The Dragon from Blaenavon is ready to show he is ‘the greatest’ in his Mixed Martial Arts division. Mason ‘The Dragon’ Jones competes in his eighth professional fight, having beaten every opponent, when he takes on Finnish sensation Aleksi Mantykivi. Victory in their clash at Cage Warriors 108 could catapult one of these men to […]

Two of Wales’ most successful national rally drivers, six time champion Damian Cole and reigning champion Jason Pritchard, go head-to-head in a winner takes all shootout on Sunday’s Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally, to decide who will be the 2019 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Champion. And the final knockout round could not be closer. If series leader Cole wins and Pritchard finishes second – as they did last time out on the Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally – then both drivers would have recorded three wins and two second place finishes. That would see the title decided on a tiebreak, with whoever sets the better time on the opening stage of the Cheviot becoming champion. Despite winning a record-equalling 23 rallies on Epynt, Cole admits that he prefers the more technical Otterburn military ranges in Northumberland, with its challenging network of twisty and bumpy single-track roads. He certainly has a very good record of success there, having won the Cheviot Rally – plus the Tyneside Stages, which is also held on Otterburn – four times each. The Abergavenny driver holds the advantage going into the event in his Get Connected/Energizer-backed Ford Fiesta WRC, but winning the title for a seventh time is by no means a forgone conclusion, thanks to the formidable challenge posed by Pritchard.

Guildford Flames 3, Cardiff Devils 4 After sudden death overtime Andrew Lord’s Cardiff Devils became embroiled in penalty troubles at Guildford Flames – and then clawed their way back to victory. Devils hit back from 3-1 down to earn a dramatic overtime victory and Lord said: “We shot ourselves in the foot during that first […]

The greatest rugby show on earth kicks-off in Tokyo today and, if you were a gambling man, you’d surely predict it is going to be the biggest and best of all the editions of Rugby World Cup. It is the first outside one of the major rugby nations, has more real candidates to win it than in many years, and has already been enthusiastically adopted by the Japanese nation. When you get 15,000 strangers singing your own national anthem back to you in your native tongue – as the Japanese fans did to the Welsh team at training earlier in the week – you know something special is about to take place.

Richard Merriman remains on course to win the JD Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship for a fourth time, despite crashing out of the most recent round of the series. The Pontypridd driver had set top eight overall times on the opening two stages of the recent Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally, but then crashed out of the Epynt event on the tricky section through the German Village. Despite this, Merriman remains in the lead of the Welsh Tarmacadam series, 16 points ahead of Will Mains (Vauxhall Nova), with Llyr Jones (Ford Escort Mk2) a further point behind in third – having won his class on the Tour of Epynt, Tour of Caerwent, SMC Anglesey Stages and on the Harry Flatters Rally. Co-driven by Kath Curzon, he has also finished third overall and second in class on the Mid Summer Stages Rally.

Cardiff Devils face a ‘European-style’ challenge when they take on Guildford Flames in a Challenge Cup group match this evening. Andrew Lord, Devils’ head coach, welcomes the domestic challenge following his teams successful start to their Champions Hockey League campaign. Cardiff are top of their group with two matches – away and at home against […]

Tiverton Town 1, Merthyr Town 0 The Martyrs were shot down by former Plymouth Argyle midfield player River Allen at Tiverton Town’s Ian Moorcroft Stadium. Tivvy captain Allen scored from a first half penalty awarded for handball and that proved to be the only goal of the match. Merthyr Town, still without centre-forwards Gethyn Hill […]

Rising Welsh cycling star Ethan Vernon has spoken of his delight at being included in the Great Britain team for next week’s UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire. Vernon is part of a strong Welsh contingent who will represent Britain in the various age groups and disciplines, including Tour De France winner Geraint Thomas and Team Ineos team-mate Owain Doull. The final teams to be announced by British Cycling on Wednesday were the men’s elite team and the men’s under-23 team, where Vernon gets his chance.

