Michael Flynn has admitted Newport County are pulling the rug from under themselves as they continue to stumble in League Two. The County manager was in downcast mood as he suggested sloppiness was undermining his team’s efforts after they lost 2-0 at Carlisle on Tuesday night. It was Newport’s sixth successive away defeat as they conceded two first-half goals and spent the whole of the second half with only 10 men after Ryan Inniss was sent-off.

Where is Wales’ most successfully thriving sports club? Graham Thomas thinks he may have found it at the far end of an industrial estate in the Gwent Valleys. Running a thriving sports club is no easy task, but anyone curious to see what success really looks like should visit Valleys Gymnastics Academy. Tucked away on an industrial park between Crumlin and Oakdale in the Gwent Valleys, the club looks like so many others – a rented commercial unit adapted into a sports facility, with a busy stream of parents ferrying children into the car park, bordered on all sides by articulated vehicles servicing the nearby depots.

Celtic Dragons have suffered from rotten luck the first couple of weeks in this new Vitality Netball Superleague season. Cardiff-based Dragons are bottom of the table having lost their first three fixtures including a 69-38 defeat in their latest outing against joint league leaders London Pulse at the Copperbox Arena. They were without suspended defender […]

Neath athlete Bethany Moule has received her first Great Britain call up. The javelin thrower has been named in the GB squad for the prestigious European Throwing Cup in Portugal. Moule’s selection comes hot on the heels of posting a massive new personal best last weekend.

Former Swansea City defender Federico Fernandez has been given another year’s contract by Newcastle United – further suggesting he was undersold by the Swans when he was let go for just £6m two years ago. The 31-year-old Argentinian defender is the third senior player to extend his stay a St James’ Park in a matter of days after fellow former Swan Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie both signed contract extensions last Friday. Fernandez left Swansea – who had just been relegated from the Premier League at the time – in August 2018.

Just a few months after returning to training following a three year break from competitive racing, a Welsh 1500m runner found herself lining up in the semi-final of the Spanish Indoor Championships. As she stepped up to the start-line, Angharad Davies was flanked by Olympians and Spanish household names for a race about to be beamed live across the country on national TV.

Neil Jenkins has said there is no place in the game for the type of intimidation attempted by Joe Marler on Alun Wyn Jones at Twickenham. The Wales assistant coach has also underlined the importance of watertight discipline in Test rugby after Wales skipper Jones earned widespread praise for his refusal to react. The Guinness Six Nations, badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak that has seen three games postponed, will be adjourned – probably until next season – after this weekend’s clash between Wales and Scotland.

It’s a rally his father has won twice, and this weekend Meirion Evans is heading from his home near the tiny Carmarthenshire village of Llanwrda to take on the might of the local Irish Tarmac Rally Championship competitors at the famous West Cork Rally. Melvyn Evans won the event in 2002 and 2006, driving a Ford Escort WRC and a Subaru Impreza WRC respectively, and he remains one of the very few non-Irish drivers to have conquered the event. In fact, it’s only Welsh drivers who have beaten the Irish on the traditional St Patrick’s weekend rally in nearly 40 years, with Bob Fowden (1999, ’97 and ’95), John Price (1993 and ’92) and Geoff Kitney (1988) all winning there.

Wayne Pivac insists he will keep faith with the young props who were given a testing time in Wales’ defeat at Twickenham. Dillon Lewis, 24, and Leon Brown, 23, were used on the tight-head, while 27-year-old Rob Evans was replaced on the loose-head by 22-year-old Rhys Carre as Wales mounted a fightback on the scoreboard before losing 33-30. But Pivac’s pack still appeared vulnerable in the scrums – a feature throughout their Six Nations campaign has been the penalties given away – and the coach admits there is work to be done by himself and forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys.

Coach Steve Morison’s young Bluebirds remain unbeaten after three Professional Under-23 Development League matches under his leadership. Kieron Evans scored a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw for Morison’s men against Ipswich Town at Cardiff City Stadium after they had earned wins in their previous two games. Morison made four changes from the last […]

Welsh athletes have started to have their plans for future events thrown into confusion by the spread of coronavirus. Cardiff’s Jenny Nesbitt was due to compete in the World University Cross Country Championships in Morocco next month, but the event has been postponed. Meanwhile, Swansea Harrier Josh Griffiths and Cardiff Metropolitan University student Jake Smith had been selected for the World Half Marathon Championships in Poland, which has also fallen foul of the virus.

