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It was an eventful weekend for Welsh rugby. Here is who came out looking good and those who had a couple of days to forget
What a week it has been for Welsh rugby.
Putting on-field matters to one side, Welsh Rugby Union CEO Abi Tierney and chair Richard Collier-Keywood were up in front of the Welsh Affairs Committee at Westminster while the governing body also entered a period of exclusivity in a bid to sell Cardiff Rugby to Ospreys owners Y11 Sports & Media.
On the field it was a relatively successful one for Wales’ four professional clubs with Cardiff and the Scarlets emerging victorious while the Ospreys were held to a draw and the Dragons picked up a losing bonus point in Munster.
Here are your winners and losers.
Winners
Sam Costelow
The 25-year-old was nothing short of outstanding as the Scarlets claimed a dramatic 27-22 victory over Ulster in Llanelli.
Costelow controlled the game throughout with his kicking out of hand, including one opportunistic 22, superb. His distribution and his ability to get the back line moving also played a big part in getting the west Walians over the line.
But his standout moment of the game came at the death when Costelow executed an outstanding long pass to put Ellis Mee over for the winning try.
Costelow, often maligned by some Wales supporters, is arguably in the best form of his career and will put serious pressure on Dan Edwards for the Wales number 10 shirt in the Six Nations.
Ellis Mee
The 22-year-old has been on fire over the past month and was rewarded with a place in Tandy’s squad for the Six Nations earlier last week.
Mee showed why he was deserving of a recall with an impressive performance for the Scarlets on Saturday.
The elusive winger was strong under the high ball but his finish at the death where he beat two defenders to score the match-winning try was extremely impressive.
He is pushing hard for a starting place against England at Allianz Stadium Twickenham for Wales’ Six Nations opener in less than a fortnight.
Ryan Smith
Who says the right calibre of overseas players aren’t worth their weight in gold for the Welsh teams?
Days after WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood said the current crop of overseas players in Welsh rugby were a waste of money, Ospreys second-row Smith, who arrived in Wales from Australian Super Rugby outfit the Queensland Reds in the summer, received the official player of the match award on Friday night as the Ospreys held the Lions to a 24-24 draw.
Conditions were atrocious at the Brewery Field but the Ospreys forwards fronted up after a horrible week off the field against a sizeable Lions pack.
The talismanic Smith finished the game as the top carrier with 18 while he also put in seven tackles. He is someone proving the value of top class signings from abroad to the Welsh regions, despite what others think.
Morgan Morse
The 21-year-old was a somewhat surprise omission from Tandy’s Six Nations squad but he reminded the Wales boss of what he will be missing over the next few months with an impactful performance against the Lions.
Morse replaced Morgan Morris after just 24 minutes and was a handful for the Lions to deal with.
The dynamic No 8 is an extremely explosive carrier who made some huge dents in the Lions defence throughout his time on the field.
He made 16 carries and eight tackles while he also claimed a crucial try for his side.
Josh McNally
The 35-year-old has been a colossus since joining Cardiff, with the former England international an inspiration on and off the field.
Once again McNally played a pivotal role in getting Cardiff over the line as they edged out Benetton 17-8 in what could be a crucial result in the race to make the URC play-offs.
McNally scored a crucial try while he was also pivotal in standing up to an extremely physical Benetton pack.
He is also one of two Cardiff representatives on the Welsh Rugby Players Association’s executive committee.
McNally has his team-mates’ backs on and off the pitch.
Losers
Lance Bradley
It has been a rough week for the Ospreys CEO.
For months Bradley has cut an optimistic figure with the Ospreys’ future existence in doubt. But last week the rumours of the club’s owners Y11 Sports & Media buying Cardiff became a reality as the Welsh Rugby Union announced the private equity firm would own both club’s until at least the conclusion of the 2026/27 season.
This has led to widespread speculation the Ospreys could be the team sacrificed when the WRU eventually reduces the number of professional teams from four to three.
There was also a meeting between Bradley, WRU CEO Abi Tierney and Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart last Thursday. After the meeting Swansea Council leader Stewart released a statement saying it was clear the Ospreys had no viable future in the WRU’s proposed new structure.
Later on that day Bradley sent an internal email to Ospreys staff claiming Stewart’s comment was “categorically incorrect.” In response Swansea Council say Bradley’s email will be proved “inaccurate.”
Bradley is a man under serious pressure amid the war of words.
Dragons
The Dragons were the only one of Wales’ four professional clubs to lose last weekend but they still put in an impressive performance as they slipped to a 22-20 defeat to Munster in Cork.
At one stage the Dragons held a commanding 20-7 lead but couldn’t quite hold out for the win in difficult conditions.
They were also harshly treated by the officials who awarded a try for backrower Gavin Coombes with no evidence the ball had been grounded.
Twas ever thus for Welsh teams in Ireland.
But picking up a losing bonus point away to Munster is a respectable return and it is clear the Dragons have improved.
The likes of hooker Brodie Coghlan, scrum-half Che Hope, full-back Angus O’Brien and tighthead prop Robert Hunt all impressed.
Bryn Bradley and Jarrod Evans
Harlequins had appeared to take a step forward over the past couple of weeks after dumping La Rochelle out of the Investec Champions Cup to claim a place in the knockout stages.
But upon returning to the Gallagher Prem they came crashing back down to earth with a bang as they were ruthlessly put to the sword 34-7 at the Twickenham Stoop by Leicester Tigers.
Former Wales U20s centre Bryn Bradley was outstanding in Champions Cup victories over the Stormers and La Rochelle but could not repeat the same level of performance against the Tigers, mainly because the pack took such a hiding.
Jarrod Evans also came off the bench in what was a bad defeat for the English club.