By Owen Morgan Current World Champions Aled Davies, Hollie Arnold and Olivia Breen will lead a seven-strong Welsh contingent heading to the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai. Wales’ golden trio will be joined – on November 7 to 15 – by WPA European Champions Sabrina Fortune and Harri Jenkins, along with Disability Sport Wales […]

Michael Flynn is keen for a ‘raucous and loud’ welcome back to Rodney Parade when League Two leaders Exeter City visit South Wales on Saturday. The Exiles manager has pledged himself to Newport County despite an approach from Lincoln City. “We will be fully recharged ready to go for Saturday with that raucous, loud crowd […]

Wales centre Jonathan Davies insists it was the right call to bring in Stephen Jones to replace Rob Howley at the World Cup. Assistant coach Howley is now back home following an alleged breach of World Rugby’s betting and anti-corruption regulations, and he faces a detailed investigation. With Howley gone from the camp, 104-times capped former Wales fly-half  Jones will link up with the squad as attack coach in Toyota City on Thursday.

The Welsh Rugby Union knew a week ago they had a problem with alleged betting from inside the Wales camp. As the shock waves from the departure of Rob Howley was extending throughout the World Cup in Japan – which begins on Friday – his employers have tried to give an explanation of why the events moved from home to the eve of the tournament itself on the other side of the world. The governing body have revealed they were first made aware of the Wales backs coach’s suspected breach of World Rugby’s betting regulations last Wednesday following contact from one of the gambling industry’s integrity teams.

Seb Morris hopes to stay with the JRM team in the British GT Championship next season, after finishing seventh in the drivers’ standings after an encouraging first year in the team’s Bentley Continental GT3. “JRM put together a brand new team for this year and they’ve done a superb job, I’m looking forward to hopefully being back with them next year – if they want me,” said Morris. It’s not been the easiest of seasons for the Wrexham-born driver, who endured more misfortune during the final British GT round at Donington Park last weekend. Running 60kg of ballast and less turbo boost, the unfavourable Balance of Performance (BOP) restrains ensured that the JRM Bentley of Morris and team-mate Rick Parfitt Jnr was the slowest GT3 car through the speed traps and consistently slower down on the competition along the straights.

Romford Raiders 9, Cardiff Fire 6 Vilius Krakauskas, a 23-year-old Lithuanian forward, crushed the hopes of Cardiff Fire during a National League South match in Essex. Krakauskas, who has returned to playing ice hockey after three-years away from the sport, scored four goals with two assists in a 9-6 Romford Raiders victory. He skated with […]

Wales’ World Cup plans have been thrown into turmoil after Rob Howley was sent home from Japan. Former Wales captain and scrum-half Howley left Wales’s training camp on Monday following an alleged breach of World Rugby’s regulation six which covers anti-corruption and betting. Howley is understood to have been betting on matches, and has been provisionally suspended from all rugby matter matters until a disciplinary hearing – essentially ruling him out from any participation in the World Cup.

Michael Flynn has committed himself to Newport County following speculation about his future. The Exiles’ manager has been linked with the vacancy at Lincoln City and he has spoken to the Imps, but has told County’s board: “I’m staying.” Flynn had been the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Danny Cowley at Sincil Bank. A statement issued […]

Merthyr Town face two tough away fixtures in four days when they travel to Devon and Somerset. The Martyrs are at Tiverton Town for a BetVictor Southern League match on Wednesday before making the trip to Weston-super-Mare for an FA Cup second qualifying round tie. Southern Premier rivals Weston include two young Cardiff player players […]

Sheffield Wednesday 2, Cardiff City 3 Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is back in action and played 90 minutes in Cardiff City’s Professional Development Under-23 League Match at Sheffield Wednesday. Etheridge has been out for six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during a Championship clash with Wigan Athletic on August 3. The Philippines international, who made […]

Pressure is building on Wrexham manager Bryan Hughes after a run of six National League matches without a win, but club directors insist: “He has our full backing.” The Dragons have drawn four of those fixtures, including a 1-1 result against Sutton United at the Racecourse, and are 13 points behind leaders Woking. Bottom club. […]

He may still be only 16, but Welsh swimming sensation Matt Richards already has his eyes set on next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Those same eyes are on Japan for the next few weeks, too, as the young Welsh rugby fan tells Liz Byrnes. Matt Richards gave his parents a hint of what was to come when he was only a five-year-old on a family holiday in Tenerife. Disgruntled by having to wear armbands in the pool while other, older children didn’t, he marched up to his mother and father, told them he’d had enough and threw the armbands on the chair.