The Arms Park club have brought in two loan signings from England for the remainder of the first block of URC action.Osian Roberts in action for Wales U20s(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Cardiff have signed centres Osian Roberts and Will Rigg on short-term loan deals following a midfield injury crisis.

The Blue and Blacks have lost Mason Grady, Harri Millard, Rory Jennings and Elijah Evans to injury, while Ben Thomas is halfway through a two-match ban. That has left the club, who had been targeting a midfield signing anyway following Rey Lee-Lo’s retirement, short on numbers in midfield – with Corniel van Zyl acting fast to bring in two short-term loan signings.

Cardiff-born centre Roberts arrives from Sale, while Rigg joins from Exeter Chiefs – with both players set to stay with the club for the remainder of the first block of United Rugby Championship fixtures.

Roberts, who came through the Cardiff pathway and played for the club at U16s level, has enjoyed a breakout season for Wales U20s. The 20-year-old ended up at Sale after moving north to study at Kirkham Grammar School.

Former Cardiff Met student Rigg also returns to the Welsh capital, with the 25-year-old having shone at Coventry before joining Exeter – where he has crossed nine times in 23 appearances for the Gallagher Prem club.

Both players trained for the first time at the Arms Park on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s URC clash with Connacht. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

“We’re low on numbers with those boys out,” said van Zyl. “We’ve managed to have a short-term solution getting those boys in.

“They’re here on a short-term basis and trained with us today, which helped us. Slowly, we’ll get them into the system.

“Osian obviously played for Wales U20s. He’s more of an outside centre, very strong defensively.

“He’s eager to play the game at that age. You can sense he just wants to get stuck in.

“Will is a big, fast centre. He can play 12 and 13. He’s quite experienced.

“He was signed by Exeter from Coventry. He made a big impact, especially in attack. He’s a big boy so he gets a lot of momentum.

“I’m excited to see what they can bring. It’s always a challenge.

“Today’s the perfect storm. They basically arrived here today and were straight into the session.

“They’ll get to know what we do better moving forward.” Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

Van Zyl, who has stepped up to lead Cardiff following Matt Sherratt’s departure before the start of the season, also confirmed that the club had looked at bring Bath and Wales U20s centre Louie Hennessey back on loan – after he made one appearance for them on a similar short-term deal last season.

“Believe me, there was quite a few conversations that happened to get boys in,” he said. “Looking at Welsh-qualified players first, obviously.

“It’s not always possible. These two boys are contracted so we’ll loan them for a short time.”

The club are understood to still be targeting a permanent signing, having been believed to have been looking at options in South Africa’s Currie Cup previously.

Both Jennings and Millard are both notable blows for Cardiff, with van Zyl confirming that the former will likely miss “more than 10 weeks” after suffering a tear in his hamstring.

Millard’s injury isn’t as serious as first feared, with the club having initially been concerned over a lengthy lay-off following a tip tackle against Munster.

Van Zyl explained his return was dependent on how he recovers in terms of his pain, adding the injury was “not too bad”