Trio through but Welsh clubs rue missed Euro chances

Even though three of the Welsh sides will play in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup, they lacked opportunities in the group stages of Europe.

In April, Cardiff, Dragons, and Ospreys will travel to Benetton, Stade Francais, and Ulster, respectively, to compete in the knockout stages.

After frustrating defeats gave them the chance to rekindle relations, they might reflect on what might have been.

After being eliminated from the Champions Cup and not even having the consolation of joining the Challenge Cup, Scarlets will undoubtedly have regrets.

They frightened Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens, but they ultimately lost to Bristol and Pau in Llanelli.

England has seven, France four, Scotland and South Africa two each, and Ireland one while Wales will have four in the last 16 of the premier European competition.

In 2014, Dragons defeated Stade Francais 38-22, one of their most well-known victories was at Stade Jean Bouin. In April, they will attempt to do the same thing.

For the fourth straight win in Newport, the Rodney Parade club defeated Newcastle 35-12 on Friday.

When Perpignan and Lions drew 20-20 on Saturday night, they had to wait for their spot in the final 16 to be sealed.

The Dragons won a penalty try in the 68th minute to earn third place in the group thanks to the team’s victory in the avoiding elimination bonus point.

“The group will be in the knockout stages of Europe,” remarked co-captain Angus O’Brien. Everyone in the circle says, “We will give it everything,” and everyone wants to compete for things.

Filo Tiatia’s side put themselves in danger when Perpignan, who had won in the previous round one, fell to them in France.

The head coach restrained his big hitters for what was going to be a difficult trip to Benetton, even though their 74-21 hammering was not what was anticipated, which was ultimately a wise decision.

Before attempting to cause a major upset in Paris, the Dragons will now make United Rugby Championship (URC) travels to Munster, Ospreys, Stormers, Lions, and Ospreys to try to recover from travel sickness.

Since winning at Newcastle in December 2024, they have not won away from Newport.

O’Brien stepped up after Jason Tovey had a passport issue, and he won the famous victory at Stade Francais.

“We’ve had four fantastic wins at Rodney Parade, and we’re working hard to win,” he said.

Ospreys will now face an away trip in the last 16 if they had defeated the French side to win at home.

Dewi Lake, Dan Edwards, James Ratti, Kieran Williams, Keelan Giles, Harri Deaves, Ryan Smith, or prop Tom Botha were not included in the squad for the 13 changes made by Jones from the side that lost to Zebre.

“I think there will be people asking why you didn’t choose your so-called more established players for the game,” Jones said.

“We’ve played those players over Christmas, through a difficult period, quick turnarounds, and many of them have had injuries or illnesses.”

We are about to make a quick turnaround. The brutality of these games has caused the rest and recovery, as I believe we have seven in the final eight.

“They’re going to end up being blown out before the end of the season if you play the same players all the time.”

It was crucial that we upped the intensity of the group, not just by giving it a lively performance, but also by developing some depth.

We need to know what some of these young players can and cannot do, they say. I’m trying to increase the depth of the team, which is my job.

I made every effort possible to change the game’s balance in an effort to win. The game is on the verge of winning. I haven’t regretted my choice.

“I’m just disappointed that we didn’t nail the result because it was well thought out and put through.”

Corniel van Zyl, the coach who used the Challenge Cup to create competition for spots, has a consistent approach throughout the tournament and in the face of two fronts against Cardiff.

The Blue and Blacks continue to select strong sides, as did Exeter, where they failed to seriously challenge the in-form Chiefs with a 31-0 defeat.

With a six-day turnaround before a home game against Benetton, Cardiff will have a crucial moment of the season in store.

Before the Six Nations, they travel to Ulster, play at home against Leinster, and then travel to South Africa to face the Bulls and Sharks.

Before making any decisions about how to approach Europe, Cardiff will first hope to remain in a strong position for the play-offs.

In his capacity as Scarlets’ interim director of rugby, Nigel Davies now has a clear goal: to lure in a Welsh rival.

After suffering costly home defeats from Bristol and Pau, the Llanelli club have already lost all four of their Champions Cup matches.

Scarlets should have at least been playing in the Challenge Cup, but they’ll have a fortnight off starting in April.

They will look to hit those heights once more in the URC following the display at Franklin’s Gardens, which gave reason for optimism.

“I was delighted by how we handled the challenge, and I’ve told the players that they’ve set their standards this week with how they’ve practiced themselves mentally and physically,” Davies said.

Before the Six Nations, Scarlets host Ulster, travel to Benetton, and then travel to both Edinburgh and Connacht for the championship.

After being wrongly sided by referee Kevin Bralley to concede 15 penalties, they will now realize that their discipline needs to change.

Our scrum, according to Davies, was the difference between Northampton and Northampton. “We would have won if we had parity,” he said.