Clara Evans Is Wales’ New Marathon Maestro
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
ATHLETICS
Clara Evans has become Wales’ fastest female marathon runner of all time after smashing the Welsh record for the distance.
The Wales Commonwealth Games star set a new Welsh record of two hours, 25 minutes and four seconds at the Valencia Marathon on Sunday.
Evans, 30, – a member of Pontypridd Roadents club – broke the previous best of two hours, 26 minutes and 14 seconds set by Natasha Cockram last year by one minute and 10 seconds.
The run, which is under the Olympic qualifying standard, was more than four minutes quicker than Evans’ previous best mark, which was set earlier this year.
It also places her seventh on the UK all-time rankings – an impressive rise from a runner who has steadily improved from a decent club runner to the current best female marathon runner in the UK.
Evans finished ninth in the marathon at last year’s Commonwealth Games in a time of 2:38.03.
Her time in Spain was a massive 13 minutes better than her run in Birmingham only 16 months ago.
Ethiopia completed a podium sweep in the women’s race with Worknesh Degefa winning in 2:15:51 to go seventh on the world all-time list.
Degefa dropped Rio 2016 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana in the closing stages and finished some 30 seconds clear of her teammate.
Hiwot Gebrekidan was third, just inside 2:18, with the rest of the field outside 2:20.
TAEKWONDO
Jade Jones suffered a setback in her preparations for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year where she will bid for a third taekwondo gold medal.
Wales hero Jones was beaten by fellow Briton Aaliyah Powell at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Manchester.
Powell managed to beat Jones, for the first time in her career, in a thrilling 2-1 quarter-final in front of their home crowd, before falling to 21-year-old Faith Dillon from the USA in the semifinals.
“Fighting Jade is never easy, but you know we are fighting to go to Paris, fighting to go to the Olympics and it’s good to be at the top level to show what next year can be,” said Powell.
“It’s been a long year for everyone, so it’s great getting a break and some rest. Next year is going to be a big year for everyone, an Olympic year. I am really looking forward and ahead to that.
Jones had previously survived a first-round scare against Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil, before the home audience powered her to a comeback from 1-0 behind.
TABLE TENNIS
Anna Hursey continued her recent good form with a silver medal at the World Youth Table Tennis Championships in Germany.
Welsh Commonwealth games star Hursey earned a runners-up spot in the U19 Girls Doubles with partner Annett Kaufmann.
They reached the final but were defeated by the Chinese pair of Man Kuai and Yi Xu.
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Mark Williams Is Still King In Wales
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
SNOOKER
Mark Williams will spend the weekend battling for a place in the semi-final of the UK Snooker Championship after proving he is still king in Wales.
The three-time world champion from Cwm recovered from 2-0 down against fellow Welshman Jamie Clarke to win 6-4 and set up a meeting with Ding Junhui.
Clarke, who came from 5-1 down in the first round to beat Kyren Wilson, made a break of 128 in the second frame as he raced into a 2-0 lead.
But Williams hit back, bookending a run of five straight frames with a 138 and a 107 to move to within sight of victory at 5-2.
Clarke had his fair share of chances but wasn’t clinical enough in the early part of the match.
He pulled two frames back to close the gap, but it only delayed the inevitable, as Williams ran out a 6-4 winner, clinching it in style with a century.
TABLE TENNIS
Anna Hursey will spend this weekend playing league table tennis in Germany but has set her sights on a place in the Great Britain team for the Paris Olympics after breaking into the world’s top 100 women players.
The latest World Table Tennis (WTT) rankings show Hursey placed at No.93, making the 17-year-old from Cardiff Britain’s highest-ranked player.
That status in itself will not be enough to guarantee Hursey Olympic selection, but if she makes it into the world’s top 80 by June of next year, she is likely to earn a place in the opening round draw in Paris.
“The last few tournaments I’ve played in, I’ve felt as though I’ve been making big improvements and that has got me into the top 100,” said Hursey, a bronze medalist for Wales, along with Charlotte Carey, in the women’s doubles at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Now, my coaches are looking at the possibility of me, maybe, qualifying for the Olympics.
“It’s hard to get there and you have to be a little bit higher than I am at the moment, but it’s definitely possible.
