The three Welsh sides chasing a United Rugby Championship play-off spot had contrasting weekends, with Cardiff and Ospreys getting important home wins, while Scarlets plummeted down the table in defeat.

Elsewhere, Dragons and Wales suffered hard fought losses, with Sean Lynn’s reign beginning with a 24-21 in Edinburgh at the start of the 2025 Women’s Six Nations.

As the URC moves into it’s final weeks, let’s get into the round up:

First Win in 2025 for Cardiff

After a positive start to the URC season, Cardiff’s form had fallen off a cliff in 2025. Five wins from the first eight games had turned into five from 12, after a run of three defeats on the bounce and the New Year’s Day draw with Ospreys.

Bonus points had kept Matt Sherratt’s side in touch with the URC play-offs but Friday night’s victory over the Lions – in his first since returning from Wales international duty – was key.

In a tight encounter, Cardiff’s forwards were excellent. Ben Donnell, so often the unsung hero for the Blue and Blacks, scored the opening try for the hosts, while his back row colleagues – Alex Mann, Alun Lawrence, and Thomas Young – were impressive.

Cardiff were able to call on an experienced bench, with returning internationals Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, and Ellis Bevan all helping to keep the Lions from scoring a late heart-breaker.

This victory puts Cardiff put up to fifth in the table, at the top of the host of team vying for the URC play-offs. With a trip to Treviso and the Principality Stadium on the horizon, Sherratt’s side will want to make winning a habit again.

Ospreys win 83-point thriller

Ospreys won a ding-dong clash with Connacht on Saturday afternoon. In a twelve-try thriller, Ospreys went 3-14 down in the first quarter of an hour, before scoring four tries without reply before halftime to lead 31-14.

Ospreys stretched their lead to 38-14 and 43-28 before a late Connacht comeback threatened the impossible. With a number of injuries suffered over the course of the match, the home side were forced to employ Dan Edwards at scrumhalf, as well as a centre and a hooker flanking the scrum at one point.

Ospreys have been plagued by inconsistency this season but, with their next four fixtures against fellow Welsh sides, they can make a big push for play-off qualification for the second straight season.

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’: Lynn reflects on first Wales defeat

Despite defeat in his first game as Wales women head coach, Sean Lynn insisted that he was “super happy” with his side’s performance as they fell to a 24-21 loss to Scotland.

Wales started on fire, dominating the opening exchanged and scored through hooker Carys Phillips. From there, though Scotland asserted control on the match, with Wales braving waves of Scottish attack.

In defence, Wales showed excellent accuracy and physicality, winning a number of turnovers at key times. In this respect, Abbie Fleming was the stand out in red, and scored a deserved try in the second half.

Lynn’s side had to throw caution to the wind in the last 10 minutes, trailing 24-14, and managed to get within a losing bonus point through the returning Gwenllian Pyrs’ third international try – all scored against Scotland.

With only six day preparation, this is a positive first step for the side under new coach Lynn, and next weekend’s match against England in Cardiff is the perfect place to start.

Stormers stun Scarlets

Scarlets’ hopes of a United Rugby Championship play-off place have been hampered by a bonus-point defeat by Stormers in Llanelli.

The two sides had started the game on the same amount of points as the battle for the top-eight places intensified.

Tries from Ben Loader and Deon Fourie gave Stormers a 12-0 lead before Scarlets responded with scores from Ellis Mee and Ioan Nicholas. Stormers wing Leolin Zas claimed a third try and a final late score from replacement hooker Andre-Hugo Venter ensured the visitors finished with maximum bonus points and left the Scarlets with nothing.

There are five rounds left of regular league matches and with the gap between fourth and 15th place in the league so tight, this could prove a pivotal defeat for Dwayne Peel’s side.

It was a first defeat at home in seven matches for Scarlets, who next face Ospreys in a local derby on Saturday, 29 March.

Losing is a habit: Dragons beaten by Ulster in heart-breaker

With only one URC win to their name this season, Dragons suffered perhaps their most heart-breaking defeat of the season so far as they lost 30-34 to Ulster at Rodney Parade.

At separate points, Filo Tiatia’s side were leading 24-7 and 30-24, but failed to hold onto their lead as play-off chasing Ulster snatched victory at the death.

Perhaps the biggest positive in defeat, though, was the performance of young fullback Huw Anderson. The Wales U20 international was excellent in the first hist in particular, scoring one and setting up another for Rhodri Williams.

With a new senior international coach coming in, Anderson’s recent performances has put him in with a chance of a first senior cap this summer.

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