The Welsh regions have started January with a sense of adventure, says Harri Morgan. But this new year resolution has to extend beyond the month and stretch towards the seasons ahead if the game is going to re-connect with its audience. Jumping on a sporting bandwagon – for which you have little interest during the rest of the year – is a great way to provide purpose to the days between Christmas and New Year. For many, this would have consisted of following Gerwyn Price’s journey to glory in the PDC World Darts Championship.

By Paul Jones Lions supporters have started a petition calling for this summer’s tour to South Africa to be postponed to 2022 rather than being staged in the UK and Ireland. Over 1,450 fans have so far urged the home unions not to abandon 133 years of Lions history by holding the series against the […]

With solo walking and running becoming so vital to everyone striving to stay fit and healthy at present, athletics clubs more used to group activities have had to adapt. For Porthcawl Runners that led to SOLO – a now booming DIY programme of fun runs and more serious challenges, as Carl Field discovered. Running clubs across Wales have certainly needed to think outside the box over the past 10 months, but few epitomise spirit and togetherness quite like Porthcawl Runners. The sunny seaside town, famous for its Elvis Festival and the Christmas morning swim, is also home to an ever-growing running club.

Former Swansea City chairman Trevor Birch has warned football clubs to obey the rules over Covid-19 or face another complete shutdown for the game. Birch – now EFL chief executive – has written a letter to all clubs in the Football League, including Cardiff City and Swansea, warning them not to flout the regulations following a number of high profile incidents. Elite sport has been allowed to continue despite Wales and the rest of the UK being placed in a new national lockdown designed to slow down the rate of Covid-19 infections.

Teenage Welsh athlete Sadie Graham-Mulvaney is trying to raise awareness of autism within her sport. The 17-year-old’s efforts have been highlighted in a campaign by luxury footwear and accessory outlet Kurt Geiger. Graham-Mulvaney, who has high-functioning autism, set out her goals as part of the company’s People Empowered series, which shines the spotlight on underrepresented groups in fashion.

Ospreys coach Toby Booth believes Wales prop Tomas Francis can be the rock on which they rebuild their reputation. The region have confirmed the signing of Francis from Exeter Chiefs for next season after Francis opted to leave the European champions in order to continue his Wales career. After twice managing to persuade Welsh Rugby Union officials that extensions to his contract in England kept him within the 60-cap rule, Francis had his third attempt rejected.

Defender Sol Bamba has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Cardiff City have revealed.⁣ The 35-year-old Ivory Coast international has immediately started a course of chemotherapy treatment for the blood cancer with the close support of the club’s medical team.

Swansea City have already lost two key players in this transfer window with loanees Morgan Gibbs-White and Kasey Palmer moving back to their parent clubs. But the major fear for many Swans fans is that Connor Roberts could be the latest to be sold, just at the point where he has become a huge influence, as Jack Hammet argues. Transfer windows are always a torrid time for Swansea City fans. Over the last few years, the supporters have seen the squad decimated by their board, who have often cashed in and instead of reinvesting in the squad, have instead relied heavily on the skills and contact books of their managers.

Scarlets coach Glenn Delaney has backed plans for the creation of a British, Irish and Italian A league competition. It is understood that talks are at an advanced stage for such a tournament to be played next season during the international window. From next season onwards, the revamped Guinness PRO16 will have fewer fixtures played during the international period in a bid to enhance the quality of the league, making room for a developmental competition to be played during the Test window.

Michael Flynn has told his Newport County players to forget their heartbreaking FA Cup exit – and concentrate on “26 Cup finals” that lay ahead of them. The County manager was proud of his team’s battling performance against Premier League Brighton that lasted for two hours before the sides were finally separated in a penalty shoot-out. Brighton eventually won close to 11pm on a Sunday night – 4-3 on penalties after 120 minutes of football on a difficult Rodney Parade surface had produced a 1-1 draw.

Former Welsh Rugby Union chief executive David Moffett has urged the WRU hierarchy to learn from their Celtic cousins by appointing a new head man who will invest more resources into the professional game. Former finance director Steve Phillips currently holds the position of interim CEO of the WRU after Martin Phillips’ departure from the role. But Moffett, who was WRU CEO between 2002-2005, believes they should cast the net wide when it comes to appointing someone on a permanent basis.

The Ospreys are set to sign Wales under 20s captain Jac Morgan from the Scarlets. Morgan, 20, is out of contract at the end of this season, and the Ospreys have succeeded in luring him away from their bitter rivals.  The openside flanker is seen as one of the best prospects in the European game and has been identified by the Welsh management as a potential option for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. 

Padraig Amond can enter the Irish record books ths evening, but in many ways he already knows this has been the most productive season of his life. Amond will be in the Newport County side that host Premier League Brighton at Rodney Parade in the third round of the FA Cup.  The Irishman already feels he’s been blessed during lockdown, but another FA Cup goal would make him an Irish record-breaker.

Scarlets coach Glenn Delaney has defended Liam Williams after his sending off against the Cardiff Blues which could cost Williams his Wales place at the start of the Six Nations. The Wales full back was sent off in the 37th minute to ruin Scarlets’ chances of a hat-trick of Welsh derby wins, as the Blues ran out victors, 29-20 at Cardiff City Stadium. Williams rushed headlong into a ruck and clashed heads with prone Blues flanker Shane Lewis-Hughes and, after TMO replays, the wing was ordered off.

Steve Cooper insists Wayne Routledge can carry on playing for Swansea City just as long as he likes. The Swans head coach paid tribute to Routledge as the evergreen winger helped see off Stevenage 2-0 in the FA Cup third round. Routledge featured in Premier League Newcastle’s humiliating 3-1 defeat in Hertfordshire 10 years and one day ago.

Fed-up Neil Harris said he has had enough of questions about his future as Cardiff City manager. The Bluebirds boss reacted to the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup – making it four wins in a row – by admitting expectations were high after last season’s run to the play-offs.

Neil Harris insisted a lack of quality was Cardiff City;s undoing as they were dumped out of the FA Cup after a 1-0 third round defeat at Nottingham Forest. The Bluebirds boss watched from the stands – a ban imposed after his sending off at Wycombe – as his side made it four defeats in a row.

FA Cup giantkillers Newport County are hoping their Rodney Pitch will be “awful” once again when they host Premier League Brighton on Sunday night. It is the fourth season in a row the League Two promotion candidates have reached the third round and their recent scalps include Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Leicester City. They also secured a draw with Tottenham.

Neil Harris is hoping the lockdown spirit that rocketed Cardiff City into the play offs last summer can help revitalise his ailing team and earn them a run in the FA Cup.

There will some familiar faces in the Scarlets line-up when they travel to Cardiff Blues on Saturday night as Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny return. But there will also be one player making his first start. South African prop Pieter Scholtz has had to show patience, but plenty of resilience, too, as he told Graham Thomas. Given the year Pieter Scholtz has come through, scrummaging against Cardiff Blues should feel like a pushover for the Scarlets prop on Saturday night. The 20-stones South African is set to make his first start for the region after two cameo replacement appearances so far in the Welsh derbies – against the Ospreys and the Dragons.