“There will be around 80 places available through the world rankings, which gives me quite a few more tournaments to play in before June.
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Mighty Mason Has Cardiff Waking From Their Slumber
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
Something is stirring down at the Arms Park and Cardiff wing Mason Grady has been a big part of the fresh signs of life.
It’s not quite a giant re-awakening moment yet, but home victories over the Bulls and the Stormers – with a draw in Italy against Zebre sandwiched in between – suggest Cardiff are shaking off a sluggish start to the campaign.
They can give further indication of that on Saturday if they beat the Scarlets in the capital in another Welsh derby fixture in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Grady has been a powerful presence for Cardiff in those recent wins and showed his finishing skills with a crucial try in his team’s win against the Stormers.
It took his try tally for the season to four and the player who was only picked for one game for Wales at the World Cup and he says: “I feel like I’ve got my mojo back a bit at the moment.
“I was probably a little bit frustrated game-time wise in the World Cup and before the tournament, but that’s just the way things go.
“I was learning off the more senior boys and I watched quite a lot of rugby during the World Cup which has helped with my knowledge.
“I just bided my time and it motivated me to start well this season and it’s going well so far.”
Now, he will be looking for another impactful performance against the Scarlets at the Arms Park on Saturday afternoon as Cardiff look to make amends for their 31-25 defeat down in Llanelli earlier this month.
“We have got a point to prove because they beat us a few weeks ago,” said Grady.
“We are looking forward to it and hopefully the crowd will get behind us again.”
The other two Welsh regions both have difficult-looking away trips on Saturday.
The Dragons are out in South Africa and take on the Lions in Johannesburg, while the Ospreys are in Italy to face Benetton, who are currently sixth in the URC table – three places above the Ospreys who are Wales’ highest-placed team.
The Dragons have found it a bruising experience so far in South Africa, but they have been boosted by the return to fitness of Will Reed, who will start at No.10.
That’s a significant plus point as the remainder of coach Dai Flanagan’s options for the key playmaker role are all currently injured.
Wales back row forward Aaron Wainwright admitted there have been some “honest conversations” after the Dragons’ heavy defeat to the Sharks in Durban last week.
“We probably weren’t at the races,” said Wainwright.
“They (South African teams) want a set piece battle and to take you on up front. When they get a bit of momentum it’s so hard to stop.
“We need to take the physical challenge to them and discipline will also be a massive factor – compare the Ospreys win to the Sharks game and there was a big difference.”
The Ospreys will give 20-year-old outside-half Dan Edwards his first start for the region out in Treviso.
A week after beating the Scarlets 31-9, the Ospreys have made wholesale changes and include none of their Wales’ World Cup contingent.
Ospreys backs coach Richard Fussell said: “Benetton are a good side at the minute, they’re sitting in sixth in the league and they’ve only lost one game so far this season.
“They’re a big, strong outfit that will be hard to break down. We know the task, but it’s about continuing on from our performance last week.”
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Look Who’s Back? Cookie’s Back!
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
The weekend football action starts on Friday night and look who’s back!
Chris Coleman hasn’t been seen on the Wales scene since 2017, but the man who took the country on a Euro ride of a lifetime in 2016 has been lending his expertise to Gemma Grainger and her attempt to avoid relegation for Wales from the Women’s Nations League.
Wales need to win by a two-goal margin against Iceland at the Cardiff City Stadium to stay in League A, as well as boost their Euro 2025 qualifying hope.
Coleman offered his insight to Grainger during a Zoom call on Wednesday.
“One of the things we have done in terms of the mindset and mentality is being fortunate enough to spend some time with Chris Coleman,” said Grainger.
“We spoke to Chris around some of the work he did with the men’s team because that journey is so similar to us.
“We are two years into a journey that was similar to the one Chris had with our men’s team. It was great for him to speak to the girls about that.
“It was interesting to hear him talk about when the team suffered and what that allowed them to do in terms of ‘Together Stronger’ (the national team’s motto) – the real togetherness of the team and what it takes.
“He talked about the criticism that team had, and to me that’s a natural part of when a team is successful.”
Criticism is something Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut fired in the direction of striker Callum Robinson earlier in the season.
The Republic of Ireland striker was not working hard enough on the field in defensive situations, according to Bulut, who left him out of the starting line-up.
