Happy New Year everybody!

Here at Sportin Wales, we had a packed Christmas period, watching all the rugby, football, and darts we could. What better way to mark the New Year then by taking a look at who had a happy New Year, and who did not, from the two Welsh derbies.

There was a big win for Scarlets over Dragons, as they exercised a few demons, while 14-man Ospreys battled to a draw with Cardiff at the Arms Park.

Who will be feeling good about their Six Nations chances? Which team could qualify for the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs? Read on to find out:

Happy New Year!

Josh Macleod

For Welsh rugby fans, seeing a flanker with the ability to fling a wide pass with the precision of a seasoned playmaker is not actually a particularly rare sight. Unfortunately, Justin Tipuric is now retired from Wales duty and will be moving into a coaching role at the end of this season.

Enter, therefore, Josh Macleod. The Scarlets openside’s pass to feed Blair Murray’s second score of the match was a glorious bit of skill, while his own score – a drive from a dominant maul – was a deserved reward for a fine display.

In recent seasons, Wales’ number seven shirt has been split between Jac Morgan of Ospreys and Leicester Tigers’ Tommy Reffell. Could Macleod break that duopoly in this year’s Six Nations? With the form he is in, do not count him out.

Marnus van der Merwe

There were a few stand out names for Scarlets against Dragons, with Murray and Ellis Mee picking up tires, Johnny Williams showing some lovely touches in midfield, and of course the aforementioned Macleod.

But there was little argument over who was man of the match on New Year’s Day. Marnus van der Merwe was excellent. The 27-year-old South African has had a slow-ish start at Parc Y Scarlets, with Wales international Ryan Elias ahead of him in the pecking order.

When Elias suffered a neck injury in December, van der Merwe stepped up a level. With South Africa’s vast depth in almost all positions shutting out all except the most outstanding, hooker is a position that is (relatively) open.

In recent years, only Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx have been fully trusted by Rassie Erasmus. If van der Merwe can continue his excellent form, perhaps he has a chance to pull on the famous Springbok jersey in 2025.

Mark Jones

Mark Jones was promoted to the head coach role at Ospreys at a really difficult time for the region. The Swansea-based region’s grand plan to replace Toby Booth with then-defence coach Jones at the end of this season backfired in mid-December when, after just three wins in nine games, Booth was sacked.

The timing was not great: just days before Ospreys hosted Scarlets in a west Wales derby. The sombre mood was forgotten in the jubilation of Iestyn Hopkins’ late winner and suddenly Ospreys had some hope again.

The New Year’s Day draw at Cardiff Arms Park is a creditable result, upgraded in the minds of fans due to James Fender’s red card on 37th minute. Jones’ charges showed excellent discipline after the red, and could have potentially snatched victory at the death as replacements Lewis Lloyd and Morgan Morse both saw tries ruled out in a nerve-tingling climax.

Dan Edwards & Reuben Morgan-Williams

While they were both overlooked for Wales during the autumn, the Ospreys playmaking duo of Dan Edwards and Reuben Morgan-Williams will surely earn international honours in 2025.

Edwards took the headlines, scoring at of Ospreys 13 points, but both were excellent, controlling the game and almost earning their side a famous away derby victory.

The first piece of quality of the match – a lovely passing move that freed Keiran Williams through the middle – was finished by Morgan-Williams, only for the try to be pulled back for a knock-on at the ruck.

Edwards’ kicking was excellent but his speed of thought and step with ball in hand is what marks him out as a potential international. For his try, he took the ball with the Cardiff defence well set and limited options wide.

The 21-year-old flyhalf took a beat and then burst back against the grain to catch his opposite number, Callum Sheedy, on the hop. From their, Edwards’ pace did the rest, braking the line and the covering Cam Winnett.

Even amongst the usual excellence, Edwards and Morgan-Williams’ best moment came in tandem in defence. After a rare solid Cardiff scrum, number eight Alun Lawrence ran straight at Morgan-Williams.

