And the winner of the poll question for which region will have the most successful season is – the Dragons!
Have to admit that I did not see that coming.  They achieved a narrow victory (of just  vote) over the Ospreys, with Cardiff Blues and Llanelli Scarlets tied for last place, well behind the top 2 regions.
Pretty much reflects the Magners league at the moment, though the Scarlets could point to their impressive Heineken cup results to suggest they could do something this season.
<h3>Final Votes</h3>
Dragons – 32 votes
Ospreys – 31 votes
Cardiff …

Following on from the earlier announcement of the Scarlets team for the Welsh rugby derby game – Llanelli Scarlets vs the Dragons, the Newport Gwent Dragons have also announced their side.
Dragons Captain and hooker Tom Willis returns to the side that features the likes of Welsh hopefuls Luke Charteris, Richard Fussel and Martyn Thomas. Jason Tovey has to make do with a place on the bench with Martyn Thomas as fullback and James Arlidge (the Kiwi Japanese) continuing at outside half.
Dragons team vs Scarlets
Martyn Thomas, Aled Brew, Tom Riley, …

The Scarlets have named their team to take on the Newport-Gwent Dragons this weekend.  No major surprises in the squad with Dafydd Jones continuing at openside flanker as one of the many players with Welsh hopes ahead of the Welsh squad for the autumn internationals being named on Sunday.
Other players with Welsh rugby hopes include Martyn Roberts the scrum half, who with Mike Phillips injured, Dwayne Peel potentially unavailable for the New Zealand game and the poor form of Gareth Cooper must certainly be in the thoughts of the Welsh …

Matthew Watkins joins Newport Gwent Dragons
A hugely Earth shattering bit of news this. For Dragons fans.
Sorry but I have to say I am far from a Matthew Watkins fan. Fine as a back up for injuries or to cover smaller games but with all the movement that the Dragons have seen in the centre (including Stretch retiring) that leaves Matthew Watkins and Rhodri Gomer-Davies as their first choice partnership.
Gareth George on twitter sums it up with this eloquent quote
NOOOOOOOOOO GUTTED
He is, in case you couldn’t guess, a Newport-Gwent …

It’s true, Welsh and Worcester center Hal Luscombe has decided to retire from rugby with immediate effect.
Now I will admit I was never a fan of Hal Luscombe for Wales – he was never an international class winger and it could be debated if he was a center of that class to be honest.  But he was always an honest, hard working player who did have his moments – being part of the 2005 grand slam winning side for one!
But at regional level Hal Luscombe was a great servent for …

Robin McBryde has named the Welsh rugby team to play the United States, and it contains less changes than I was expecting.



He is staying true to his word about not giving out cheap jerseys it seems. Good to see Nicky Robinson getting his first Welsh start in years though, richly deserved.

Not in my opinion.  Now this is going to sound like a harsh criticism, so it should be noted I think he is a perfectly good regional option for the Ospreys.  With Gavin Henson regularly missing I have no problems with Bishop stepping in and doing a job for us there… but I don’t think he is good enough for Wales rugby.
Having watched the appalling game vs Canada (it did have some plus points, but all in all a pathetic game) I have to say that Andrew Bishop is not …

This season has been far from the best from the point of view of Welsh rugby. In fact some may even suggest that it has been a big pile of pants after the promise of last season.


So I run a quick rule over how the season went and give a few positives and negatives that all the teams can take away from it


And some pants of course

Newport Gwent Dragons have the unfortunate distinction of being the Welsh team in the last ever play off with an Italian team for a Heineken Cup place at the end of the season, which also means that any players picked in the Welsh squad to tour North America won’t be going.
This is because the Scarlets managed a win against a weakened Cardiff Blues side, condemning perennial play off team the Dragons to yet again play an Italian side to see which will take part in the premier competition of European …

Ex Wales and Newport Gwent Dragons flanker, Richard parks, retires from rugby age 31 – following a shoulder injury.


After 4 caps and a career taking him from Pontypridd to Perpignan Welsh rugby will miss this quality regional rugby player