Newport County will be looking to ease the pain of their play-off final heartbreak by getting their new season off to the perfect start when they travel to Oldham on Saturday afternoon.  Michael Flynn’s side were condemned to another season in League Two after Morecambe were awarded a controversial penalty in extra-time of their clash at Wembley just over two months ago. Since then, Flynn has had a big rebuilding job to do, he has signed 12 new players to replace the 16 that have left. 

Joel Makin is determined to use his triumph at the British squash championships to kick on higher into the world’s top 10. Makin became the first Welsh male player to win the British Nationals on Friday and he did it in style, without dropping a game in the tournament. It was a dominant display by the 26-year-old from Pembrokeshire who overcame England’s Adrian Waller in the final, 3-0 (11-7, 11-2, 11-1).

Forget Kieffer Moore for a minute, or fellow Wales Euro squad man Rubin Colwill, the Cardiff City player who has caught the eye in pre-season has been Ryan Giles. Now, the 21-year-old winger will be hoping to continue to make a firm impression by helping the Bluebirds to an opening win of the season in their first fixture at home to Barnsley on Saturday. Giles – a name older Cardiff fans will recall with affection when they think of another wide man who wore blue, namesake David – plans on getting returning Bluebirds supporters off their seats this year.

Welsh Fire’s New Zealand superstar Glenn Phillips has no doubt his team can rise from the ashes and seal a place in the knock-out stages of The Hundred despite the team suffering a third straight defeat. The Cardiff-based men’s team were beaten by Trent Rockets by six wickets on Friday night leaving them in fifth place in the table with four points from five matches. After winning their first two games, Fire are on a bad run but Phillips believes they can turn it around with three more matches still to come.

By Tom Prosser It may be the start of a new season for Newport County but once again the Rodney Parade pitch is not making things easy for Michael Flynn’s men. The playing surface is currently being re-laid at Rodney Parade and the work is taking longer than first planned. County now as a result face at least five consecutive away matches when also taking into account their League Cup match against Ipswich.

Alun Wyn Jones insists the British and Irish Lions must not allow petty scuffles and poor discipline to further derail hopes of tour success in South Africa. The Springboks set up Saturday evening’s crunch, winner-takes-all clash in Cape Town by grinding the Lions into submission during last weekend’s fragmented second Test. Incessant stoppages aided the world champions after their preparations were affected by an outbreak of coronavirus, while preventing the tourists from injecting any pace into a forgettable contest.

By Owen Morgan Making history is becoming a happy habit for Olympic 1500m finalist Jake Heyward. When the Cardiff athlete was named in the Great Britain team to travel to Japan, he became the first Welshman in 89 years to compete at the Olympics over 1500m. Not since Pembroke Dock’s Reginald Heber Thomas took to […]

By Paul Jones Welsh boxing history maker Lauren Price is now only one win away from being the first ever Welsh boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. Price, who is also the first ever Welsh female boxer at an Olympics, shrugged off a one-point deduction to edge past her great rival Nouchka Fontijn and reach the Olympic women’s middleweight final via the narrowest of split decisions. “I am into the final now and it is a dream come true. I am not stopping now – my aim is to win that gold. I am going to give it my all,” said a delighted but focused Price.

Welsh duo Sarah Jones and Leah Wilkinson will return home from Tokyo as Olympic medal winners after Great Britain beat India to earn bronze. The pair played their part as GB came from behind to clinch a dramatic 4-3 victory in Tokyo. It completed a 15-year mission for Jones and Wilkinson who were overlooked by GB for years as they racked up Welsh caps before finally joining the GB squad for this Olympic cycle.

New Swansea City head coach Russell Martin has admitted he can give no guarantees star men Matt Grimes and Connor Roberts will stay at the Liberty Stadium. The frank assessment is likely to encourage the club’s Championship rivals they might be able to prise either away from the Swans on the eve of the new season. But Martin also insists the club can be competitive in the promotion battle and has dismissed suggestions momentum will wane after two play-off failures and the ending of parachute payments.

Jake Heyward has seized his opportunity to claim a hugely impressive place in the final of the 1500m at his first Olympic Games by smashing the Welsh record for the distance. The 22-year-old Welsh star ran a personal best of 3:32.82 to take sixth place in his semi-final and qualify as one of the two fastest athletes not inside the top five. The second semi-final was run at a blistering pace as winner Abel Kipsang of Kenya broke the Olympic record with a time of 3:31.65.

