Having already secured the 1400cc title, William Mains is aiming for overall honours in this year’s J.D. Tyres Welsh National Tarmacadam Rally Championship – which would be an incredible achievement in his Vauxhall Nova! The Llandysul pilot heads to this Sunday’s Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally leading the overall drivers’ standings by two points. With long fast straights, Epynt isn’t best suited to his little front-wheel drive car, so Mains is hoping for wet conditions to help make it a more even playing field. Co-driven by Ammanford’s Claire Williams, a strong haul of points on Epynt will line Mains up for a title showdown at the final round of the series, the Fairfield Merlin Stages Rally, at the Welsh Motorsports Centre near Pembrey on 21 October.

Nigel Owens has revealed how a letter from Bill Beaumont came to his emotional aid after he was subjected to homophobic abuse while refereeing. Owens, one of the world’s top officials, suffered the abuse refereeing England’s game with New Zealand at Twickenham in 2014.

Osian Pryce says that the chance to contest the Escort Rally Special in Belgium next month is “too good to miss” as he’ll drive a BDG-engined Escort Mk2 on the event. The one-off event is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the building of the first Escort in 1968 and will take place in the town of Couvin, in the Walloon region of southwest Belgium, on 16 September. It will consist of one 16 mile stage that will be tackled four times. At 25, Machynlleth-born Pryce will be one of the youngest competitors on the event and one of the top British drivers. The event has attracted a star-studded international entry, including the likes of François Duval, Robert Droogmans, Marc Duez, Stefaan Stouf, Paul Lietaer and Florian Gonon.

The debates rumble on over what the structure of Welsh rugby should be directly below the regions. Robin Davey says the severing of four clubs from the Principality Premiership will be brutal, bloody and fatal for some. The new season is only just over a week away and for once it’s not regional rugby or the national team that’s making all the headlines, it’s much more the level below. For the advent of the new Celtic Cup competition, and the sudden realisation that new rules governing the Principality Premiership could mean some clubs being wiped out, have dominated everything else.

Former Wales forward Rhys Oakley is being supported by his teammates at Hartpury as he undergoes cancer treatment. The 37-year-old flanker – who won two caps under former coach Steve Hansen back in 2003 – has been diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer. His illness was only detected earlier this summer after Oakley went into hospital for a routine ankle operation.

Newport County manager Michael Flynn is urging his players to believe in themselves after their dramatic 3-2 League Two win against Notts County at Rodney Parade. Jamaican-born striker Jamille Matt scored the winner five minutes into second half injury time and Flynn said: “The goals we conceded made the game harder than it should have […]

Dewi Griffiths will make his return to the red vest in a strong Welsh squad named for October’s inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff. The Swansea Harrier missed out on a place in the Wales party which travelled to the Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games in April after he suffered a stress fracture in his hip.

Sabrine Fortune dominated the F20 shot put to become the third Welsh athlete to win gold at the World Para Athletics European Championships. Fortune produced one of the performances of the day in Berlin as she took gold with a championship record of 13.30m.

Oli McBurnie earned plenty of praise from Swansea City manager Graham Potter – even though his two goals were not enough to earn victory over Leeds United. McBurnie scored twice during Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium, the second a magnificent header which showcased his technique and athleticism. That made it three goals in four league games so far this season for the Scottish international and 12 goals in 21 Championship matches in total, when added to his efforts on loan at Barnsley last season.

There was a shock in story for Tom Parisi when he arrived at Ice Arena Wales for the first time. The American defenceman, Cardiff Devils final signing for 2018-19, was handed a team shirt with his name across the back, a coat which was far too big for him and a red baseball cap. He […]

Jason Pritchard will take his North Road Garage Ford Focus RS WRC05 to Epynt for the very first time, when he contests this Sunday’s Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally. The 30-year old Builth Wells driver knows the rollercoaster military roads well, having contested many events on the ranges above Sennybridge in his Escort RS1800 and Fiesta S2000. He also knows the Focus WRC well – although up until this year he’s only made one annual appearance in the car, winning the Manx National Rally four times (2014, ’15, ’16 and ‘18) and never failing to finish outside the top three in six starts.

Former British Open champion David Evans is delighted World-class League squash is being revitalised in South Wales. A new team, Welsh Wizards, play their first Premier League fixture in Cardiff on Tuesday, September 25 and Evans, from Griffithstown, Pontypool, says: “It’s superb to have top level squash back in Wales after so long being out […]

Jazz Carlin has been named in Britain’s team for the Open Water World Series in China on September 16. The double Olympic silver medallist will face many of the world’s best at Chun’An as she looks to make the switch from the pool.

Former Wales coach Nigel Davies has warned of meltdown among some of Welsh rugby’s oldest clubs as a result of the WRU plan this season to downgrade the Principality Premiership in favour of regional A/U23 teams. Having looked at the problems facing Welsh rugby’s semi-pro tier, and at modernising the regions, Geraint Powell examines the thorny question of an intermediate tier between them. Nothing quite divides Welsh rugby like the subject of Regional ‘A’ teams, inevitably so given the lack of integration and alignment between the regions and the club game. Former Welsh Rugby Union chief executive David Moffett set the tone during his electoral campaign return to Wales in 2014, arguing that the regions should be denied the additional powers that come with controlling an ‘A’ team until they demonstrated they could run their first teams along genuine regional lines to achieve a greater ‘buy in’ from Welsh rugby fans.

Graham Potter is hoping Marcelo Bielsa’s unbeaten Championship record kicks the bucket at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night. Bielsa may be one of the most revered coaches in the world and he may have got Leeds United away to a flying start to the season, but nothing seems to have attracted more attention than his preference to sit on a large blue upturned bucket rather than in the dug-out. The Argentinian has even added to the mystery by refusing to detail why he likes to park himself on the plastic, rather than the comfier seats on the bench.

Former Wales international Andrew Crofts is playing a crucial role on and off the pitch for League Two Newport County. Captain Crofts, 34, has made a major impact at Rodney Parade and returns to the team for Newport’s home fixture against Notts County on Tuesday (7.45pm). “Us young players love the guy,” says teenager Tyreeq […]

As the two white-haired gentlemen intently studied the match programme many of those present wouldn’t have given them a second glance. But for those of a certain age, the scene was a trip down memory lane. Two of the greatest captains in Welsh rugby history – Brian Price and John Dawes – were deep in conversation on the touchline as Caldicot RFC hosted  London Welsh in a pre-season friendly.

Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris has admitted Aneurin Donald has left the county because he wants to play for England. Hampshire announced on Monday they had signed the hugely promising 21-year-old batsman on a two-year deal. He has also made the switch for the rest of this season on loan. It’s a huge blow for Glamorgan, for the motivation for which Morris has conceded is Donald’s ambition to play Test cricket.

Wales’ Hollie Arnold has claimed gold at the World Para Athletics European Championships to complete the grand slam of major javelin titles. Arnold added European gold to the Paralympic, World and Commonwealth titles she already holds.

Newport County boss Michael Flynn hopes to have Welsh international Andrew Crofts back in his starting line-up for the visit of Notts County on Tuesday night. Crofts was forced to sit out the 1-1 draw at Exeter last weekend because of a bizarre toe injury that has restricted him to two appearances to date since his summer transfer. “Andrew has a big infection in his toe. It’s basically a blister that got infected, he’s had antibiotics and seen the doctor, but it hasn’t settled down,” said Flynn.