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.

By Tom Prosser Elinor Barker’s bid for another Olympic gold medal ended in disappointment as she found herself left out of the squad that took silver medals behind Germany in the women’s cycling team pursuit. The Welsh rider was looking to repeat her gold medal triumph of Rio in 2016, but team GB coaches chose to replace Barker with Neah Evans for the final against the Germans.

Jake Heyward cruised into the Olympic 1500m semi-finals by winning his heat in impressive fashion on Tuesday morning. The Cardiff athlete looked in confident form as he won the last of three heats at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium in a time of 3:36.14. Having seen Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski fall in the previous heat, Heyward wisely moved to the front end of a crowded 15-man field from the gun.

Jacob Draper has been tipped to become a key part of Great Britain’s future after the men’s hockey team began to look to 2024 after their disappointment of Tokyo. Draper – one of two Welsh stars in the men’s squad along with Rupert Shipperley – was mentioned by outgoing captain Adam Dixon as he turned towards the next Games in three years’ time. Following their defeat by India in the quarter-finals in Tokyo, Dixon confirmed his retirement from international hockey.

Welsh Fire have extended their deal with Jimmy Neesham after suffering a double blow over that will deny them of both Lungi Ngidi and Liam Plunkett for the remainder of their Hundred campaign. South African Ngidi, 25, has returned home for personal reasons without having played a game, while former England bowler Plukett has been ruled out through injury. That has forced a re-think for the Fire – and for Neesham – with the New Zealand all-rounder now extending his deal for the rest of the inaugural tournament.

By Tom Prosser Cardiff City beat Newport County 2-0 on Saturday as both clubs completed their pre-season fixtures with the new season now just days away. Joe Ralls scored the opening goal with a stunning strike from outside the box and former Newport loanee Mark Harris scored with a neat finish from close range after some good work by the impressive Ryan Giles. The Bluebirds and the Exiles will begin their league fixtures on Saturday against Barnsley and Oldham respectively.

By Alex Bywater West Indies run machine Hayley Matthews urged her Welsh Fire women’s side not to rest on their laurels after sealing a first win in The Hundred on Saturday afternoon, the Fire will now be looking to claim back to back wins when they take on the Oval Invicibles later today (Monday). Matthews is the second top run scorer in the women’s competition with 134 runs from her three matches so far and her unbeaten 71 helped Welsh Fire to a convincing nine-wicket success over Manchester Originals at Sophia Gardens on Saturday.

New Swansea City manager Russell Martin has revealed he sounded out former boss Graham Potter before deciding to move to the Liberty Stadium. Martin has been appointed Swansea’s new head coach on a three-year deal, but needed to gain a positive reference for the club from Brighton manager Potter, who was in charge at the Swans before recently departed head coach Steve Cooper. “I spoke to Graham, and he spoke so highly of the club, of the people and of the area,” said Martin, who has moved from MK Dons.

The Scarlets are set to bring Corey Baldwin back to Welsh rugby with the former Wales U20 star returning to Llanelli from Exeter Chiefs. Baldwin left the Scarlets for the Gallagher Premiership last season but the centre struggled for consistent game time at Sandy Park due to the strength of the Exeter squad. Before leaving the Scarlets the Llandeilo product was seen as one of the most promising prospects in the Welsh game, with Wales coach Wayne Pivac a big admirer.

Leus du Plooy has vowed that Welsh Fire will re-ignite their campaign quickly on Monday after suffering their first defeat in The Hundred. The South African smashed a blazing 22-ball 43 which featured four sixes in what was ultimately a losing effort for Fire at home to Manchester Originals. A win on Saturday would have moved Fire up to first place in the table and well on their way to qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament. Now, they must ensure winning momentum is not reversed when they meet Oval Invincilbes in south London on Monday.

Warren Gatland has told his British and Irish Lions to prepare for a “cup final” after their 27-9 defeat by South Africa in the second Test set up a series decider next Saturday. The Lions entered half-time at Cape Town Stadium 9-6 ahead through three Dan Biggar penalties but the match then turned on its head, with the world champions taking control up-front and in the air. Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am crossed in the third quarter while the boot of Handre Pollard did the rest, setting up a winner-takes-all scenario in the climax to the tour next week.

