Llandovery scrum-half Lee Rees described his team as “relentless” after their dominant 24-8 win over favourites Cardiff in the Indigo Premiership final. It is the first time in their history that the Drovers have been champions at this level, but they thoroughly derserved their 24-8 triumph against a Cardiff side who had finished ahead of them in the regular season.

Marnus Labuschagne signed off from Glamorgan by helping them pile up an epic, history-making score before revealing he could well return to the county next season. The Australian batsman struck 138 – one of three second innings centurions – as Glamorgan battled back for a famous draw at Sussex with a vast total of 737.

Jonny Clayton claimed a first Players Championship title in over two years in Leicester on Sunday, defeating Josh Rock 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 12. Welshman Clayton produced a trio of ton-plus averages en route to his second ProTour title of the year, providing himself the perfect tonic ahead of his bid for a second Cazoo Premier League crown on Thursday at The O2.

Geraint Thomas insists he is biding his time and that winning the Giro d’Italia is still firmly in his grasp and that of his team, Ineao Grenadiers. The Welsh rider remains in second place in the overall classification after Sunday’s Stage 15, following his loss of the pink jersey the day before.

Steve Cooper will allow himself just a short time to catch his breath before plotting further progress in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest. The only Welsh manager in the top flight guaranteed he will be there again next season after Forest beat Arsenal 1-0 to end the Gunners’ title hopes. Cooper has gone from academy coaching at Wrexham and Liverpool, to England age groups, to Swansea City, to taking Forest out of the Championship, to keeping them there with a game to spare.

Jack Maynard is desperate for Llandovery to beat Cardiff in Sunday’s Indigo Premiership Final – and reckons the party could be legendary. The Drovers will go to the Arms Park as narrow underdogs, but the top two teams in the league made it through the play-offs and although Cardiff finished the regular season six points clear of their rivals, Llandovery have edged the head-to-heads.

Warren Gatland has hailed Alun Wyn Jones as “an incredibly special player” following the decision of his former captain to retire from international rugby. Jones and Justin Tipuric both chose Friday afternoon to announce the end of their time as Wales players just four months before the Rugby World Cup campaign begins.

Russell Martin is expected to be offered the role of Southamton’s new manager next week. That will be a huge blow to Swansea City who hoped Martin would fulfil his final contracted year as head coach and build on the team’s excellent finish to their Championship season.

Alun Wyn Jones, the world’s most capped rugby union player, has announced his retirement from the international game – along with his Ospreys teammate, Justin Tipuric. The 37-year-old lock Jones played 158 times for Wales and made 12 British and Irish Lions Test appearances. Wales flanker Tipuric, who won 93 caps, had earlier announced he would be stepping down from Test rugby.

Mark Hughes insists his Bradford City side are full of confidence and under no pressure as they prepare for their Sky Bet League Two play-off semi final second leg against Carlisle on Saturday. The Bantams hold a 1-0 lead heading into the all-important deciding leg at Brunton Park thanks to Jamie Walker’s strike.

With the Scarlets dumped out at the semi-final stage by Glasgow Warriors, the only skin in the game for Welsh rugby at Friday night’s European Challenge Cup Final is with the man wearing No.10 for Toulon – Dan Biggar. The Wales outside-half will be calling the shots, kicking the goals, catching his own high balls, waving his arms, ear-bashing the referee and generally doing what Dan Biggar does at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which at least means a Welshman could have a big say in the outcome.

Katie Carr believes the explosion of interest in women’s rugby union can help propel a similar boom in rugby league this summer. The Wales international player is living proof that both sports can be enjoyed from the grass roots to elite level and that the old, bitter rivalries between the codes are a thing of the past.

Geraint Thomas has admitted he’s in for a long, tough Friday when the Giro d’Italia hits the Alps. The race leader is expecting to be put to the sternest test in the mountains, but has backed his Ineos Grenadiers teammates to enable him to stay in the pink jersey.

Rhys Shellard enjoyed a triumphant return to Sardis Road as his Aberdare side edged out Dafydd Lockyer’s Abercwmboi on try count (3-1) after a 19-19 draw to lift the Worthington’s Mid District Bowl for only the second time. Neither Shellard or Lockyer need much of an introduction at the House of Pain, where they both enjoyed glittering trophy-laden careers with Pontypridd before taking up player coach roles with their own respective local clubs.

Former Swansea City striker Viktor Gyokeres is heading to Wembey and a dream Premier League ticket showdown for Coventry City against Luton Town. Gyokeres – who made just a dozen appearances for the Swans in the 2020-21 season – helped Coventry beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in their Championship play-off semi-final second leg at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday.

The race for qualification for the Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs concludes in Aberdeen on Thursday as Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall collide in a crunch quarter-final tussle on Night 16. The final night of league phase action in 2023 will take place at P&J Live in front of a bumper Scottish crowd, as Clayton bids to join fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen in next Thursday’s Play-Offs at The O2.

Sol Bamba and Nathan Jones are the current favourites to become the next Cardiff City manager. Bamba – a massive hero to Bluebirds fans, but a management novice – is even reported in some quarters to have already been offered the job.

Geraint Thomas admitted he has suffered a big loss as he looks to defend his lead at the Giro d’Italia without injured teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart. British rider Geoghegan Hart – an Ineos Grenadiers teammate of Thomas’s – suffered a hip fracture and will need surgery after being involved in a crash during stage 11.

The change from a Peugeot 207 to a Darrian T90 GTR is proving to be a very successful one for Malcolm Jones/Rhys Jones, who have quickly adapted to their new car. After finishing second on the first round of the Welsh Tarmacadam Championship, the Tour of Caerwent, the pair went one better as they won the opening round of the King of Epynt Challenge, the Dixies Challenge Rally.

The title may be out of their grasp, but there is still plenty of stake for Neath in the Admiral National Championship. On Wednesday night, the Welsh All Blacks travel to Cross Keys, knowing that a bonus point victory will clinch their promotion back to the Indigo Welsh Premiership.