As the Welsh regions prepare for the second round of European competition, the true toll of supporting the national cause is becoming clear. Peter Jackson argues that Wales’ Test match schedule – which included a massive 20 Tests in the past year – undermines any hope of the regions being competitive. Sir Gareth Edwards never missed a match for Wales and yet it still took him more than 11 years to compile his unbroken sequence of 53 Tests. They came at the rate of five-a-year because that was how it used to be back then, a time when those running the sport preserved the magnetic appeal of international competition by restricting fixtures to a minimum.

Newport boss Michael Flynn is eyeing up another lucrative Cup run after the Exiles continued their FA Cup love affair with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Grimsby. Worth £111,000 for the winner (£36,000 for progressing into round two, and £75,000 for a televised second round), the victory allowed manager Flynn to make clear he was hungry for more. “I want more, I want to earn more, I want to be in the third round,” said Flynn. “I won’t be taking nothing for granted.”

The most capped Welsh international sports star of all time is about to devote all her energies and focus to her sport. Leah Wilkinson is taking the plunge with a huge prize on the horizon as Graham Thomas reports. Leah Wilkinson is preparing to become a full-time athlete in order to finally achieve her Olympic dream. The Wales hockey captain – who belatedly made her Great Britain debut this autumn after winning a record-breaking 169 caps for her country – is in talks with her employers and GB Hockey about a sabbatical that will free her to go to Tokyo next year.

Wayne Pivac insists he has no worries that Alun Wyn Jones still has the hunger to lead Wales towards the next World Cup. Jones is heading into his 14th year as a Wales player and at 34, there must be doubts that his longevity can stretch towards another Lions tour in 2021, never mind another World Cup in 2023. The second row is unavailable for Pivac’s first match in charge – a Cardiff appointment with the Barbarians in nine days’ time – due to a groin niggle, while he is also taking a six-week break following Wales’ World Cup campaign in Japan.

Joe Allen has warned that Wales can no longer use surprise to ambush their opponents when they go to the Euro 2020 finals next summer. The Wales midfielder is a survivor from the 2016 team that reached the semi-finals in France, but believes that campaign – and this week’s qualification success- mean Ryan Giggs’ team will not be able to fly under anyone’s radar. Allen, alongside the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, is among the old guard of the side who reached the last four in France in 2016.

Wayne Pivac’s first Wales squad included five uncapped players, two of whom – Johnny McNicholl and Willis Halaholo – have become available on residency qualification. Peter Jackson believes McNicholl has the pedigree to be a major success at international level – and offers a major selection threat to George North. Five years ago, Johnny McNicholl found himself surrounded by so many All Blacks that it must have seemed a mere matter of time before he became one himself. A substitute wing for the Crusaders at the 2014 Super Rugby final, he belonged to a squad studded with no fewer than 15 current or future New Zealand Test players, 12 in the starting XV, three more on the bench.

Ryan Giggs believes buoyant Wales can arrive at the finals of Euro 2020 next summer on a rising tide of young talent and priceless experience. The Wales manager insists his team can deliver far more than they showed in their comfortable 2-0 victory over Hungary that clinched their place at the finals on Tuesday night. Giggs even suggested Wales had not played particularly well as he paid tribute to the old stagers from Euro 2016 such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Wayne Hennessey, whilst also claiming the new breed led by the likes of Daniel James, Connor Roberts and Ethan Ampadu have limitless potential.

Ryan Giggs hailed Wales’ Euro 2020 qualification triumph as one of the greatest nights of his life as he looked ahead to the finals next summer. The Wales manager insisted his achievement in leading Wales to another tournament – four years after the glories of Euro 2016 – compares with any of the highlights of his glittering playing career. Two goals from Aaron Ramsey eased Wales to a dominant and straightforward 2-0 victory over Hungary at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff Devils power forward Joey Haddad, nicknamed ‘The Chef’. by team-mates, has been named Elite League player of the week. He scored two goals in Cardiff’s 4-1 away win against Manchester and had an assist in their 3-0 home victory against Fife. Devils were the only team in EIHL to take the maximum four points […]

Wayne Pivac is hoping new boys Johnny McNicholl and Willis Halaholo can help ignite the Wales attack in the post-Warren Gatland era. The two New Zealand-born players – both aged 29 – have been included in Pivac’s first squad to face the Barbarians on November 30 as part of a contingent of five uncapped players. […]

Wales are one win away from reaching the finals of Euro 2020 and Owen Morgan is in patriotic mood. Even more so after his visit to St. Fagan’s National Museum of History where the “The Art of the Welsh Shirt” stirred something deep in his soul. As a child of the 1970s, I whiled away many a long, dark winter’s night designing football kits with a pad of paper and a packet of felt tip pens. We had simple pleasures back then. This was the era of three television channels (yes, that’s right kids, three) and regular electricity power cuts.

