The Welsh players who started season strongly

The Welsh men's rugby season is back, with mixed results for the four professional sides.

Cardiff triumphed against Scarlets in the opening United Rugby Championship (URC) Welsh derby, draw specialists Dragons again shared the spoils, while Ospreys came unstuck in South Africa but did claim a four-try bonus.

Welsh exports in England made the headlines in the Prem, with Gloucester new boys Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan demonstrating what Ospreys were missing.

BBC Sport looks back at the opening URC weekend and casts an eye on the Welsh players starring in England's top flight.

Anybody hoping for a rip-roaring Welsh derby to kick-start the new season in front of a full house would have been disappointed at what was served up in Llanelli as Cardiff defeated Scarlets.

It proved an underwhelming occasion, not helped by the late kick-off time on a Saturday evening with the official attendance given at just above 7,000.

There was the odd fleeting moment, like Blair Murray’s superb solo Scarlets’ try, Sam Lousi’s outlandish flick pass and Cardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy popping up with an audacious and cheeky second-half header, but they were few and far between.

Cardiff were content with an away victory as they aim to again be the top Welsh side in the URC.

"I would have taken this before the game," said Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl. "These derbies are always close, and it could have gone either way.

"It had that first game of the season feeling where you find out where you are, so to come away with the win carries on the momentum from last season."

Number eight Taine Basham was named player of the match as he impressed after an encouraging finish to the previous campaign, while lock Teddy Williams was prominent in his first Cardiff appearance in almost a year.

"Taine has been tracking well, and we are excited about what he can do this season," said van Zyl.

"I'm pleased for Teddy personally because he had a massive injury. He had a comeback for Wales in the summer and had a decent start to this season."

Cardiff host Zebre on Friday night when they will again be without wing Josh Adams, who has still not recovered from the calf injury suffered while on Wales duty in the summer.

It was not the start Scarlets wanted after finishing 14th in the URC last season.

They scored two excellent tries through Joe Roberts and Murray but paid the price for conceding three scores from driving line-outs.

"There was plenty of effort and endeavour, particularly in that first half where we looked like the team we trained to be," said Scarlets director of rugby Nigel Davies.

"We need to see more of those moments. Some errors started to creep into our game, particularly in the second half.

"Cardiff took their tries well, but didn't have to work hard for them. It was more about our mistakes, and we gave them three entries into the 22 where they scored."

Scarlets were missing injured key trio Sam Costelow, Taine Plumtree and Fletcher Anderson, with 20-year-old forwards Will Evans and Osian Williams making their first league starts.

"We had a team strong enough to go and win," said Davies.

"We've exposed young players and in the main they did well and will be better for this, we've got quality to come back."

Positives include the defensive effort of captain Josh Macleod, who made 28 tackles, and Murray’s running threat.

Eddie James impressed as an inside centre, rather than the outside centre position where he has been played by Wales.

"Eddie's a great rugby player and the debate will go on where he should play," said Davies.

"He can do a particular job at 12 and can also play 13. He can run hard and get gain line, but he is also a ball-player."

Two points gained at Benetton or two lost? That Dragons are even able to contemplate that question is largely down to the efforts of Thomas Young.

The flanker had a strong first season at Rodney Parade and made a super start to his second.

Dragons were forced into a back-row rejig after the early loss of number eight Evan Minto, and in Young they possess a multi-threat forward.

Young was a menace at the breakdown and also has the footballing skills to thrive in an attack that is noticeably looking to offload more.

They were the URC's worst in that department in 2025-26, with a total of just 51, but they racked up 10 in Treviso, with impressive Tonga wing Anzelo Tuitavuki to the fore.

But it was Young, who would have won more than four caps were it not for Wales' riches at flanker, that deservedly won man of the match at Stadio Monigo.

The stats - three turnovers, 15 tackles, four defenders beaten - do not do justice to a display in which the flanker produced big momentum-shifting moments.

There were eyebrows raised when the 34-year-old was signed from Cardiff on a three-year contract, but he shows no sign of slowing down.

In fact, Young will be pivotal for a Dragons squad that needs a collective effort to soften the blow of losing Wales number eight Aaron Wainwright, a talismanic figure.

The value of Dragons' draw at Benetton will be determined by how they fare on home soil.

They do not leave Wales for the rest of the first block of the season and must make that count, with Scarlets next up in Newport.

Ospreys have enjoyed some memorable wins in South Africa, but leaving Durban with a bonus point is not to be sniffed at.

The Welsh side famously beat Stormers in Cape Town in 2024 during the same season as they won at Lions in the Challenge Cup.

They also enjoyed away wins at Southern Kings and Cheetahs before South Africa's 'big four' joined the URC.

Ospreys never realistically looked like adding to their list of scalps against a Sharks side who look set to be stronger than the one that finished 10th in 2025-26.

But Mark Jones' squad showed tenacity to stay in the contest with a vital score by captain Sam Parry from a driving line-out with the final play of the first half.

That they ended with four tries was a good effort given that this was not Ospreys at their most creative.

They made six clean breaks - although last season's average was only seven per game - had one offload and ran for 179 metres. Sharks' tallies were 10, 11 and 454.

"When you have slow ball and the defence is waiting for you, it's difficult to be creative," said head coach Jones.

"The Sharks are a physical team, and we didn't get the speed of ball to be creative with it, and it was difficult to identify the space.

"When we got speed of ball, we looked dangerous in patches, but there were too many errors."

Ospreys will hope to be slicker if they are to repeat the four-try trick against Lions on Saturday in what looks to be an even tougher test at altitude in Johannesburg.

While Ospreys were losing their opening game, former players Lake and Morgan starred for Gloucester on their debuts in the away win at Exeter.

Lake celebrated his appointment as the new Cherry and Whites captain with two tries and a player-of-the-match display, while Wales international team-mate Morgan also made a big contribution to the impressive bonus-point 45-24 victory.

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit also made a telling two-try contribution in Bristol's 34-24 away win against Sale.

A raft of Welsh internationals were on display at Welford Road, where Wainwright made his Leicester debut alongside Test team-mates Olly Cracknell and Tommy Reffell in the back row.

Wainwright impressed as he created two of three tries for Wales wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb.

But it was Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams, featuring for Saracens for the first time since switching from Gloucester, who showed his class with a player-of-the-match performance in the away 40-38 victory.