres who have stood out in this Six Nations. 

With Capuozzo out of Saturday’s fixture due to a broken finger, in comes Zebre Parma fullback Lorenzo Pani who will be looking to impose his kicking game against the Welsh backline. 

Although the centre pairing of Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex have stood out this year. The latter has been with Benetton since 2017 and featured for the Italian 7s side in the 2020 Olympics before making his debut for the Auzzuri in 2021. 

The 31-year-old is often used as a first receiver in attack to provide a pop pass out the back for fly-half Garbisi and dotted down for a try in their win in Rome last weekend which came off a neat chip kick from scrum half Martin Page-Relo. 

Inside centre Menoncello has been the find of the tournament and has the ability to play on the wing aswell as 12, he won player of the match against France when playing on the wing. 

Despite not being the biggest of centres, he’s certainly has made an impact this year with over 270 meters carried, putting him ninth on the list in the Six Nations. Also, the Benetton centre has the ability to beat defenders evaded over 35% of tackles so far. 

Forwards that will look to gain control

Led by captain Michele Lamaro, the Italian pack has performed well over the course of the Six Nations. The front row of Danilo Fischetti, Nicotera and Simone Ferrari have worked well. 

The Italian skipper has topped the tackle charts this year with 82 tackles made so far, with Nicole Cannone and Federico Ruzza fourth and fifth on the list with 54 and 51 tackles respectively. 

Meanwhile replacement Manuel Zuliani will be a constant threat in the breakdown when he appears in the second half. 

With Gatland opting for an inexperienced Welsh front row, keep an eye out for loosehead prop Marco Spangnolo as the 23-year-old made his debut against England but has looked solid when scrummaging when coming off the bench.

A key difference between the this year’s Italian side compared to previous years would be the emphasis on tactical kicking involved in their game.

In last year’s meeting between the two sides, Italy were reluctant to kick as they spent a lot of time attempting to run with the ball in hand from their own half. A lot of credit should be given to Quesada who’s implemented this change.

Italian rugby have spent a number of years of working alongside academies to develop better younger players in Italy instead of passing on debt to their professional teams. 

They will head to Cardiff with confidence following last week’s victory and their win at the Principality Stadium two years ago, back-to-back wins in the Six Nations would be a huge boost to a relatively young squad and would put an end to the doubters who would want the Auzzuri kicked out of the competition.

Finding a way in the entertainment business

The last few years for the four professional teams in Wales haven’t been easy, with budget cuts being the main discussion point over the last couple of seasons.

With the budgets slashed to £5.2m ahead of the current season and several departures, expectations for regular victories for the four sides were low.

Following eight wins from 23 matches last term, the Ospreys had a whole host of player departures, including internationals Alun Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb and Dan Lydiate alongside established club players such as Michael Collins & Ethan Roots.

There were some positives last season as the Ospreys completed a European double over Montpellier and won in Welford Road against Leicester Tigers before falling short against Saracens, but consistency throughout the league season was an issue.

Yet with a squad which has seen a number of younger players involved, a last-gasp Dan Edwards drop goal secured a victory over Ulster last weekend which meant that Booth’s side had more wins than what they achieved last term.

So, how did the Ospreys beat their Irish opponents last weekend and the way that several younger players have found a way this season?

A welcoming return

The Ospreys had quite the injury crisis ahead of the Six Nations which saw over 20 players unavailable for the trip to South Africa last month.

There was a boost heading into this fixture with the return of club captain Justin Tipuric and Nicky Smith whilst Alex Cuthbert returned to the bench for his first game of rugby in over a year.

Prop Smith played his part in a dominant scrum alongside Tom Botha, Tipuric made 15 tackles and a turnover in his first game since November. Elsewhere, lock James Ratti completed eight tackles alongside his 15 carries.

Openside flanker Harri Deaves matched the number of tackles by his captain and made a crucial tackle on replacement hooker Tom Stewart in the 49th minute.

Despite a couple of opportunities inside Ulster’s 22 which the hosts failed to take, the try came from their own 22 with an interception from Jack Walsh.

