Key signings for Welsh regions as clubs prepare for 2026-27 season

Gareth Anscombe, Scott Sio, Tom Rogers and Ereatara Enari were among the players to change clubs in 2026 as Welsh regions prepared for the 2026-27 season. The moves come amid a busy recruitment period across Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

Several high-profile departures — including Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake, Aaron Wainwright and Marnus van der Merwe — contrasted with one of the most active transfer windows in recent years for Welsh professional men's rugby. The Welsh Rugby Union has committed to reducing the number of regions from four to three, while the four remaining regions have signed up to a new participation agreement and secured an increase in annual budget. Clubs say they are targeting experienced heads and overseas talent to help develop young homegrown squads for the 2026-27 season.

Tom Rogers has moved from Scarlets to the Ospreys after making more than 70 appearances for Llanelli, a rare switch between those west Wales rivals. Rogers became the first Wales player to score three tries against New Zealand last November while wearing number 11; he has moved to St Helen's with the aim of pushing for more caps wearing 15 and believes he is a better full-back than wing. Only a handful of players have previously made the Scarlets-to-Ospreys move, with Jac Morgan and Gavin Henson starting in Llanelli before moving to Swansea, and Lee Byrne having been a Test player when he switched.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: "Tom is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife in the fact he is equally adept at full-back and wing, and we have no doubt that he will hit the ground running." The region also has Lewis Edwards coming through after he impressed with his big boot for Wales at the World Rugby U20 Championship, but the 27-year-old Rogers will aim to make the 15 jersey his own in Swansea following the departure of Jack Walsh.

Gareth Anscombe arrives at Parc y Scarlets to represent a third Welsh region after previous spells at Cardiff and Ospreys, bringing 37 Test caps, two World Cup campaigns and a Grand Slam. The 35-year-old's club career has been affected by injuries: he had just five appearances last season for Bayonne and, since rupturing knee ligaments in 2019, has only twice managed double figures for a club season — Ospreys in 2021-22 and Gloucester in 2024-25. Scarlets have signed him to provide competition for Sam Costelow, keep Joe Hawkins at inside centre and to help develop teenager Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, who was thrust into the starting line-up last season due to injuries and unavailability.

Anscombe said on the Scrum V podcast: "I feel like I've got a nice place to fill in supporting those young guys. I would love to see Sam and Carwyn progress and have long careers ahead of them. I want to be playing a bit, supporting the group and hopefully passing on some knowledge I've learned over my career."

Cardiff, who finished sixth and qualified for the play-offs last season before being comprehensively beaten by Stormers in the quarter-finals, signed loose-head prop Scott Sio from Exeter to bolster their set-piece. Flanker Dan Thomas said after the Cape Town loss: "It is obvious, our set-piece needs to improve. The Stormers were dominant and we didn't cope. We knew it was coming and still couldn't stop it." Sio, who won 74 caps for Australia, said: "One of the biggest things Cardiff want to pride themselves on is that set-piece. Hopefully I can be a good cog in the wheel there and provide some experience."

Sio made the last of his 86 appearances for Chiefs in June's Prem final at Twickenham and still harbours ambitions of reaching a third World Cup, now with Samoa. Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl said: "He is very experienced and wants to look after the boys around him in the changing room, in the gym, on the pitch."

The Dragons had their quietest summer for many years under Filo Tiatia, adding just three senior players: Tonga wing Anzelo Tuitavuki, Samoa scrum-half Ereatara Enari and back-row forward Terrell Peita from New Zealand. Enari, 29, arrives fresh from winning Super Rugby with the Hurricanes, where he was All Blacks scrum-half Cam Roigard's deputy but made 15 appearances during the successful campaign. Dragons defence coach Dale MacLeod said: "He's a winner, a tough and competitive nine with a big engine and good in defence. He's also got that X-Factor abut him, and you see that with him scoring tries." MacLeod added: "He's a quality person who is team first with selections and knows his role working with the younger players in the group. He'll drive them to get better." Enari will compete with Che Hope, Morgan Lloyd and Rhodri Williams for the scrum-half position.

These signings are among those that could have a big say on whether the 2026-27 season is a success for the four regions as they integrate experienced and overseas additions into squads built around younger Welsh talent.