After the All Blacks, it’s the Springboks for Wales as the toughest of openings to any autumn series continues at the Principality on Saturday. South Africa will have their controversial kingpin Rassie Erasmus back in their corner, which will be prove crucial according to Springbok legend Gary Teichmann, as he tells Graham Thomas. Gary Teichmann believes the return of controversial South African supremo Rassie Erasmus will give the Springboks a crucial edge against Wales on Saturday. Former Newport hero Teichmann – who played alongside Erasmus in the Boks’ back row – reckons the presence of South Africa’s outspoken director of rugby will prove a big boost to the tourists.

By Tom Prosser Welsh boxer Sean McGoldrick is excited by his “future plans” in the sport and can’t wait to get back into title contention after recently making his return to the ring for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The professional boxer from Newport ended a 19-month spell without a fight by winning every round against Stephen Jackson at the iconic York Hall in London last Friday. “It was nice to get back into it, my opponent was tough and durable,” explains McGoldrick, who is managed by MTK Global, who also help guide the careers of some of the biggest names in boxing such as world champion’s Tyson Fury and Josh Taylor.

By Lucy Rees Siwan Lillicrap believes the first professional contracts for women rugby players in Wales can provide a firm base on which to build the World Cup campaign. The Wales captain has welcomed the introduction of 10 full-time professional contracts and 15 retainer deals for players in the national squad. The contracts will be […]

By Paul Jones Ellis Jenkins will make his first Wales appearance for three years in Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series game against world champions South Africa.  The Cardiff flanker suffered a serious knee injury during Wales’ 2018 autumn victory over the Springboks and was sidelined from all rugby for 26 months, but he now returns to Test action in one of six changes from last weekend’s 54-16 defeat to New Zealand.  Jenkins replaces shoulder injury victim Ross Moriarty, while Will Rowlands takes over from skipper Alun Wyn Jones in the second row. 

Olympic champion Matt Richards has been backed to start fine-tuning his season for next year’s Commonwealth Games after being named in the Great Britain swimming squad for the World Short Course Championships. Richards will be joined by another Welsh Olympic finalist, Dan Jervis, for the championships in Abu Dhabi in December. It will be the first outing for the Welsh pair under the GB banner since Richards struck gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay in Tokyo and Jervis finished fifth in his 1500m freestyle final.

By Tom Prosser Cardiff City caretaker boss Steve Morison says his players did “everything he asked of them” despite losing yet another game which extends their winless run to 10 matches. The Bluebirds have only picked up one point from their last 30 but Morison hopes the new style he has implemented during the last two matches can help the club in the long term. “The lads are gutted,” said Morison.

Alun Wyn Jones is in danger of missing the rest of the season after he undergoes surgery on his injured shoulder. The Wales captain has already been ruled out of the remainder of the autumn series after sustaining the injury in the opening match against New Zealand last week. But now the official Six Nations website are reporting that Jones is also in danger of missing the Six Nations that runs until March 19.

Joel Piroe may have scored nine Championship goals so far this season, but Swansea City head coach Russell Martin reckons he’s one of the club’s top defenders, too. Piroe scored his fourth goal in five games on Tuesday night as the Swans moved into the top 10 thanks to a 2-1 victory at Coventry City. It was the Dutch striker’s 10th of the season in all competitions and his nine in the league make him the fourth top scorer in the division after Aleksander Mitrovic of Fulham, Blackburn Rovers’ Ben Brererton and Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth.

By Tom Prosser Cardiff City’s Will Vaulks admitted the style of play under previous manager Mick McCarthy made it difficult to “dictate” play from midfield and “wasn’t the style that was required”. The Bluebirds are currently on a nine game winless run and will be hoping to get back to winning ways at home to QPR on Wednesday evening. “Let’s be honest about it, under the previous manager, the midfield was bypassed a lot,” explained Vaulks.

By Paul Jones Ethan Laird enjoyed a successful loan spell at MK Dons playing under Russell Martin last season and he is now delighted to be playing a similar style of football again in South Wales.  The wing-back – on loan from Manchester United – has made a big impression early in his stint with the Swans, and teed up Jake Bidwell for the opener in the weekend win over Peterborough. Martin’s side have won plaudits for seeking to display a possession-based style, and they have dominated the share of the ball in the majority of their games so far this season.

