URC: Mixture of Christmas cheers and jeers for Welsh rugby sides

Two Wales old-timers were at the heart of that Scarlets’ victory.

Lock Jake Ball, 34, was one of the defensive heroes as he topped the tackle charts with 19 as he continues to impress on his Scarlets return

“Jake is in great shape,” said Van der Berg. “He puts the hard work in and is still a master of the game.”

Van der Berg believes such form could even see Wales coach Steve Tandy contemplating an international recall for Ball, who previously played Test rugby in 2021.

“He wants to knock on the door and look if there’s opportunities high up for him,” said Van der Berg,

“He’s shown against Cardiff what he can do, so I can’t see why not.”

Scrum-half Gareth Davies, 35, took the plaudits with another try double at the Arms Park, including a trademark spectacular intercept try.

Davies has retired from international rugby but his player-of-the-match display against Cardiff demonstrated why he remains one of Welsh rugby’s leading number nines.

“It’s fantastic what he is doing out there,” said Van der Berg.

“Gareth is like a good red wine. Some players as they get older, they get better.

“He showed again his experience and he’s still got the speed to finish that try off.”

At the other end of the scale, Wales centre Eddie James impressed in the 13 jersey.

Tandy is searching for a solution to his outside centre problem position, with Gloucester’s Max Llewellyn set to miss the Six Nations because of a knee injury.

Van der Berg compared the 23-year-old James to South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen: “He’s [James] got something.

“He’s got the size and everything there. He needs a bit of time and as he gets more experience, he’s going to play for many years and play for Wales.

“He’s a good player who can play 12 and 13. He’s also got speed and the offloads are there.”