Cardiff Demons take on London Broncos this Saturday in Aldershot (kick-off 3pm) as they look to make history by reaching the inaugural Women’s Super League South Final.

Alun Wyn Jones battled with his emotions after his British and Irish Lions were dramatically beaten 19-16 by South Africa in the deciding Test, with the hosts clinching the series 2-1. “Obviously we are hugely disappointed with the result but I think the endeavour and the turnaround was there from last week,” said Jones. “We were in it until the death. I’m very proud of the bunch, very conscious of what we represent but hugely disappointed. We wanted to come out for the second half with more of the same.

Alun Wyn Jones insists the British and Irish Lions must not allow petty scuffles and poor discipline to further derail hopes of tour success in South Africa. The Springboks set up Saturday evening’s crunch, winner-takes-all clash in Cape Town by grinding the Lions into submission during last weekend’s fragmented second Test. Incessant stoppages aided the world champions after their preparations were affected by an outbreak of coronavirus, while preventing the tourists from injecting any pace into a forgettable contest.

By Paul Jones South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber believes recent World Cup glory could give his players the edge during Saturday’s mouth-watering series decider against the British and Irish Lions.  The Springboks go into the winner-takes-all contest in the ascendency after leaving proceedings tantalisingly poised thanks to last weekend’s resounding 27-9 success.  Lions boss Warren Gatland suggested the hosts spent considerable emotional energy in levelling the series and has responded to his own side’s shortcomings by making six changes for this weekend’s crunch clash in Cape Town. 

Warren Gatland has urged South Africa to get on with it in the decisive third Test on Saturday which will feature seven Welshman bidding for a place in folklore. The Lions coach wants the Springboks to stop time-wasting – or for the officials to clamp down on attempts to stop the clock – after last week’s endless stoppages produced a two-hour long contest. “We definitely want to play more rugby and we just didn’t get that opportunity in the second half,” Gatland said, whose tourists are looking to clinch a series win in South Africa for only the third time in over 100 years.

By Tom Prosser Dai Young is determined to lead Cardiff Rugby into a successful but sustainable new era which includes a rebrand off the field and a focus of long-term success on the field. After making well over 100 appearances for the club as a player and a previous eight year stint as director of rugby, there are very few people around who would be in a better position to lead the Blue and Blacks into a new chapter than Young.

The Scarlets are set to bring Corey Baldwin back to Welsh rugby with the former Wales U20 star returning to Llanelli from Exeter Chiefs. Baldwin left the Scarlets for the Gallagher Premiership last season but the centre struggled for consistent game time at Sandy Park due to the strength of the Exeter squad. Before leaving the Scarlets the Llandeilo product was seen as one of the most promising prospects in the Welsh game, with Wales coach Wayne Pivac a big admirer.

Warren Gatland has told his British and Irish Lions to prepare for a “cup final” after their 27-9 defeat by South Africa in the second Test set up a series decider next Saturday. The Lions entered half-time at Cape Town Stadium 9-6 ahead through three Dan Biggar penalties but the match then turned on its head, with the world champions taking control up-front and in the air. Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am crossed in the third quarter while the boot of Handre Pollard did the rest, setting up a winner-takes-all scenario in the climax to the tour next week.

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.