Hello……and welcome to Dai Sport’s live blog as Dolgellau’s Elfyn Evans resumes his bid to become the first Welsh driver to be crowned FIA World Rally Champion.

Good morning…..and welcome to Dai Sport’s live blog as Elfyn Evans bids to become the first Welsh driver to be crowned World Rally Champion. The 31-year-old is lying fourth after Thursday’s opening special stage of Rally Monza on Thursday.

Zoe Backstedt’s chances of claiming another UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup victory this month have been dashed by COVID-19 regulations. Cycling’s governing body has cancelled the junior women’s races that were scheduled to take place victory in Belgium, in Namur on 20 December and Dendermonde on 27 December.

Elfyn Evans admitted he took it steady as he got his bid to be crowned World Rally Champion underway in Monza. Having had a spin in the pre-event shakedown earlier in the morning, the title pacesetter took a cautious approach on SS1 in Monza’s F1 circuit.

Former Wales striker Nathan Blake has told sports in Wales to stop talking and start doing something about their lack of diversity. His call comes after an ITV Wales investigation revealed levels of diversity that were described as “shocking” and “shameful” by Race Council Cymru. A survey conducted showed there are only 19 people from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background out of 765 employees across some of Wales’ biggest sports governing bodies.

Gerwyn Price could face an all Wales clash when he begins his bid for the William Hill World Darts Championship later this month. The No 3 seed has been drawn against either countryman Jamie Lewis or Luke Woodhouse in the second round.

Golfers around Wales will be able to enjoy the first Club Finals Weekend next year, with several of the traditional tournaments being wrapped into one event. The COVID-19 pandemic meant those events were cancelled in 2020, but also saw lessons learned which have contributed to planning ahead for their hopeful return in 2021.

Elfyn Evans discovered just how treacherous this weekend’s World Rally Championship title decider could be as he spun on the pre-event shakedown in Monza. The title pacesetter was caught-out at one of the chicanes in the snowy and slippery conditions on the F1 circuit.

Elfyn Evans is on the verge of becoming the first Welshman to win the FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ title, with just the final Rally Monza (3-6 December) between him and glory. And after a remarkable first season with the Toyota team, the 31-year old Dolgellau ace doesn’t need to win the event to secure the title.

George North has been told to answer the big question of what comes next at outside centre for Wales after Jonathan Davies. The man looking for clues is Wales coach Wayne Pivac, who has named North at No.13, rather than on the wing, to face Italy on Saturday. Davies has been injured since the defeat to Ireland three weeks ago and although Pivac said he could have played this weekend, the coach is anxious to examine long term options to replace a player who will be 33 in April.

Steve Cooper admitted Swansea City dropped their standards in defeat at Middlesbrough as they slipped out of the Championship play-off places. The Swans head coach accused his players of falling from the levels that had brought two victories and a draw in their previous three games as they lost 2-1 to Neil Warnock’s side. The defeat – Swansea’s third of the season – dropped the club to seventh in the table, although the positions are so tight they are still only two points off leaders Norwich City, who also lost last night.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has labelled his team’s final match of the Autumn Nations Cup against Italy as an opportunity for new blood and old heads. Pivac has made nine changes to the starting line-up for the match in Llanelli on Saturday. Flanker Justin Tipuric, who missed the 24-13 loss to England last weekend because of a head knock, returns to the back row alongside James Botham and Taulupe Faletau.

The last few weeks have been a time of remembrance for British motorsport. Articles have been written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Scotland’s Colin McRae becoming Britain’s first World Rally Champion.

Steve Cooper insists he respects the staying power of Neil Warnock, but will be looking to outfox the old master when Swansea City visit Middlesbrough tonight. Swansea head coach Cooper already has one victory over Warnock in his locker – the only other time they locked horns in October 2019 when a Ben Wilmot goal was enough to give the Swans a much celebrated victory over Cardiff City. That was the beginning of the end for Warnock at Cardiff, although it was Cooper who had a hand in the 72-year-old’s re-emergence at Boro.

Wales’ world champ Lauren Price will again launch her bid for Olympic glory in London next April. The Boxing Road to Tokyo European Olympic Qualifying event has been rescheduled for April 22-26 at the Copper Box Arena.

Jamie Lewis can end a difficult year on a high after producing a superb display to qualify for the World Championships. The Carmarthen darter took tie out of the PDC Tour this year for personal reasons but has bagged one of the final six spots along with fellow Welshman Nick Kenny.

Gerwyn Price saw his hopes of winning the Ladbrokes Players Championships Finals dashed after a 11-8 semi-final defeat to defending champ Michael van Gerwen. The 35-year-old looked to have a good chance of avenging last year’s defeat in the final to the Dutch darter after taking an 8-6 lead at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

Zoe Backstedt launched her UCI cyclo-cross World Cup season off to a stunning start with victory in the Czech Republic. The 16-year-old from Pontyclun took victory for Britain by 11 seconds in Tabor in the inaugural junior women’s race.

Athletics action may have been at a premium during 2020, but that hasn’t stopped Welsh athletes producing some outstanding performances. In order the celebrate their achievements during this strangest of all years, Welsh Athletics has introduced a new award – performance of the year.

Kasey Palmer finally feels like he’s found home in Swansea Bay – and is keen to make it permanent. The Swansea City striker has been a footballing nomad since his days as a youngster with Chelsea – one of dozens of young players the London club send out across the world every season. The itinerant lifestyle can be a difficult one – especially when there is a young family in tow – but having tasted six weeks as a Swan, Palmer would be happy to make his loan move a permanent one.