It is going to be a big season for all four teams with the introduction into the competition of the four Super Rugby provinces from South Africa. It is an exciting development that has certainly captured the imagination of players and coaches alike around the four nations previously involved.
Been pitted against the breeding grounds of the players who carried South Africa to World Cup glory in 2019 can only raise standards and give the players a chance to improve. For the fans, too, the new season should be bigger and better than ever.
This is what the players had to say as they prepare for their opening fixtures:
JOSH TURNBULL – CARDIFF RUGBY
Opening Game: Cardiff Rugby v Connacht – Friday, 24 September (7.35pm) at Cardiff Arms Park
As a group we are really looking forward to the new challenge this season. Dai Young came in half-way through last season, we’ve had a new attack coach for this campaign and we’ve got the four South African teams coming into the tournament. They are going to bring a bigger emphasis to the whole competition and we can’t wait. We’ve got a tough start against Connacht and they play a similar style to us and will enjoy playing on our surface. They move the ball well and there is always a lot of running rugby in our games against them. If you beat an Irish team home or away it puts you in a good position because they have been the flag bearers for the competition. It’s nice that we’ve gone back to a bit of history, especially with the blue and black in the jersey. Now we want to build on the traditions of the Arms Park and what has gone before us.
RYAN ELIAS – SCARLETS
Opening Game: Edinburgh v Scarlets – Saturday, 24 September (5.15pm) at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium
It was a long old season last time out, but I had a four week break and I‘ve now had about five weeks of pre-season under the new coaches. We’ve had a bit of a beasting, but it is what we’ve needed.  Now all we want to do is put what we’ve been doing in training into our matches. We haven’t spoken about targets, we’re just concentrating on our performances week in, week out. We have worked hard and it would be great to qualify for Europe sitting top of the Welsh regions and see where that form can take us in the Heineken Champions Cup. We went to the semi-finals a few years ago, so who knows. We’ve had a few good run outs in the build up to the URC and Will Griff John has come in a worked hard to add something to our front five. I thought he went really well against an experienced Leicester front row. It will be great for him, and some of the players who broke through last season, to experience playing in front of fans at Parc Y Scarlets for the first time. It is all very exciting, especially with the South African sides coming on board.
HARRISON KEDDIE – DRAGONS
Opening Game: Dragons v Ospreys – Sunday, 26 September (2.00pm ) at Rodney Parade
It’s going to be a lot different to what we are used to with the South African teams coming in, and then only getting one crack at every other team bar the Welsh regions. It will make each game even more important. Being compared against the other regions will make the derbies even bigger. The South African sides will bring huge physicality with them. We’ve looked at the new laws, especially the 50-22, and they will be a factor this season. Getting a win over Wasps in one of our friendlies has given us some extra energy and it is great to be starting with a game against the Ospreys at home in a big Welsh derby. We are all excited about having supporters back at Rodney Parade. They would have made a difference to us had they been there over the past year.
RHYS WEBB – OSPREYS
Opening Game: Dragons v Ospreys – Sunday, 26 September (2.00pm) at Rodney Parade
I’ve had a brilliant pre-season and chomping at the bit to get started again. We had a better season last time than the previous one and we are hungry for more. We have improved as a squad, as a team and as units and we are ready to go. Tony Booth has come in and done a wonderful job. The players and the staff are believing in his processes. We have all come back in looking to go again. A lot of youngsters got blooded last season, but many of them haven’t played in front of crowds before. We put in a lot of good performances last season and picked up a few away wins, most notable in Leinster. For a young squad it is about having the belief that we can go away and beat teams like that. But we need to be able to do that week in, week out and we must learn to finish off the opportunities we create. We’ve got a lot of exciting players in our side and we need to express ourselves and not go into our shell.
