It’s been a big week for Rhondda boys and Ystrad Rhondda head coach Dylan Jones hopes the spotlight will stay on the Valley’s sporting pride. In midweek, the world’s media descended on Tylorstown Welfare Hall to hear local boy Rob Page name his Wales squad for football’s World Cup. In rugby, the focus this weekend will be on the return of the Admiral Welsh Championship after a week off as Ystrad Rhondda aim to kickstart their season by winning at Tata Steel.

By Matthew Burgess Cardiff Devils head coach Brodie Dupont insists his team have put last weekend’s disappointment behind them, as they return to action for the first time following their capitulation against the Belfast Giants. The Devils (9-4-1) head to Scotland for their first game of the season against the lowly Dundee Stars (3-10-2) tomorrow […]

It’s been a big year for Cardiff University Athletics Club (CUAC) and that looks set to continue. The student-led University club has grown rapidly since the pandemic, with over 150 members – ranging from beginners to British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) champions and international athletes. Club president, James Meiklejohn, sees a lot of the growth from linking together the athletics community in Cardiff and formalising long standing set-ups.

Wales captain Luke Hawker has pinpointed his team’s clash with hosts India as the one he is most looking forward to as the countdown starts to the Men’s Hockey World Cup. Hawker has been named skipper within a squad of 24 players announced for a warm-up tournament being held in Spain next month. That will be a chance for Wales to fine tune before they fly out to the World Cup in India in January, where they are in the same pool as the hosts, England and Spain.

Robert Page admits he is poised for a highly stressful weekend as his Wales players go into final action for their clubs just three days before the squad flies to Qatar. The Wales manager will have his fingers crossed that players in action across the Premier League and Football League come through unscathed. Having named Wales’ first World Cup squad for 64 years, Page now has an anxious time in store with his players involved in the final club action before the tournament.

Wayne Pivac has insisted the party is not over for Alun Wyn Jones after denying him the chance to win a 167th Test cap. The Wales had coach has played down the absence of world record cap-holder Jones from Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series clash with Argentina. The 37-year-old lock and former Wales skipper has not been included by Pivac in the matchday 23.

By David Williams Louis Rees-Zammit will start at full-back in Wales’ Autumn Nations Series clash with Argentina on Saturday. He switches from the wing to fill a problem position for Wales, with Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny both injured. Rees-Zammit made his Test debut after going on as a second-half substitute for Halfpenny against France […]

By David Williams Welshman Nathan Jones has been appointed as Southampton’s First Team Manager, after signing a multi-year deal with the Saints. Jones becomes the second Welsh manager currently working in the Premier League, with Steve Cooper currently at the helm at Nottingham Forest. Jones has built himself a strong reputation in the Championship, with […]

By Graham Thomas Wales will be playing at their first World Cup since 1958 when they head to Qatar next week. Manager Robert Page showed plenty of loyalty and had few surprises up his sleeve when he named his 26-man squad on Wednesday night. Here are the players the Red Wall will get behind in […]

Wales manager Robert Page insists he has no worries over the fitness of Gareth Bale after naming him as World Cup captain – but admits the selection of Joe Allen is much more of a gamble. Page has named a squad of 26 the tournament in Qatar that shows few, if any, surprises, but reflects his faith in the group of players who have overturned 64 years of history in a successful qualification campaign. Bale is there as skipper, even though there are still doubts voiced by the man himself over how near full fitness he is after a stop-start period in the United States with Los Angeles FC.

By David Williams Grace Williams produced an incredible performance to win gold in the women’s class 14 doubles at the 2022 World Para Table Tennis Championships, alongside Fliss Pickard, after dispatching the top seeds from Germany 3-0 in the final. The pair, who started playing together last year, had already exceeded all expectations in beating […]

Russell Martin understands the frustration and criticism levelled at his team, but he believes that his side are at the beginning of their journey and will learn from these tough tests. Troy Deeney rescued a deserved point for Birmingham after Matt Grimes looked like inspiring Swansea to a comeback win in a 2-2 draw at […]

Cardiff City’s Caretaker manager Mark Hudson’s future is almost sealed, until the end of the season, but he insists his side must improve following a disappointing defeat against Hull. Two goals in as many second-half minutes from Regan Slater earned Liam Rosenior his first win as Hull boss as his side came from behind to […]

Paul Karabardak reckons becoming world champion compares well to the silver medal he won at last year’s Tokyo Paralympics. The Swansea para table tennis star and Billy Shilton produced a superb performance on day two of the Andalucia 2022 World Para Table Tennis Championships to take gold in the men’s class 14 doubles in only their second tournament together. “It is amazing,” said Karabardak.

Taulupe Faletau will celebrate his 32nd birthday this weekend and he’d love a win over the Pumas to make it an extra-special day.  Looking further forward, erasing the bitter memory of the injuries that forced him to miss the 2019 World Cup by going to France next year would be another item high on his birthday wish list. Health permitting, that looks likely, although after an injury ravaged six years at Bath, he isn’t taking anything for granted.

By Gareth James Newport is once again being gripped by cup fever and three days after reaching the second round of the FA Cup, Graham Coughlan’s Exiles are ready to go toe-to-toe with Premier League side Leicester City.  Tonight’s third round tie in the Carabao Cup is the chance for the ‘Amber Army’ to celebrate a […]

Welsh football’s most eagerly-awaited squad announcement in 64 years takes place in Tylorstown on Wednesday. It’s the day Robert Page announces his 26-man group for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Daniel Parker considers all options. On the face it, the roster in the Rhondda shouldn’t yield many shocks. Robert Page himself has already suggested he will remain loyal to the players who helped secure World Cup qualification, and so he is unlikely to spring a plane-load of last-minute surprises. With that being said, the battle for those precious seats should still be competitive and Page isn’t completely averse to throwing a bolter into the mix.

By Matthew Burgess The Cardiff Devils collapsed to their heaviest defeat of the season, and indeed of recent times, after being ripped apart by the Belfast Giants in a dismal 9-3 defeat. An horrific second period saw the Devils concede seven without reply to give Belfast an unforgivable 9-1 lead going into the third, where […]

George North played is front of his son Jac for the first  time, but other than that it was business as usual for Wales against the All Blacks. Jac is two-and-ahalf years old, but he would have to be over 70 by this time next year to remember when Wales last beat New Zealand. His father, now 30, the go-to Ospreys man, a two-times Lions tourist, has played 106 times for Wales – beaten England, Ireland, France, South Africa and Australia – but never the men in black.

Russell Martin has admitted Swansea City are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to their home form. For the second time in three games in front of their own fans, the Swans went 2-0 behind before rescuing themselves. Against Reading, Martin’s men came back to win 3-2, but the Wigan reprieve was only partial and they had to settle for a 2-2 draw.