But Robinson has responded, and is likely to lead the line-up for the Bluebirds on Saturday away at Southampton.
“I am always humble enough to take it,” said Robinson who helped his team climb into the play-off positions before recent back-to-back home defeats saw them fall back to ninth.
“He is the manager, I am the player and I always have to take on board what the manager is saying. It was tough because I was trying to get back to fitness and trying to get back on board with what the manager was saying.
“Fitness-wise I wasn’t 100% and the only way I could get there was to start games and [for] the manager to play me.
“He put me in to start against Huddersfield and that night went well (Cardiff won 4-0 in October).
“So it was a lot of things. He knows what I can bring to the team. It was just a bit about being fully fit and, before that, the lads were doing great. Thankfully I am through that now and the smile is back on my face.”
Southampton earned a 1-0 victory over Bristol City on Wednesday which extended their unbeaten Championship run to 10 matches, while Cardiff were losing 1-0 at home to West Brom.
Saints’ former Swansea City head coach Russell Martin believes his team – who sit fourth in the table – are finding consistency.
“It can’t just be lucky for 10 games,” said Martin.
His old club, Swansea, could do with some luck as they take on Huddersfield at home on Saturday, following a run of just one win in seven matches.
Admittedly, those games have included opponents at or near the top of the table – Leicester, Ipswich Town and Leeds United – but the fact is the Swans are only seven points clear of the relegation zone and another failure will raise concerns among fans as we head towards the busy period of Christmas fixtures.
Yannick Bolasie is set to make his home debut after the former Everton and Crystal Palace winger made his first appearance off the bench in midweek at Elland Road.
The 34-year-old signed for the Swans on a short-term deal earlier this week and says: “I am looking forward to Saturday, for any team these home games are important.
“My memories from when I have played at the stadium before have been of the atmosphere being electric.
“This time I’ll have all the fans behind me in a Swansea shirt. I’ve had some really good games there and I hope I can do the same again.”
It’s FA Cup round two on Saturday for both Newport County and Wrexham and a week off from League Two duties.
Newport host Barnet – currently third in the National League – while National League South leaders Yeovil Town take on Wrexham at The Racecourse on Sunday.
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A Champion In The Making With Only Winning On His Mind
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
December often means a change in diet for many people, but not for Sean Bowen.
Wales’ leading jockey – many lengths ahead of his challengers as he gallops towards the title of Champion Jump Jockey – rises at 5.30am most days and is riding out before breakfast.
“Afterwards, I’ll sit down and have my usual berries and yoghurt with maybe a bit of honey on top.”
Enquiries about whether that is taken with a healthy dollop of porridge are met with a smile.
“No, no. Just the yoghurt and the berries,” he says. “I may have a little bit of porridge once in a while in mid-winter, as a treat.”
So, that’s breakfast sorted. What about lunch? Does he then eat a decent lunch before he spends four hours riding at a meeting?
“No. I would maybe nibble away at a bit of chicken or a bit of fruit, just to keep me going. Then, I’d eat a proper meal when I’m home.”
Bowen is sitting in a room at Chepstow Racecourse, venue for the annual Welsh Grand National on December 27, the biggest horse race of the year in Wales and a gathering point for most loyal fans of the sport, however occasional.
It’s a race that the 26-year-old is keen to win, but then he’s keen to win every race – whether it’s the Welsh Grand National, the “other” Grand National or the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The race he really wants to finish first in, though, more than glory at Chepstow, Aintree or Cheltenham, is the Jump Jockey’s Championship – the Golden Boot of the racing world, where instead of measuring goals, it’s the number of times a jockey can ride a winner.
It’s what all those tiny breakfasts and slivers of chicken for lunch are about, maintaining his weight somewhere around the jump jockey minimum of 10st 2lbs.
If you were told Bowen was one of Wales’ leading athletes but didn’t know his sport, you might guess by his build he was a scrum-half in the Gareth Davies mould, or maybe a low-centre-of-gravity wide man in football, like a Dan James.
Like Davies and James, when the rider from Pembrokeshire is not on a horse, he’s most likely in the gym, grinding it out on a Wattbike or bench-pressing weights.
“Most jockeys are naturally fit through racing, but I like to top it up in the gym and I also have a personal trainer.
