Jamal Lowe believes Swansea City will not be wiped from the 2021 automatic promotion race – even though former England goalkeeper Ben Foster might edit Lowe’s goal celebration from his next YouTube video. The Swans striker celebrated the first of his two goals against Watford at the weekend by running towards and then pointing directly into Foster’s GoPro camera, positioned in the back of the net. That’s where the ball had just nestled and where Lowe put it for a second time later as he secured a 2-1 victory that moved his team into second-place in the Championship.

Gerwyn Price joked: “I hope 500K feels this heavy” as he struggled to hold aloft the World Darts Championship trophy moments after also becoming world number one. It’s been a long journey to the game’s summit for the Welshman whose darts career took off after he gave up on his dream of playing rugby for Wales. Tonight, that trek reached its destination as Price beat Gary Anderson 7-3 to claim his first title, the £500,000 first prize and end Michael van Gerwen’s reign at the top of the sport’s rankings.

Gerwyn Price became the first Welshman to be crowned William Hill PDC World Darts Champion after a nerve-tingling 7-3 victory over Gary Anderson. The Markham ace missed 11 darts at the title before landing a D5 that saw him also go to No 1 in the Order of Merit for the first time.

Gerwyn Price will bid to become the first Welshman to win the William Hill PDC World Darts Championship on Sunday. The Markham marksman came from 3-1 and 4-3 down in sets to beat Stephen Bunting 6-4 at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Steve Cooper praised Jamal Lowe for his two goals, but was anxious to spread the love around his squad after Swansea City moved into the automatic promotion places. Lowe struck twice as the Swans climbed to second in the Championship with a 2-1 comeback victory over promotion rivals Watford. The red-hot Lowe made it six goals in as many games for Swansea to inflict a first defeat on new Watford manager Xisco Munoz, who had seen his side lead through Tom Cleverley.

Welsh cycling prospect Zoe Backstedt notched up another hugely impressive display at the Troyes Cyclocross International in France. The 16-year-old finished fifth in the elite women’s race – even though she is still in her first year in the junior women’s ranks.

Cardiff City boss Neil Harris is hoping his team don’t make it a miserable hat-trick of defeats to clubs anchored near the bottom of the Championship when his side heads to Rotherham today. Defeats at Coventry City and Wycombe Wanderers when they were both propping up the table put the skids under the Bluebirds manager and he knows a fourth defeat in a row could push him over the edge. “We are expected to beat teams near the bottom of the league. We didn’t take Coventry or Wycombe for granted,” said Harris.

Scarlets head coach Glenn Delaney has labelled Sione Kalamafoni as the region’s “galvaniser” after his try helped them beat the Dragons, 20-3, on New Year’s Day. Second-half tries from the forceful No.8 and replacement outside-half Sam Costelow were enough to get Delaney’s side over the line in a match that will mostly be recalled for the worrying arm injury suffered by Dragons forward Taine Basham. The Wales hopeful is to undergo X-rays on a suspected broken arm and likely lengthy spell out, with the painful injury forcing him off the field after 24 minutes.

Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric has revealed his pride in his team for their “dominant” display in comfortably beating rivals Cardiff Blues. Tipuric’s side won 17-3 at the Cardiff City Stadium on New Year’s Day, while the Scarlets were also clear winners – 20-3 – at home to the Dragons in their derby – results which suggest the old familiar order is now being restored in Welsh regional rugby, with the Scarlets and Ospreys leading and the Blues and Dragons trailing behind. The Ospreys lay third in Conference A of the Guinness Pro 14, with the Dragons fourth. In Conference B, the Scarlets are second with the Blues back in 4th.

Gerwyn Price won a last leg decider to book his semi-final spot at the Williams Hill World Darts Championships. The Markham marksman beat Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney 5-4 in a thriller at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Alan Curtis once joked that the only reason he had lasted so long at Swansea City was that he was the only one who knew where the kettle was. The real truth behind his longevity at the club is that he is the person – more than any other – who knows where the club’s heart is.

Keiran Williams used to be flattered to be called ‘Gibbsy’ by his team mates. These days, though, he is just plain ‘Keith’. The former Wales U20 centre earned the exalted status of being called his first nickname because he was likened in size and stature to the great Wales and British & Irish Lions ace Scott Gibbs. His pocket-rocket style mirrored that introduced by the explosive Gibbs into the midfield at Swansea, Wales, St Helens, Wales rugby league, the Ospreys and the Lions.

If sport is often about teamwork and the ability to think on your feet, then 2020 will probably go down as the year Welsh sport was tested as never before. Who would have imagined back on January 1 last year, we would be ending the year with online Zoom meetings and webinars as standard methods of communication between governing bodies and their members? Or that swimmers would be training on dry land? Or runners and cyclists would be competing against the clock in virtual races, rather than against each other?

Swansea City are making plans to prevent any more protests against their players taking the knee this weekend, following midweek disruption of the gesture before their match against Reading. The club are aware they have been targeted by opponents of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and have taken steps to try and prevent a repeat when they host Watford on Saturday. Demonstrators are understood to have gathered in the area under the South Stand near the entrance road to the Liberty Stadium.

The Scarlets will begin 2021 where they started 2020 – as the Welsh region the others are chasing. It’s a status their famous son Phil Bennett believes they can maintain this year and he told Graham Thomas he expects early notice to be served on New Year’s Day at home to the Dragons. Phil Bennett […]

Neil Harris is not only battling for his job at Cardiff City, but now has an FA misconduct charge to fight as well. The Bluebirds boss was shown a red card by Leigh Doughty for dissent on Tuesday night as his team slumped to a 2-1 defeat at bottom of the table Wycombe Wanderers.

The end of the year is often a time for taking stock, for looking back and maybe offering a pat on the back to those who have done well. More unusual is for a sport to pat itself on the back. Fraser Watson says the conceit of Welsh football leaders over 2020 is misplaced and likely to offend many in the grass roots. As glowing self-appraisals go, this was one that gravely misjudged its audience. The post-Christmas claim of the FAW Trust that, “we’ve proved what we can achieve if we all work together” stirred some serious reaction amongst amateur footballers and clubs in Wales. To say the majority of it was unfavourable would be a ludicrous understatement.

Gareth Bennett, coach of Division 1 West Whitland RFC, remains optimistic the community game will return stronger in 2021, despite the club potentially not having played a competitive game for 18 months if their next rugby is the start of the 2021/22 season. He tells Jon Twigg why he remains upbeat about the club’s future. “From playing in early March and consolidating our return to Division 1 West, to having no contact with players or game time which curtailed the league, it was tough to take,” admits Gareth Bennett when asked to sum up the impact of the pandemic on a grass roots Welsh rugby club. “It would have been an interesting end to the season as we had just found some form which had lifted us to fourth place in the league and we had more home games, against sides around us, than trips away; our home form had been a strength.”

Andre Ayew has claimed he should take the blame for Swansea City “drooping two points” at home to Reading. The Swans were held to a goalless draw on Wednesday night at the Liberty Stadium where their Ghanaian striker felt he failed to bury either of two great chances. Swansea had 32 touches in the reading penalty box, and Ayew had five attempts on goal, but two headers in particular could have won the game for the home side.

The comeback date for Gareth Anscombe will depend as much on his mind as his body, according to his Ospreys coach Toby Booth. Anscombe has not played rugby for 16 months after suffering a serious knee injury in a World Cup warm-up against England at Twickenham. Since then, it’s been a long road back for the Wales outside-half who has undergone two operations and setbacks to his timetable along the way.