Six things Welsh rugby learned from URC kick off

Luke Yendle's try set up Dragons' first winning start to a season since 2013

Welsh regions offered a glimmer of hope for the new season after collectively making their best start to the United Rugby Championship (URC) in 10 years.

Austerity measures across Welsh rugby have tempered expectation levels for Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

But with the only loss of the weekend coming in a Welsh derby, the 2024-25 campaign at least got off on the right foot.

Cardiff triumphed while Scarlets clinched a draw on the road, both against Italian opposition, though the weekend undoubtedly belonged to Dragons.

Rodney Parade served up two remarkable finishes in the space of less than 24 hours as Wales Women and then Dragons both clinched dramatic injury-time wins.

Brown back better

Dai Flanagan described Angus O'Brien and Leon Brown as like "new signings" having missed so much of last season to injury.

Both were instrumental in getting Dragons off to a winning start for the first time in 11 years with a gutsy 23-21 victory over Ospreys.

Warren Gatland will have pleased to see Brown impress during his hour-long return, having made just three starts in the previous two seasons for Dragons.

"Leon was superb. There are not many tight-head props around the UK who are like him but the challenge is to make him even better," said Flanagan.

"He looks massive but we've been aligned with the WRU because we want to get him stronger to be able to compete at this level and higher.

"Leon will have one of the next two games off because we want to have him available for the next multiple years."

Flanagan revealed how a visit by boxing great Joe Calzaghe had helped inspire his players who will need that same fighting spirit next weekend - against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

Lake's Rodney misery

Wales captain Dewi Lake knew exactly what to expect from the Dragons home crowd before a ball was even kicked this weekend, based on his pre-match comments.

"That Rodney Parade crowd, when Dragons are playing at home is unbelievable," Lake had remarked in the build-up.

"I've never won there as a player and I'm sure I'll be getting a few heehaws and donkey noises when I throw the ball in."

That record continues to the embarrassment of Lake who had given a 'talking' hand gesture to the crowd as he left the pitch with his team seemingly in total control at 21-13.

But the Ospreys hooker had to trudge past those same raucous Dragons fans who gleefully gave him the same gesture back after the late Dragons win.

Lake looked straight ahead stony-faced as the Ospreys tried to work out how they had lost that match.

Cool hand Sheedy

Cam Winnett caught Callum Sheedy's kick for Cardiff's opening try

Eight new faces in a new-look Cardiff team resulted in a disjointed 22-17 win over last year's basement team Zebre at the Arms Park.

One of those new faces was player-of-the-match Callum Sheedy who played a crucial role in the opening two tries in his first competitive game since his move from Bristol.

"In a fairly hectic part of play, he looked pretty cool," said head coach Matt Sherratt.

"Time kind of stood still a little bit and he picked the right option. He showed some moments."

Up next for Cardiff is a Welsh derby against Scarlets in Llanelli next Saturday and Sherratt knows his team must gel quickly.

"You could sense frustration with the performance from the team," he said.

"I knew the game was going to be a bit scratchy because there has been substantial change at the club on and off the pitch.

"But after some tight losses last year, it's a five-point win at home against a potential banana skin of a fixture."

Macs can turn Page

Macs Page represented Wales at this summer's World Under-20s Championship

Welsh rugby has been searching for a natural outside centre for a while and Wales Under-20s star Macs Page is rising through the ranks.

Page scored an excellent try and caused Benetton all sorts of problems with his running and defensive turnovers.

But the 20-20 draw in Treviso proved a tale of two kicks.

Jacob Umaga missed an 80th-minute touchline conversion to win the match for the hosts.

But it was an earlier kick that provided one of the strangest incidents of the opening weekend when Scarlets prop Sam Wainwright inexplicably charged the Treviso fly-half as took a penalty kick.

Umaga was allowed to retake the penalty and duly slotted over three crucial points.

Injury-hit Scarlets will be concerned about Vaea Fifita limping off towards the end with fellow Tongan international Sam Lousi already missing with a hamstring problem.

Walsh 'outstanding'

Jack Walsh proved equally dangerous at full-back as outside-half

A positive for Ospreys, who had dominated the vast majority of the derby, was the display of Jack Walsh.

Deployed at full-back, the natural number ten was Ospreys' most creative player and played a hand in both Ospreys tries as well covering his defensive duties.

"Jack was outstanding. We play a multi-receiver game and we rely on other players to step in at times and he delivered on the tactical side of the game," said head coach Tony Booth.

Ryan Conbeer was another to impress, not least with his try, as he looks to secure a longer-term deal beyond an initial two-month contract after being released by Scarlets in the summer.

"He's been given a second chance and has really got the bit between his teeth," said Booth.

"He's a busy player, has scored some good tries and is having an impact so he could potentially stay longer. We want to keep good Welsh players as long as we can."

Crowds need convincing

One disappointment from the weekend was the size of the crowd at Newport for a Welsh derby, played in fine conditions, kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday and not broadcast on terrestrial television.

Just 5,181 turned up at Rodney Parade for what could - should - have been among the region's bumper games of the season.

Dragons will hope a dramatic finish and a home win pulls more punters through the gates.