Cardiff Rugby Depth Ranking and Preview – URC 2026-27
While the title seems to change hands every season, the capital side is the current standard-bearer for Welsh Rugby, having made 6th in the standings and achieving the best performance by any Welsh region in the current URC format. Compared to the Scarlets and Ospreys, Cardiff are achieving some level of consistency after their similarly impressive showing last season, and even though Matt Sherratt has left for Wales, Corniel van Zyl has done well to keep Cardiff playing to their strengths.
That said, there’s no guarantee Cardiff will hold onto their standard from last season, especially with teams like Benetton and Ulster wanting to bounce back into the top 8. Cardiff have been very conservative with signings this season, focusing on retaining their top talent and bolstering their high-end depth in key positions. This should result in a settled and confident Cardiff side at home, though improvements will likely need to come on the pitch; Cardiff’s attack and setpiece faced several roadblocks last season, so new attack coach Daniel Bowden will need to earn his keep.
Loosehead Prop: Rhys Barratt, Danny Southworth, Scott Sio, Joe Cowell
One of Cardiff’s stronger areas on paper. Barratt and Southworth have come a long way, and Steve Tandy has taken notice of their skills around the park. The departure of Corey Domachowski takes a bit of size from the already quite light Cardiff front row, but the experience of Scott Sio should more than level the playing field. Exeter demolished Cardiff’s scrum last season, so Sio should help the younger props develop international-level skills. 8/10
Hooker: Liam Belcher, Evan Lloyd, Dafydd Hughes, Tom Howe
Captain Belcher seems to be in favour with Tandy, so the other hookers will really have to prove strong starting options in his absence. Lloyd’s dynamism and physicality are notable, but his fundamentals have lacked in the past. Tom Howe could be a breakthrough player this season, given his strong performances for the U20s, but either way, Cardiff’s lineout has been struggling at around 84% success for the past few seasons, near the bottom of the URC. Something needs to be fixed. 6.5/10
Tighthead Prop: Kieron Assiratti, Javan Sebastian, Sam Wainwright
Assiratti is a strong carrier, but his injury problems kept getting Cardiff into trouble at scrum time, and he was tied for most penalties conceded last season. Meanwhile, Javan Sebastian was arguably signing of the season for the Blue and Blacks, while Tandy seems to like Sam Wainwright for a reason. Has constantly been one of the region’s weakest areas, but doesn’t seem far off a strength once the scrum improves. 6/10
Locks: Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, Rory Thornton, George Nott, Tom Cottle, Tom Manz
Losing Teddy Williams for most of the season really showed how weak Cardiff are here; McNally and Thornton are solid enforcers and Nott brings some agility, but there aren’t many here who can really manage their lineout or carry to the same extent. Tom Manz should help bolster the numbers for now, but missing out on Christ Tshiunza should hurt. 7/10
Back Row: Alex Mann, James Botham, Taulupe Faletau, Taine Basham, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence, Semisi Paea, Lucas de la Rua
Compared to the other forwards, this is somewhere Cardiff are far from weak. Mann and Botham are currently fighting over the Wales 6 jersey for good reason, but even the uncapped Dan Thomas is a real quality option at 7, generating turnovers from seemingly nowhere. Faletau’s injury problems are well-documented, but Basham and Lawrence are strong alternatives at 8, while new signing Semisi Paea should bring some more power. All of these guys have an exceptional work rate and offer Cardiff a real engine on defence. 9/10
Scrum-Half: Aled Davies, Johan Mulder, Ellis Bevan
Cardiff’s scrum-halves are more focused on strong kicking than sniping for opportunities. This has suited them well so far, as Davies and Mulder boast some of the best kicking stats of the URC’s scrum halves, while Bevan prefers to play out wide when he can. Mulder is a strong force in contact too, winning only 5 turnovers less than the aforementioned Dan Thomas (13 total, 11th overall in the URC and probably several spaces higher than most of the scrum halves). Don’t expect them to score a lot, though. 7/10
Fly Half: Jarrod Evans, Callum Sheedy, Ioan Lloyd, Lloyd Lucas
Jarrod is back, and willing to bring a more direct approach than Callum Sheedy in a direct shoot-out for the 10 jersey. I didn’t know who would start between Sheedy and Lloyd last season, and I’m even less sure now; Sheedy had largely fixed his goal-kicking and was one of Cardiff’s key playmakers, so Jarrod’s inclusion inflates what was already a fairly strong area for Cardiff. Luckily, he and Lloyd can cover 12 and 15 just fine, so Cardiff should be able to make use of all their quality here, bolstered by Ben Thomas and Jacob Beetham as emergency options. 9/10
Centres: Ben Thomas, Harri Millard, Steffan Emanuel, Le Roux Malan, Osian Darwin-Lewis, Elijah Evans
Not as deep as it looks on paper, as the latter two are academy players, Emanuel has just turned 20, and Malan has just signed. Still, Thomas and Millard make a more than serviceable midfield combo, and Emanuel’s strong performance for the U20s could see him usurp one of them. Jarrod is a decent 12 too, though Grady’s shift to the wing leaves them short on size. 7.5/10
Wings: Josh Adams, Mason Grady, Tom Bowen, Iwan Stephens, Theo Cabango, Rhys Cummings
Adams and Grady are firmly in Wales contention, so the rest should get a fair amount of gametime. This is another of Cardiff’s stronger areas, filled with small and agile wingers with serious pace. Bowen was the real star last season, and should probably start as many games as the two internationals, but Stephens and Cabango are serious athletes too, giving Cardiff a lot of quality to finish out wide. Providing they can win the high ball (given 3 of these guys are under 5’10’’), Cardiff are under no threat here. 9/10
Fullback: Cameron Winnett, Jacob Beetham, Matty Young
With Leigh Halfpenny retreating to the coaching box, these three youngsters have a very experienced mentor to help improve their game. Winnett is a deadly counterattacker while Beetham’s spent a lot of time on the wing, but hasn’t looked out of place given Cardiff’s quality there. Either could be in a Wales squad too, while Matty Young looked good against Stade Francais. 8/10
Overall Score: 77
Cardiff haven’t needed to change much, and they haven’t. The bigger questions are about their players’ form rather than their depth, and how well they may handle their top talent leaving for international duty. Evans’ recall and Bowden’s appointment points to a Cardiff looking to reignite their attack (and to be fair, Cardiff are among the URC’s weakest attacking sides despite their successes), so some adjustments are likely to be made to their first-choice team, but overall, it’d be bold to bet against them being the strongest Welsh region this time around.
Strongest Team: Sio, Belcher, Assiratti, McNally, Williams, Mann, D Thomas, Basham, Mulder, Sheedy, Adams, B Thomas, Millard, Grady, Winnett
Lloyd, Barratt, Sebastian, Thornton, Botham, Davies, Evans, Bowen
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