Fullback Walsh intercepts a looping pass from Jake Flannery, a neat offload from wing Mat Protheroe to fly-half Edwards who loses his balance but gives a pass from the ground to Keiran Williams with only two Ulster defenders in sight.

The Irish province eventually crossed for their second try through a rolling maul and a penalty from Flannery in the 76th minute looked to have been the vital score.

Yet Booth’s side came fighting back as a Walsh grubber kick does see Jacob Stockdale run the ball into touch, giving the home side one final chance. The Ospreys head coach mentioned post match that they had a drop goal drill which fly-half Edwards called to play himself.

They dummy a rolling maul with flanker Deaves passing to inside centre Williams who hits his trademark crash ball as Edwards drops into the pocket and despite some scrappy ball from the ruck, the 20-year-old strikes it well to win the game.

It wasn’t the greatest of performances from either side although the two teams hadn’t played for a month due to the break.

A cause for concern for Booth’s side would be discipline as they gave away 12 penalties and two yellow cards for a deliberate knock on from number 8 Morse and a trip from second row Ratti, with referee Federico Vedovelli penalising the hosts for not rolling away from the tackle on multiple occasions.

A crop of youngsters developing

The budget cuts within Welsh rugby over the last 12 months have forced the hand of the four professional teams to build towards the future and give younger players an opportunity.

Booth has mentioned a few times this season about the new crop of players that are coming through at the Ospreys, especially in the pack. With Dewi Lake, Morgan Morris and Jac Morgan all establishing themselves as experienced players in Booth’s squad.

Up front, the trio of Rhys Henry, Ben Warren and Lewis Lloyd have gained much more experience this season, second row James Fender enjoyed a breakthrough season before injury whilst Lewis Jones has picked up his first appearances this season.

Harri Deaves continues to cause havoc in the back row alongside 19-year-old Morgan Morse who’s picked up two tries this year.

In the backs, Edwards has been improving game on game at fly-half and whilst he has been ruled out with injury for the majority of the season, keep an eye out for centre Tom Florence over the next few weeks.

Booth’s track record of developing youngsters during his time in Swansea has been excellent and the majority of the squad has been built around a group of young players.

Can they finish in the top 8?

The victory does see the Ospreys move into the top 8 after 10 rounds of the URC.

However, there’s a tough run of fixtures coming up and they could do with a couple of wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

They head to Edinburgh in the next Six Nations fallow week before two home games against Munster and the Lions ahead of a South Africa tour to face the Stormers & Bulls before travelling to Leinster.

In an ideal world, you’re looking at 10 wins to qualify for the URC playoffs, the Ospreys are currently on six wins. If they could sneak a win in Edinburgh and win their remaining home games. It could set themselves up well.

There’s also the prospect of a run in the Challenge Cup as they head to Bridgend to host Sale Sharks in April. If the injury list shortens over the next couple of weeks, there’s a good blend of youth and experience within the Ospreys squad which should excite supporters.

Where do the four Welsh teams stand in the URC? – URC round 10 preview

With the European pool stages and the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations out the way, the URC returns for its first full round of fixtures since New Year’s Day.

As the 10th round of the season approaches, the league table is bunched up as defending champions and 11th-placed Munster are only 10 points adrift from league leaders Leinster.

The URC returns with Zebre welcoming Edinburgh to Parma on Friday night before a top of the table clash between Leinster and Benetton on Saturday afternoon, there are two South African derbies as the Lions host the Bulls and the Sharks welcome the Stormers in Durban.

It has been well documented over the last 12 months the issues faced in Welsh rugby with budget cuts and squad sizes being reduced impacting the four professional teams.

How have they got on so far this season? Who stands in their way on the weekend and which players could step up during the Six Nations fallow week?

A rocky road for Scarlets and Dragons

With 12 and 10 points respectively, it hasn’t been the best first half of the season for the Scarlets and the Dragons.

Both teams have won two games apiece this term, with Dwayne Peel’s side completing a derby double over Cardiff whilst Dai Flanagan’s side beat the Ospreys and the Scarlets at Rodney Parade.

