Wales Rugby News
Wales men’s head coach Warren Gatland is looking no further that the first two games of the Guinness Six Nations after naming his 34-player squad for the championship. France host Wales in the opening game of the 2025 championship at Stade de France on Friday 31st January before Wales head to Rome where they will […]
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Wales U18 head coach Richie Pugh got a double dose of U18 Academies Championship rugby at the weekend as he took in both first round matches in Cardiff and Ystrad Mynach. The staggered kick-off times allowed Pugh to run his eye over four of the five teams in the tournament that builds on the WSC […]
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The coach whose enduring belief that the next match is always winnable is not ready to abandon all hope just yet
The lyrics of that old Kenny Rogers favourite The Gambler sprang to mind as Warren Gatland sat down in Wales’s team hotel this week to explain his desire to stay on as head coach. “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away …” Approaching his 18th Six Nations campaign – he has been involved in 13 previous ones with Wales and four with Ireland – Gatland is clearly not ready to abandon all hope just yet.
There is a fair amount of professional pride involved too. Plus the enduring stubbornness of a competitor who, unlike Tyson Fury, still feels he has some unfinished business. While Wales may have lost 12 consecutive games, the key to Gatland’s coaching longevity remains his enduring belief that the next game is always winnable. Even if it involves a pumped-up France in Paris on the opening night of the 2025 Six Nations. “If we can go out there, play well and get a little bit of luck …”
Continue reading...Warren Gatland, the Six Nations’ longest-serving head coach, insists he is still up for the challenge of reviving Welsh rugby fortunes after naming two uncapped players, the Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards and the Scarlets wing Ellis Mee, in a reshuffled 34‑man squad for the 2025 tournament which commences on 31 January.
Gatland has also dropped Gareth Anscombe, Rio Dyer, Cameron Winnett and Taine Plumtree, among others, in a bid to rediscover a winning blend after a grim 12 months during which Wales extended their losing run to 12 consecutive Tests and collected their first Six Nations wooden spoon for 21 years.
Continue reading...Newly appointed Wales Six Nations captain Jac Morgan has signed a new contract at the Ospreys. Since making his Ospreys debut in 2021, Morgan has made 43 appearances for the club since his debut in the 2021/22 season. He has also won 17 caps for Wales during that time. After bursting onto the international stage, […]
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There are two uncapped players picked by Warren Gatland in the 34-strong squad for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations. Twenty-one-year-old Ospreys outside half Dan Edwards was man of the match for his region in their EPCR Challenge Cup win over Newcastle Falcons last weekend – an accolade he also enjoyed in the New Year’s Day […]
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Harry Beddall is hoping the Regional Academies XV come on strong against his Wales U20 side to help them get ready for their U20 Six Nations opener against France in Vannes on 1 February. The two teams will meet twice to give Beddall and co a stiff work out before they take the field at […]
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Senior men’s head coach Warren Gatland has named a 34-player Wales squad to come into camp on Monday 20 January to begin preparations for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations. Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain the side. Josh Adams, Elliot Dee, Taulupe Faletau, Dafydd Jenkins, Joe Roberts and Liam Williams return having missed the Autumn […]
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Gwalia Lightning returned to winning ways with a last ditch 31-26 victory in Round 4 of the Celtic Challenge against Glasgow Warriors at Ystrad Mynach on Sunday afternoon. The Lightning finally ground out a win after trailing for the majority of the game when skipper Bryonie King crashed over for the winning try with the […]
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Wales U18 head coach Richie Pugh is facing a busy few weeks with the re-styled Academy U18 tournament about to kick off. The first round of fixtures takes place on Sunday 12 January and over the course of seven successive weekends the champions will emerge. Scarlets are the holders of the title and they sit […]
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Wales U18 head coach Richie Pugh is facing a busy few weeks with the re-styled Regional Age Grade U18 tournament about to kick off. The first round of fixtures takes place on Sunday 12 January and over the course of seven successive weekends the champions will emerge. Scarlets are the holders of the title and […]
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Brython Thunder are still looking for their first win after going down 48-0 to reigning champions, Wolfhounds, in Round 4 of the Celtic Challenge at Parc y Scarlets this afternoon. The Wolfhounds were crowned league champions and were unbeaten in last season’s new cross-border competition between sides from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Thunder came […]
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The Welsh Academies U23 XV promised to give the Wales U20 side a run for their money in the first of two clashes ahead of the U20 Six Nations and they did exactly that at the Arms Park. In front of a very healthy crowd, Richard Whiffin’s U20 team were forced to tough it out […]
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Wales U20 will get some vital pre-Six Nations preparation this week and next when they meet the newly formed Welsh Academies U23 XV, but the games at Cardiff Arms Park (Friday 10 January) and Llandovery’s Church Bank (Friday 17 January) won’t just be about them. The way the fixtures have been set-up, and the way […]
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Brython Thunder have named the team for Round 4 of the Celtic Challenge when they host Wolfounds at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, January 11th (KO: Midday). The Welsh side return home looking for a first win of the cross-border league against the second in the table Irish side at the home of the Scarlets. […]
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