Cardiff laid down a statement of intent as they go in search of their third EPCR Challenge Cup title, with a resounding seven-try, 41-0 win against Brive in their opening game at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday. “We would have settled for that before the game. But the nil is just as pleasing as the seven tries,” said  director of rugby Dai Young. Kristian Dacey, with two, and returning Wales wing Josh Adams scored first-half tries.

Cardiff City manager Mark Hudson has heaped praise on young striker Kion Etete after his role in the Bluebirds’ 2-2 draw at Stoke City. The 21-year-old – who moved to Cardiff from Cheltenham in the summer for £500,000 – came on as a second-half substitute when Hudson’ side were 2-1 down. Within two minutes, Callum Robson had scored the equaliser for Cardiff who resumed their Championship campaign by avoiding a third successive defeat.

Joe Allen is fit and available for Swansea City, despite claims by head coach Russell Martin that his midfielder played too many minutes against England at the World Cup. The Wales star returned from Qatar having suffered more hamstring problems during the final group stage game, where he played 81 minutes before being substituted. Allen had gone to the tournament with major doubts over his fitness, but managed to recover sufficiently to come on and play 13 minutes in the second match against Iran.

Joe Hawkins has been tipped by his coach Toby Booth and teammate Max Nagy to help turn around the Ospreys’ fortunes when they welcome the English Champions, Leicester Tigers, to the Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday.  Hawkins made his senior international debut for Wales last month in the agonising 39-34 loss to Australia.  Now, the 20-year-old inside centre has been tipped to revive the Ospreys in a tough Heineken Champions Cup opener, which is live on S4C. 

By Matthew Burgess The Cardiff Devils (13-5-2) could be without up to four players for Saturday’s visit of the Belfast Giants (12-7-0). Brodie Dupont’s team are seeking their first victory of the season against the defending Elite League champions. However, they will require a bounceback performance following a Challenge Cup setback against the Sheffield Steelers […]

Cardiff scrum-half Lloyd Williams will reach a major landmark this weekend when he plays his 250th game for the team he joined 12 years ago. It was way back in March 2010 that Williams made his debut for Cardiff Rugby. Now, he is set to make a landmark appearance for the BKT United Rugby Championship outfit when they take on French club Brive in the EPCR Challenge Cup at the Arms Park on Saturday. Only retired prop Taufa’ao Filise has played more games for the region and the 32-times capped Williams is within sight of the Tongan’s record tally of 255.

Rising young Welsh stars Awen Gwilym Davies and Niall Pickerd-Barua are set to play in the renowned Junior Orange Bowl Championship in the USA – dubbed the “unofficial World Championships” for players aged 14 and under. The two 12-year-olds, both from Cardiff, will test their progress at the Coral Gables in Florida when the tournament begins on Sunday. The iconic event brings together around 800 of the top-ranked players from 76 countries across the globe. Originally founded in 1945, the calibre of competition provides many players with their first taste of international competition.

Rubin Colwill will go straight from the World Cup finals to a tough-looking Championship match for Cardiff City away to Stoke City on Saturday. Bluebirds manager Mark Hudson has confirmed that Colwill is available for the club’s resumption of their campaign, despite having spent the past month with Wales at the tournament in Qatar as well as the build-up. Colwill only played nine minutes at the tournament, when he came on as a substitute during the late stages of the 3-0 defeat to England.

Football in Wales is set to go ahead on the day of the King’s coronation on May 6. The Football Association of Wales cancelled all fixtures on the weekend following the death of the Queen in September, receiving criticism in particular for the decision to prevent children from playing by postponing youth-team matches. But there will be no repeat when Charles is crowned at Westminster Abbey, with the JD Cymru Premier play-offs to determine European qualification among the fixtures due to take place in Wales that day.

By Carl Field The 2022 Artistic Disability British Championships took centre stage at Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff recently – with five Welsh gymnasts among the medal winners. Between them, Bethany Paull (Valleys Gymnastics Academy), Mia Stockley (St Tydfils), Lilly-Ann Ridd (Neath Afan Gymnastics), Kieran Innes (Fusion Gymnastics Wales) and Ruby Allen (Neath Afan) […]

By Simon Thomas For much-travelled Irishman JJ Hanrahan, the Dragons is proving to be a real home from home. The 30-year-old utility back came on board from French club Clermont Auvergne over the summer and has helped the Welsh side make an encouraging start to their BKT United Rugby Championship campaign. He was used to […]

There has been even more nostalgia than usual in Welsh rugby this year. The national team’s largely disappointing performances sent many minds (including thise of the Wesh Rugby Union) back to the era of Warren Gatland, a golden era to many, but not always viewed as one at the time. The passing of Phil Bennett in June gave us all a chance to see clips of those wonderful Wales, Llanelli and Lions teams he was a part of, as well as, of course, his role in ‘that try’ for the Barbarians.

By Simon Gronow Following the final round of the J D Tyres Welsh National Tarmacadam Championship, the Glyn Memorial Stages Rally held over two days at the end of November at Trac Mon in Anglesey, Wayne Jones has been confirmed as the 2022 Champion. Things didn’t start well for Jones and co-driver Jonathan Davies, who […]

By Paul Jones Cardiff City and Swansea City continue their preparation, as the Sky Bet Championship is set to make a return following the World Cup break. EFL chief executive, and former Swansea City Chairman Trevor Birch feels the recent experiment of a first ‘Innovation Game’ can only have helped showcase the league’s unique selling […]

By Matthew Burgess The Cardiff Devils are in good form as they target their second victory away to the Sheffield Steelers within the space of a week. The Devils head into the first leg of tonight’s Challenge Cup quarter-final tie having improved their league record over the weekend to 13-5-2, which included a 3-2 win […]

Natasha Cockram has thanked those who have helped her to rise to become a world elite level marathon runner. The Welsh Commonwealth Games star smashed the Welsh record for the distance and became the sixth fastest British woman of all time at the Valencia Marathon in Spain on Sunday. Cockram sliced almost four minutes off her previous personal best when she finished in 2:26:14 – inside the qualifying time for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

By David Williams Warren Gatland has replaced Wayne Pivac as Wales head coach – and could well in charge for the next two World Cup tournaments. Gatland is returning to the job he left three years ago after the Welsh Rugby Union announced they had sacked his fellow New Zealander, Wayne Pivac. Gatland, who took […]

Players at Wales’ four regions are being “detrimentally impacted” by the financial uncertainty surrounding their futures, the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) have claimed. A failure to reach an agreement between the professional sides and the Welsh Rugby Union about their funding for the coming years has led to a freeze in contract talks. “The ongoing delay however is having a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of players and potentially the performances across the regions,” the WRPA said.

Former Wales captain Ieuan Evans could wield the knife on Wayne Pivac next week – even though he has seen before the disaster it threatens. Just a week into his new job as chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union, Evans must help decide the fate of head coach Pivac. With Warren Gatland also being tapped up by England, Evans knows the WRU must move fast if they decide to dump Pivac after a wretched 2022 in which the New Zealander won just three out of 12 matches.

Matt Richards has become the second fastest British man of all time over 50m. The 19-year-old Team Wales Commonwealth Games star smashed his own personal best when he won the 50m freestyle at the 2022 Swim England Winter Championships on Friday night. Richards – Olympic Gold medal winner last year in the men’s 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay in Tokyo – won his 50m sprint event, with Welsh star Medi Harris also taking gold in the women’s 50m backstroke.