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The latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyond
Here are your rugby evening headlines for Friday, December 19.
Wales exile makes return
Welsh fly-half Sam Davies makes his return for Grenoble on Friday night, six months after suffering injury heartbreak in the biggest game of his season.
The former Ospreys and Dragons star, who joined the Pro D2 side in 2023, suffered the injury just four minutes into his side’s Top 14 Access Match play-off final in June, as they suffered a narrow 13-11 defeat to Perpignan which consigned them to another season in the French second tier.
Another impressive individual campaign from Davies helped Grenoble finish top of the league in the regular season, and they looked set to finally make it into the top flight, having lost both the Pro D2 play-off final and the Access Match – in which the play-off loser faces the second-bottom team in the Top 14 in a last bid for promotion – in each of their previous two seasons.
However, after losing the first 2024/25 play-off final to underdogs Montauban, defeat to Perpignan meant it was more heartbreak for Davies’ side, with the fly-half unable to rally his team despite bravely returning to the field heavily strapped up.
He dislocated his shoulder after a highly controversial challenge from Perpignan centre Jeronimo de la Fuente, whose head collided with the Welshman’s shoulder at the breakdown, but the hit went unpunished by the referee.
Davies later had surgery to fix his shoulder, leaving him with a grisly scar, and he has been working hard over the last six months to get back to full fitness, with his side currently languishing in 11th place in the Pro D2.
He makes his return off the bench on Friday night, having been named among his side’s replacements to face Dax at home.
Three Welshmen make Top 100 list
Three Wales players have made RugbyPass’ Top 100 list of world rugby players despite a tough 2025 for Welsh rugby.
Unsurprisingly, the only two Welshmen picked for this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia – Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams – feature in the list.
So too does Louis Rees-Zammit, having returned from the NFL midway through the year to resume his rugby union career.
Scrum-half Williams is 87th in the list, having risen 12 places from last year after being crowned the Gallagher Prem player of the season in 2025.
“So long a deputy to Rhys Webb and Gareth Davies, in the last 18 months Williams has made good on his natural talent to become a talisman for Gloucester and Wales,” said the site on Williams’ feats this year.
Rees-Zammit is a new entry on the list, slotting in at 76. “When the ring-rust is shorn, Rees-Zammit has the X-factor to climb higher next year,” said RugbyPass of the wing.
Unsurprisingly, Wales captain Morgan is the highest-placed Welshman at number 45 after his Lions tour efforts, having been part of the Test team for the second and third Test.
“Through sheer brilliance and consistency in a losing cause, Morgan has routinely held the weight of Welsh rugby’s troubles on his broad shoulders,” said RugbyPass.
“Whether snaffling ball on the deck, rearranging ribcages or carrying into heavy traffic, he rarely takes a backward step. Forced his way into the Lions’ Test 23; a perfectly executed clear-out led to Hugo Keenan’s series-winning try.”
Gloucester-bound Lake back for Ospreys
Wales hooker Dewi Lake is back in action for the Ospreys this weekend, captaining the club in their United Rugby Championship fixture against Munster in Bridgend this Saturday.
Earlier this week, it was announced that both Lake and back-row Jac Morgan would leave the Ospreys to join Gloucester next season amid the ongoing uncertainty in Welsh rugby.
Lake hasn’t featured since captaining Wales in their 73-0 defeat to South Africa last month, but Ospreys head coach Mark Jones praised how the hooker had handled himself given the speculation in recent weeks.
“His professionalism around the club has been very good,” Jones said .”You wouldn’t have known there’s anything going on. That’s the same for all of the group, not just those two lads [Lake and Morgan].
“They’ve handled it well and been upfront.”
The Ospreys will also see the return of several Wales internationals including Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Rhys Davies, James Ratti and Harri Deaves.
Owen Watkin and Morgan Morris are named in the starting XV for the first time following lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Ospreys: Nagy; Kasende, Boshoff, Watkin, Giles; Edwards, Morgan-Williams: S Thomas, Lake (capt), Henry, R Davies, Smith, Ratti, Deaves, M Morris.
Replacements: Parry, C Jones, Botha, Sutton, Morse, Hardy, K Williams, Walsh.
Dragons without Wainwright in bid for back-to-back wins
The Dragons will be without Wales No. 8 Aaron Wainwright as they look for their first back-to-back competitive victory in over three years.
Having ended the year-long wait for a win last weekend with the Challenge Cup victory over Lyon, they take on Connacht at Rodney Parade this weekend as they look for their first win in the URC in 15 months.
The last time the Dragons won two competitive matches in a row was October 2022.
But they will have to manage that without Wainwright, who isn’t risked to face the Irish province due to a niggle. Instead, Harri Keddie starts at No. 8.
However, Filo Tiatia is able to welcome back Wales internationals Ben Carter and Rio Dyer after both were rested last week.
Keddie is part of a new back-row with blindside Ryan Woodman and openside Harry Beddall.
Hooker George Roberts, who signed from Doncaster last week, and tight-head prop Cebo Dlamini, who arrived from Griquas in South Africa on Tuesday, are set for debuts off the bench.
Dragons: O’Brien; J Rosser, Inisi, Owen, Dyer; De Beer, Hope; Martinez, Burrows, Hunt, Douglas, Carter (capt), Woodman, Beddall, Keddie.
Replacements: G Roberts, Morris, Dlamini, Lewis-Hughes, Young, R Williams, Westwood, Anderson.
Welshman named captain for top-of-the-table clash
Lloyd Williams will captain Worcester Warriors in their top-of-the-table Championship clash with Bedford Blues.
The Wales scrum-half will lead second-placed Warriors out as they travel to third-placed Bedford, partnering fellow Welshman Will Reed in the half-backs.
“Off the back of last week, I think our boys are really excited to travel down to Bedford and give a good account of ourselves,” said Williams ahead of captaining the Warriors.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to captain the side, we are very fortunate that we have a lot of leaders in the team, so I’ll have a lot of help on the day.”
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