“Before I race at a meeting, I’ll go for a run around the course to warm-up, but I wouldn’t say I’m a particularly good runner. Alan Johns is a very good runner, but the best in the weighing room is Conor Ring. He’s incredible.”
Bowen says his personal trainer has also worked with both footballers and rugby players and says the professional’s verdict is that jockeys’ overall fitness compares with both.
“He says there are certain things where we wouldn’t score anywhere near the rugby players or the footballers, but there are other aspects of fitness where they wouldn’t get anywhere near us.
“Footballers need sharp, sprinting speed, which is less important for us. It’s different disciplines, so different aspects of fitness are needed.”
Horses for courses, then. The footballer comparison is relevant since Bowen’s first love growing up with his younger brother James – also a professional jockey – was football.
“Until I was about 10 years old, all I wanted to do was play football. I was Chelsea-mad and my sporting hero then was Frank Lampard.
“I was about 12 when James started riding a pony and I thought I’d better try it, too, because he was younger than me.
“It wasn’t long before I really got into it, and then from ages 12, 13, 14, it was pretty much all I wanted to do every day – all day, until it got dark.”
The football bug left him, although he says it’s returned as a fan in recent years and anyone who witnessed his interview with Sky Sports earlier this year could not have failed to smile at his Premier League reference.
Asked if he was going to stay ahead of his nearest rival – Brian Hughes – and win the title, or crumble under the pressure of front-running, Bowen replied that he needed to be champion otherwise, “I’ll be known as the Arsenal of the weighing room!”
Spoken like a true Chelsea fan.
It helped as a kid that the Bowen boys – Sean is the middle brother of three – had parents, Peter and Karen, who were both racehorse trainers. A bit like Erling Haaland is the son of Alfie Haaland, a former professional footballer at Leeds United.
But here’s the difference between Haaland’s pursuit of the Golden Boot award for top scorer in the Premier League and Bowen’s mission to be champion jockey.
Haaland’s main focus is to enable Manchester City to become European and domestic champions again. The Golden Boot is a nice side-effect.
Bowen is obsessively – perhaps ruthlessly – chasing as many winners as he can get to be champion, almost regardless of where they may be found – from Ayr to Exeter, from Ffos Las to Doncaster.
It means the big races are not his priority. As he openly admits, if there are more winners to be had at the smaller race days that clash with the big ones, he will point his car in the direction of the lesser lights.
“At this moment, I would take being Champion Jockey over riding the winner at Aintree or Cheltenham.
“In an ideal world I’d win a Grand National and a Gold Cup, and also be Champion Jockey, but you can’t have everything.
“For this year, it’s all about the numbers. If I had a big race to ride at the Cheltenham Festival, but three half-decent rides at Sedgefield, then normally you’d go to Cheltenham.
“But this year, I’d go to Sedgefield because I’m chasing the winners.”
That’s like Haaland not playing for Manchester City against Real Madrid in a Champions League semi-final, because he fancied scoring six goals against Newport County in the FA Cup, instead.
One race Bowen will be desperate not to swerve, however, is the Coral Welsh Grand National – a race brother James already holds one over on him as the younger Bowen was the winning jockey in 2017 on Raz De Maree.
“The Welsh Grand National is our biggest race day in Wales, and it’s one now targeted by all the major trainers like Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson.
“They all want a piece of it and a lot of Irish trainers come over to run their horses in it, as well.
“It’s great for Wales that we have such a prestigious race at Chepstow and it’s become one in the calendar that everyone wants to win.”
If Bowen does win as part of a Champion Jockey season, then don’t expect it to go to his head.
The fame and fortune for being a champion in horse racing are still some way behind football.
“I want racing to continue growing as a sport and it has grown hugely in Wales in recent times.
“But we haven’t had many superstar jockeys in the sport, apart from Frankie Dettori and AP McCoy.
“Not many people stop me when I walk down the street or put petrol in my car. I won’t be entering the jungle any time soon.”
The Coral Welsh Grand National takes place at Chepstow Racecourse on December 27.
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Joe Cordina- Exclusive Columnist
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
Depending on when you read this column, I’ll either be about to duck under the ropes to defend my IBF super-featherweight world title against Edward Vazquez, or I’ll have already beaten him.
The other alternative isn’t worth thinking about.
