Hal Robson-Kanu has predicted that equal pay for international players will inspire more girls to play football for Wales. The former Wales striker described the decision as a “monumental move” after Wales’ men’s and women’s senior players learned they will be paid the same for the first time on international duty under the terms of a new equal pay agreement. The deal comes into place immediately and covers the period up to and including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

By Gareth James The Football Association of Wales is yet to be fully convinced over plans for new substitute rules around concussion. A temporary concussion substitute trial in the Premier League next season is believed to be supported by a majority of the UK’s four football associations heading into a key meeting of the game’s […]

Russell Martin has told Swansea City not to waste their money on players who won’t make a difference. The Swans head coach has grown frustrated at the club’s lack of activity in the transfer window but insists they avoid the trap of signing sub-standard players near the deadline. Speaking after the Swans had crashed out of the FA Cup after a 2-1 extra time defeat at home to Bristol City in a third round replay, Martin insisted adding players who cannot improve the starting team is a mistake the club have made in the past.

By David Williams Warren Gatland insists he is looking forward to locking horns with Eddie Jones again at this year’s World Cup – although he admits he was shocked to hear their reunion will be so sudden. Gatland enjoyed some memorable skirmishes with Jones around Wales v England clashes in the past and the two […]

Ken Owens has been named as Wales captain in a familiar-looking squad with Warren Gatland admitting it was too late in the day for a radical overhaul. The appointment of Owens, 36, reflects the short-term nature of Gatland’s Six Nations squad selection. Although there are four uncapped players, the elevation of Owens and the inclusion of veterans 37-year-old Alun Wyn Jones, Leigh Halfpenny, 34, Rhys Webb 34, Justin Tipuric, 33, Dan Biggar 33, and Taulupe Faletau, 32 means the group has retained much of the feel of Gatland’s previous spell in charge which ended three years ago.

Tributes have been paid to David Hando, Newport County’s club president and one-time saviour of the club, who has died at the age of 84. Hando played a vital role in keeping the club going after it was liquidated in February 1989. As chairman of the Exiles for the first nine years of its existence, Hando was instrumental in the club’s success and was inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2015, two years after the team’s return to the Football League.

Dan Biggar is firm favourite to become Wales captain once more under Warren Gatland. That’s the view of Biggar’s former Ospreys coach Sean Holley, who reckons the hugely experienced Toulon No.10 is the man Gatland will turn to for the upcoming Six Nations campaign. Biggar missed the whole of the Autumn Nations series because of injury, which forced former Wales coach Wayne Pivac to hand the armband to Justin Tipuric.

Mark Williams has vowed to keep snookers’ youngsters on their toes after being edged out in the Masters final by Judd Trump. Trump beat Mark Williams 10-8 to win his second Masters title at Alexandra Palace. The Englishman trailed 8-7 but won three frames in a row to clinch the first prize of £250,000, wrapping up victory with a clearance of 126.

James Carson made history by becoming the first Wales player to score at the Hockey World Cup – but it was scant consolation for his team who were beaten 5-1 by Spain. It was the second match of the tournament in India for Wales, but for the second time they leaked five goals. At least there was no whitewash this time – as there had been with Friday’s 5-0 defeat to England – with Carson scoring in the fourth quarter, when Spain were leading 4-0.

Swansea City’s Ollie Cooper has been told he can become a regular matchwinner after his stunning strike sealed victory at Sunderland. Cooper scored the Swans’ third goal in a 3-1 victory at the Stadium of Light, where the home side were reduced to 10 men in the 18th minute after Luke O’Nien’s reckless foul on Cooper. The Welsh youngster picked himself up and went on to score the clincher as Swansea moved to within three points of the Championship play-off places.

Cai Evans has earned fulsome praise from Ospreys head coach Toby Booth after his superb goal-kicking helped take his side to the brink of qualification for the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup. Evans landed three conversions and three penalties to claim 15 points as the Ospreys beat Montpellier 35-29 in Swansea, despite being outscored by five tries to four. The difference was the goal-kicking of Evans – son of Wales legend and Welsh Rugby Union chairman, Ieuan – as the French champions missed four attempts at goal.

