Welsh rugby: Six talking points from United Rugby Championship weekend

It was a weekend that started with a shock win, saw a record defeat and ended with a one-sided west Wales derby.

After so many near misses, Cardiff finally broke the habit of throwing away wins on a rousing night in front of their biggest home crowd this term.

Dragons were mauled by Sharks' World Cup winners while Ospreys overpowered a sorry Scarlets side in Swansea.

Scarlets and Dragons prop up the United Rugby Championship (URC) table, while Ospreys and Cardiff moved closer to breaking into the league's top eight. So what did we learn?

As the regions' injury lists grow and already reduced squads begin to look even more threadbare, any news of a player returning to fitness is welcome.

But when that player is a British & Irish Lion, then you could forgive the coaches jumping for joy.

Wing Josh Adams has not played since Wales' World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Argentina in Marseille.

Even had Wales progressed, Adams would have missed the semi-final with a shoulder injury suffered against the Pumas.

However Cardiff confirmed the 28-year-old is expected to be available against Scarlets next Saturday, though may be limited to a place on the bench as he regains match fitness.

Head coach Matt Sherratt revealed the secret to their dramatic 31-24 win over Stormers at Cardiff Arms Park.

"Tomos [Williams] spoke really well in the week that we've got to play with a chip on our shoulder every week. Man-for-man the Stormers are more powerful than most teams but mentally we were right on it," said Sherratt.

One man who could match the South Africans physically was man-of-the-match Mason Grady who scored one try - his fourth in five game games - and set up another.

"Yes that's exactly what we're doing. A lot of us have grown up playing together so we're a really tightly knit bunch," said Grady.

"That result shows our potential. We've been underestimated this season but it's good to be the underdogs. We've won two and drawn one but we could have won six from six."

He added: "I feel like I've got my mojo back after being frustrated with my lack of game time at the World Cup and I'm enjoying my rugby.

"I used to hate it when I was younger and they shoved me on the wing but [Sherratt] has given me a licence to roam and get my hands on the ball as much as possible."

Dai Flanagan faces a battle this week in South Africa not just to lift his players from their record 69-14 loss at Sharks but to mould someone into an outside-half.

In a bruising first half against Sharks in Durban, Flanagan saw both his first-choice fly-half Will Reed and natural replacement Cai Evans leave the match injured in the space of three minutes.

It meant Steff Hughes was drafted in as a makeshift number 10 while scrum-half Rhodri Williams filled in on the wing after Ewan Rosser switched to full-back.

JJ Hanrahan and Sam Davies left in the summer and with Angus O'Brien already out until at least the new year after breaking an arm against Munster, Flanagan is desperately assessing his options. Those could include either centres Hughes or Aneurin Owen or full-back Jordan Williams.

"Physically we've got some catching up to do with the South African sides," said Flanagan.

"Next week [against Lions] is another big challenge. We're a bit battered, we already had a small squad and now we don't have an outside half, but we'll have to find a way."

Kicking is also set to be a problem, though to his credit, Rhodri Williams impressively converted Rio Dyer's try from close to the touchline.

There were many impressive performances for Ospreys in their 31-9 victory over Scarlets.

Captain Morgan Morris and Wales skipper Jac Morgan excelled behind a dominant front five, while replacement fly-half Dan Edwards gave a glimpse of his potential with an opportunist try on his debut.

One player who continues to improve is English-born full-back Max Nagy, who Ospreys are looking to clarify if he becomes eligible for Wales.

Nagy, who made his Ospreys debut in 2021, hails from Buckinghamshire and has been a Welsh resident since September 2018 when he began studying at Swansea University. The confusion surrounds whether Nagy's time as a student counts towards his residency status.

Warren Gatland is looking for contenders to replace the retired Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams, who has left for club rugby in Japan and is unavailable for the 2024 Six Nations.

Nagy again showed his class by setting up the Edwards try.

"Max has been a resident in Wales for a long time, being a Swansea Uni guy, we have asked the question because, in theory, he should be Welsh qualified pretty quickly," said Booth.

One player who is eligible is Wales centre Keiran Williams who made his debut in the World Cup warm-ups in August but missed out on selection for the global tournament.

Williams reminded Gatland of his talents with two tries against Scarlets.

"It was difficult for him, you get a taste for it and you don't get it, none of us like being rejected," said Booth.

"It has an effect, we know that we need to create an environment where we're supportive, but also 'right, what are we going to do about it then?'

"Boys like Keiran, Morgan Morris and Rhys Davies are big players for us and all they can do is keep putting their hand up and keep performing well."

Scarlets are rock bottom of the URC having lost five of their first six games with some supporters even calling on social media after the game for heads to roll in the coaching staff and boardroom.

Dwayne Peel's men have now conceded 200 points in four away games this season against Ospreys, Leinster, Bulls and Stormers.

Peel is determined to turn things around, starting with another trip to face Cardiff next Saturday.

"We have been here before, we just need to work hard to get out of it," said the head coach, who started last season's campaign with one win from ten.

"We have to turn it around. There's a lot of rugby still to be played and we have been to some of the toughest places.

"We need to make sure we consolidate and fly into next week, get back to basics and get this group through this period.

"We have a number of guys who we will get back to strengthen things and we've played well at Cardiff over the last couple of years but they will be coming after us."

Saturday afternoon saw three South African teams score more than 50 points at home, including two record wins in the United Rugby Championship.

Lions racked up their highest score when they thrashed Zebre 61-19 in Johannesburg. Bulls beat Connacht 53-27 in Pretoria before Sharks clinched their biggest win, 69-14 against Dragons in Durban.

The only reverse was Stormers' late loss at Cardiff that completed a miserable European tour for the west Cape team that also included defeats at Glasgow, Benetton and Munster.

South African sides have lost 13 of 16 away games so far this season in the URC, but have won five from six at home. Only Connacht - at Sharks - have won there so far.