Midway through the first half at the Liberty Stadium yesterday, Clarke Odour’s corner found Mads Andersen just outside the Swansea six yard box. Andersen took a touch, shaped to fire at goal, only to then have the ball nicked away from him by the sliding Ben Cabango. It turned out to be an understated moment. It was a challenge that Cabango had to get right or Barnsley would have almost certainly levelled, or at least had an opportunity to do so from the penalty spot.

Nick Kenny won six legs in a row to make a stunning William Hill World Darts Championship debut at London’s Alexandra Palace. The 27-year-old from Cwmbran came from 2-1 down in sets to win 3-2 against Dutch darter Derk Telnekes.

The Ospreys will face another tough away day task on Boxing Day – just a week after their stunning weekend comeback victory at Worcester Warriors. The region made it three successive victories for the first time since April 2019 as they came from 29-18 behind to win 38-29 in their European Challenge Cup tie at Sixways. Now, though, they are poised to lose home advantage for their crunch Boxing Day clash against the Scarlets with the game now set to be played in Llanelli.

Joe Allen will give Wales a major boost when he returns to action for Stoke City’s Under-23s on Monday. The 30-year-old midfielder has not played since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Potters 5-1 hammering of Hull City on March 7.

Mike Flynn has insisted Josh Sheehan had not “bottled it” during Newport County’s shock 4-2 home defeat to Oldham – but he had gone against team instructions. Sheehan – widely acknowledged as the best player in league Two this season – was the nominated penalty taker, according to manager Flynn. But when County were awarded a penalty with the sides locked at 2-2, Sheehan gave the kick to Padraig Amond who promptly missed the opportunity to put his side ahead.

Cardiff Blues have thanked Stade Francais for their “professionalism” after the French club chose not to come to Wales for their European Challenge Cup tie. The match, planned for Saturday night, was cancelled because of the French side’s Covid-19 concerns and their decision not to travel. John Mulvihill’s Blues and the Scarlets – whose Heineken Champions Cup game with Toulon was also cancelled – have both been awarded automatic 28-0 wins.

It was the response that Steve Cooper said he knew was coming.After following their most accomplished display of the season to win at Cardiff last Saturday, with arguably their most inept one at Derby on Wednesday, S wansea City responded in kind this afternoon with a 2-0 win over Barnsley at the Liberty Stadium. The result, courtesy of Jamal Lowe’s early strike and Victor Adeboyejo’s second half own goal, was enough to move the Swans back up to third and quickly banish the memories of Pride Park.

Scarlets have been handed a 28-0 ‘victory’ in their cancelled Heineken Champions Cup match with Toulon. The outcome was widely expected after Friday’s game was called off less than two hours before kick-off and has been confirmed by the European Professional Club Rugby today.

Neil Harris admitted Cardiff City had been beaten by a superior Norwich City as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Carrow Road. The Bluebirds hopes of forcing their way into the top six over the festive period were dealt a blow by the table-toppers.

Bruno Lopes has told his Cefn Druids side to provide “energy and enthusiasm” at Jenner Park today, where they bid to upset Barry Town United. The Portuguese manager is bringing the Druids to South Wales for the third time in three weeks and is hopeful they can add to Barry’s recent slump in form. After winning five straight games following an opening day defeat at the hands of TNS, Barry have won just one of their last nine games to slip back to sixth in the Cymru Premier table, just three places above Cefn Druids.

Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan has called on European rugby to establish clear rulings surrounding close contacts as his team continues to be decimated by Covid-19. The Dragons are in France tonight at Bordeux-Begles just a day after Top 14 giants Toulon refused to play at the Scarlets because of infection fears. That fixture was postponed, but doesn’t like being replayed and it’s expected the Scarlets will be awarded the points and a 28-0 victory.

Andre Ayew insists Swansea City can smooth out the wrinkles from a bumpy few days by beating in-form Barnsley today at the Liberty Stadium. The Swans appeared to be moving along smoothly after their 2-0 derby day victory at Cardiff City a week ago, which had them pushing hard on the heels of the top two in the Championship. But a midweek 2-0 loss at struggling Derby County was followed by the news that the clubs intends to rip up their rapidly deteriorating pitch and install a brand new one after this weekend.

By David Williams The Scarlets have been left in the lurch after their Heineken Champions Cup clash against Toulon this evening was called off less than an hour before kick-off. Tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby have confirmed Toulon decided not to play because of coronavirus-related concerns. But rather than suggest the contest would be […]

Neil Harris has urged Cardiff City to show their top-six credentials as they face two of their promotion rivals. The Bluebirds head to Championship pacesetters Norwich City on Saturday before a home game against Brentford on Boxing Day.

The Scarlets may be 12 international players down going into their crucial Heineken Champions Cup home clash with Toulon tonight, but head coach Glenn Delaney isn’t worried about tackling the French giants with a reduced squad. Instead, he is looking forward to giving more youngsters their chance to shine by taking on players of the calibre of Ma’a Nonu, Eben Etzebeth and Sergio Parisse. Jonathan Davies returns to the midfield to join acting skipper Steff Hughes to face Nonu, while wannabee Wales flanker Josh Macleod gets his first start after recovering from the hamstring strain that robbed him of the chance of winning a first cap in the Nations Cup.

The Ospreys are on the point of doing something they haven’t done for over 18 months – winning three matches in succession. Their captain, Dan Lydiate, admits last season “wasn’t pretty” but insists change has come under new head coach Toby Booth, as he tells Graham Thomas. Dan Lydiate has thrown his weight behind Toby Booth’s Ospreys revolution and believes the English coach has already unified the squad after the cracks of last season. The region’s captain – who took over from Justin Tipuric and led the Ospreys to a convincing win over Castres last week – reckons Booth is starting to make his mark after 10 matches in charge.

Taking the knee as an act of solidarity against racism continues to have the overwhelming support of professional footballers, according to the players’ union. Swansea City, Cardiff City and Newport County players have continued to take the knee at home and away matches this season. But the gesture was booed by Millwall supporters before their home Championship game against Derby on December 5, and in the Lions’ next match against QPR a decision was taken for the players to stand arm in arm instead.

Head injuries, brain damage and dementia continue to cast a dark and troublesome backdrop for rugby. Former Dragons centre Adam Hughes is the latest to have joined the legal challenge to the authorities for negligence. The games’ rulers claim the game has never been safer. But Harri Morgan says the sport’s defence only applies to the professional level and for the grass roots, it’s a whole new and worrying ball game. The righteous beer. A glorious swig. An act many of you reading this will have engaged in – but never classified. The term was introduced to me via The Socially Distant Sports Bar Podcast, a rare fairway in a year of rough and bunkers.

Jamie Lewis staged a superb comeback to set-up an all-Wales second-round clash at the William Hill World Championships with Gerwyn Price. The 29-year-old from Carmarthen came from two sets down to beat Luke Woodhouse 3-2 at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Shane Williams has revealed that former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards used “bone on bone” sessions in training with the Wales squad which the former wing felt were more physical than the matches themselves. The claim comes amid increasing concerns in the game over the long term effects of concussion injuries and the revelations of early onset dementia. One of Williams’ former Wales teammates, Alix Popham, has been diagnosed with the condition and last week it was announced that Popham and former England World Cup winner Steve Thompson were part of a group legal case for negligence being brought against World Rugby.