Neil Warnock is the bookies’ favourite to return as the new manager of Cardiff City following the sacking of Mark Hudson. Warnock, 74, has been out of work since leaving Middlesbrough in November 2021 and announced his retirement from management six months later. But that has not stopped Welsh bookmakers DragonBet – and others – from making the former Bluebirds boss their favourite to return to the club he left three years ago.

Cardiff City are hoping a slimmed down version of top scorer Callum Robinson can return to action on Saturday against bottom-of-the-table Wigan to provide a first Championship goal for the club since December 17. Robinson’s four goals this season in the League make him the club’s leading striker, but he was forced to miss last weekend’s epic FA Cup third round draw with Leeds United because of sickness. “There has been quite a lot of sickness going round and Robbo lost 6kgs through his bout of flu and tonsilitis. We have to be mindful of that and we have to protect them,” explained Bluebirds boss Mark Hudson.

Swansea City have turned down bids for two of their strikers, but Russell Martin is very happy with the form of his current front runners Joel Piroe and Liam Cullen. The pair will spearhead the attack against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, hoping to add to the magnificent seven goals they have plundered between them in the last six games. While Piroe and Cullen have developed a profitable partnership, Michael Obafemi and Morgan Whittaker look to be on their way out of the club.

The FA Cup took centre stage last week, with Wrexham sensationally beating Coventry City and both Cardiff City and Swansea City being held to draws, but this weekend is all about the JD Welsh Cup. The first games in the FA Cup were in November, 1871, while the Welsh Cup started in October, 1877, with Newtown hosting the Druids in the first game in the tournament. These days the Druids are Cefn Druids, who went out in an earlier round.

Wales star Jacob Draper admitted the World Cup debutants had given England far too much respect after they lost 5-0 in their opening games of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup. Great Britain international Draper was part of a Wales side overpowered and outgunned by their nearest rivals in India as the Welsh campaign got off to a miserable start. Wales got off to a poor opening, conceded inside the first minute, and never really recovered as Liam Ansell scored two penalty corners with further England goals for Nick Park, Phil Roper and Nick Bandurak.

Former Ospreys coach Sean Holley has backed his old team to do the double over Montpellier this weekend – but doesn’t expect them to go deep into the Heineken European Champions Cup. The Ospreys will bid to repeat their stunning December victory over the French champions on Saturday night at the Swanssea.com Stadium in a match that is live on S4C. Holley – now a respected TV pundit and analyst for a host of broadcasters – reckons the only Welsh region in Europe’s premier tournament are capable of repeating their 21-10 triumph across the channel.

It will be business as usual for Cardiff City as they look to use loans and free transfers to bolster their squad in this month’s transfer window. Manager Mark Hudson has confirmed that the lifting of the Football League’s transfer embargo is only partial and the club can only deal in loans and free transfers. As it stands, it will be another two transfer windows before Cardiff can pay fees for players, although they remain in talks over lifting that part of the restriction.

The Oli McBurnie case has shown players must be protected from pitch invaders but cannot have “carte blanche” to assault those who enter the field, the UK’s football police chief has said. The English Football League called for a police review after Sheffield United’s former Swansea City fan favourite Oli McBurnie was cleared last month of stamping on pitch-invading Nottingham Forest fan George Brinkley at the end of the sides’ Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final match last May. The EFL statement issued at the time of his acquittal expressed surprise that McBurnie had been charged, noting that it was a criminal offence to enter the field of play and that McBurnie therefore “should never have been put in this position”.

Mark Williams believes beating Ronnie O’Sullivan was his most satisfying victory for years as he looks forward to a semi-final battle at the Masters. The veteran Welsh ace ended an eight-year wait for victory over O’Sullivan by storming back from a three-frame deficit to win 6-5 and reach the semi-finals where he will play Jack Lisowski after the Englishman’s 6-4 victory over Hossein Vafaei. Williams’s hopes of beating the seven-time Masters champion seemed distant as O’Sullivan surged into a 3-0 lead at Alexandra Palace.