The full toll of Wales’ World Cup effort is only just becoming apparent with Exeter Chiefs prop Tomas Francis being the latest big name to go under the knife. The tight-head specialist has been ruled out for up to four months because of his dislocated shoulder as he joins Jonathan Davies and Rhys Patchell in re-hab and out of the Six Nations. “After two or three scans it became clear that Tom needs an operation to repair the shoulder injury he picked up with Wales at the World Cup. It’s not great news for us, but at least we know where we stand now,” said Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter.

Wales and Hungary meet tonight in a winner-takes-all clash for Euro 2020 qualification in Cardiff. Hungary won the Budapest reverse fixture 1-0 in June but Wales have gone five games unbeaten since that defeat. These are five of the talking points. Handling the pressure Reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and the emergence of another talented generation has raised the expectations of Wales football fans. But Wales were suffocated by the Republic of Ireland when a 2018 World Cup play-off place was on the line. Wales lost 1-0 and Chris Coleman’s reign was all but over. This time the pressure is on Ryan Giggs to get it right – and a sell-out Cardiff City Stadium expects nothing other than victory. How Wales cope with the pressure will determine whether they qualify for a second-successive European Championship.

Gareth Bale believes Wales reaching the European Championship next summer could trump the achievement of playing at Euro 2016. Wales ended a 58-year wait to play at a major tournament in 2016 and eventually reached the semi-finals in France under Chris Coleman. Over three years on and Ryan Giggs’ young side will qualify for Euro 2020 by beating Hungary at home on Tuesday.

As Wayne Pivac starts out with Wales – joining the four non-Welsh coaches in charge of the regions – former Wales head analyst, ex-international and one-time Pontypool and Newport flanker Alun Carter believes the game is missing a trick and guilty of shameful oversight and neglect. The great history of Welsh rugby, it would appear, is locked away in a metal container at Robert Price’s builders’ yard close to Rodney Parade. The memorabilia of a club that defeated Australia, New Zealand and South Africa has been removed and put in storage out of the way.

Neil Harris insists he has made no pledges to Vincent Tan that Cardiff City will hit the owner’s target of 35 shots per game. The new Bluebirds manager – who says he is no clone of Neil Warnock – has predicted “evolution, rather than revolution” at the club after his appointment. Harris has vowed to […]

Ismail Yakubu has to be patient before making his debut at the heart of Merthyr Town’s defence. The former Newport County and AFC Wimbledon was due to play against Poole Town away, but that fixture was postponed after the Martyrs’ team bus was caught up in heavy traffic.  Merthyr now play Hayes and Yeading at […]

They once boasted one of the strongest playing rosters in European rugby and were famously labelled the ‘Galacticos’ of Welsh rugby. But the Ospreys’ opening Heineken Champions Cup 32-13 defeat to Munster this weekend – a loss so predictable to many there was some relief that it could have been worse – only underlined the gap they now have to make up. The start of Europe at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday came at the worst possible time for the Ospreys with 18 players unavailable due to a combination of a World Cup rest period and injuries.

Bring on the Giants. Cardiff Devils were the only team in Elite League to earn four points over the weekend – and they have moved menacingly into second place with games in hand. They now face a double-header against Belfast Giants in Cardiff Bay next weekend. New signing Shaone Morrisonn made his Devils debut, played […]

Wrexham’s Scottish adventure is over following their 2-0 defeat against Rangers Colts, but a former Cardiff City striker is still going strong in the Tunnock’s Challenge Cup. Kenny Miller, who will celebrate his 40th birthday next month, scored for Partick in their 4-1 win at Stenhousemuir. Partick are Miller’s 15th club – including Rangers and Celtic […]