By Tom Prosser  “We are not stupid, we look at the lineups of other teams and we may not be the best team on paper but the togetherness we have will make us thrive and come out on top.” Those are the motivational words of Welsh Fire all-rounder Georgia Hennessy who is hoping her side can continue their winning run as they aim to win three matches on the bounce when they take on the Trent Rockets at Sophia Gardens on Friday.

By Paul Jones South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber believes recent World Cup glory could give his players the edge during Saturday’s mouth-watering series decider against the British and Irish Lions.  The Springboks go into the winner-takes-all contest in the ascendency after leaving proceedings tantalisingly poised thanks to last weekend’s resounding 27-9 success.  Lions boss Warren Gatland suggested the hosts spent considerable emotional energy in levelling the series and has responded to his own side’s shortcomings by making six changes for this weekend’s crunch clash in Cape Town. 

He’s one of the most exciting, and busiest, young athletes in Wales – runner, triathlete, Commonwealth Games hopeful, Olympic dream-chaser and still only 18 years old. Osian Perrin is a young man in a hurry. Owen Morgan just about caught up with him. “The summer is made for racing, so why not make the most if it?” Those were the words of Osian Perrin when I gasped at the Anglesey teenager’s up-coming schedule.

Look who’s back! The Football League kicks off the new season on Friday night when West Bromwich Albion travel to Bournemouth. Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County are all in action for the first time on Saturday. So, what to expect from 2021-22? Fraser Watson suggests managerial experience of a particular league, on its own, is over-rated when it’s stacked against a whole load of other demands. In the immediate aftermath of Steve Cooper leaving Swansea City, a development seemingly inevitable and yet so untimely, discussion amongst supporters soon turned to his likely successor. Indeed, a mere hour or so after a club statement confirmed the departure, I sat in a golf clubhouse with three other regular hackers, who – perhaps oblivious to the financial constraints at the Liberty Stadium – banded about the predictable names.

By Alex Bywater  After winning their opening two matches in The Hundred, the Welsh Fire men have now suffered back to back defeats but Gary Kirsten’s team are looking to get back to winning ways when the Trent Rockets visit Sophia Gardens on Friday.  Captain Ben Duckett is in the form of his life but admits all his runs don’t count for much if his team lose games. Left hander Duckett has been red hot in The Hundred to date and he continued in that mood with 65 runs against Oval Invincibles in London on Tuesday.

Warren Gatland has urged South Africa to get on with it in the decisive third Test on Saturday which will feature seven Welshman bidding for a place in folklore. The Lions coach wants the Springboks to stop time-wasting – or for the officials to clamp down on attempts to stop the clock – after last week’s endless stoppages produced a two-hour long contest. “We definitely want to play more rugby and we just didn’t get that opportunity in the second half,” Gatland said, whose tourists are looking to clinch a series win in South Africa for only the third time in over 100 years.

By Tom Prosser Welsh sailing star Hannah Mills is now the most successful female sailor in Olympic history after winning gold alongside her teammate Eilidh McIntyre.  Mills who carried the British flag at the opening ceremony, won silver in London and gold in Rio with Saskia Clark in the same boat.  This time around, Mills and McIntyre had dominated the regatta at Enoshima Harbour, winning two races and only twice finishing outside the top four, and they went into the medal race with a 14-point lead. 

Sarah Jones and Leah Wilkinson’s dreams of helping Great Britain retain their Olympic women’s hockey title are over after they lost their semi-final to the Netherlands. The Welsh pair were aiming to repeat the gold medal triumph of the team in 2016, but in a re-run of the Rio final five years ago, the Dutch gained sweet revenge in Tokyo with a 5-1 victory. It means Wales’ all-time record cap holder Wilkinson and her partner Jones will fight for a bronze medal instead against either Argentina or India on Friday.

By Tom Prosser Dai Young is determined to lead Cardiff Rugby into a successful but sustainable new era which includes a rebrand off the field and a focus of long-term success on the field. After making well over 100 appearances for the club as a player and a previous eight year stint as director of rugby, there are very few people around who would be in a better position to lead the Blue and Blacks into a new chapter than Young.