Alun Wyn Jones has refused to get drawn on Rassie Erasmus’ criticism of the refereeing in the first Test and warned the Springboks there is more to come from the Lions. The Lions captain was responding after Rassie Erasmus, the South Africa director of rugby, released an unorthodox 62-minute video on social media in which he criticised the officials following the Springboks’ 22-17 loss in the first Test in Cape Town last Saturday. Erasmus claimed Springboks captain Siya Kolisi did not receive the respect from officials afforded to the Lions skipper and said he was willing to walk away from the remainder of the series if he was out of line.

By Paul Jones British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland, will be keeping his fingers crossed that the in-form Dan Biggar will pass the return-to-play protocols so he can retain his place in the starting line-up for the second test against South Africa on Saturday. The Wales fly-half suffered a knock to the head in the first test last week and will now be assessed by an independent concussion consultant in the coming days in order to be given the green light to return to action. In other Welsh news, Taulupe Faletau is added to the bench and will win his fifth Lions Test cap should he enter the fray.

As the song says, the road is long with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where. Two former Ospreys teammates are at the peak of their respective sports this summer, but no-one could have predicted the road that took them there, as Owen Morgan reports. In May 2014 two promising rugby players from Swansea were amongst seven young hopefuls handed development contracts with the Ospreys. The two 18-year-olds were making their first steps towards their dreams of becoming professional sportsmen and representing their country at the highest international level in their sport. However, just a year later Adam Beard and Harrison Walsh – who had also played together for Swansea schoolboys – were to take very different paths towards their sporting dreams.

Warren Gatland has braced his British and Irish Lions for a backlash from South Africa after the tourists seized a 1-0 lead in the series by winning 22-17 at Cape Town Stadium. The Lions trailed 12-3 at half-time but improved dramatically, with Luke Cowan-Dickie beginning the resurgence by finishing a line-out maul, while the boot of Dan Biggar and Owen Farrell did the rest. South Africa’s coronavirus-disrupted build-up took its toll in the second half, but they only had themselves to blame for the indiscipline that allowed the Lions back in.

Alun Wyn Jones has admitted he thought his Lions tour was over even before the rest of the squad had reached the airport to fly to South Africa. The captain believed his shoulder dislocation suffered in the pre-tour win over Japan had pulled the curtains on his chances of leading his team into the three-Test series. Instead, the 35-year-old Wales second row – who has already made 157 international appearances – will make his 10th Test outing for the British & Irish Lions when he captains the side to face the world champion Springboks at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

The British and Irish Lions have brought forward their team announcement for Saturday’s first Test against South Africa by 24 hours. Warren Gatland will name his starting XV and bench for the Cape Town Stadium showdown on Wednesday morning, with tour captain Alun Wyn Jones expected to lead the side after recovering from a dislocated shoulder. It follows in the footsteps of the Springboks, who also revised their schedule by unveiling their 23 on Tuesday rather than Wednesday.

By Tom Prosser Matthew Screech insists it was a dream come true to finally win his first Wales cap at the Principality Stadium yesterday. The giant second-row has been consistently excellent for the Dragons over the past few seasons with his all action displays catching the eye of Wayne Pivac.

By Tom Prosser Wales lost 33-11 to Argentina as Wayne Pivac’s men suffered a series defeat to the South Americans at a very warm Principality Stadium. After an eventful draw last week, this match was set up perfectly but Wales struggled to get going throughout. Argentina controlled the game through their strong forward play and were guided to victory through the reliable boot of Nicolas Sanchez.

Wales captain Jonathan Davies is keen to get the job done this weekend in their second match in two weeks against Argentina. After a disappointing 20-20 draw seven days ago – a match Wales will feel aggrieved to have not won – Saturday’s fixture in Cardiff is an opportunity for redemption for Wayne Pivac’s men. Wales have fielded a relatively new side with seven changes being made. Most notably, newly capped Tom Rogers returning to the left wing, there is a new set of props in Gareth Thomas and Leon on Brown, as well as the revised half-back pairing of Tomos Williams and Jarrod Evans, who impressed off the bench last weekend.

By Alex Bywater  Gareth Thomas is the next cab off the rank at the Ospreys, but the Wales prop has been patiently queuing for quite some time. Thomas will make his first start for Wales on Saturday at the age of 27 – not exactly ripe or old for a front rower – but certainly an age when some players might question if running out of the tunnel in Test match rugby is ever going to happen. The loose-head will now get that opportunity against Argentina on Saturday at the Principality Stadium, in a match that is live on S4C.

