Steve Cooper praised the quality of his team’s “brilliant” goals as his Swansea City team kept up their Championship automatic promotion campaign with a 3-1 victory at Rotherham. The visitors were in a commanding position at the break as fine strikes from the edge of the box from Conor Hourihane and skipper Matt Grimes gave them a two-goal advantage. Rotherham fought back and half-time substitute Freddie Ladapo headed in from close-range from Wes Harding’s long throw.

Treharris boxer Gavin Gwynne says his trip to Dubai will be “all about business” as he aims to return home with the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title. Gwynne (12-2, 2 KOs) takes on undefeated Belfast boxer Sean McComb (11-0, 5 KOs) as part of the #RotundaRumble5 event on Saturday 6 February.

Connah’s Quay boss Andy Morrison has slammed the Football Association of Wales for keeping Welsh clubs in limbo during the latest lockdown. The 12 JD Cymru Premier teams have been met with a wall of silence from Welsh football’s governing body since all league fixtures were suspended for a second time on January 8. The Welsh Premier League is the only top division in the United Kingdom not playing at the moment as teams in the English sixth tier continue under stringent Covid-19 protocols.

Dai Young’s arrival as interim Cardiff Blues director of rugby was music to the ears of wing Josh Adams who hopes the former Wasps boss can get him and his team firing on all cylinders. In nine years in English rugby, Young took Wasps to the Gallagher Premiership play-offs for three straight years between 2016 and 2018. His success in that time came with an enterprising brand of attacking rugby that had the likes of Danny Cipriani, Kurtley Beale, Willie le Roux and Christian Wade at its heart.

Conor Hourihane has heaped praise on Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper, having made an immediate impact following his loan move from Aston Villa. The Republic of Ireland midfielder has played two games since dropping down from the Premier League to gain more match action – the FA Cup victory over Nottingham Forest and the midweek 1-1 draw at home to Brentford. Now, comes Hourihane’s first away trip with the Swans who will look to keep a gap between themselves in second place and the Championship’s chasing pack in the play-off places, by winning at Rotherham.

Melissa Courtney-Bryant launched her season in impressive fashion over 3,000m at the indoor meeting in Karlsruhe. The 27-year-old finished third in a high-class field in Germany as she began a year she hopes will take her to the Olympic Games.

Laura Deas finished eighth in her final BMW IBSF World Cup skeleton appearance in Austria before the World Championships next month. Wales’s 2018 Olympic bronze medallist improved on her 13th-place finish from Germany last week.

Mick McCarthy is hopeful Lee Tomlin will be back to spread some magic dust for Cardiff City next month having finally stopped the rot. The Bluebirds boss is targeting the home game with Preston North End on February 20th for the return of his mercurial midfielder.

The Scarlets bid to recover from back-to-back defeats against Cardiff Blues on Saturday night when they host Guinness Pro 14 champions Leinster. But there will be more than just points at stake as two opposing props – one on the way up and one on the way back – have something to prove, as Graham Thomas reports. It will be a tale of two tight-heads when the Scarlets host Leinster on Saturday night with all eyes on Javan Sebastian and Tadhg Furlong. In the red corner will be Sebastian, who has played in every Guinness Pro 14 match for the region so far this season and was this week rewarded with a new contract.

Wales Women head coach Warren Abrahams is looking forward to mixing it with hosts New Zealand as well as Australia at the Rugby World Cup 2021 in September. Wales will also play the final qualification winner in a demanding group, with matches starting on September 18. “International rugby doesn’t come much better than that,” said Abrahams, who was appointed as head coach in November.

Cardiff City left-back Greg Cunningham insists he has “unfinished business” at Preston – after suspending his business operations at Cardiff City. Cunningham – who has played only 14 matches for Cardiff in two-and-a-half years – has returned to Preston on loan until the end of the season. The defender left the Lilywhites in the summer of 2018 for a reported £4million fee after he made 111 appearances in a three-year spell at Deepdale.

Dean Ryan believes Will Rowlands can make a big impact at the Dragons now the Wales second row’s move from Wasps has been confirmed. Rowlands has ensured he will continue to be able to play for Wales when his current contract at the Ricoh Arena expires this summer. The 29-year-old would have been barred from Wales selection under the WRU’s 60-cap policy, which restricts players who play their club rugby outside the four regions from representing Wales if they fall under the threshold.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones believes that this year’s planned British and Irish Lions tour should go ahead “if it can”. The Lions are due to visit South Africa in July and August, highlighted by a three-Test series against the world champions. However, the coronavirus pandemic has created considerable uncertainty over whether the eight-match trip will take place.

Steve Cooper and Thomas Frank failed to see eye-to-eye after their teams went toe-to-toe before Swansea City rescued a point in an eventful 1-1 draw at home to Brentford. The two head coaches – who shared a heated touchline during two play-off matches last season – were in another intense debate at the end of this contest as they walked onto the field towards referee John Brooks. The official had sent off Kyle Naughton for a second yellow card with 69 minutes gone, before Brentford went ahead through Tariqe Fosu-Henry and then conceded a disputed equaliser scored by the Swans’ Conor Hourihane.

Mick McCarthy has told Harry Wilson he has to earn his place in Cardiff City’s side after the Wales ace was dropped to the bench in the 2-2 draw at Barnsley. Wilson did not get on the pitch as the Bluebirds fought back from two goals down to earn a point in McCarthy’s first game and end a six game losing streak.

Wayne Pivac will know that whatever allowances may have been made for Wales’ poor performance in 2020 will not extend into this year’s Six Nations as he looks for improvement in all areas, but maintains his side are in a “good space”. Wales won just three of their 10 Tests last year, with those successes coming against Italy [twice] and Georgia. It was a huge step backwards from the form of the previous two seasons under Warren Gatland, but a change to a more ball-in-hand style and injuries to key individuals have been a factor.

Tom Banton is one of the most exciting young cricketers on the planet but he insists a break from action at the end of last year has set him up for a huge 2021. Somerset and England batsman Banton was one of the headline acts retained by Welsh Fire for this summer’s The Hundred alongside his international team-mates Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope.  The new tournament – delayed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic – is scheduled to be played this summer with Welsh Fire playing all their home games in Cardiff.

For over decade, Ashley Williams was the rock in front of the Red Wall. His announcement that at 36 he had opted to retire from playing was no surprise to Fraser Watson, but what is are those who still doubt his place in football history. For the bravest of warriors, it was the meekest of departures. After a career which yielded more than 700 club appearances and 86 international caps – the man whose name was built upon ferociously guarding the front door for both Swansea City and Wales, finished yesterday with him quietly slipping out the back.

Something will have to give at the Liberty Stadium tonight when the team with the most clean sheet in the Championship hosts the team with the least number of defeats. Last season, Swansea City were pipped by Brentford in the play-off semi-finals and they are both back among the leading candidates for promotion – Swansea in second place and the Bees two points back in fourth. Steve Cooper’s Swans will have their title credentials tested to the full over the next 10 days with both Brentford and league leaders Norwich City due to visit the Liberty Stadium. Then. they have got Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round.

Prop Javan Sebastian has signed a new contract with the Scarlets. The 26-year-old tight-head has featured in every Guinness PRO14 match this season and also came off the bench to make his mark in the Heineken Champions Cup victory over Bath in December. Having come through the Scarlets academy system, Sebastian was capped by Wales at U18s level and has played for Carmarthen Quins in the Welsh Premiership.