Dan Jervis finished fifth in his first Olympic final as Great Britain ended their most successful swimming campaign in Games history. Swansea swimmer Jervis dug in for a gritty performance that ended with him finishing outside the medals, with a time of 14:55.48 that was some way short of his personal best as well as the 14:48.67 that earned him a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. But the 25-year-old Swim Wales athlete from Resolven should feel proud and encouraged by placing so near to medals at his maiden Olympic Games.

Alun Wyn Jones has refused to get drawn on Rassie Erasmus’ criticism of the refereeing in the first Test and warned the Springboks there is more to come from the Lions. The Lions captain was responding after Rassie Erasmus, the South Africa director of rugby, released an unorthodox 62-minute video on social media in which he criticised the officials following the Springboks’ 22-17 loss in the first Test in Cape Town last Saturday. Erasmus claimed Springboks captain Siya Kolisi did not receive the respect from officials afforded to the Lions skipper and said he was willing to walk away from the remainder of the series if he was out of line.

Lauren Price insists she holds no fears about facing old foe Nouchka Fontijn in a shoot-out for an Olympic final. The Welsh boxer has her sights set on a gold medal after guaranteeing herself at least a bronze for Great Britain with a quarter-final victory in Tokyo. Price, the world champion from Ystrad Mynach, will face Fontijn in the semi-finals after beating Panama’s Atheyna Bylon, 5-0, on Saturday.

Welsh Fire are blazing. The men’s team have played twice and won twice and sit second of the eight teams in the early table. It’s not quite ignited yet for Welsh Fire women, who have lost both opening fixtures, but approval ratings for The Hundred generally have been high. Fraser Watson is a hard man to please, but even he thinks something significant is going on in the old sport. After 86 balls of the run chase, with the Southern Braves still needing 29 to win a pulsating contest, Chris Jordan shaped up to put Jimmy Neesham into the stands. He contrived only to slice it to Josh Cobb at extra cover – a catch which essentially secured a second straight Welsh Fire win.

Dan Jervis won’t be alone when he prays ahead of his Olympic debut in the 1500 metres freestyle event in Tokyo on Friday. Back in Neath, the congregation of Sardis Baptist Church have been on their knees for weeks hoping to invoke some divine intervention for one of their flock. Pastor Fortunato Santos has put Dan at the heart of his prayer chain in a bid to help him bring back some gold from Japan.

Welsh rowers Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Josh Bugajski took a bronze medal in the men’s eight but there was another GB rowing near miss for Vicky Thornley in Tokyo – before Bugajski launched a furious attack on the sport’s former head coach. Wynne-Griffith and Bugajski were part of the men’s eight crew that battled to a third place finish behind Germany, who took silver, and new Olympic champions New Zealand. Thornley agonisingly missed out on a medal in the women’s single sculls after finishing fourth in her final – the sixth fourth-placed finish for Great Britain this week.

Vicky Thornley is on course for a shot at another Olympic medal and is desperate to break the sequence of agonizing fourth place finishes for Team GB. The Welsh rower became just the third British female single sculler to reach an Olympic final – and the first for 25 years – after finishing second in her semi-final. Now, Thornley – who won a silver medal in the women’s double sculls with Dame Katherine Grainger at the Rio Games in 2016 – has her sights on a first ever British medal in women’s single sculls in the final on Friday morning.

By Paul Jones Welsh judo star Natalie Powell suffered Second Round heartbreak in her quest to claim a first Olympic medal in Tokyo. The Builth Wells athlete who has previously been a World, European and Commonwealth medalist received a bye in the opening round of the -78kg competition and faced a wait to find out her Second Round opponent. Korea’s World No.23 Hyunji Yoon defeated USA’s Nefeli Papadakis on the day for the right to face Powell for a place in the last 16.

By Owen Morgan Jake Heyward and Joe Brier aren’t the only Welshmen hoping to make an impact when the athletics programme begins at the Tokyo Olympics this Friday. Swansea Harrier Brier is part of the Great Britain 4×400 squad in Japan, while Cardiff’s Heyward will be lining up in the 1500m. But there is an even greater Welsh contingent playing its part off the track in the Far East by making up half of the 12 lead coaches supporting GB’s athletics team.