Osian Pryce will contest his first ever rally in Southern Ireland this weekend, when he drives a brand new Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 on the West Cork Rally (14/15 March). The talented 27-year old Machynlleth-born driver heads to the second round of the British Rally Championship lying second in the drivers’ standings. On the opening round, the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally, he finished second behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5.

Joe Marler has been labelled “an embarrassment” to England after his groping incident with Alun Wyn Jones at Twickenham. The withering verdict has been delivered by Sir Clive Woodward, the World Cup-winning former coach who suggested if he was still in charge then Marler would be booted out of the squad. Ten minutes into the Twickenham game, a melee broke out when Wales had a try disallowed for a George North knock-on and the incident involving Marler and Jones was caught on camera.

Andy Davies’ attempts to end his recent run of bad luck by completely rebuilding his Subaru Impreza were rewarded when he and co-driver Michael Gilbey won the opening round of the 2020 Welsh Road Rally Championship, the Rali Bro Caron. Once again sponsored by Windy Corner Coaches, this year’s Lampeter & District Motor Club organised event saw 87 starters tackle a challenging 95 mile route on OS Map 146. The first car left the Lampeter leisure centre start at ten minutes to midnight, ready for the first section that was to be at the village of Parc-y-Rhos. From here competitors went south to the first white road of the night at the top of Pencarreg. Time controls 2 and 3 were located along this stretch, with most competitors picking up a minute penalty, although some of the lower runners had more. There were around a dozen that managed to pass through penalty free, which included last year’s winners and car number one, Kevin Davies/Alan James (Ford Escort Mk2) and Davies/Gilbey.

A Welshman lifted the Elite League Challenge Cup, but Cardiff Devils had to look on and watch Sheffield Steelers celebrate their triumph. Cardiff-born Great Britain international Jonathan Phillips, who came out of the Devils youth development system, is Steelers’ captain and led the Yorkshire club to a 4-3 victory in the final. The atmosphere at […]

Natasha Cockram and Dewi Griffiths continued their build-up to next month’s London Marathon with impressive victories at the re-arranged Risk Kitchens Llanelli Half Marathon on Sunday. The original race was postponed on safety grounds last month when Storm Ciara brought high winds and heavy rain to South Wales. But there were still strong winds out on the largely coastal route when the race was run on Sunday morning, which makes both athletes’ winning performances even more impressive.

Steve Cooper has insisted lots of clubs would love to be where Swansea City are as the Championship run-in gathers pace. The Swans boss is in bullish mood even though Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to leaders West Brom dropped the home side a place in the table to 11th. Perversely, however, the gap between the Swans and sixth-placed Preston has narrowed to three points – a margin that Blackburn Rovers were unable to take a chunk out of, either, after their 3-0 Sunday defeat to Derby.

Neil Harris insists Cardiff City can barge their way into the top six of the Championship and make the promotion play-offs. The Bluebirds manager is in upbeat mood after his side won 2-0 at Barnsley thanks to goals from Will Vaulks and Callum Paterson – a result which has narrowed the gap between themselves and sixth-placed Preston to just two points. Cardiff are up to ninth in the table and are one of five clubs behind Preston, who are separated by just two points and Harris said: “All we can do is put ourselves in a position of trying to get stronger all the time.

Devils and Steelers go head-to-head in Cardiff Bay on Sunday afternoon with the first trophy of the Elite League season up for grabs. The final is at Cardiff’s Viola Arena home stadium and Devils head coach Andrew said: “It’s always a big occasion to play in a final and this will be extremely special against […]

Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap has asked for patience to be shown to a young team after England handed out a 10-try thrashing at Twickenham Stoop. The 66-7 scoreline underlined what been a sobering Six Nations campaign for Wales who have lost all four games so far and have a points difference of minus 132. Since head coach Rowland Phillips took a still to be explained “break” from his duties, Wales have lost to Italy, Ireland, France and England and their final shot at redemption – at home to Scotland – seems unlikely to go ahead because of a positive coronavirus test inside the Scottish squad.