United Rugby Championship Preview: What lies ahead for Wales' four regions?
Scarlets and Eddie James will be hoping for a strong 2026/27 campaign
©Photo by Marcos Brindicci - Nations Championship/Getty Images
With the United Rugby Championship starting this weekend, it certainly feels like déjà vu due to the level of uncertainty still surrounding the Welsh game.
Twelve months ago, the Welsh Rugby Union were attempting to find a solution to their troubles and, while we now know the plan is to reduce from four teams to three, nobody is any wiser about which team will be cut between the Ospreys and Scarlets, or if plans will screech to a halt.
But time to park the negativity for a moment, with the new season upon us and pre-season fixtures completed for all four professional teams.
So, who are the players to look out for throughout the season and how is each club looking ahead of the new campaign?
Cardiff looking to continue play-off push
After reaching the play-offs for the first time in the URC era last time out, Cardiff will hope to continue flying the flag as Wales' top region.
Corniel Van Zyl's side finished in sixth place last season, earning a trip to South Africa in the league's quarter-finals where they went down 44-21 against the Stormers in Cape Town.
One of the important factors behind the Blue and Blacks' success last term was how they were able to stay in matches and sneak across the line for victory, particularly at the Arms Park.
More than 65 per cent of their URC games last season ended within seven points, and they won 10 out of 11 home games in all competitions, only losing to the Scarlets last December before avenging that defeat with a comeback win in Llanelli in March.
If they are to continue fighting around the play-off places, then they will need to ensure that their home record remains.
On top of their league games, Cardiff will be Wales' sole representative in the Investec Champions Cup and face a pair of mouthwatering Anglo-Welsh ties against Northampton and Bath.
There was steady recruitment over the summer, with the big signing being former Australian international prop Scott Sio from Exeter Chiefs.
Namibian international Le Roux Malen could be a useful signing to provide depth to the backline, alongside the returning Jarrod Evans, who comes back from Harlequins where he will battle for the number 10 shirt with Callum Sheedy.
With a largely settled squad, many are tipping Cardiff to remain as the highest-placed Welsh side and stay ahead of teams like Edinburgh, Connacht and Benetton, who will also be in the mix for play-off places.
Dragons suffer double injury blow ahead of season opener
With the Dragons set to kick off their campaign on Friday night against Benetton in Treviso, Filo Tiatia's side have been dealt a double injury blow ahead of the new season.
The league standings were a familiar tale for the Men of Gwent last time out, finishing as the lowest-placed Welsh side in the URC.
However, they did reach the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-finals and were also more competitive in the league, winning three games and drawing four compared to just one win in 18 in the previous year.
And while pre-season saw them run in 161 points in two matches against Hartpury and the Scarlets respectively, they will start the season without lock Levi Douglas and scrum-half Ere Enari.
Last term, Douglas had a good impact in his first season in Newport after featuring in 19 matches, but the Dragons will be boosted by the return of Ben Carter for the start of the season following a breakthrough year with the international side during the Guinness Six Nations.
While scrum-half Enari recently joined the club after winning Super Rugby Pacific with the Hurricanes, he is now requiring surgery on his hamstring.
There's still cover for the Samoan international, with the promising Che Hope returning from injury ahead of the new campaign while youngster Morgan Lloyd impressed throughout pre-season.
Head coach Tiatia is hopeful that Enari will still be a regular feature in the matchday squad this year.
"Talking to Ere before he had his operation, I said that it is a long season and he will definitely get a lot of footie," Tiatia said.
"He felt something wrong and was hopeful it wasn't too serious, but we found out that it would need an operation and he will be out for a little while."
Ospreys explore Australian route
Before the summer, the Ospreys had never signed a capped Australian international, even during the Galactico era of the late 2000s and early 2010s when stars such as All Blacks Justin Marshall, Jerry Collins and Springbok Stefan Treblanche all came to Swansea.
But they've decided to buck the trend this season and sign three Wallabies, with wing Marika Koroibete, centre Lalakai Foketi and flanker Liam Wright all joining the club.
It follows a period of uncertainty which saw the departures of Wales captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan to Gallagher Prem side Gloucester, alongside key players such as Jack Walsh and Dan Kasende.
There were still four other hookers in addition to Lake last season, so they weren't scrambling for a replacement in that area, while the signings of Foketi and fly-half Lawson Creighton could ease the load on regular performers Dan Edwards and Keiran Williams.
Following an 11th-place finish in the league last season, the new recruits have arguably made the squad look better on paper.
If they can get Wright up to speed following a barren run of injuries, it could certainly add to the five Welsh international options Mark Jones has in his back-row.
The addition of Koroibete could be the one that brings plenty of power and pace on the wing, even at the age of 34, while Foketi will add to the trio of centres in Williams, Owen Watkin and Evardi Boshoff.
A signing that has gone under the radar is Dan John, who has joined from Exeter Chiefs. The Welsh-qualified back can cover the back three positions.
There's still plenty of promising players coming through the ranks too, so keep an eye on Cam Jones and Kian Hire throughout the course of the season in the front row, alongside the battle of the two Morgans in the number eight position - Morris and Morse.
Can the Scarlets return to being a playoff side?
After reaching the play-offs in 2025 and losing to eventual winners Leinster in Dublin, last season was particularly rocky for the Scarlets.
Hindered by a lack of power up front and a few injuries throughout the campaign, they ended up 14th, level on points with the Dragons after a 35-all draw at Parc y Scarlets to close the season.
Midway through the season, in came director of rugby Nigel Davies and there was a slight improvement in performances.
Yet pre-season results have been interesting, even if they don't mean anything on a league table. A good win away at Exeter was followed by conceding 12 tries against the Dragons in Llandovery in an 80-14 loss, before a stronger performance against Saracens ended in a 26-14 defeat.
However, it did help when the Scarlets briefly had Sam Costelow in the side after returning from injury, while the emergence of teenager Carwyn Leggatt-Jones saw them move away from shifting inside centre Joe Hawkins to fly-half.
To avoid the predicament happening again, they've signed Welsh international Gareth Anscombe from Bayonne, who'll look for game time while offering valuable experience for the younger outside halves.
Up front, there's further experience in the signings of Corey Domachowski and John McKee from Cardiff and Leinster respectively.
On paper, there's plenty of quality in the Scarlets backs when you consider international players like Blair Murray and Eddie James, alongside the experienced Gareth Davies, who will have plenty of competition from Archie Hughes and Dane Blacker.
And there's lots of excitement surrounding new signing Issac Murray-Macgregor, while Macs Page and Joe Roberts will continue to knock on the door to claim starting honours.
There's also plenty of talk about number eight Osian Williams, who had an encouraging pre-season outing against Sarries, and Will Evans, who featured in Wales' U20s campaign this summer.
