Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl is hopeful that Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau will be fit to start the 2026-27 United Rugby Championship season, with the 35-year-old building towards a return in training after a difficult run of injuries. Faletau, who signed a one-year contract extension with Cardiff in July, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury while on loan at Sharks in March, having already missed much of the campaign through knee and calf problems, restricting him to just seven appearances.

Faletau, who has made only 30 appearances for Cardiff since joining from Bath in 2022, is currently able to train but not take part in contact work, with van Zyl planning to gradually reintroduce him ahead of the URC opener against Scarlets on Saturday, 26 September. The Wales veteran, who has won 109 caps and featured at three previous World Cups, missed Wales's autumn internationals and Six Nations campaign through injury, but van Zyl believes a fit Faletau remains a genuine contender for next year's World Cup in Australia, where Aaron Wainwright has been the incumbent number eight.