The Welsh regional rugby season kicked off with a bang over the weekend, with a classic Welsh derby between Dragons and Ospreys, a solid win for Cardiff and a spirited display in Treviso from the Scarlets.

Dragons Claim Another Famous Ospreys Victory

You have to go back as far as 2013 to find the last time Dragons won their first league game of the season, but you only have to look at last season’s result against the Ospreys for inspiration.

On that day, Dragons were comfortable winners, 20-5. This match was anything but comfortable.

Ospreys landed the first proper blow of the match through Keiran Williams, sent away after Luke Morgan’s sweeping break. Penalties were traded by Dan Edwards and new Dragons recruit Lloyd Evans, before Harri Keddie scored to take the lead for the home side.

Ospreys went into the sheds at halftime in the lead 13-16, but Dragons went close late on through hooker Brodie Coughlan, denied by Ryan Conbeer, making his debut for the visitors.

Jack Walsh, a constant menace, thought he had set up Williams for another score after the break, but the centre was held up over the line by Dragons duo Joe Westwood and Jared Rosser.

Soon after, Walsh got the assist he was threatening as he sent Conbeer away for a debut try. With Dragon trailing by eight points and only five minutes left on the clock, Ospreys looked to have got the ‘hoodoo’ that many of their players had mentioned in the build up off their backs.

On 77 minutes, Evans converted his third penalty and brought his side within reach. Replacement scrum-half Rhodri Williams made the incisive break and the hosts were patient as they searched for the match-winning score which prop Luke Yendle, and then Evans’s boot, provided.

Not the start departing head coach Toby Booth will have wanted for his final URC campaign.

Scarlets Earn Resilient Draw in Treviso

Benetton missed a last-minute conversation as Scarlets left Italy with a creditable draw on Saturday evening.

Coming back from 12-0 down after half an hour, Scarlets were given a lifeline thanks to teenage centre Macs Page’s wonder try.

The Wales U20 international carved through the Italian defence, repelling two tackles and powering over the try line to reduced the deficit.

Scarlets tails were up and, despite a Benetton penalty, were the better side for most of the second half. A Jarrod Taylor try, spinning away from the maul brought Scarlets to just one point behind as Ioan Lloyd nailed the touchline conversion.

Two more Lloyd penalties gave Scarlets a five point lead with 13 minutes to go.

Benetton then threw everything at Scarlets’ try-line in the dying minutes. While the red wall heroically repelled wave after wave of attack, the ball was eventually moved wide to Onisi Ratave who scored the levelling try.

A tough end for Dwayne Peel’s side, but an encouraging performance nonetheless.

Cardiff Get Bonus Point Win

Cardiff brushed aside Zebre on the opening night of the URC, thanks to a dominant first half performance from the blue and blacks.

Callum Sheedy, making his debut for his hometown club, pulled the strings in the early stages, with his deft kicks finding the hands of Cameron Winnett and Iwan Stephen for the opening two scores of the evening.

Stephens, who also made his Cardiff bow on Friday night, was joined on the scoresheet by fellow debutants Dan Thomas and Josh McNally.

While Sheedy was accurate with his kicks out of his hands, his tee-kicking left a little to be desired, converting only one of the four Cardiff tries.

Some noticeable fatigue from the home side let Zebre back into the match, scoring two tries of their own and taking a losing bonus point back to Parma with them.

Wales put past behind them in thrilling Australia victory

Less than 24 hours before Dragons beat Ospreys in dramatic fashion at Rodney Parade, Wales women registered their own important win in a end-to-end match with Australia in Newport.

Following a 40-14 loss in Scotland last week, pressure was mounting on head coach Ioan Cunningham but, much like their Six Nations victory over Italy, his players stood up under added scrutiny.

A cagey first half end 7-7, with captain Keira Bevan’s try cancelled out by Maya Stewart.

After the break, though, the match opened up dramatically.

Molly Reardon then crossed twice either side of a Caitlyn Halse try, while Tabua Tuinakauvadra’s late effort looked to have salvaged a draw for the Wallaroos.

With the game tied at 24-24, Kate Williams crashed over from close range to give the hosts a famous victory at Rodney Parade.

Having lost the first six matches between the two sides, Wales now have a psychological boost ahead of their second meeting in as many weeks in South Africa in WXV2.

Results

Friday

Wales 31 – 24 Australia

Cardiff 22 – 17 Zebre

Saturday

Dragons 23 – 21 Ospreys

Benetton 20 – 20 Scarlets

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