#Taulupe Faletau

Mason Grady earns reward for bright performances off the bench with a start for Cardiff when they face Newcastle Falcons in the EPCR Challenge Cup encounter at the Arms Park today (1pm). He is one of eight changes coach Dai Young makes after last weekend's home defeat in the United Rugby Championship to the Scarlets. The young centre, an imposing…

It has been a hugely eventful year in the world of rugby, amid a plethora of incident and individual excellence. Here's our A-Z guide of what went on in 2021. A is for Alun Wyn Where better to start than with a man who has risen to new heights this part year amid more superhuman exploits. Having skippered Wales to the Six Nations title, he was then…

No self-respecting tour would be complete without some frivolous awards, so without further ado, here are RW's Alternative Lions awards... At the end of an emotional, roller-coaster of six weeks on tour, it's time for Rugby World to hand out a few tongue-in-cheek gongs to a few individuals, highlights and lowlights that caught our…

The Women's Six Nations returns today, reverting back to its normal round-robin format following a truncated 2021 edition because of the pandemic. In a World Cup year for the women's game, this year's championship takes on added significance, with video-sharing app TikTok coming on board as its first title sponsor. Below you can read our…

Welsh rugby heads into the new year with one headline-grabbing decision having been made, but lots of other issues still to be resolved. The autumn internationals marked the end of the road for Wayne Pivac as Wales coach and a return to the helm for Warren Gatland. You never like to see anyone lose their job and Pivac is a decent bloke who gave it…

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Monday, December 26, 2022. Louis Rees-Zammit went off injured within the opening 10 minutes of Gloucester's Christmas Eve defeat to Leicester Tigers. The Wales winger suffered an ankle injury just six weeks before the Six Nations begins. The severity of the injury is not yet known but the ankle was heavily…

Wales have announced the team that will take on South Africa in Saturday's second Test today. Wayne Pivac has largely kept faith with the 23 that pushed the world champions so close last weekend, with Alex Cuthbert the only addition to the starting XV. Josh Adams moves to the bench, while Tomas Francis is replaced by uncapped Sam Wainwright after…

Leicester's Jasper Wiese charges through the Northampton lines in the Tigers' win over the Saints Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Bath v Leicester in the Gallagher Premiership. BT Sport 1, 3pm Saturday Leicester to win by one to 12 points 2pts 6-4 bet365 Two teams whose records look almost the exact opposite of each other's meet at the…

The ninth Rugby World Cup gets underway on Friday in the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, taking place in Asia for the first time as the Japanese hosts - still best known for delivering the biggest shock in the sport's history by beating South Africa in 2015 - look to inspire a nation where interest in rugby is growing at a rate of knots, albeit in a…

The wait is almost over as this Saturday, the Six Nations returns to our screens and with fan-filled stadiums to boot. After last year's tournament was played behind closed doors, players, coaches and fans will be thrilled that all matches are set to feature no such restrictions after the Welsh government dropped relevant Covid-19 rules in…

To say Wayne Pivac needs to start drilling down names into his World Cup plans must be an early candidate for understatement of the year. Quite how many players are inked in at this stage we cannot know after a Six Nations that ended chaotically for Wales, but maybe we can have a stab at projecting how Pivac's squad will look. Alun Wyn Jones has…

Wales are playing for pride on Super Saturday as their Six Nations 2022 campaign draws to a close with a home clash against Italy. The reigning champions are set to relinquish their title but can still claw their way up to third in the table if results fall their way. Wayne Pivac's men have been hamstrung by key injuries and third place would…

Next weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby's treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign. Sportsmail's panel of experts - columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy - debate the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this Saturday and will feature what is set to be a titanic clash between two fierce rivals at Twickenham. It will be the first home match of the tournament for Eddie Jones' side who are looking to build on their 33-0 demolition job in Rome while Wales are riding a wave of confidence following a 20-17 victory…

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, November 24. Bookmakers have released the first odds on Wayne Pivac's potential successor as Wales coach, even though the Kiwi is still the man at the helm. The under-fire Welsh boss today names his team to face Australia at the weekend knowing he needs to find a winning formula as pressure builds…

Wales travel to Twickenham for the chance to build on their incredible win against Scotland after a two-week break. While England are the strong favourites at 1/7 with Grosvenor Sport, Wales are 17/4 and a draw is 30/1. Wayne Pivac's side is still heavily affected with injuries but that still did not stop them overseeing Scotland 20-17 at the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship continues this weekend as France head to Wales, Italy host Scotland and England face off against Ireland. The 2022 Six Nations Championship returns after the second and last of two bye-weeks with three more exciting international fixtures. It was a difficult round to predict and this weekend's fixtures look to provide…