The Scarlets had a tough start to the season with some heavy defeats in South Africa and Leinster. Their last win came in December at the Cardiff Arms Park before losing all four European games, including a home defeat to Georgia’s Black Lion in the Challenge Cup.

This week they welcome Munster to Parc Y Scarlets, with the Irish province boosted by the return from injury for fullback Mike Haley and Springbok RG Snyman who start alongside Irish internationals Conor Murray and Joey Carbery.

Scarlets’ Dan Jones makes his 150th appearance as Sam Lousi and Johnny McNicholl are back in the mix following injury, Jarrod Taylor is set for his Scarlets debut after signing from the Stormers as Tongan international Vaea Fifita starts at number 8.

Wales’ squad duo Kelsey Mathias & Joe Roberts start as they look for some game time before heading back to Warren Gatland’s squad.

Despite a poor run of results, there have been opportunities given to youngsters such as scrum-half Archie Hughes and winger Tomi Lewis in the starting XV, whilst there’s a potential debut for hooker Harry Thomas off the bench.

Head coach Peel will be hoping that it will click sooner rather than later yet it will be a tough battle against a Munster side who will be looking to climb the table.

The Dragons are the only Welsh side playing away from home this weekend as they head to Scotstoun to face Glasgow. Flanagan’s side are in 15th place in the URC table, with the Warriors sitting in third, winning six out of their nine games.

They travel to Scotland without 21 players with Aaron Wainwright and Taine Basham away with Wales while Ryan Woodman, George Nott and Harrison Keddie are all ruled out through injury.

Tighthead prop Lloyd Fairbrother has been ruled out for three months with a calf injury but there is a return for back Cai Evans.

There’s a debut for winger Oli Andrews who has been impressive in the Welsh Premiership for Newport over the last two seasons whilst hooker Sam Scarfe could make his debut as he covers the back row on the bench.

The Warriors have the league’s top try scorer available as hooker Johnny Matthews has scored 10 tries so far this season and scored five the last time the two teams met.

Flanagan’s depleted squad will need to remain in the set-piece battle if they are to stand a chance of winning in Glasgow, they will hope not to repeat the 73-33 trashing they suffered in the Challenge Cup last April.

Cardiff in need of finding a way

Matt Sherratt’s squad has shown glimpses of some lovely rugby this term, some would argue they haven’t had the results to show for it. The Blue and Blacks have only one three from their nine league matches which included an impressive win over the Stormers but are sat in 12th.

In certain games this season they have fallen short in close battles, which could be down to an inexperienced squad. A side that has been building on several young players, including Alex Mann, Mackenzie Martin and Mason Grady.

But the issue this week is that two of those will be unavailable as they’re in the Welsh squad with Martin back on the bench to face Connacht.

Games in the past between these two sides have seen a few tries but a trend over recent seasons has seen the home side come out on top, with the Irish province winning in Galway last season as the Blue and Blacks won the previous meeting at the Arms Park between the two sides in September 2022.

Ben Donnell is set for his debut following his move from Gloucester and starts alongside Thomas Young who’s back from a calf injury. Jacob Beetham starts at fullback with Cam Winnett away with the national side.

The Irish province will be without international duo Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham but with former Dragons outside half JJ Hanrahan starting at outside half, keep an eye out for number 8 Cian Pendergast and winger Shayne Bolton.

Cardiff has kicked the most out of any URC side this season, yet when the chance appears they tend to strike, both teams will attempt to play if conditions allow which could make it an exciting contest.

Ospreys leading the charge

The only Welsh side to qualify for the knockout rounds in Europe, it has been an encouraging season for the Ospreys.

Toby Booth’s side have won eight from their 13 matches in all competitions, which included scoring three tries in five minutes to beat the Lions in the Challenge Cup last time out.

They have matched their wins total from last term already, with five wins from nine and welcome Ulster to the Swansea.com stadium who are only three points ahead in the table.

There’s a big boost for Booth’s side with a trio of Welsh internationals returning, including club captain Justin Tipuric and Nicky Smith who both start whilst Alex Cuthbert is in line to play his first game of rugby for over a year as he’s on the bench, meanwhile outside centre Dom Morris is to start his first game since October.

