Joe Brier just missed out on a spot in the 400m at the European Indoor Championships in Torun. In a high-quality heat in Torun, Brier clocked 47.08 secs to finish third in Poland.

Imagine having to wear Alun Wyn Jones’ jersey when he’s not around. That’s a big shirt to fill. But the young player making a pretty decent fist of it at the Ospreys at present is Rhys Davies. The former Wales U20 player is set wear No.5 against the Dragons on Saturday night and tells Graham Thomas how it feels for size. Rhys Davies is already being tipped as a successor to Alun Wyn Jones for the Ospreys and Wales but has revealed it was only a few years ago he struggled to get into his school XV. Admittedly, it was Millfield – one of the most famous sporting schools in the UK – but the young Ospreys second row had high hopes of following the likes of Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams and Chris Robshaw when he moved to Somerset on a scholarship at the age 16.

Mick McCarthy and Neil Warnock share more than just a Yorkshireman’s instinct for bluff one-liners after both extended their management deals into next season. After transforming Cardiff City’s fortunes with a speed of impact he admitted had even taken him by surprise, McCarthy, 62, has signed a two-year extension to his short-term contract that was due to run out at the end of the season. Warnock – 10 years older – will be approaching 74 when his new one-year extension at Middlesbrough comes to an end in June of next year.

Piers Copeland produced an impressive performance to ease his way into the European Indoor Athletics Championships 1500m final in Poland. The former Cardiff Metropolitan University student finished second in his heat to claim an automatic qualifying spot in Friday evening’s final.

Kieran Hardy’s loss to Wales is an unfortunate blow, attack coach Stephen Jones has admitted. The young scrum-half has played his final part in the Six Nations after suffering a hamstring injury in the second half against England. Hardy, who made his debut against Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup, went over for a try in last weekend’s 40-24 victory after a quick tap caught the English napping, before his injury caused him to leave the field.

Mick McCarthy has agreed a new two year deal with Cardiff City – just 10 games after joining the club. The 62-year-old has signed a contract until the summer of 2023 along with long-time assist Terry Connor after reviving City’s fortunes.

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has given Welsh cricket fans a glimpse of the excitement and awesome power he could bring to Welsh Fire next season. Pollard – who has signed to play for the franchise in the new format competition, The Hundred – smashed six sixes in an over to guide his country to a comprehensive four-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the opener of their three-match T20 series. He became only the third player to strike six maximums in a single over in international cricket.

Some things cannot be shifted by a mere pandemic and one of them is World Book Day, on Thursday March 4. The global celebration of reading goes on, with the value of a good book seeming more important than ever over the past 12 months. To mark the day, what better way than to suggest some favourite sports books – old and new – as chosen by sports journalists based in Wales.

Wales Pivac has a Triple Crown on the shelf in his room at the Wales team hotel, credit in the bank along with win bonuses, and the prospect of joining Mike Ruddock and Warren Gatland as a Grand Slam winning coach if his side can manage victories over Italy and France. Fraser Watson believes the essence of this turnaround is there in the calendar. In January 1990, Manchester United supporters rolled out the infamous banner at the Stretford End. “Three years of excuses” was the accusation, a certain Alex Ferguson the target.

Dwayne Peel will have to break his contract with Cardiff Blues and could face his prospective employers in court, unless a compensation deal can be agreed that allows him to work at the Scarlets. The former Wales scrum-half is at the centre of a messy battle between the two Welsh regions after signing a deal with one, but wanting to now join the other. Currently still coaching at Ulster, Peel’s future has been thrown into uncertainty with the Scarlets interested in bringing their former star back to Llanelli and plucking him from the clutches of the Blues.

Swansea City have been told they got away with robbery at Stoke City due to weak officials who awarded Andre Ayew’s controversial late penalty. The accusation came from Stoke manager Michael O’Neil who was furious with referee David Webb for the decision in the fourth minute of added time. The penalty handed the Swans a 2-1 win at the Bet365 Stadium, a victory which head coach Steve Cooper felt was deserved for their positive approach, despite the hotly-disputed decision to award the spot kick.

Steve Cooper insists the wheels aren’t coming off  Swansea City’s drive for promotion despite conceding more goals in their last three games than in the previous nine. Cooper’s side head to Stoke City tonight – a club he says have spent lavishly – hoping to return to the defensive solidity that saw them concede a mere 15 goals in 28 games. But four goals at Huddersfield and a further three at home last weekend against Bristol City caused them to lose two of their last three games and slip to fourth place.

Jordan Hart was just edged out in a close battle in her first competition of the year in Basel. The 26-year-old from Haverfordwest was beaten 21-19, 21-14 by Israel’s Ksenia Polikarpova at the Yonex Swiss Open.

Stephen Varney will be the Welshman aiming to run Wayne Pivac’s Grand Slam bandwagon off the road in Rome next week. Varney has already beaten Wales at U18 and Under 20 level and now the Welsh-speaking teenager is hoping to make it a hat-trick by helping Italy halt the Welsh march to a potential 13th Grand Slam. The Carmarthen-born scrum half – who learned his rugby at Crymych RFC – has already won five senior caps for the Azzurri and made his first start for the senior Italian side against Wales at Parc Y Scarlets in the Autumn Nations Cup.

Owen Smith will travel to Poland aiming to take care of some “unfinished business” in a Great Britain vest. The Cardiff Athletics star is part of the GB 4x400m squad for the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun where he hopes to put past disappointments behind him.

Newtown manager Chris Hughes will be hoping last night’s 2-0 victory over Penybont will have given his side a jolt after making a stuttering start to their campaign. Goals from Tyrone Ofori and Jordan Davies secured Newtown three points as the JD Cymru Premier made its return. Two wins from 15 was not the anticipated […]

Welsh coach Leigh Jones is heading back to the UK to take up a newly-created role of general manager of rugby at Leicester Tigers. The former Ebbw Vale, Dragons and Wales forwards coach, who is currently general manager of rugby performance with the Hong Kong Rugby Union, will take-up his new post at the English Premiership club on May 1. He led the Wales A programme under Graham Henry and went on to become a senior member of the Japanese support team at the 2015 Rugby World Cup alongside the now England head coach Eddie Jones and Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick.

Michael Flynn has told his Newport County players they need to improve the quality of their football if they are to stay in the hunt for promotion from League Two. The County manager saw his team lose 1-0 at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night, a defeat that leaves then outside of the play-off places in eighth place in the table. Flynn could have pointed to a penalty claim late on when Mickey Demetriou’s long ball forward into the penalty area struck the arm of defender Calum MacDonald.

Mick McCarthy has expressed his fears over left Joe Bennett’s injury that overshadowed a stunning 4-0 victory over Derby County. The left-back looks set to miss the rest of City’s season after he let out an agonising shriek as fell to the ground in a heap just past the half-hour mark.

Welsh swimmers returned to competition last month, but it’s only a toe in the water ahead of the Olympic Games this summer and many more strange, new Covid-compliant races will be required before Tokyo, as Graham Thomas reports. Dan Jervis has been praised for his immediate return to form but he and the rest of Welsh swimming’s elite need more competition. That’s the call from Swim Wales performance director Ross Nicholas after Jervis, Georgia Davies and a number of other leading Welsh swimmers got back to racing in the pool at the recent Manchester International Swim Meet.