As the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship (URC) season kicks off this evening at Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, each of the four Welsh regions come into the campaign with plenty of hope, and no shortage of anxiety.

With the uncertainty that the Welsh Rugby Union’s (WRU) imminent restructuring of the professional game in Wales, this season could be last for any of the clubs – a potentially all of them.

The plans have been met with scepticism and outrage from all corners, including Wales and Ospreys captain Jac Morgan, who has said that he will leave Welsh professional domestic rugby if Ospreys cease to exist.

A final decision on the future of Welsh rugby is expected by the end of October, just before Wales begin their autumn international series under new head coach Steve Tandy.

Despite the upheaval, each of the regions go into this new URC campaign with reasons for optimism on the pitch: Cardiff and Scarlets are looking to build on 8th and 9th place finishes, respectively; Ospreys were one of the form teams in the second half of the URC; and Dragons have recruited really well, bringing in international experience as well as plenty of young talents.

Read on for our URC season preview:

Dragons RFC: revolution and renewal

Dragons are the first Welsh team in action when they go to Belfast to face Ulster tonight.

The club have been the most vocal of the regions in criticising the plans to drop to two sides, stating “Welsh rugby deserves better and the WRU must rethink”. Co-captain and Wales lock Ben Carter says it is a concern but has praised his squad on focusing on the rugby which he says is “the number one priority”.

His head coach Filo Tiatia agrees.

“What happens with the WRU, we’ll leave it with our chairman and CEO and they’ll fight the battle,” said the former All Black.

“What we can focus on is how we move forward with the current conditions and what we know. There’s talk of two teams, we can’t control that. We might as well not focus on the things because we’re burning energy.”

The focus of Dragons’ first URC line-up is the seven debuts that Tiatia has handed to his side, with props Wyn Jones, Rob Hunt and flyhalf Tinus de Beer all earning starts. Dillon Lewis, Levi Douglas, Mackenzie Martin, and Fine Inisi could all also make their debuts off the bench.

Dragons Team for Ulster

Angus O’Brien (co-capt); Rio Dyer, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser; Tinus de Beer, Rhodri Williams; Wyn Jones, Elliot Dee, Rob Hunt; Matthew Screech, Ben Carter (co-capt); Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harrison Keddie, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements

Brodie Coghlan, Rodrigo Martinez, Dillon Lewis, Levi Douglas, Mackenzie Martin, Che Hope, Fine Inisi, Huw Anderson.

Ospreys: new (old) stadium and squad concerns

Following the decision to leave the Swansea.com Stadium, Ospreys will play their home matches at the Brewery Field in Bridgend this season with the permanent switch to St Helen’s completed in time for the 2026-27 season.

Mark Jones’ side begin their campaign with two matches in South Africa, opening up against the Bulls on Saturday.

“There is always lots going on and one thing I have learned is it’s normally something close to home we have to deal with,” said Jones.

“It develops resilience within your staff and players. I can’t compliment the group enough in how they are able to separate the two things and tried to remain focused on the job and control what we can as rugby players and coaches. They have been superb.”

The concern for Jones – and the rest of the Welsh regions – is the size of the squad he has to work with. Signings like Ross Moriarty help, but injuries bite harder when squads are thinner.

Ospreys Team for Bulls

Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Phil Cokanasiga, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Garyn Phillips Dewi Lake (capt), Tom Botha; Rhys Davies, James Fender; Ross Moriarty, Harri Deaves, Morgan Morse.

Replacements

Ethan Lewis, Steffan Thomas, Rhys Henry, Huw Sutton, James Ratti, Luke Davies, Tom Florence, Harri Houston.

Scarlets: fan protests and on-pitch optimism

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel will see his side open their campaign against Munster in Llanelli on Saturday. His attitude is to tackle the off-the-field issues head on.

“There’s uncertainty in the game, you can’t hide from that and we haven’t hid from it,” said Peel.

“The consultation is going on, so things are out of our control, but all we can do is be as up front and as honest with the information we’ve had.”

Scarlets fans will march before the game on Saturday to show their support for the future existence of the side. On the pitch, Scarlets have built on a positive 2024/25 season where they made the URC play-offs with some shrewd signings, including Joe Hawkins who makes his debut against Munster.

Scarlet Team for Munster

Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Joe Hawkins, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Kemsley Mathias, Harry Thomas, Henry Thomas; Sam Lousi, Jake Ball; Tristan Davies, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.

Replacements

Kirby Myhill, Alec Hepburn, Harri O’Connor, Max Douglas, Jarrod Taylor, Dane Blacker, Johnny Williams, Macs Page.

Cardiff: last minute upheaval and WRU questions

Despite the uncertainty off the pitch for the regions, Cardiff’s immediate on-pitch future was rocked this week when head coach Matt Sherratt was confirmed as the new Wales attack coach, just six days before the start of the season.

While WRU chief executive Abi Tierney admitted she could not see a situation where there was no professional rugby in Cardiff, the region currently has no head coach going into their game with the Lions on Saturday evening.

The club have been given a boost in the form of former player and Wales legend Leigh Halfpenny signing a short term deal, and there is no shortage of talent in the squad. Whether Cornel van Zyl, Gethin Jenkins and the rest of the coaching staff can cover for Sherratt in the short term, remains to be seen.

Cardiff Team for Lions

Cam Winnett; Josh Adams, Harri Millard, Ben Thomas Tom Bowen; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Rhys Barratt, Liam Belcher (capt), Javan Sebastian; Josh McNally, Teddy Williams; Alex Mann, Taine Basham, Alun Lawrence.

Replacements

Evan Lloyd, Danny Southworth, Keiron Assiratti, Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas, Aled Davies, Ioan Lloyd, Jacob Beetham.

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