Steve Smith has welcomed his recruitment by Welsh Fire as the Cardiff-based team prepare to unleash the Australian run-machine and his countryman Mitchell Starc on their Hundred rivals next summer. Both Aussies were picked up by the new Welsh team in the draft for the inaugural 100-ball tournament which took place on Sunday night. Smith – a figure who was roundly booed at grounds around England and Wales this summer until his brilliant batting turned on the mute button – is likely to be the captain of Welsh Fire, ahead of England star Jonny Bairstow, who had been allocated ahead of the draft.

France have called for World Rugby to investigate a photo of referee Jaco Peyper in which he appears to mock the elbow to the head that turned the World Cup quarter-final in Wales’ favour. Peyper sent off Sebastien Vahaamahina off for his mindless violent act early in the second half of Sunday’s 20-19 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Wales. In full view of Oita Stadium, the Clermont lock struck Aaron Wainwright flush on the jaw while France staged an attacking maul, leaving Peyper to make one of the easier decisions of his career.

France coach Jacques Brunel said he had no complaints about the red card shown to Sebastien Vahaamahina during the World Cup quarter-final loss to Wales on Sunday but was unhappy that the winning try was allowed to stand. Lock Vahaamahina was red-carded for elbowing Welsh flanker Aaron Wainwright in the face in the 49th minute of the 20-19 defeat at Oita Stadium, which sent the French crashing out of the tournament. “The red card, I don’t contest it,” Brunel told reporters after the match.

Michael Flynn has challenged Josh Sheehan to contribute more goals for Newport County after his fine strike sealed a hard-fought 2-1 win against Scunthorpe United. The 24-year-old midfielder’s winner was his first goal since November last year – a record that his manager wants him to improve upon. “It was a great finish,” said Flynn after a victory that has taken County up to third in the League Two table.

Steve Cooper has admitted he got it wrong as Swansea City failed to put away Championship strugglers for the second successive game. A 1-1 draw at Barnsley – following their previous 2-1 home defeat against Stoke City – means the Swans have dropped five points to the two clubs sharing the bottom two places in the table. Cooper was honest enough to concede his tactical approach had been wide of the mark as Barnsley played a very different style to the one the Swansea manager was expecting.

Andrew Lord is relishing the chance to send this Cardiff Devils team out against Nottingham Panthers in the English Midlands. Panthers won a close-fought clash with Devils 2-1 at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay on Saturday and head coach Lord said: “It’s good to get straight back at it. These ‘home and home’ are […]

Warren Gatland has paid tribute to his team’s gritty character after admitting Wales are fortunate to still be in the World Cup. The Wales coach candidly admitted that the better team lost the semi-final in Oita, where France were beaten 20-19. Ross Moriarty scored the vital try that enabled Wales to snatch a late victory, even though they had failed for so long to make a one-man advantage tell after Sebastien Vahaamahina was sent off for elbowing Aaron Wainwright.

Neil Warnock believes Cardiff City can stay unbeaten at home for the rest of the season after Lee Tomlin preserved their record with a late equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday. The Cardiff manager was in bullish mood, despite an at best mixed performance in their 1-1 draw on Friday night. Cardiff were outplayed for an hour, but managed to rouse themselves in the late stages and were thankful to Tomlin’s set-piece skills.

Kadeem Harris could hold the key to Cardiff City hopes when they play Sheffield Wednesday in South Wales this evening. Pace-ace Harris is a massive attacking threat when he has the ball at his feet, while manager Neil Warnock will surely aim to expose his defensive frailty. The former judo black belt from Westminster in […]

By Gavin Chilton Katie George is convinced The Hundred is going to shake-up cricket like a Joffra Archer bouncer. The England international has already been named as the spark to ignite Welsh Fire, the new franchise which will be based in Cardiff when the radical 100-ball tournament starts next summer. Together with Bryony Smith – […]