WALES will be eager to build on their impressive win last weekend when they take on Georgia in their next Autumn Internationals match. Wayne Pivac's side bounced back from a heavy defeat to New Zealand with a morale-boosting victory over Argentina. And Man of the Match Taulupe Faletau stood out the most as it was his tries which inspired Wales to a…

It is sixth against ninth in World Rugby rankings as Argentina arrive in Cardiff to face Wales. Except this time, after a 30-29 win over England at Twickenham, it is Michael Cheika's Pumas riding higher in the global standings than Wayne Pivac's Wales. Three places between the two sides, three years and three months after Wales had topped the world…

WALES face the tricky opponent of Argentina in the latest clash in the autumn internationals. This comes after Wales were thrashed by New Zealand, losing 55-23 last time out. They will be keen for revenge against an Argentina side who were impressive, coming out victors against England on Sunday. And we have all the information ahead of the…

Joe Heyes returns from England duty to start for Leicester Tigers against Bath on Saturday afternoon (3pm). The 22-year-old tighthead prop was released from Eddie Jones' squad having not featured in the first two rounds of the Six Nations, while Ollie Chessum, George Ford, Ellis Genge, Freddie Steward and Ben Youngs were retained. Heyes' cover…

Head coach Wayne Pivac has named the Wales senior men's team to face New Zealand in the opening round of the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday (KO 3.15pm) Wales play the All Blacks in front of a full house at Principality Stadium where the match is live on Amazon Prime, with English and Welsh live broadcasts available. There are also highlights on…

WALES welcome captain Alun Wyn Jones back ahead of schedule as they host whipping boys Italy in their final Six Nations match. Wales' title defence has not gone to plan so far as they have been beset by injuries and lost three of the four games they have played. However, they did show signs of improvement last week as they pushed Grand Slam chasers…

The annual Autumn Internationals rugby carnival is underway, with England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland to be tested by the best the southern hemisphere has to offer. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina are all in action over a five-week period, which began with Scotland's narrow defeat to Australia at Murrayfield last…

These are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, November 3. Wales head coach Wayne Pivac is due to name his starting XV today, when it will become clear how much injuries within the squad have taken their toll. The build-up has seen a number of players with injury issues, including key performers like Taulupe Faletau, George North and Josh Adams.…

The 2022 Six Nations Championship returns after a the first of two bye-weeks with three exciting international fixtures, two of which look very difficult to call. After a perfect start to our predictions in Round One, correctly guessing the winner of all three fixtures, things took a turn in Round Two where we got just one result correct. Only…

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, October 27. Wales boss Wayne Pivac will be left sweating on the fitness of star winger Louis Rees-Zammit after the try ace was named in Gloucester's starting XV for their English Premiership clash with Exeter this weekend. The wing flyer is one of just two fully-fit back-three stars currently…

Here are the latest rugby headlines on Thursday, October 13. Dragons boss Dai Flanagan has told his team to stop Talupe Faletau and Cardiff's plethora of stars as they prepare to clash at the Arms Park this weekend. The game will be played against a backdrop of Cardiff coach David Young claiming the Welsh regions are 20 points behind other teams in…

France bulldozed their way past Scotland at Murrayfield in round three of the Guinness Six Nations, moving one step closer to a Grand Slam. But they face a tricky trip to Cardiff this weekend, and any fan of the Championship will know that Wales are capable of anything at the Principality Stadium under lights. Wayne Pivac's side also have the…

We were treated to a stunning spectacle of rugby last weekend which saw all four Southern Hemisphere nations take the chocolates, while France was the only team from up north to collect a win. With several series on the line can England, Ireland or Wales fight their way to victory in Game 2? Read on for all the line-ups and key team news as it…

The 2022-23 Gallagher Premiership season kicks off on Friday with a west country derby between Bristol and Bath at Ashton Gate. It is the 26th Premiership campaign, and 11-time champions Leicester will defend the crown they won after a thrilling Twickenham final against Saracens. Here, the PA news agency looks at the 13 runners and riders,…

When Clive Woodward coached England he tried to cover all bases to the point where his back-up team even included a visual awareness coach. Cut to Wales heading for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. They had the visual awareness side of things covered only in the sense that head coach Tony Gray wore glasses. Woodward knew that nothing could be…

Wales begin their Six Nations defence with a trip to Dublin as Wayne Pivac seeks to prove the doubters wrong in this campaign. The extent of the holders' injury list is one that no sporting fan wants to see but Pivac is tasked with putting forward a solid title defence with seven key players missing. Totalling an incredible 657 combined caps, Wales…