Double Welsh derby day provides drama amid uncertainty

Welsh professional rugby is still currently able to hold two derbies on the same day and it was Cardiff and Ospreys that enjoyed celebrations on Friday.

Sporting action took centre stage on Boxing Day with a pair of hard-fought United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures, with uncertainty from Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) plans to cut the professional men's teams from four to three forgotten for 80 minutes.

Cardiff edged a ding-dong encounter with Dragons at the Arms Park 22-19, winning a penalty in the 87th minute as the visitors hunted a first win against their rivals since 2015.

Scarlets' recent revival was brought to a painful end as Ospreys triumphed 26-19, with the home side scoring with the clock in the red for a consolation bonus.

BBC Sport Wales looks at five talking points from the Welsh derbies in round eight of the URC.

Cardiff enjoyed an excellent first block of the season despite being without wing Mason Grady for all of it and evergreen number eight Taulupe Faletau for most of it.

Grady suffered a shoulder injury in pre-season and returned at the end of November, while Faletau missed the start of the campaign and then suffered a knee injury just minutes into his second appearance.

The pair were exceptional against Dragons with the wing named as the official man of the match after enjoying plenty of powerful moments down the left.

"It's lovely to see him (Grady) go at full pace and beating defenders," said coach Corniel Van Zyl.

Diminutive Cardiff wing Tom Bowen was hugely influential in the first block of the URC but Josh Adams and Grady have been given the nod out wide of late.

"They were big impacts, big carries into opposite numbers making gain line," former Cardiff and Dragons scrum-half Richie Rees said on Scrum V.

"It's his (Grady's) physicality and metres in the carry. He is putting people on their backsides and has been impressive over the last couple of weeks, the key thing is to keep him fit."

Faletau - probably the greatest Dragons player in their history but now playing his trade at Cardiff - was influential for an hour until he was replaced by Alun Lawrence, who has had an excellent season to top the URC charts for carries and tackles.

They were up against Test regular Aaron Wainwright, who mixed telling contributions with some uncharacteristic errors including a costly rip of the ball when carrying at close range.

The Wales management team are doing the rounds in derby season and will hope to have Grady and Faletau back in the mix ahead of the Six Nations.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones says the bonus-point win against Scarlets was based on a dogged defence as they rose four places from 16th to 12th.

"I'm pleased for the boys," said Jones. "We didn't play our best, particularly with the ball. But without it, that was probably our best defensive performance.

"You go back to Tips (defence coach Justin Tipuric), your defence represents the heart of the team and the commitment of the team and the coach. You can see the boys they did a tremendous job there.

"The care for each other was big. We know we can play better and we will play better.

"But most important thing (against Scarlets) was showing who we are as characters.

"The whole team highlighted the culture of the Ospreys. These boys are special and it's an absolute privilege to play a part in their careers and coach them."

Wales flanker Harri Deaves was the deserved player of the match, but Ospreys benefitted from the return of international centre Owen Watkin who expertly organised the visitors defence.

"Owen's been out a long time and I've got so much confidence in him," said Jones.

"I had no hesitation and putting him out there this week.

"You see what value he is to the team and some of his defensive work up in the 13 channel was incredible.

"Owen led big-time, in terms of his intent. Considering he's been out for nearly a year, it's very impressive."

Dragons scrum-half Che Hope scored a double on his first start of the season against Connacht to earn the nine jersey in Cardiff, where he repeated the trick.

Hope ran excellent support lines to score, was lively around the pitch and also feisty, notably giving the experienced Aled Davies some verbals towards the end of the first half.

The 22-year-old from Hollybush has long been tipped as one to watch thanks to his exploits with Newport, who he helped to the Super Rygbi Cymru title in 2024-25.

He made his Dragons debut in November 2022 and appears to have inched ahead of close friend Morgan Lloyd, who produced a lively performance at the Arms Park last season, as the main rival to the experienced Rhodri Williams.

"He's electric, he's a little bit of a young Tomos Williams, playing off the cuff," said attack coach Richie Rees before kick-off.

Hope has showed that he is not merely an option to add energy off the bench and will aim to kick on in the coming weeks, with improved game management to come with experience.

Dragons came up short in their bid to win three games on the bounce for the first time since 2015.

They failed to show the enterprise of their first-half performance after the restart but did display resilience once again ahead of their New Year's Day date with Scarlets.

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel could not hide his frustration after watching his side beaten by local rivals Ospreys and slip back to the bottom of the URC table.

"I'm gutted about the result because I felt like we were in a good spot going into it," said Peel.

"We turned a lot of ball over there and it was an area of the game where I felt we could have had dominance in the game if we had been accurate.

"We started brightly. In the first 20 minutes we had all the territory and possession, but we couldn't get over the line.

"We weren't at the races in the second half. So there's elements when we look back we will be disappointed with when we review the game."

Peel is hoping his captain Josh Macleod will return for the New Year's Day derby trip to face Dragons at Rodney Parade.

The flanker missed the Ospreys defeat after suffering a head knock during the victory against Cardiff before Christmas.

"He's been playing really well," said Peel. "From a leadership perspective, and you do miss him as a quality player. I'm hoping he'll be fine for next week."

It will be another basement battle as 16th place Scarlets face a Dragons side one position above them in the table.

"It comes thick and fast now," said Peel. "It's an important game for us next week as well and it's going to be a tough one up there in Newport."

Cardiff and Llanelli played host to derbies on 26 December and the action will be in Newport and Bridgend on New Year's Day.

The Arms Park was packed before Christmas to see Scarlets edge out the hosts, and this time a packed house saw the Blue and Blacks sneak victory.

A sold-out figure of 12,125 tickets issued was announced by Cardiff, with Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia lauding the atmosphere.

"The crowd was amazing, for Cardiff and the Dragons," said Tiatia, an Ospreys legend from his playing days. "It became a singing contest at the end.

"It was pleasing to see where the game is at with local derbies and fans coming out to support their teams.

"That's what we want for derbies - that they are competitive, grounds are sold out and the game is growing. It's all around the tribalism of the regions."

There were more than 12,000 at Parc y Scarlets as well, with victorious Ospreys head coach Jones hoping there are more occasions like this as the WRU looks to cut a men's professional side.

"You could tell it was a west Wales derby and long may they continue," said Jones.

"These occasions are massive. Just at the end of the game, to see your players and coaches going over to meet their families over in the terrace over the far side.

"With so many of them and fans turning up when they could be doing all sorts at this time of the year, but they choose to come down and support their team.

"It is amazing. We talked about the emotional side of the game in the derby and how you have to use the emotion.

"I thought the boys used the emotion incredibly well and the Scarlets did the same. I thought their care for their shirt was equally good."