Yorkshiremen Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy clash in Suffolk on Saturday – 42 years after they first met at Barnsley’s Oakwell stadium. McCarthy was a teenage apprentice who cleaned Warnock’s boots at Barnsley and now the two men are managerial rivals in the Championship.

Dayinsure Wales Rally GB has earned the ‘Achievement of Excellence’ under the FIA Institute sustainability programme after demonstrating positive actions towards the environment at the penultimate round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship.

Runners have a cracking new race to look forward to in 2017 with the launch of the Royal Welsh Trail Running Festival. The festival will take place at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells on Sunday 21st May 2017 – with something for everyone.

Cardiff Devils powered to an eighth successive victory and took a stranglehold on their Challenge Cup quarter-final clash with Dundee Stars. Player-coach Andrew Lord and his Devils flew to Scotland for the first leg fixture and won thanks to goals by captain Jake Morissette, Joey Martin, Andrew Hotham and Sean Bentivoglio.

Georgia Davies bagged Britain’s first medal of the World Short Course Championships with 100m backstroke bronze. The Loughborough-based swimmer was just pipped by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu who took gold with Canada’s Kylie Masse taking silver.

There was a time when Sam Warburton’s role at No.7 for Wales – and his position as captain – seemed more secure than any other player in the team. Not any more, according to Robin Davey, who says there are now half a dozen candidates for the shirt ahead of the Six Nations. At a time when Wales are not exactly pulling up trees pre-Christmas there is one area where they are truly in seventh heaven. In fact they can boast a whole array of sevens.

Welsh Rugby chief executive Martyn Phillips has confirmed Robin McBryde will lead Wales’ coaching team for this summer’s tour of the Pacific Islands. Phillips, after congratulating Rob Howley on his appointment as British & Irish Lions backs coach, immediately outlined the plans for Wales’ current assistant coach to take charge for the June 2017 tour.

Georgia Davies will be in the medal hunt in Canada today after qualifying third fastest for the 100m backstroke at the World Short Course Championships. Wales’ 2016 Commonwealth champ finished second in her semi-final after clocking 56.69seconds.

Geraint Thomas is at a career crossroads as he plots the next stage of the route to Grand Tour glory. The Cardiff-born racer harbours ambitions of challenging for the win in one of cycling’s three major events.

It’s been the year of the Viking Thunder-Clap, but for Aron Gunnarsson it’s also been a year of redemption. Josh Thomas examines how the Cardiff City player has kicked on from his Iceland heroics and gone from reject to regular for his Championship club. Euro 2016 year will always be remembered for Wales’ progress to the semi finals, Portugal winning international honours for the first time, and Iceland’s ‘Viking war chant’ – which has since been adopted by Cardiff City fans – as they marched onto the quarter finals.

Headway – the leading brain injury charity – have questioned why George North was allowed back onto the field after his recent injury for Northampton. The Wales wing will not play again until he has been assessed by an independent expert in head injuries.

Cardiff Devils are ‘in the groove’ and ‘going for gold’ says Canadian forward Layne Ulmer. The Elite League leaders, who have earned seven successive league and cup wins, play Dundee Stars in a Challenge Cup quarter-final clash on Wednesday (tomorrow, 7.30pm).

Jack Cork says Swansea City face a crunch month that will define their season – and likely the future of manager Bob Bradley. The midfielder has admitted the performance in the 5-0 hammering at Tottenham on Saturday was unacceptable.

As the end of a mixed year for Welsh rugby comes close, former Sport Wales chief executive Huw Jones argues Welsh rugby’s culture and internal workings still need to change if success is to be achieved in 2017. Following the summer tour to New Zealand, my old friend Gareth Davies was asked what he’d learned from the trip. The headline in WalesOnline read ‘Everyone has a pop at everybody else… WRU boss Gareth Davies slams lack of alignment in Welsh rugby’. Putting aside the emotive headline, his response was very illuminating:

Newport County’s Sean Rigg begins a three-match suspension when Stevenage visit in League Two on Tuesday night. Midfielder Rigg was sent off after 23 minutes of the Exiles’ hard-fought goalless draw at Plymouth in the FA Cup on Saturday and the club have not contested the decision.

The Women’s Regional Championship will once again come down to a winner takes all shootout between West Wales rivals Ospreys and Scarlets thanks to the Scarlets securing a seven-try-to-one, 35-5 victory away to the Blues at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday. With both teams entering the encounter with vastly changed teams due to injury and unavailability, the game lacked the fluidity of previous matches in the championship, but this was more than made up for by the aggression and determination of both teams throughout.

Welsh Cycling has launched a Volunteer Network, to harness the passion of sports fans in Wales to get involved in cycling. From helping out at your local club to supporting major events held here in Wales, Welsh Cycling will be able to provide opportunities for all to support our sport.

Chris Coleman has lost one of his close allies in the Welsh national setup with age-grade chief Geraint Williams leaving the post.

The autumn internationals are over, the Pro12 and European tournaments are back and the focus is once again on the Welsh regions. But Geraint Powell says a weakened and muted Welsh media rarely examine the fundamental issues that undermine those regions. The failings of the Welsh rugby media were always going to be difficult essays, of which this will be one of several between now and the end of the season, for how can so much have gone wrong within the Welsh national rugby pyramid since 1990 if there was any meaningful form of fit for purpose independent Welsh rugby media robustly scrutinising, analysing, criticising, challenging and holding all actions/omissions up to account and to close public scrutiny?

Merthyr Town suffered in Cambridge against a revitalised home team on Saturday – going down to a 1-0 defeat. The appointment of Robbie Nightingale, a former club mascot, player and captain, less than a week ago gave the struggling EvoStik Southern League club a massive boost.