By Paul Jones Gareth Bale is “raring to go” and on course to win his 100th cap for Wales after being named in Robert Page’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Belgium. Bale has been out since 8 September after sustaining what was described by Page as a “significant hamstring tear”. But the Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, says the forward may be involved in the La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and Page has named the 32-year-old in a 28-man squad for Wales’s vital double-header.

After little over a month into the start of the UK ice hockey season, it is still too early to tell whether the Cardiff Devils’ erratic start will undermine their chances of silverware. A mix of Elite League and Challenge Cup competitions has thrown up a mishmash of performances and results that essentially leaves the […]

Olivia Breen achieved her lifelong dream at the Tokyo Paralympics but she is now looking forward to getting back into her Welsh kit and inspiring even more people to take up sport, as she tells Tom Prosser. Paralympic star Olivia Breen can’t wait to represent Wales at next year’s Commonwealth Games and is hungry for even more success after winning her first individual Paralympic medal in Tokyo this summer. After taking a well-earned break following a busy summer, the 25-year-old is planning her year ahead as one of Wales’ most consistent and versatile Paralympic athletes.

By Paul Evans Either Osian Pryce or Matt Edwards will be crowned 2021 British rally champion after one enjoyed led from start to finish to score a magical victory and the other had to make miracle emergency repairs to reach the finish on the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally. For Pryce, the penultimate round of Britain’s premier rally championship could not have gone better. An incredible start saw him complete the opening 5.93-mile Gwydir stage with a 10.4 second lead after a brave attack in treacherously wet and muddy conditions paid dividends for the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 driver.

Jake Bidewell insists Swansea City will go from strength to strength after finally getting to grips with Russell Martin’s style of play. The Swans eased to a 3-0 home win over Peterborough on Saturday with goals from Bidewell, Joel Piroe, and Olivier Ntcham. They now travel to fourth-placed Coventry City on Tuesday night, looking to make further inroads into the narrow four-point gap between themselves and the play-offs.

By Tom Prosser Cardiff City’s Mark Harris says his side “Shouldn’t be down the bottom end of the table” as the Bluebirds look to build on their fightback against Stoke by ending their nine-game winless run against QPR on Wednesday. “Coming back from three-nil down is a much better feeling,” explains Harris. “Obviously, I’m disappointed with the offside goal at the end. That would’ve topped it off.

By Lucy Rees Taine Basham believes Wales can muscle up to stronger effect when they face world champions, South Africa, this weekend. The Dragons flanker – who made a hugely impressive full debut in the 54-16 defeat to New Zealand – reckons his side can rise to the physical challenge of the Springboks and bring […]

By Paul Jones New Newport County manager James Rowberry admitted his start to life as a manager has gone better than he could have dreamed of after a 5-0 home win over Stevenage maintained his 100 per cent record in the job.  After a 3-1 victory at Bristol Rovers in his first game in charge, Rowberry enjoyed a dominant display from his side in his first match in the dugout at Rodney Parade.  Dom Telford hit a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to 10 goals in 10 games, while long-range strikes from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Finn Azaz completed the rout. 

By Tom Prosser Welsh darts star Jonny Clayton says he is “one really, really happy geezer” after claiming victory at the World Series Finals in Amsterdam on Sunday evening. This is Clayton’s fourth “TV major win” of the year which is astonishing considering he had never won one before the start of the year. “I’m on cloud nine and smiling from ear to ear,” said Clayton, who away from darts works as a plasterer for Carmarthenshire County Council.

Tens of thousands of Welsh fans will flood into Cardiff over the next month to watch the nation’s football and rugby teams in action. Robert Page’s men will play two crucial World Cup qualifiers while Wayne Pivac’s players complete the four-match autumn series which kicked-off against New Zealand at the weekend. With so many high profile matches in the space of four weeks, the age old debate of whether Wales is a rugby nation or a football nation is sure to rage in the capital’s pubs and bars.