Neil Harris has backed the PFA to stand by Sol Bamba – just as he insists they stood squarely behind him as he overcame cancer. The Cardiff City manager recovered from testicular cancer, diagnosed when he was just 23, and went on to enjoy a hugely successful playing career before becoming a boss. In a cruel repetition, Bluebirds defender Bamba, 36, is now undergoing chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but Harris believes the much-criticised players’ union can offer the same support and backing he was given 20 years ago.

In 2014, Will Taylor started for Wasps in front of 82,000 people against Harlequins at Twickenham.  Three years later he was selling vegetables on the streets of London and collecting empty glasses in his friend’s nightclub. They say life’s a rollercoaster but the 29-year-old from Swansea wouldn’t have expected there to be quite as many sharp turns.

The Welsh Rugby Union will receive financial support from Welsh government funding, which is set to be confirmed this week. After a devastating year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the WRU’s bank balance has been decimated. It’s estimated each Wales home match brings in about £10million and the WRU believe they have lost more than £50m due to Covid-19.

Steve Cooper paid tribute to the consistency shown by Swansea City as they tightened their grip on second place in the Championship with a hugely impressive 2-0 victory at Barnsley. Ben Cabango and Jamal Lowe struck in either half at Oakwell as Cooper’s side made it six games unbeaten in all competitions.

Neil Harris has insisted questions over his own future as Cardiff City manager are “pointless” despite a fifth successive defeat. The Bluebirds boss was defiant after saying he was proud of his team’s performance in their 2-1 home defeat to Championship leaders Norwich City. Cardiff were thoroughly outplayed by a slick Canaries team who were 2-0 ahead at the break, despite missing five players, including top scorer Teemu Pukki – four of them due to Covid-19.

Newport County boss Mike Flynn said he feared for football after seeing Wales midfielder Josh Sheehan red-carded in the 0-0 draw with Salford City. The Exiles boss was unhappy with the performance of referee Anthony Backhouse saying his side were also denied a penalty at Rodney Parade.

Wales and other rival nations to France for this season’s Six Nations should prepare for the tournament and expect that it will definitely go ahead. The message has come from French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte who says this season’s Guinness Six Nations Championship “will take place”. The World Rugby vice-chairman also says there will be an expanded coronavirus testing programme for the tournament, while each country will have “a Covid manager”.

New Swansea City signing Ben Hamer was allowed to leave Huddersfield in order for young goalkeeper Ryan Schofield to gain a contract, according to the Yorkshire club. Hamer has joined the Swans on an 18-month deal for an undisclosed fee and will provide back-up to Freddie Woodman for the promotion-chasers following a long-term injury to Steven Benda. Hamer, 33, had been first choice at Huddersfield at the start of the season, but lost his place to 21-year-old Schofield in November and the Tykes have suggested the older man was unlikely to win it back.

Cardiff Blue Dragons have given Wheelchair Rugby League in Wales a huge boost by launching a team to add to their ever-expanding player base in the capital. Players are now being recruited by the club during lockdown in readiness for training to start later in the year.

Zoe Backstedt has seen her junior cyclo-cross World Championship hopes dashed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Pontyclun teenager has seen the junior races due to take place in Belgium later this month scrapped because of the on-going COVID-19 crisis.

Run Wales is looking to inspire even more people to join in the running revolution sweeping the nation. More than 350,000 people – 18 per cent of Wales’ adult population – used running for their daily exercise during the 2020 lockdowns. With gyms closed once again and running clubs not able to exercise together, Run Wales is looking for first-time joggers, power walkers and race finishers to join their new campaign – From My Door.

The third round of the FA Cup can relied upon for jogging a few memories. So, it was comforting to see a familiar face in charge of Aston Villa the other night, a Welsh coach who Fraser Watson argues could still be destined for more regular appearances in the spotlight. Who is Mark Delaney? If you’ve followed Welsh football, or indeed, Aston Villa in the 21st century, it’s not a question that prior to last week, you would have needed to ask. Having captained his country and made 158 Premier League appearances, with an FA Cup final thrown in to boot, a succession of knee injuries curtailed his playing days aged just 31. Coaching badges followed, and his work in developing the club’s youngsters since 2007 has been rightly lauded by those within Villa Park.

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris insists you cannot stop players from celebrating goals – and will be hoping there are plenty to get excited about against Norwich City. The Bluebirds boss says the only way FA chiefs can stop players hugging each other to meet COVID-19 stipulations is to stop playing altogether.

Steve Cooper has said “there’s a good player in there” about striker Viktor Gyokeres – but fans won’t be seeing him at Swansea City. The on-loan striker has been recalled by parent club Brighton after 12 appearances for the Swans in which he scored only once, in last week’s 2-0 FA Cup third round win at Stevenage. It was a modest return for a Premier League striker who joined Swansea last September, having scored seven goals in 19 starts the previous season, playing for St. Pauli in Bundesliga 2.

Dan Lydiate has heralded the resurgence of the Ospreys and the region’s signing of Wales prop Tomas Francis. Under the guidance of head coach Toby Booth, the Swansea-based region have improved steadily over the course of a season hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Over Christmas the Ospreys won two of their three festive derby clashes by beating Cardiff Blues and Dragons after a narrow loss to the Scarlets.

Natalie Powell reckons she is in the best shape of her career after returning to the judo mat for the first time in nearly 12 months. The Beulah judoka finished fifth at the World Masters in Doha as the countdown to the Tokyo Olympics resumed in earnest.

Jamal Lowe calls Andre Ayew “The King” at Swansea City, but insists the club’s African royalty has no hang-ups over who is wearing the scoring crown. Of the two strikers, it is indisputably Lowe who is the monarch of the penalty box at present with six goals in his last six matches. In the same period, Ayew has scored just once – in the away victory at QPR – but Lowe reckons defences like Barnsley’s, who the Swans face on Saturday – would be ill-advised to concentrate on just one or other of the pair who have scored 18 goals between them so far this season (eight for Lowe and 10 for Ayew).

A major research programme exploring race and racism is calling on anyone involved in Welsh sport to share their experiences. Whether you are an elite athlete, enthusiastic amateur, a fan, or work in sport, the #TellYourStory project wants to hear from you. The UK-wide campaign by the home nation sports councils, including Sport Wales, aims to tackle racism and racial inequality in sport.

Neil Harris hopes he can help Sol Bamba in overcoming his cancer diagnosis by using his own experience in recovering from the illness. Cardiff City’s international defender Bamba, 35, has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is undergoing chemotherapy. His manager, Harris, recovered from testicular cancer when he was only 24 and went on to play for another 13 years and is aiming to lend the benefit of that experience to Bamba.

The Women’s Six Nations has been postponed until “later this spring or early summer”, tournament organisers announced on Wednesday. The Under 20s Six Nations will also be rescheduled, with the governing body saying they expect to announce full details of timings and formats for both competitions by the end of January. Tournament organisers confirmed the men’s edition will take place as scheduled, with Italy hosting France in the opening fixture on February 6, though France’s government is demanding reassurances on safety from England and Ireland before allowing its men’s side to visit those countries next month.