Welsh rugby winners and losers as forgotten Wales wing steps out of shadows and Wayne Pivac endures sobering weekend

A troubled regional rugby campaign in Wales ended on a suitably flat note, with defeats for all four of the professional sides.

Ominously for Wales head coach Wayne Pivac, less than six weeks out from the start of a Test series against the Springboks, three of the setbacks came against South African opposition.

There was silverware for the Ospreys to celebrate after lifting the Welsh Shield and qualifying for the Heineken Champions Cup, but even amid the taste of relative success, Toby Booth’s side will not — or should not — be tempted to succumb to any delusions of grandeur, after a game against the Bulls that showed they still have considerable scope for improvement.

The mini-Wales team bidding to be crowned England's best side

And while the Scarlets gave it their best shot against the Stormers, Cardiff came up with arguably the worst Welsh regional performance of the season — it’s a seriously crowded field, mind — in shipping 69 points to Benetton, with the Dragons not up to the mark, either.

MARK ORDERS picks out the winners and losers.

The script didn’t exactly pan out as Toby Booth’s side would have wanted on Friday evening, with the Bulls winning at the Swansea.com Stadium.

For much of the game, the South African team were a cut above, boasting serious power up front and extreme pace behind. The captain Marcell Coetzee was to the fore in the physical battle, along with the loose-head prop Gerhard Steenekamp, while centre Cornal Hendricks looked a different class.

At one point it seemed the Welsh team might be blown away, with immensely strong opposition forwards eating up ground when they carried and the back line having a cutting edge.

But the Ospreys didn’t give up.

They stayed in the fight, their effort