Dan McFarland’s Ulster welcome back Nick Timoney, Iain Henderson and Jacob Stockdale who all start. With Tom Stewart on the bench with Springbok Steven Kitshoff for company.

The Ospreys pride themselves on having a solid set-piece and have started to click in terms of attack with winger Keelan Giles in fine form and one of four players who have signed a new contract this week.

Jack Walsh, Dan Edwards, Tom Botha and Harri Deaves all start after renewing contracts.

Despite poor results in the Champions Cup, Ulster managed to pick up a win at the RDS in their last league match and will be heading to Swansea with confidence, it will be a big result if the Ospreys can find a way to win on Sunday.

It is good to see the return of the Welsh teams in the URC despite the league being far from perfect in terms of travel for away teams and supporters for certain games, yet there should be some exciting rugby to be played over the weekend.

The Bath prop who’s set to make his Wales debut at Twickenham

When Warren Gatland named his Wales squad ahead of the Six Nations, many would have been unfamiliar with the name Archie Griffin. 

Yet the 22-year-old prop is set to win his first cap as he’s named in the squad to face England at Twickenham in one of seven changes made by Gatland, following injury to Dragons tighthead Leon Brown, Cardiff’s Keiron Assiratti starts at Twickenham with Griffin joining Ryan Elias on the bench.

So, what should we know about the prop and what could we expect to see if he appears on Saturday for Wales?

Who is Archie Griffin? 

Despite being born in Australia and playing in England, Griffin was spotted through the Welsh exiles program, which has picked up players such as Nick Tompkins, Will Rowlands and more recently Henry Thomas over the last few years. 

With prop Thomas leaving Montpellier and joining Castres, the move made him unavailable to play for Wales because of the 25-cap rule, adding to a pre Six Nations squad which didn’t include Tomos Francis and Dillon Lewis, there was a place for the Bath tighthead prop.

Griffin is a 22-year-old tighthead prop who has been involved with the Bath academy since being a teenager, he’s featured twice Wales U20 match day squads in 2020 but only made one appearance from the bench. 

He made his first appearances with the English club during the English Premiership Cup in 2022/23, making his debut against Exeter in November 2022. Before making his Gallagher Premiership debut against the same opposition a month later. 

This season, Griffin has made seven appearances for the English side but has recently signed a new deal which will keep him at the club until 2027.

Standing at 6’3” and weighting 19 stone, it will be interesting to see how Griffin goes on the international stage, especially with the lack of strength in depth Wales currently have at tighthead prop. 

He has been finding his feet in the Premiership this year and he’ll be hoping to compete at scrum time but it will be tough against a physical English pack. 

A lack of game time

One of the biggest concerns would be the lack of gametime Griffin has had so far this season, with only one start in seven appearances for Bath in the Gallagher Premiership and Premiership Rugby Cup. 

Throughout his nine career games for Bath, Griffin has played 236 minutes of rugby, which is rather low for a player stepping up to the international stage. 

Has Gatland got selection right? 

Elsewhere, Gatland has been given a boost of the returning duo of Gareth Thomas and George North from injury, whilst Racing 92 lock Will Rowlands returns following his wife giving birth to a child. 

The Ospreys duo head straight back into the side as Corey Domachowski drops to the bench and Owen Watkin drops out of the match day squad. 

Rowlands starts on the bench, with the second row pairing of Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard continuing, the 28-year old Ospreys lock faced critics following the Scotland defeat as Wales’ lineout faltered in the first half.

Whilst Teddy Williams came off the bench and carried well, if you were to remove Beard from the match day squad, you would need someone who could call the lineout well and be quite annoying to play against in the rolling maul. 

All three alternative second row options are good players, yet lack experience and Beard has called the lineout for a number of seasons and as we saw in the second half, used his strengths which saw Wales score twice off a rolling maul in the second half. 

Alex Mann picks up his first Wales start following an injury to fellow Cardiff back row James Botham whilst Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright were standouts in Wales’ second half improvement.

In the backs, Tomos Williams and Ioan Lloyd continue at halfbacks following their second half performance against Scotland, the back three of Rio Dyer, Josh Adams and Cam Winnett remains unchanged.