Golfers around Wales will be able to enjoy the first Club Finals Weekend next year, with several of the traditional tournaments being wrapped into one event. The COVID-19 pandemic meant those events were cancelled in 2020, but also saw lessons learned which have contributed to planning ahead for their hopeful return in 2021.

Elfyn Evans discovered just how treacherous this weekend’s World Rally Championship title decider could be as he spun on the pre-event shakedown in Monza. The title pacesetter was caught-out at one of the chicanes in the snowy and slippery conditions on the F1 circuit.

Elfyn Evans is on the verge of becoming the first Welshman to win the FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ title, with just the final Rally Monza (3-6 December) between him and glory. And after a remarkable first season with the Toyota team, the 31-year old Dolgellau ace doesn’t need to win the event to secure the title.

George North has been told to answer the big question of what comes next at outside centre for Wales after Jonathan Davies. The man looking for clues is Wales coach Wayne Pivac, who has named North at No.13, rather than on the wing, to face Italy on Saturday. Davies has been injured since the defeat to Ireland three weeks ago and although Pivac said he could have played this weekend, the coach is anxious to examine long term options to replace a player who will be 33 in April.

Steve Cooper admitted Swansea City dropped their standards in defeat at Middlesbrough as they slipped out of the Championship play-off places. The Swans head coach accused his players of falling from the levels that had brought two victories and a draw in their previous three games as they lost 2-1 to Neil Warnock’s side. The defeat – Swansea’s third of the season – dropped the club to seventh in the table, although the positions are so tight they are still only two points off leaders Norwich City, who also lost last night.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has labelled his team’s final match of the Autumn Nations Cup against Italy as an opportunity for new blood and old heads. Pivac has made nine changes to the starting line-up for the match in Llanelli on Saturday. Flanker Justin Tipuric, who missed the 24-13 loss to England last weekend because of a head knock, returns to the back row alongside James Botham and Taulupe Faletau.

The last few weeks have been a time of remembrance for British motorsport. Articles have been written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Scotland’s Colin McRae becoming Britain’s first World Rally Champion.

Three of the greatest rugby league players in the history of the game – Billy Boston, Gus Risman and Clive Sullivan – have been selected to adorn a statue to commemorate the Cardiff Bay Codebreakers.The public and a special panel of experts agreed on the trio who will now be immortalised on a statue that will represent all the players who headed north from the Cardiff Bay area to star in the 13-a-side game.

Steve Cooper insists he respects the staying power of Neil Warnock, but will be looking to outfox the old master when Swansea City visit Middlesbrough tonight. Swansea head coach Cooper already has one victory over Warnock in his locker – the only other time they locked horns in October 2019 when a Ben Wilmot goal was enough to give the Swans a much celebrated victory over Cardiff City. That was the beginning of the end for Warnock at Cardiff, although it was Cooper who had a hand in the 72-year-old’s re-emergence at Boro.

Michael Flynn has admitted he is suffering from altitude sickness. Newport County are still top of League Two, but the manager is sick of telling his players they need to be more ruthless. Flynn felt the latest squandering of opportunities came in the 1-1 draw away at Forest Green Rovers, where the Exiles went ahead, had chances to wrap the game up, but eventually were pegged back and had to settle for a point.

By Paul Jones Kieffer Moore is fast becoming the playground bully of the Championship, according to his Cardiff City manager Neil Harris. The Bluebirds boss hailed striker Moore after his brace ended the club’s wait for back-to-back Championship victories. The Wales international now has four goals in his last four matches after guiding his side […]

Jayne Ludlow said Wales are getting closer to qualifying for a major finals after their UEFA Women’s Euro2022 heartache was confirmed. Natasha Harding, Rachel Rowe and Jess Fishlock all struck in an emphatic 3-0 victory over Belarus in their final qualifying game at Newport’s Rodney Parade.

By Paul Jones Neil Harris’s revival of Cardiff City continued as the manager praised his players for securing back-to-back Championship victories for the first time this season. A 3-0 home triumph over Huddersfield was the perfect follow-up for the Bluebirds boss who had told his players they had to prove their 4-0 thumping over Luton […]

When Wales meet Italy in Llanelli on Saturday, it will be for the less than cherished title of fifth-place play-off winners of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup. If that title doesn’t sound too grand then it’s because Wales’ result have not been either, during the fractured year of 2020. The corresponding Six Nations match back in February saw Wales head coach Wayne Pivac begin his reign as Warren Gatland’s successor on a winning note.

Alex Smithies insists he is focussed on winning against his former club Huddersfield Town tonight and any nostalgia can wait. The Cardiff City goalkeeper spent eight years with the Yorkshire club, playing in 274 matches before moving on to QPR and then the Bluebirds. Smithies left Huddersfield in 2015 but says: “It’s always nice to play your old clubs, you always want to beat them.

Wales’ world champ Lauren Price will again launch her bid for Olympic glory in London next April. The Boxing Road to Tokyo European Olympic Qualifying event has been rescheduled for April 22-26 at the Copper Box Arena.

Dewi Lake has been tipped as the Wales hooker of the future but only if he improves his throwing in at the line-out. The former Wales Under 20s captain has been in red hot form for the Ospreys recently with his dynamic ball-carrying and raw physicality catching the eye, despite their struggles in the Guinness Pro 14. In the absence of veteran hooker Ken Owens, both Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee have struggled to fully convince for Wales in this autumn’s Nations Cup.

Jamie Lewis can end a difficult year on a high after producing a superb display to qualify for the World Championships. The Carmarthen darter took tie out of the PDC Tour this year for personal reasons but has bagged one of the final six spots along with fellow Welshman Nick Kenny.

Neil Harris fears Wales’ football league clubs will be left behind both on and off the field if they will not be allowed to have fans at home matches like clubs in England. Wales first minister Mark Drakeford had announced the country will return to lockdown starting on Friday with the situation to be reviewed on December 17.

Jess Fishlock reckons Wales’ next generation of footballers can be the best yet – and she wants to be part of it. The 33-year-old is set to win her 120th cap when Wales end their UEFA Women’s Euro2022 qualifying campaign against Belarus at Newport’s Rodney Parade on Tuesday (KO 7.10pm).