Jamie Roberts has spoken of his pride after being selected for a new role in Welsh rugby – one of three Independent Non-Executive Directors on the 12-strong WRU Board. Another playing legend, Terry Cobner, is set to take over from fellow Seventies star Gerald Davies as the WRU’s 51st president after next month’s AGM.

Ioan Cunningam has admitted Wales Women are “hurting” after a record 70-7 defeat to New Zealand which former international Alecs Donovan said will have “embarrassed” the players. Cunningham’s team have won plenty of plaudits for their progress over the past couple of seasons, yet they are bottom of their group in the new WXV1 tournament Down Under with one game left to play, against Australia. They were over-run by a New Zealand team who were on a different level as the Black Ferns ran in 12 tries, with just one in reply from Abbie Fleming.

Rubin Colwill has finally wised up and is delivering on his rich promise, according to his Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut. The Bluebirds boss praised his midfielder for taking on board advice after Colwill scored the second goal in his team’s 2-0 win at home to Bristol City. The victory in the Severnside derby has lifted Cardiff up to fifth in the Championship table after back-to-back victories.

Anyone who saw Yakou Meite at his rampaging best for Reading would know why Cardiff City took a punt on the striker. When fully fit and firing, Meite was one of the most dangerous strikers in the Championship as his 42 league goals in 156 appearances (only 102 starts) would testify.

You have to go back to 2 January, 2021 for the last time Zebre won an away match in the BKT United Rugby Championship and last weekend’s opening round defeat to Ulster was their 20th defeat in a row. But Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, who has spent the past week studying the Italian side, knows his team will be in for a battle at the Swansea.Com Stadium in Round 2.

Dwayne Peel insists there is no need to press the panic button as his Scarlets head into another testing United Rugby Championship assignment out in South Africa. Peel’s team conceded nine tries as they went down to a thumping 63-21 defeat at the hands of the Vodacom Bulls at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld last Sunday.

Gemma Grainger is adamant Wales can “compete against any team” despite finishing pointless in their opening two games in the Women’s Nations League campaign. Wales resume their Group A3 programme against Germany at a sold-out PreZero Arena in Sinsheim on Friday after defeats by Iceland and Denmark in September.

Ellis Jenkins admits there are times when he wonders what might have been. But he is also grateful to still be playing the game he loves, after fearing his career was over at one stage. We caught up with the Cardiff Rugby flanker for an in-depth chat as he prepared for Sunday’s BKT United Rugby Championship derby against the Dragons RFC at Rodney Parade.

Carmarthen will host the start of next month’s Roger Albert Clark Rally, which is the biggest event of its kind in the UK. Up to 170 rally cars and support crews will assemble in the West Wales market town for the biennial rally, which has attracted competitors from all over the world and headed by international star drivers Kris Meeke, Oliver Solberg and Chris Ingram.

Great Britain pair Ruby Evans and Poppy-Grace Stickler will headline for Wales as full men’s and women’s teams compete at next month’s artistic gymnastics Northern European Championships in Sweden. Wales will include five Commonwealth Games stars after selection was confirmed for Halmstad and this year’s event from November 24 to 26.

Dennis Gethin, the former secretary and president of the Welsh Rugby Union, has died at the age of 79. Born in Seven Sisters, he enjoyed a hugely successful career in both rugby and the law. He was the 11th and last secretary of the WRU – the role became CEO in 2002 – and the 40th President of the union, serving between 2007-19.

Leigh Halfpenny has been described as the best defensive full-back in the world by Warren Gatland after the Wales star announced his retirement from Test rugby. Gatland – who took Halfpenny to the World Cup 15 years after first capping him as a teenager – paid a glowing tribute to the 34-year-old who has said he will leave the international game after Wales’ match against the Barbarians on November 4 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Wales head coach Gatland said: “Leigh has had a fantastic career for Wales, firstly on the wing and then at 15 where he has been brilliant – probably the best defensive full-back in the world and a tremendous goal kicker.

Michael Duff admitted he was left frustrated by Swansea City’s defeat to Watford, a second successive reverse that has dropped the club back down to 18th in the Championship table. The Swans manager claimed he was baffled by a decision to rule out a goal for Kristian Pedersen for pushing before Ken Sema struck his first goal of the season in spectacular fashion to earn Watford a 1-0 win.

Emma Finucane is trying to ignore her new status as sprint world champion as she sets her sights on achieving Olympic glory in Paris next summer. The 20-year-old Welsh star shocked herself when she took the women’s individual sprint title in Glasgow in August, beating Germany’s favoured Lea Friedrich in the final.

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut heaped praise on his players after watching his team bounce back into the Championship play-off places with a thumping 4-0 win at Huddersfield. The Bluebirds ended a three-game winless streak in some style with their biggest win of the season.

Nigel Walker has insisted the planned global rugby calendar and new tournaments are the result of consultation between players and officials. World Rugby has approved plans to set up a new international league competition for Wales players and those of other nations as part of a radical shake-up of the global calendar.

Anna Hursey has become a contender for the Paris Olympics next year after seeing her world table tennis ranking rocket up from 163 to number 106. The 17-year-old – already a veteran of two Commonwealth Games with Wales – needs to break into the world’s top 80 for automatic selection for the Great Britain squad and is heading in the right direction.

If the four Welsh regions need reminding of the need to get their Wales World Cup players back in action as soon as possible, it was provided by Glasgow Warriors at the weekend. Glasgow coach Franco Smith spoke of his pride in the Scotland World Cup stars who helped secure a 43-25 victory over Leinster on the opening weekend of the URC season.

Geraint Thomas has suggested he will have two more years in cycling before he rides off into the sunset. The Welsh legend has a two-year contract extension with Ineos Grenadiers which will see him continue racing until 2025.

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear will have another chance to clinch the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship title for a third time on this weekend’s penultimate round of the series, the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally (Saturday 28 October). In a carbon copy of last year, the Delta Salvage/Witham Group Ford Fiesta R5 crew scored maximum points on the first four rounds of their 2023 campaign, only for their Woodpecker Stages jinx to deny them a five out of five clean sweep.