LONG READ Is Welsh rugby set to emerge from the shadows?

In his book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson underlines that there is nothing certain about anything or anyone sticking around indefinitely, stating that “99.99 percent of all species that have ever lived are no longer with us”.

Not a line guaranteed to bring restful sleep to those at the four professional rugby teams in Wales at this time, for sure, as they await the results of the Welsh Rugby Union’s deliberations on the future of the elite game west of Offa’s Dyke.

What a couple of months it’s been, with fear, disagreement, noise and uncertainty aplenty. Is it fair to say that after the summer Welsh rugby has just endured, a visitor from another planet would take a quick look around and demand to see the manager? We’ll run with that thought, anyway.

Which teams will be with us in the pro arena for the long haul? Indeed, will any survive in their current form if the union opts for a two-team solution to Welsh rugby’s problems at the top end? For Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets these are worrying times.

The quartet endured mixed fortunes on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 URC, but, there again, one round of matches reveals only so much. Still, all would have been hoping to launch their campaigns on the right foot.

Wales head coach Steve Tandy would have been an interested observer, too, with his team’s first Test of the autumn barely a month away. Tandy almost certainly would have taken note of events at Ashton Gate, as well, with Bristol carrying a significant splash of Welsh talent, including Louis Rees-Zammit after his return from the NFL.

Here’s how matters unfolded.

Cardiff off to a flyer

It would have been easy for Cardiff to misfire after seeing their head coach depart on the eve of the new season. The excuses were already on the shelf if anyone needed to use them.

But, credit, all concerned, there was no need to reach for the ‘well, what do you expect amid all this upheaval?’ line after a 33-20 bonus-point win over the Lions.

Of course, Matt Sherratt will be missed, not least because he is good at dealing with people as well as a fine coach. But Cardiff were able to limit the damage in the short term with a fine effort that saw Alun Lawrence emerge as their headline performer.

Here’s the thing about Lawrence: there are flashier No 8s on the scene than the man from Pontypridd, but there are not many more industrious middle-of-the-back-row operators. Against the Lions, he led the way with 16 carries and 12 tackles, prompting interim head coach Corniel Van Zyl to dub him “an unbelievable machine”. On the basis that unbelievable machines have not been seen too regularly in Welsh rugby of late, Tandy might be tempted to check out what all the fuss is about.

Fellow back-rowers Taine Basham and Alex Mann also showed up well, while Dan Thomas made an impact off the bench.

Silver linings for Ospreys in Pretoria – and a reminder

Few visiting sides score 40 points against the Bulls in Pretoria; even fewer run in six tries. The Ospreys ticked both boxes on the first weekend of the URC season, meaning head coach Mark Jones had reasons to be encouraged.

No end of players caught the eye, led by Keiran Williams and Harri Deaves, with Keelan Giles, Dewi Lake, Rhys Davies, Morgan Morse, Jack Walsh and Daniel Kasende also to the fore.

What of Deaves? We’ll agree that some players are just hard work to play against. The footballer Marcel Desailly once said of Fabrizio Ravanelli after a Derby v Chelsea game: “During the match, he insulted me 150,000 times.” The likeable and well-thought of Deaves never curses anyone. He is as amiable as they come. But having him as an opponent is akin to having a splinter in your foot for 80 minutes.

It isn’t just that he is so ubiquitous. Along with impressive fitness, he is also blessed with extreme courage, the sixth sense of anticipation that marks out exceptional opensides and he plays on the edge, pushing laws to the limit and continually getting under the skin of those he opposes, contesting everything. There’ll be a school of thought that he’s too small for Test rugby, but his team-mates know his worth. He’s a players’ player and he didn’t take a backward step at Loftus Versfeld.

Williams and Giles shared four tries between them, reward for strong all-round displays, while Morse, Lake and Davies racked up close on 50 tackles between them, with Lake also snaffling a couple of turnovers and relishing the rugged close-quarter exchanges.

But as a unit, the Ospreys’ pack struggled to match their counterparts for physicality in the 53-40 defeat. In fairness, some small armies would have headed for the hills in the face of the weapons-grade power the Bulls carried. When they weren’t exerting crushing superiority in the scrums, they were causing no end of problems for the visitors with battering ram driving that pretty much any defence would have struggled to repel.

