Dragons RFC, Scarlets, and Cardiff Rugby all won in Europe to leave the four Welsh regions on one win each from the first round of European matches.

While Ospreys suffered their worst ever defeat in Europe at the hands of Montpellier, the other three regions bounced back from last weekend’s defeats to leave all four still fighting for a spot in the round of 16.

With two rounds of Welsh derbies to come over the Christmas period, some of the Welsh regions will be going into those matches this more confidence than others…

Scarlets Get Revenge

Perhaps the lowest Scarlets have got in recent years was exactly 12 months ago, when Georgian side Black Lion came away from Llanelli with a 23-7 victory in last year’s competition.

A year on, this is a different Scarlets side. More defensively sound, while a coming force in attacked, Dwayne Peel deserves credit for his ability to turn his side around from that low point.

After a tight defeat in their first match in Europe this season – 17-16 away in Bayonne – Scarlets were well aware that they needed to get a win here to keep pace at the top of the pool.

Gareth Davies opened the scoring after just two minutes, running a classic scrumhalf supporting line to receive Ellis Mee’s pass. Mee, who signed from Nottingham in the English Championship, has had an excellent couple of games in red, filling in for the injured Blair Murray.

Further tries from skipper Josh Macleod and Johnny Williams gave the Scarlets a healthy lead before Black Lion showed some resolve to drag themselves back into the contest.

Replacement scrumhalf Archie Hughes skipped through a gap to score Scarlets’ fifth with second left to put the gloss on a first win of the season in Europe.

Dragons Get On The Board In Europe

Another Welsh team that suffered a close defeat last weekend managed to reverse their fortunes this weekend, as Dragons beat Newcastle 14-22 to record a first win in Europe.

Dragons’ back row offered a neat glimpse at the past, present, and future of the club, as Dan Lydiate played his 100th game for the club, Aaron Wainwright scored a fine try, and Ryan Woodman showed exactly why many rate him so highly.

With Newcastle coming into the match on a recent mini-revival, Dragons needed to hit the ground running and did so, with prop Rodrigo Martinez powered over after a quarter of an hour.

Both sides shared the lead at time throughout the rest of the encounter, as Wainwright scored in reply to Alex Hearle and Adam Radwan for the Flacons.

With 20 minutes remaining, fullback Huw Anderson picked up a loose ball in his own half and sped through the disjointed Newcastle defence to score the game-sealing try.

Cardiff Beat Cheetahs Thanks To Josh Adams Brace

Two tries from Wales wing Josh Adam either side of halftime earnt Cardiff an important win in Europe over the Cheetahs.

The home side were largely in control of proceedings, except for a five minute spell in which the South African visitors scored ten points, firstly through an excellent team try and then thanks to the boot of Ethan Wentzel.

Cardiff responded to the setback well after the break, scoring two tries through Adams and young tyro Tom Bowen on debut. Bowen impressed throughout his first match for Cardiff and showed why he is highly touted by those around Welsh rugby.

A late penalty try earnt the Blue and Blacks a bonus point victory, putting them third behind Lyon and Connacht.

Montpellier Hand Ospreys Their Biggest Defeat in Europe

Ospreys suffered their biggest ever European defeat on the weekend, as Montpellier ran in nine tries.

Tries from Nicolas Martins, Tyler DuGuid, Jordan Uelese, Leo Coly, Lyam Akrab, Mael Moustin, Auguste Cadot, Enzo Forletta and Madosh Tambwe allowed Montpellier to claim a second successive win against Welsh opposition.

Ospreys responded with a Dan Edwards drop-goal and late tries from Evardi Boshoff and Keelan Giles.

Ospreys previous heaviest defeat in Europe came in 2022, and was a 49-10 defeat at the hands of Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup.

Going into this match with fond memories of beating Montpellier home and away in the Champions Cup two seasons ago, Ospreys were given a rude awakening after their 30-14 opening round victory over the Lions.

Results:

Saturday

Montpellier 59-15 Ospreys

Cardiff Rugby 26-10 Cheetahs

Sunday

Newcastle Falcons 14-22 Dragons RFC

Scarlets 36-18 Black Lion

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