Weekend Welsh derbies: Dragons vs Cardiff / Ospreys vs Scarlets

It’s a derby weekend in the Pro14 as we move towards Christmas. Firstly, in Wales, Dragons will tackle Cardiff at Rodney Parade before Ospreys take on Scarlets at Parc Y Scarlets.

Dragons vs Cardiff:

The past fortnight has been a difficult one for Dragons after defeats to Wasps and Bordeaux in Rounds 1 and 2 respectively of the Champions Cup.

Conversely, Cardiff managed to post two wins in the Challenge Cup, although, admittedly, the Round 2 encounter with Stade Francais was handed to the Welshmen on account of Covid-19. They did, however, enjoy a good win over Newcastle Falcons in Round 1.

Dragons will be happy to roll up their sleeves and continue with the Pro14 in which they have been faring significantly better – their last two outings ending in victory.

Cardiff have found the Pro14 more trying this year, with three victories from eight matches.

The last time these sides clashed was in Round 9 of the 2019-20 competition which saw Cardiff come out on top, albeit narrowly, with an end-score of 16-12 in a well-contested game.

Despite that result, one would imagine that Dragons will have the upper hand in this one given the superior sides they have done battle with on the European scene of late. However, derbies can be tricky occasions with motivation and competitiveness  running high.

Match Day Squads:

Dragons: Jonah Holmes, Owen Jenkins, Jack Dixon, Jamie Roberts (CAPT), Ashton Hewitt, Josh Lewis, Tavis Knoyle; Brok Harris, Elliot Dee, Lloyd Fairbrother, Ben Carter, Matthew Screech, Harrison Keddie, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright

Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Aaron Jarvis, Leon Brown, Lewis Evans, Huw Taylor, Luke Baldwin, Aneurin Owen, Evan Lloyd

Cardiff Blues: Hallam Amos; Aled Summerhill, Garyn Smith, Max Llewellyn, Josh Adams; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Brad Thyer, Kristian Dacey, Dillon Lewis, Ben Murphy, Seb Davies, Cory Hill (capt.), James Botham, Josh Turnbull.

Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Rhys Carré, Dmitri Arhip, Rory Thornton, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Tomos Williams, Jason Tovey, Rey Lee-Lo

Ospreys vs Scarlets:

Ospreys and Scarlets have both posted three wins from seven games. Most recently, however, Scarlets enjoyed significant success in the Champions Cup with two wins from the first two rounds.

They first managed to overturn Bath at The Rec. before Toulon were forced to withdraw from their Round 2 fixture due to Covid cases.

Meanwhile, Ospreys are looking good in the Challenge Cup with convincing back-to-back victories against Castres and Worcester respectively.  

It is sure to be a good contest as both teams will be battle-hardened and in positive mood from the European encounters. Scarlets will have experienced somewhat of a higher level of skill in the Champions Cup than Ospreys, however, which may make all the difference in this clash.

In an unfortunate turn of events for Ospreys, the match, which was originally scheduled to take place at the Liberty Stadium, has now been moved to Llanelli. This is because the pitch at the Liberty Stadium is busy being re-laid, making play there impossible.

"It's disappointing because that's our home and where we play rugby," Ospreys boss tony Booth said.

"With the brand of rugby we play, we're trying to be as positive as possible. The quality of the surface and the arena we play in is really important to us.

"It doesn't really affect our preparation. In fact, it probably means that we're going to have to be better. We're putting more pressure on ourselves by playing away.

"That's a good test for us. The Scarlets have been the most consistent team in recent years. It's an opportunity to see how far down the road we are."

 Match Day Squads:

Ospreys: Dan Evans, George North, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, Scott Williams, Luke Morgan, Stephen Myler, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, Adam Beard, Rhys Davies, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric (CAPT), Morgan Morris

Replacements: Ifan Phillips, Rhodri Jones, Ma’afu Fia, Lloyd Ashley, Sam Cross, Rhys Webb, Josh Thomas, Keiran Williams

Scarlets: Johnny McNicholl, Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies, Steff Hughes (CAPT), Steff Evans, Dan Jones, Kieran Hardy; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Javan Sebastian, Jake Ball, Morgan Jones, Ed Kennedy, Josh Macleod, Uzair Cassiem.

Replacements: Marc Jones, Phil Price, Pieter Scholtz, Tevita Ratuva, Blade Thomson, Gareth Davies, Sam Costelow, Tyler Morgan