American forward Jake Hansen makes his Nottingham Panthers debut in South Wales on Saturday, aiming to add the spark to fire up their season.  Nottingham have suffered seven successive Elite League and cup defeats, scoring 11 goals and conceding 27, and Hanson says: “Devils are a good test for us and we’re hopeful of coming […]

Jayne Ludlow is preparing her Wales team for a vital upcoming Euro qualifier against Northern Ireland. Like the previous World Cup campaign, it’s a momentum-builder that is gathering energy and changing the perception of women’s sport in Wales. But she still sees limits on the opportunities for girls in all sports – football, hockey, netball – and tells Graham Thomas how more needs to be done. When Jayne Ludlow recalls her own sporting childhood in the Rhondda, one of her more formative memories is of a door closing when she was 11. That was when the current manager of the Wales women’s football team left Dunraven Primary School and moved up to Treorchy Comprehensive.

Steve Cooper has defended his decision to use playmaker Bersant Celina as a wide player, rather than as a central No.10. The Swansea City manager – whose team travel to Barnsley on Saturday hoping to make amends for their shock home defeat to Championship bottom club Stoke City – has been deploying Celina in an unfamiliar wide left role in recent matches. It’s a decision that has perplexed some Swans supporters, as the former Manchester City player appears to have been less effective than in his previous central position.

Luke Charteris doesn’t want his former teammates to go through the same post-match agonies he suffered the last time Wales met France at the World Cup. The towering Bath lock – now on the coaching staff at the English club – played the full 80 minutes in the 9-8 defeat in the 2011 semi-final, when Wales lost skipper Sam Warburton to a red card after a mere 12 minutes. That defeat remains the biggest disappointment and regret in Charteris’ long career and it still hurts even to this day.

Warren Gatland insists Wales have done everything they can to ensure Dan Biggar has fully overcome concussion. Biggar suffered head injuries in successive World Cup games against Australia and Fiji, but he has met all targets and will line up in Sunday’s quarter-final appointment with France. “He felt better after the (Fiji) game, it was clear,” said the Wales head coach.

Lee Walker claimed one of the biggest scalps of his 25-year career by knocking world number one Judd Trump out of the 19.com English Open. The Gwent player had tasted victory just once this season before the tournament began, but made it three wins in as many days to set up a last 16 clash with Gary Wilson. In a high quality match, Walker stunned the world champion by taking the opening two frames with breaks of 74 and 67, only for Trump to reply with back-to-back centuries.

Wales are preparing for a huge test of their rugby credentials against France this weekend, but it isn’t just happening in Japan. This is the Wales rugby league team and the tournament is the World Cup Nines, which start in Sydney on Friday – just part of a busy current schedule for the league code, as Graham Thomas reports. Wales and the Rugby World Cup may be fixing much of the nation’s attention at present, but the sport’s other code is working hard to grab some of the limelight. Rugby League in Wales has always faced a challenge to move beyond the shadow of rugby union and this season might be their biggest yet if Warren Gatland’s team go all the way in Japan.

By Paul Evans Carmarthen Motor Club has received a capacity entry for this Sunday’s Fairfield Merlin Stages Rally, with Bob Fowden seeded at number one in his Comline Auto Parts/NGK-backed Subaru Impreza WRC S11. The Llanelli ace has won the event four times (in 2011, ‘13, ’15 and ‘16) and will be one of the […]

Wales have qualified for the Uefa under-17 championships elite round after wins and Slovenia and Kosovo in the Netherlands. They finished second in their group behind the hosts, who won 2-1 when the teams played each other. Coach Richard Williams’ team opened the tournament with a 1-0 win against Slovenia with centre-half Jay Williams scoring […]

Mason ‘The Dragon’ Jones has a message for Cage Warriors fight promoters, saying: “Bring me the biggest, toughest monster you can find.” Jones, from Blaenavon, is intent on joining the elite Ultimate Fighting Championship and extended his unbeaten record by beating Finnish opponent Aleksi Mäntykivi at CW108 at Viola Arena, Cardiff Bay. Now he has two major […]