The British and Irish Lions are now just over a week away from the start of their much anticipated test series against current World Champions South Africa. The Welsh contingent all started off at a club near you, as Tom Prosser has been finding out.  Warren Gatland’s men are currently on tour in South Africa with a squad that features many household names from Welsh rugby. But roaring Lions start out as small cubs and it’s always important to acknowledge the role grass roots clubs have played in the careers of stars such as Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit and Ken Owens.

By Fraser Watson To go to one Olympics is a huge achievement but to go to two is phenomenal- This is the case for rugby sevens star Jasmine Joyce who is eager to write the wrongs of her experience in Rio by pushing for gold in Tokyo, as she tells Fraser Watson. Back in April, Jasmine Joyce forced herself to watch a re-run she’d spent nearly five years avoiding. The then 20-year-old had burst onto the scene at the Rio Olympics, famously searing to the try line with her first touch against hosts Brazil, and helping the Team GB Sevens side into an eventual third placed play-off match against Canada. It was that 20 minutes which would taint an otherwise incredible experience.

By Tom Prosser Sam Costelow kicked a match winning 10 points in his 18th and final appearance for Wales U20s as he steered his side to a 32-24 win over Scotland. It meant Wales finished their U20 Six Nations campaign in fourth place in a frantic match which saw the lead change hands seven times and a total of eight tries. This defeat left winless Scotland with the Wooden Spoon.

Warren Gatland has welcomed South Africa elevating their ‘A’ clash into an unofficial fourth Test, but the British and Irish Lions head coach has emphatically ruled out meeting for a second time on Saturday. The Springboks have picked seven starters from the XV that crushed England in the 2019 World Cup final for Wednesday’s fixture in Cape Town, including world player of the year Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Faf De Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe. Following a severe outbreak of coronavirus that has produced 26 positive tests, South Africa were forced to cancel last Friday’s second Test against Georgia and now need to give inactive players some game time, with the series against the Lions just 12 days away.

Ioan Cunningham will be looking to round off Wales’ U20 Six Nations campaign on a high note as they battle to avoid the wooden spoon against Scotland on Tuesday. The championship has not gone Cunningham or Wales’ way and whilst they kicked off their tournament with an impressive win against Italy in round one, they were not able to keep their foot on the gas and lost their following three matches. Scotland’s campaign has also proved a difficult one and they have yet to win any of their matches.

By Paul Jones Seven Welsh players have been included in a strong Lions line-up that appears to resemble a shadow Test side as the tourists prepare to face South Africa A on Wednesday. Lions coach Warren Gatland has included Louis-Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams and Dan Biggar in his back line, with Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Josh […]

Dwayne Peel has revealed how the opportunity to coach the Scarlets was too good to turn down and insists he is confident he can get the west Walians firing again. The former Wales scrum-half was recently appointed head coach of the Scarlets, having originally signed a contract to become backs coach at the Cardiff Blues. Peel’s decision to renege on his contract in the Welsh capital was met with outrage in some quarters, but he insists the opportunity to coach his home club was a chance he had to grab with both hands.

By Tom Prosser Wales and Argentina shared the spoils in an enthralling test match at the Principality Stadium. Wayne Pivac’s men showed plenty of intent throughout but lacked the clinical edge to put away a powerful Pumas outfit.

Jonathan Davies will lead Wales out against Argentina on Saturday in a game that should have been happening in South America, not Cardiff. But there are many who believe Davies is still in the wrong country and that he should be in South Africa, wearing the red of the Lions, not Wales. Harri Morgan says Davies has a chance to reinforce that view against the Pumas. Just shy of four years to the day since what was one of the iconic plays of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, Jonathan Davies set out to reel in an interceptor clad in a black jersey. Again.

Wales continue their summer tour – flipped from Toronto and Buenos Aires to halfway down Westgate Street – on Saturday when they meet Argentina at the Principality Stadium. For scrum-half Kieran Hardy it’s another opportunity to press his claims for one of the most competitive spots on the team, as Graham Thomas reports. Kieran Hardy is determined to run the whole race against Argentina this weekend – after pulling up short on the final bend in the biggest match of his life. The last time Wales fans saw Hardy start a game was when he had to limp away from the action during the late stages of the Six Nations victory over England in February.