The Coral Welsh Grand National takes place at Chepstow on December 27 – a race won in memorable style last year by then 16-year-old jockey James Bowen. Since then, the young Welsh rider has continued to give further glimpses of his rare talent, as champion jockey Richard Johnson told Rob Cole. Richard Johnson may have been the champion jump jockey for the last three years, but he knows he has to keep looking over his shoulder at the youngsters lining up to knock him off his perch. Firstly, there was Sean Bowen and now there is James Bowen – a double assault from a Pembrokeshire farm that is threatening to destabilise the old order.

Newport County’s players will not lose their Christmas party after all – they have just postponed it to May to make way for tonight’s FA Cup replay against Wrexham. It had been suggested that County manager Mike Flynn had cancelled the squad’s Christmas shindig altogether because it clashed with their attempts to make the third round. But thanks to defender Mickey Demetriou’s shrewd decision to cover the costs with an insurance policy, the jaunt around Dublin will now go ahead in six months’ time.

North Wales coast rivals Bangor City and Caernarfon Town have been drawn together in what is the stand-out tie of the JD Welsh Cup fourth round draw. The two sides will face each other at Bangor City’s Nantporth Stadium in front of what is likely to be a bumper crowd on the weekend of 25/26 […]

Evan Hoyt has hit new carer high in singles and doubles. The 23-year-old Llanelli player has reached 439 in the world in the singles rankings – one spot higher than his previous career best.

Welsh sailing hub Pwllheli will host the 2020 edition of the RYA Youth National Championships. The 2020 event will be staged at the Welsh National Sailing Academy at Plas Heli. Held annually during the Easter holidays, the RYA Youth National Championships is the UK’s premier youth racing event and a must for young sailors looking to test their racing skills against the country’s best.

Alun Wyn Jones went to Disneyland, Paris last week and met Mickey Mouse – as these pictures from PR company, Disney Parks Press, appear to confirm. Apparently, the Wales captain “enjoyed meeting several characters and said a happy belated birthday to Mickey Mouse.” Dai Sport understands that while the Ospreys were busy thrashing Stade Francais 51-20 in the European Challenge Cup, Jones “experienced several attractions, shows and parades across the resort with his family including Goofy’s Incredible Christmas and Disney’s Christmas Parade.”

Wales international Amanda Varey has left the Celtic Dragons to rejoin Team Bath and could face her old teammates in the opening match of the new Vitality Superleague season. Varey – who spent last season with the Dragons – has returned to Bath, where she won Superleague titles in 2010 and 2013. The wing-attack switched to the Dragons last season as she focussed on representing Wales at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia, but has opted to return to her former club.

John Mulvihill has admitted his Cardiff Blues side struggle to match the depth of Saracens as he reflected on a seven-try hammering at the home of the English champions in the Heineken Champions Cup. The Australian must now try and patch up his team for the return clash at the Arms Park this weekend, following their 51-25 defeat which leaves them outsiders to make progress to the quarter-finals. Both teams were missing key players but the Blues – who led 18-13 at half-time – were blown away in the second-half and Mulvihill conceded there is a gap between the two squads.

Connah’s Quay first-team coach Craig Harrison praised his team’s response after the JD Welsh Cup holders were given a scare at Cymru Alliance side Guilsfield. The Nomads, along with eight other JD Welsh Premier League clubs, rubber stamped their place in this evening’s fourth round draw. Bala Town also enter the draw with their third […]

All eight Welsh athletes taking part in Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships returned home with a medal as Great Britain claimed a gold, four silvers and a bronze. Leading the way for Wales’ representatives was Cari Hughes, who was part of the Great Britain women’s under-20 gold medal winning team.

Vale of Glamorgan trainers Evan Williams  and Tim Vaughan both saddled winners at Chepstow (writes Brian Lee). Williams’s four-year-old Secret Reprieve was a 50-1 winner of the Native River Supports The IJF Novices’ Hurdle and Vaughan’s  five-year-old Trixter won the Smart Money’s On Coral Conditional Jockeys Novices Hurdle. The former, ridden by stable jockey Adam […]

Cardiff Devils suffered heartache in Belfast when they were edged 3-2 out after sudden death overtime and a penalty shootout. They were locked on 2-2 after 60 minutes, Evan Mosey and Charlies Linglet scored for Cardiff, but were beaten 3-2 in the shootout. Devils’ Joey Martin started and finished a flowing passing move which opened […]

Cardiff Devils go into the first of five crunch Elite League fixtures against Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland this evening (Sunday, 5pm). It’s the Elite League leaders Giants against a Devils team aiming to be crowned champions for a third successive season. They have met once this season with Belfast winning by an astonishing 8-1 […]

Welshman Jack Shore is the real deal in cage fighting.  The man from Abertillery, fighting out of dad Richard’s Tillery gym, is the newly-crowned Cage Warriors World bantamweight champion. Shore dominated London’s Mike Ekundayo on his feet and on the mat to earn a devastating TKO in the third round. He shut down Ekundayo’s takedown […]

Ryan Prosser scored his 163rd goal for Merthyr Town in their 1-1 EvoStik Southern League draw against Kings Langley at the MetCoaches Stadium. Former Ton Pentre centre-forward Prosser signed for the Martyrs during 2010-11 and has made 322 appearances. Even with his impressive tally, Prosser is only second on the club’s goalscoring list, five behind […]

Sir Gareth Edwards believes Wales should fear no one at next year’s World Cup after a record-breaking run under Warren Gatland. Wales head into the new year in confident mood having secured a first-ever autumn series clean sweep and recording nine successive wins, their best run for 20 years. Edwards says they can build on that form by mounting successful Six Nations and World Cup campaigns in 2019.

Wales prop Nicky Smith may struggle to be fit in time for the Six Nations after suffering an ankle injury playing for the Ospreys. The loose-head prop – who has become his country’s first choice in recent months – was forced off during his region’s 51-20 European Challenge Cup victory over Stade Francais at the Liberty Stadium. Ospreys coach Allen Clarke admitted the injury appears a serious one and suggested the 24-yar-old will struggle to make a quick comeback.

Wrexham watch out. Newport County are hurting after their 2-1 defeat at Swindon Town – and are aiming to bounce back in Tuesday’s Emirates FA Cup replay at Rodney Parade. County dropped to sixth in League Two and manager Michael Flynn says: “I want a reaction the players. “We were the better team in the […]

Cardiff Blues coach John Mulvihill has told his players to put themselves in the spotlight by eclipsing Saracens on their own patch on Sunday afternoon. The Blues travel to Allianz Park to take on the English champions – a team that are unbeaten this season and are many pundits’ tip to retain their European crown. The Blues have won in Lyon but lost at home to Glasgow so far in Pool Three and their Australian coach has called on them to defy the odd again on their travels.

Graham Barrow’s Dragons are on the march. Wrexham are fourth in the Vanarama National League with a game in hand on the three teams above them. They ended a run of four matches without a win with their 2-0 success against Eastleigh in front of more than 4,000 spectators at the Racecourse. Their next test […]