The Ospreys scrumhalf took the hit well, though, giving Edwards enough time to sneak in a win a turnover penalty that Tipuric and Jac Morgan would have been proud of. Edwards picked himself up and punted the ball through the sticks to get Ospreys on the board.

In a tight game where points were priceless, that intervention proved critical.

Rhodri Williams

While Dragons have had a dreadful festive period – a late home defeat to Cardiff on Boxing Day followed up by the 32-15 shellacking by Scarlets – there have been a few players to really put their hands up in these difficult times.

Aaron Wainwright has never given less than maximum effort in a Dragons shirt, while youngsters Ryan Woodman, Brodie Coughlan, and Huw Anderson have shown their quality in recent weeks.

Rhodri Williams, though, has undoubtedly been the standout. His 50-22 on New Year’s Day was maybe the best individual piece of skill by any player in either match, while his consistency of pass and support lines is what has earnt him an international call-up.

The 31-year-old looks nailed on to be back in the red of Wales for the Six Nations.

Sad New Year’s Day…

James Fender

In truth, the cleanout looked fairly innocuous on first look. Unfortunately, with the benefit of replays, James Fender’s afternoon at the Cardiff Arms Park ended early, as his cleanout on Dan Thomas was adjudged to have had a ‘high degree of danger’.

On replay, it did not look good. The Ospreys lock rolled Thomas by the neck while causing him to land with his body weight on Thomas’ lower leg. With new protections in place for this exact type of dangerous cleanout, Fender has to go.

For the young Ospreys player, the incoming ban will be a blow as he looks to make the Wales squad for the Six Nations. Rhys Davies, who partnered Fender on his return from injury, may be the direct beneficiary of his teammate’s ill-discipline.

Dragons

After the dual defeats to Cardiff and Scarlets, Dragons are now bottom of the URC table, with just one win from nine matches. Since their opening weekend victory over Ospreys, Dragons have won just one match: away at Newcastle Falcons in the Challenge Cup.

After some promise ahead of this season that the new signings and new coaching appointments would lead to an uptick in results, that seems to have disappeared.

Dragons sacked Dai Flanagan as head coach in November, with Filo Tiatia taking his place. The performances have not seen much of a change.

Speaking after the Scarlets loss, Tiatia cut a frustrated figure.

“I was disappointed in the first half, clearly we weren’t at the races,” Tiatia said.

“We were flat, had no energy both sides of the ball and we conceded soft tries. In the second half they were a different team, there is still learning around.

“It’s a short turnaround but you’ve just got to front up. If you’re going to wear the jersey as a group, you’ve got to fill it. What they’ve done in the past has been okay, but just how do we push forward to compete against really good teams, that’s where we’re at.”

Dewi Lake

The news that Dewi Lake’s bicep injury would keep him out of much of the Six Nations was a massive blow to Wales’ hopes in the spring. Losing your captain so close to the start of a competition is not a new issue for Warren Gatland, but replacing Lake’s carrying, upon which Wales have increasingly relied on, will be difficult.

However, it is also a big blow for Lake himself. With a British and Irish Lions tour on the horizon, form during the Six Nations is key to making it onto the plane to Australia.

Now targeting the last two matches against Scotland and England, Lake will be hoping for a swift recovery and a chance to impress in front of Andy Farrell.

Cardiff’s Discipline (Or Lack Of…)

It is an odd thing when the team who had a man sent off are the ones who keep their discipline better than the opposition.

Cardiff’s ill-discipline let them down at the Arms Park on New Year’s Day, as they contrived to draw 13-13 with Ospreys, despite playing the second half with a man advantage.

Except it was only really 20 minutes with a man advantage, at the blue and blacks received two yellow cards to Teddy Williams and Rhys Litterick. With a 5-3 lead going into the second period, Cardiff conceded four consecutive penalties that lead first to Williams’ sin-bin and then Edwards’ try.

After that period, Cardiff would not wrestle back the lead, in part due to their lack of discipline.

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