Here are your rugby morning headlines for Saturday, December 27.
Ospreys boss speaks out amid uncertainty
Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley has spoken out on social media amid the ongoing uncertainty in Welsh rugby, saying it will be a travesty if the derby matches are lost.
Friday’s Boxing Day derbies could be one of the last days to feature two Welsh derbies, with the WRU pushing ahead with plans to reduce the number of pro teams down to three. Under that proposal, the Ospreys are Scarlets are set to be culled, with just one team in the west to remain.
“I genuinely don’t know how anyone can look at today’s games and decide “What’s best for Welsh rugby is to have fewer of these derbies”,” posted Bradley on X.
He added: “I enjoyed that exactly as much as I hoped I would. Ospreys fans are celebrating. Scarlets fans are licking their wounds – and we salute them for a valiant performance. But in the end we’re all rugby fans. What a travesty it’d be if these derbies ceased to be.”
Earlier this month, Bradley said the Ospreys are continuing to “build for the future” with the new deals for Morgan Morse and Harri Deaves and that everyone has “had enough” of all the uncertainty engulfing Welsh rugby.
Those comments come with the Welsh Rugby Union confirming just before Christmas that clarity will not come before the end of 2025 – with a resolution to Cardiff’s ownership likely to come out in mid-January.
Cardiff relieved after keeping run going
Cardiff were relieved to get over the line after edging past the Dragons on Boxing Day.
The Blue and Blacks put the defeat to the Scarlets behind them with a 22-19 win over the Men of Gwent at the Arms Park.
“After what happened last week against Scarlets, we just wanted to take the win,” said coach Corniel van Zyl. “Ultimately the fight that they boys showed to defend so many phases at the end was pleasing.”
A late penalty try for the Dragons set up a dramatic finish, with Cardiff failing to make the most of a strong second-half showing and the Dragons being reduced to 14 men following Harri Keddie’s yellow card.
“I’ll be honest, it was a head scratcher that last 20 minutes,” said captain Liam Belcher. “We will have a look at that because there was a bit of it in the Scarlets game as well. We had our systems in place in the first 60 but we went off script again, boys going individual, especially in the red zone. Realistically I thought we could have put that to bed with about 15 minutes left.”
He added: “Last week was our first loss where I thought it hurt us a lot, so to bounce back was our first challenge and the way we showed up in training, led us into the game,” Belcher concluded. “No game is perfect but there is a lot to work on from that last 20 that will keep us focussed.”
Dragons rue ‘too many errors’
Dragons coach Filo Tiatia admitted his side just made too many errors as their hopes of a first win over Cardiff in a decade slipped away in the second-half at the Arms Park.
The Men of Gwent were also bidding to win three on the bounce for the first time since 2015, but ultimately fell short despite some late drama.
“It was definitely a game of two halves,” said Tiatia. “The first half playing into the wind we played well. We managed to claw it back by the break.
“The second half we just made too many errors. It started from the kick-off, we were unable to exit clean, and penalties hurt us again.
“It allowed Cardiff opportunities to get in, and they scored points and at the end they scored more points than us.
“What I am really proud of is that we fought hard to let the ball go at the end, instead of just kicking the ball to Cardiff and allowing them to play a position and territory,” he added.
“There were some pleasing moments, I was very proud of a lot of our performance, but we can’t afford errors in this competition.
“We are working had around mentality and staying in moments. We just weren’t good enough in the second half in this game
Jones praises very impressive Wales centre
Ospreys head coach Mark Jones praised the impact of Wales centre Owen Watkin in his side’s impressive 26-19 victory over the Scarlets in Llanelli.
Watkin had been out of action for 11 months after rupturing ligaments in his knee before returning against Montauban. And the Wales centre put in an outstanding performance, especially in defence, against the Scarlets.
“Owen’s been out a long time and he came back last week, alright, he didn’t have his best performance last week, but I’ve got so much confidence in him, he’s built so much confidence through his own actions in the training week that I had no hesitation and putting him out there this week,” said Jones.
“You saw what value he is to the team to take that bump to the head there and be able to refocus. Some of his defensive work up in the 13 channel was incredible.
“He was tireless along with a lot of other boys. Owen probably led big-time around that defence in terms of his intent, considering he’s been out for nearly a year, it’s very impressive.”
The west Wales derby was played in front of a bumper crowd of 12,105 at Parc y Scarlets. The Welsh Rugby Union want to reduce the number of professional clubs from four to three with only one team in the west meaning this could be the last derby between both sides in Llanelli.
“It is massive,” said Jones. “Just at the end of the game to see your players and your coaches going over to meet their families in the terrace on the far side. So many people turning up when they could be doing all sorts at this time of the year with close family and friends, but they choose to come down and support their team.
“It reminds us of why we do it, why we give up our special parts of the year, Christmas, your Easter, why dad’s going out the door to work when everybody else is in the house, and we did talk around it a little bit in the week.
“You can either be in the stand looking in or you can be on the pitch looking out and it’s a privilege to be in the middle looking out.
“I thought the boys honoured the shirt well today, they honoured the people that sacrifice for them to be able to go and do it and they honoured themselves really well by the level of performance and commitment they gave for the Osprey shirt.”