Four-hundred-and-two ultra runners from around the globe set off from Conwy Castle in north Wales last Monday morning. Five days, 315km and 17 Welsh mountains later, 237 of them crossed the finishing line at Llandeilo in the south having completed the mammoth challenge.

Tomas Francis will try to deny his Wales teammate Liam Williams the perfect season when they clash in the Gallagher Premiership final next weekend. The Exeter Chiefs prop will face the Saracens full-back at Twickenham in the showpiece of the English season after both came through their respective semi-finals. Williams has already won a Six Nations Grand Slam with Wales and a Heineken Champions Cup winners medal for Sarries and could become the first Welshman to win the ultimate triple if his club retain their domestic title.

Michael Flynn gave a scathing verdict on EFL officials after seeing his battling but beaten Newport County side denied a place in League One next season. The County manager was furious that a key penalty decision went against his team as they lost their League Two play-off final 1-0 to Tranmere Rovers at Wembley. Before they were reduced to 10-men, Newport were pressing for the first goal of the game when referee Ross Joyce refused to award an 85th-minute penalty even though Emmanuel Monthe clearly tripped County striker Jamille Matt as he tried to go past the defender.

Padraig Amond believes Newport County manager Michael Flynn is destined for big things regardless of the outcome of today’s Wembley shoot-out. Amond will carry the goal-scoring duties as his club’s leading marksman when County face Tranmere Rovers in the League Two play-off final. For Amond and most of his teammates, promotion to League One would represent a new high-water mark in their playing careers, but the 31-year-old Irishman reckons his young boss will climb far higher.

Wales’ Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze medallist Melissa Courtney is hoping to launch her outdoor season by retaining the Vitality Westminster Mile title on Sunday. Courtney has just returned from a four week training camp in Arizona and is champing at the bit to get racing again.

Neil Etheridge has spoken of his desire to make a quick return to the Premier League. The Cardiff City goalkeeper – who was arguably the club’s most consistent performer during a season that ended in relegation two weeks ago – is desperate to play again at the top level. Etheridge has been linked with both West Ham and Brighton and although the 29-year-old has two years left on his current contract, manager Neil Warnock has said if the club received an offer of £20m, he would personally chauffeur Etheridge to the buying club.

Jenny Nesbitt will again compete for GB at the World University Games in Naples in July. The Bath University runner lines-up in the 10,000m in Italy as part of the 22-strong squad of athletes.

The input of former Cardiff City manager Lennie Lawrence has been crucial over the last three seasons. And the man who led the Bluebirds to promotion via the play-offs in 2003 will play a key role before and during the final against Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium.

Dan Biggar aims to thrive again under the big match spotlight on Saturday – the type of opportunity he admits were starting to pass him by at the Ospreys. The Wales fly-half may have played a significant part in securing the Six Nations Grand Slam this season, but his club’s achievements at Northampton are something of a throwback. Not just for the Saints – who have not on any serious silverware for five years – but also for Biggar himself, who left Welsh regional rugby long after the heady days of Ospreys’ finals and big occasions had passed.

James Tomlinson and Sarah Omoregie have been called up for the GB Under2- team for the prestigious Halle Throws International in Germany from June 1-2. The Welsh duo will be part of a 10-strong squad for the meeting which is one of the most highly-regarded on the international throwing calendar.

Wayne Routledge has re-signed for another year at Swansea City – less than a week after the club announced his departure. The 34-year-old has agreed to stay on at the Liberty Stadium as a senior pro to try to bring through the new generation at the cash-strapped club.

Tesni Evans aw her British Open hopes ended in a third round defeat against former champion Camille Serme in Hull. The Rhyl-based player staged a third game comeback after losing the first two games to her French rival.

Justin Birchall and Jonathan Koonja led from start to finish to take a dominant win on the 2019 Welsh Hill Rally. The event was held at the Walters Arena complex in the Vale of Neath and organised by That’s Motorsport Limited. Birchall got off to a flying start in his Lofthouse Freelander, heading the leaderboard by 21 seconds. Last year’s winner Paul Rowlands was in second place in his Polaris with Ant Jackson’s Audi-engined Warrior in third.

Evan Hoyt – Wales’ No.1 tennis player – has been reflecting on an “awesome” 12 months and setting his sights on trying to qualify for this year’s Wimbledon. Last May, Llanelli’s Hoyt won the men’s singles title at the inaugural Penarth Windsor LTA British Tour event. The right-hander, whose promising career had been put on hold by a serious shoulder injury, said after the Penarth final that he hoped the win would act as a confidence boost and put him back on track for success at the top end of the game.

Luke Williams powered to victory in the opening race of the SSAFA Cardiff 5K series. The San Domenico runner clocked 15 minutes 18 seconds over the new course near Blackweir.

Wales may be thriving at international level, but below that the situation is far from satisfactory and in the case of the Premiership it has even descended into farce. It can’t be right, for example, that Pontypool are unable to secure promotion to the Premiership though they have won 65 out of 66 games in the Championship over the past three seasons.

Vale  of Glamorgan trainer Tim Vaughan  had a double at Ludlow with AllTimeGold  and Jefferson Davis (writes Brian Lee). The former,  partnered by stable jockey Alan Johns, landed the two-mile handicap chase, while Jefferson Davis, ridden by champion jockey Richard Johnson, won the three-mile handicap chase. A nice win here for Jefferson Davis under champion jockey @dickyjohnson77 […]

Alun Davies/James Ferguson won the opening round of the Sidecar British Enduro Championship after a magnificent performance at the Arwyn Rees Caio Enduro. Organised by the Dyfed Dirt Bike Club, the local Carmarthenshire crew took the overall win after cleaning the tight Benlan check. Jonathan Williams/Neil James finished runners-up, a minute lost at the check costing the Crossgates crew victory. Neil Pugh/Anthony Mills from Newtown took the Clubman Sidecar class win, whilst the win in the Expert Sidecar class went to Mark Stokes/Luke Townsend.

Cardiff Devils have been drawn against title holders Frolunda Gothenburg from Sweden in the Champions Hockey League. Head coach Andrew Lord and his Devils are marching into Europe for a third successive season and their group includes Layne Ulmer’s former club Graz99ers (Austria) and Mountfield Hradec Kralove (Czech). Both Lord and Devils managing director Todd […]

Josh Batch has given Cardiff Devils a huge boost by agreeing a deal to remain with the club for a ninth season.