Aneurin Donald may have become a Glamorgan record breaker, but that has done little to lift the mood of head coach Robert Croft after another crushing defeat. Donald, 19, became the youngest Glamorgan batsman to reach 1,000 first-class runs in a season on Thursday before his county succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat at home to Gloucestershire.

Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson believes he finally has the kinds of headaches he always wanted. A year ago – not long after succeeding Mark Hammett – Wilson was often left with brain pain over how to shuffle his meagre resources.

Rob Davies has admitted nerves almost ended his Paralympic dream in round one in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. The world number one from Abergavenny beat Switzerland’s Sylvio Keller in his first round qualifier in the men’s singles class 1 table tennis.

Borja Baston is still not ready to make his Swansea City debut – and manager Francesco Guidolin has voiced doubts the record signing can be paired with fellow Spaniard Fernando Llorente. Baston, the club’s £15.5m signing from Athletico Madrid, has been unable to figure for his new club yet because of a thigh injury.

Lions coach Warren Gatland believes Irish players will have an advantage over Welsh ones when it comes to making an impression this season. Wales do not play New Zealand this autumn, but Ireland are due to clash with the All Blacks twice in November.

Welsh athletes competing at the Paralympics have already exceeded expectations, according to Jon Morgan, executive director of Disability Sport Wales. Twenty-six Welsh athletes have been selected as part of the 264 making up the Great Britain Paralympics GB squad for the Games which start on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.

Rob Howley is set to be confirmed as Wales’ interim head coach while Warren Gatland is away with the Lions. The Welsh Rugby Union intend to repeat the process they went through four years ago when Howley stepped up from assistant to steer Wales to a Six Nations title, but without his boss on his shoulder.

It’s always unpredictable, that first drink sipped by a hungover vessel. Last night, however, the Brains in Cardiff went down rather comfortably after the summer of Beaujolais. Wales delivered a sobering 4-0 win to kick-off their qualifying campaign for the 2018 Russian World Cup. Despite huge turnstile queues, some fans did manage to make it in before the start. Their reward, though, was to be subjected to a damp squib in the opening 30 minutes. In fact, the crowd’s loudest moments in the opening half hour were as a result of a few robust challenges from the visitors and when singing James Chester’s name to the tune of Ghostbusters. The Barry Horns were in fine form throughout the game.

Lee Byrne’s appointment at the South Wales Ironmen represents another attempt by rugby league to gain a foothold in the country. The former Wales full-back – who dabbled in rugby league as a youngster – will be named as the rebranded Ironmen’s new director of rugby on Tuesday.

Gareth Bale is poised to soon become Wales’ greatest goalscorer – but that is not what impresses Chris Coleman most about his country’s talisman. Coleman watched Bale score twice in Monday night’s 4-0 win over Moldova that gave Wales a rock solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Jazz Carlin has set her sights on the next Commonwealth Games, but intends to bask in her Olympic glow for a few weeks yet. The double swimming silver medallist from Rio is out of the pool at present and will allow herself more time to savour her achievements – and the affection they earned – before turning to the road to the Gold Coast in 2018.

Ashley Williams believes Ronald Koeman can propel him into a new phase of his career – for both club and country. The Wales captain will lead his side out against Moldova at Cardiff City Stadium on Monday night for their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier, just eight weeks after leaving the field against Portugal in the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Gareth Bale should be an inspiration to every footballer in Britain, according to the national manager still counting his blessings. Wales boss Chris Coleman is not afraid to admit he is a lucky man in having the Real Madrid superstar in his ranks as he starts out towards the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Nick Williams can provide the power to light up the Arms Park this season, according to his Cardiff Blues coach Danny Wilson. Williams, signed from Ulster in the summer, provided the energy supplies for the Blues and one of their four tries as they hammered Edinburgh 34-16 in their opening Guinness Pro12 fixture.

Rhys Healey aims to show Paul Trollope that Cardiff City need him by scoring goals at Newport County. The young striker plays his first match for County on Saturday at home to Barnet in League Two.

Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Biggar will continue to sit things out when the Ospreys take on Guinness Pro 12 champions Connacht next week. The Wales pair – both on WRU dual contracts – missed the Ospreys’ comfortable 59-5 victory over Zebre on Friday night.

Jake Ball has lost over a stone in bulk in order to try and keep pace with the All Blacks and says his “gym monkey” days are over. The Wales second row – who plays in the game of the weekend as the Scarlets host Munster on Saturday in the opening round of the Guinness Pro12 – has dropped 8kg of muscle for a more streamlined build.

Cardiff Blues Last season: 7th Best finish: 2nd (2006/07 & 2007/08) Ins: George Earle (Scarlets), Rhys Gill (Saracens), Willis Halaholo (Hurricanes), Matthew Morgan (Bristol), Kirby Myhill (Scarlets), Nick Williams (Ulster), Rhun Williams (RGC

Justin Tipuric will gain his first taste of competitive rugby since this year’s Six Nations when he returns to start in the Ospreys’ No.7 jersey on Friday night. The Wales flanker suffered concussion playing against Italy in March which ruled him out of the tour to New Zealand.

Jade Jones insists she will not suffer any post Olympic blues after her Rio success unlike following London four years earlier. The Flint fighter became the youngest Brit to defend a Games gold when she retained her Taekwondo -57kg title in Brazil.