While Scarlets once again emerged with credit for the Champions Cup defeat – coming close to leaving champions Bordeaux-Begles with what would have been a precious four-try bonus – it was the second-tier tournament that brought joy to Wales.
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Ospreys will look for a tie in the round of 16 at Brewery Field in the New Year after going two for two with a win in Montauban.
Cardiff beat Ulster with the last kick through Callum Sheedy and Dragons recorded an unlikely success against Lyon thanks to Angus O’Brien scoring an 80th-minute conversion.
BBC Sport Wales looks back on the second weekend of Challenge Cup action.
Another return from Sunday
In the first round the Ospreys came back from a 21-0 deficit to shock Connacht, and in the second round it was the Dragons who came back to claim an unlikely victory in the Sunday afternoon slot.
The Irish province paid the price for profligacy when it was in a position of strength at Bridgend and so did Lyon at Newport.
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Last season’s runners-up really should have been celebrating a bonus point victory, but instead their hopes of reaching the last 16 look doubtful.
The Dragons trailed 21-6 with a quarter of an hour remaining, but their lineout led to a double from flanker Harri Keddie, an influential and underrated figure, either side of hooker Oli Burrows’ try.
The Rodney Parade club have struggled in attack this season but the rolling mallet, practiced by forwards coach Sam Hobbs, is proving to be a useful weapon.
Filo Tiatia’s men will need to be much, much better to end the wait for a United Rugby Championship victory in the coming weeks, starting against Connacht in Newport on Saturday, but they showed tenacity to finally get a win.
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Time will tell if the release of pressure can bring about a change of fortune against teams better than Lyon.
The Boxing Day trip to Cardiff, who have an East Wales derby winning streak dating back to April 2015, will arguably be the real test for this Dragons team.
Capital gains
Cardiff won four out of five games in the first URC block (Huw Evans Picture Agency)
It had been seven weeks since Cardiff had previously played at the Arms Park and they took advantage of the comforts of home with a remarkable victory against Ulster.
Cardiff’s just under 7,000 spectators were treated to a thrilling eighth try as the hosts completed a remarkable comeback to win 29-26 and keep their Challenge Cup dream alive.
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The night began with Keiron Assiratti, Ben Thomas and Rory Thornton leading the team with their families to mark their 100th caps for the Blue and Black.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, 37, was also seen next week, returning for his first Cardiff game in more than 11 years.
And the night ended with Welsh fly-half Callum Sheedy kicking the winning penalty to the delight of the home fans, whose noise inspires their team.
“The crowd was brilliant,” Sheedy said. “They’re always here at Arms Park. It seems like when we need them, they step up and there’s no feeling like it.”
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“When we’re chasing that win at the end and you can feel them right behind us. It makes you feel invincible.”
The hosts, who have won all four home games this season, trailed 26-12 with 15 minutes remaining.
“It shows what we have on the team,” Sheedy said.
“I always felt like we were in, never that we were out. That shows we have a special group.”
Cardiff now head into three derbies vital to their United Rugby Championship play-off hopes, with the Scarlets and Dragons heading to the Arms Park before a New Year’s trip to Bridgend to face Ospreys.
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Ospreys showing fight in the field
Ross Moriarty joined Ospreys from Brive in summer 2025 (Huw Evans Picture Agency)
The Ospreys have won their last two games despite players, coaches and fans having to endure many off-field problems.
Questions surrounding his future have also led to speculation that Wales captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan will leave for Gloucester next season, and others could follow.
Coach Mark Jones spoke in depth about these issues before the 33-22 win against Montauban and afterwards praised his team’s character.
“It’s fantastic, I’m really happy for the boys, they’ve come out and worked hard all week,” said the former Wales full-back.
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“They have had limited training time due to travel and can be proud to put on a performance like that.”
Jones selected a team without rested Welsh internationals Lake, Gareth Thomas, Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Rhys Davies, James Ratti and Harri Deaves.
“Having fresh bodies is the best way to play with that energy,” Jones said.
“We know that in many of our positions in the team there is not much difference between the players.
“They are very competitive, there is not much to choose from in some positions, so we wanted to give the guys the opportunity and reward them for the work they have been doing in the background and I am happy for those guys to arrive.”
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The missing players will enter the squad for the home game against Munster in Bridgend next Saturday.
“The selection for next week has given me a real headache,” Jones said.
WRU has let clubs down: Cardiff fans
Leigh Halfpenny won 101 caps for Wales (Huw Evans Picture Agency)
While both Cardiff and Ospreys won, foreign politics are never far away with rumors of a future connection between the two teams. No matter how unpopular that scenario is.
Ospreys owners Y11 Sport & Media have been linked with the takeover of Welsh Rugby Union-owned Cardiff, with the move sparking consternation among both sets of supporters on social media.
The Welsh Rugby Union is looking for a way to reduce the number of men’s professional teams from four to three.
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Osprey owners purchasing Cardiff could offer them a good solution.
Discussions between the WRU and other interested parties over the Cardiff takeover are expected to continue.
In April, the WRU intervened after Cardiff temporarily went into administration in April.
The Blue and Blacks may be owned by the WRU, but that doesn’t stop the club from providing a platform to criticize their current temporary owners in their match program for the game against Ulster.
The CF10 Rugby Trust, an independent Cardiff supporters group, produced an article welcoming Leigh Halfpenny but also reflecting on the WRU’s failures.
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An extract read: “He (Halfpenny) was part of a Cardiff team that had been allowed to develop over time with consistent, reliable funding, and the young people coming into that environment felt the benefit.
“The last 10 years in Welsh rugby have sadly offered a less than ideal scenario for young talent.
“Too often our professional teams have not been able to know what their budgets are until it is too late to recruit properly. Too often, jobs on and off the field have been threatened.”
The program article continued: “Over these last 17 years, Welsh professional rugby has lost its way. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has seriously let us down.”
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“By creating a situation of chronic instability, the leaders of the game have let down all the young players who dream of professional rugby and follow in Halfpenny’s footsteps. Welsh rugby continues to go through a period of chronic uncertainty.”