It was a reminder of how important muscle is at the top end of this competition. The Ospreys are as strong as any of their Welsh rivals in the brawn stakes, but they lack true depth at the sharp end and once the Bulls warmed to their task, the Welsh side found life uncomfortable indeed.

Scarlets find Munster too strong

Munster’s media team might have been tempted to write that the Irish province rocked up for this one like a well-drilled commando unit, and they would not be wildly exaggerating if they did so, because the visitors to Llanelli were excellent.

By contrast, though, the Scarlets were underwhelming. Hundreds had marched through the streets beforehand in protest against the WRU’s plans for top-end rugby in Wales, but what followed on the pitch was a disappointment.

Munster held the upper hand in the scrums and were more powerful going forward, while their defence soaked up home attacks that were often put together off slow ball, especially before the break. Munster just looked ready in a way the Scarlets didn’t.

The west Walians were without the absent Marnus van der Merwe, Ryan Elias and Sam Lousi, while they also missed the X-factor of Vaea Fifita and the solidity of Alex Craig, both of whom have moved on to pastures new.

But Dwayne Peel will know it’s a squad game and he will be concerned at his side’s lack of punch. The backs lacked invention and the forwards were shy on power, that old Welsh rugby failing.

Taine Plumtree did his best to turn back the tide, taking the ball forward with purpose. Yet again, he was a standout for the Llanelli-based team. Josh Macleod and the willing Jake Ball also worked hard, while young hooker Harry Thomas and fresh signing Joe Hawkins both had their moments, but the Scarlets were always chasing the game.

Too much shouldn’t be read into one loss, of course, but Peel will hope his side settles quickly.

Dragons can’t stop losing run

It’s been quite some costume change for the Dragons, with 16 players coming into the setup, but, sadly for the men of Gwent, it was a case of new faces, same old outcome.

An 18th URC defeat on the bounce was the lot for the east Walians, with Ulster running out 42-21 winners in Belfast. Some might look at the scoreline and draw the conclusion that the northern Irishmen were twice as good as their Welsh visitors, but the Dragons did show spirit, albeit spirit alone will never be enough at this level.

They actually got off to a flier with Aaron Wainwright crossing after just 10 seconds, matching the quickest ever try in the league. But the Dragons were prone to losing their way during games last season and four Ulster tries in 15 minutes last Friday showed the habit has yet to be eradicated.

Aaron Wainwright and the Trojan-like Shane Lewis Hughes gave favourable accounts of themselves, while South African Robert Hunt and Wales international Wyn Jones were solid in the early scrums. But there needs to be more. Much more.

Filo Tiatia’s men suffered lapses in discipline and were forced to make over 200 tackles, with ball drying up late on, with the visitors’ scrum sending out distress signals and Ulster enjoying 99 percent of the possession in the final 10 minutes. It said much for the Welsh team’s appetite for tackling that Richie Murphy’s side added only one try in that period.

But the hosts’ attacking stats over the game – six tries, 18 offloads, 560 metres made, 16 clean breaks and 25 defenders beaten – pointed to their dominance.

Palatable Bristol cream

“Wheels!” summed up Austin Healey from his TNT Sports commentary position after Louis Rees-Zammit had furthered Ollie Hassell-Collins’s understanding of true velocity by speeding 65 metres for a try in Bristol Bears’ win over Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership.

“Hassell-Collins is 20 metres ahead of him on the angle, and he burns him,” enthused Healey.

It was the cherry on the gateau of a fine Bristol performance and an encouraging Premiership debut for the Bears by Rees-Zammit after his American sojourn. Evidently, he has lost none of his famed speed, as Hassell-Collins will testify, while he also looked beefed up and carried strongly in contact, making valuable metres for his side. There remain bits and pieces for him to tidy up – his aerial game has room for improvement – but given that he hadn’t played a game of union at this level for 20 months before last weekend, his show against the Tigers augured well.

The display of another Welshman in Bristol colours also wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by Tandy. Former Ospreys academy and Cardiff Met back Josh Carrington, whose dad Mike played for Cardiff and Neath back in the day, came on as a replacement in the 12th minute and showed up strongly with his pace and skill, crowning his effort with a lovely outside break that brought him a try.

It is early days for him, but the Welsh-speaking full-back from Swansea, who came through at Morriston RFC, looks to be a player of potential.

With another Wales-qualified player, Joe Jenkins, also performing solidly, Ashton Gate could become a regular destination for Tandy in the months ahead.