It’s been a hard few weeks getting ready for that fight in Monte Carlo on November 4. Exhausting and draining, but necessary.
I never really understand those fighters who say they enjoy pre-fight training camps.
For me, it’s never enjoyable because I’m away from my partner and three kids and I’ve missed big parts of their life already. What’s to enjoy about that?
I train two and sometimes three times a day, for six days a week, with Sunday all about rest and recovery because I’m pushing myself to the limit.
It’s all about sparring, strength and conditioning, doing the runs and getting my stamina levels up to peak performance. Day after day that’s brutal and there aren’t too many laughs.
The motivation is to make sure I win the fight, keep my world title, and then earn bigger contests that are going to be life-changing for me and my family.
My plan is to take a little time off through December and January and then look to fight again in the spring. I need a couple of months to properly re-charge.
The fight I’m really after is to take on WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete in a unification bout. That would, hopefully, be a really popular fight and allow me to make some serious money.
Navarrette is unbeaten and clearly a very talented fighter, but I’d love to get in a ring with him, in front of a huge crowd. Two world champions together, it would be a massive fight.
The other possible fight some people have been talking about is for me to defend against world featherweight champion Leigh Wood.
Leigh is a good fighter, and I obviously watched his win over Josh Washington the other day. Yeah, it was alright.
He rolled back the years a bit, but I wouldn’t say he was unbelievable, and I didn’t see anything there we haven’t seen before. He boxed the same way he always boxes. He bangs away.
But people have to remember that I’ve got a world title at the weight above the one he’s fighting at.
It has to be a credible fight. Leigh’s been struggling to make the weight at featherweight for a while and there’s been talk of him stepping up to super-featherweight.
But I noticed that as soon as my name got mentioned, he changed the subject pretty quickly. He didn’t sound in a hurry to fight me.
There’s been a suggestion that if we did meet, he’d want to fight at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, because he’s a local and a fan of the club.
But, hang on a minute. I’m the guy with the title!
If he wants a shot at my title, then okay I’ll give him a shot. But he’ll have to come to Cardiff.
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Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Jake Heyward Lead Welsh Team
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
ATHLETICS
Four top Welsh athletes will celebrate this weekend after being selected for the UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme.
Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Jake Heyward have received nomination for the Olympic Podium Potential category, whilst Jeremiah Azu and Joe Brier have been nominated for the Olympic Relays Programmes, ahead of next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The Olympic WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery funded initiative which has the purpose to identify, develop and support talented athletes towards medal success at the Olympic Games and other major Championships.
To qualify for the funding, UK Athletics says it “must be confident that any athlete nominated has the realistic potential and demonstrable performance capability and capacity to make the necessary progress to achieve a medal at least in one of the next two Olympic Games”.
RALLYING
Carmarthen will host the start of next month’s Roger Albert Clark Rally, which is the biggest event of its kind in the UK.
Up to 170 rally cars and support crews will assemble in the West Wales market town for the biennial rally, which has attracted competitors from all over the world and headed by international star drivers Kris Meeke, Oliver Solberg and Chris Ingram.
There will be plenty of Welsh crews contesting the event too – including one of the favourites for victory, Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke.
They were battling for the win last time the rally took place in 2021, but retired their North Road Garage Ford Escort RS1800 in Dyfi forest.
“I’m looking forward to starting this year’s Roger Albert Clark Rally in a town that’s very close to my heart, as both my boys were born in Carmarthen,” says Pritchard.
Other top Welsh crews include Lyn Davies/Aled Richards, who are on the cusp on winning the Historic class W9 title in the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship in their Escort Mk2.
GYMNASTICS
Great Britain pair Ruby Evans and Poppy-Grace Stickler will headline for Wales as full men’s and women’s teams compete at next month’s artistic gymnastics Northern European Championships in Sweden.
Wales will include five Commonwealth Games stars after selection was confirmed for Halmstad and this year’s event from November 24 to 26.
GB World Championship duo Evans (Cardiff Olympic/Clwb Cymru) and Stickler (Capital/Clwb Cymru) lead the women’s team, which also includes Mali Morgan (Capital/Clwb Cymru) and Evie Flage-Donovan (Cardiff Central Youth Club/Clwb Cymru), along with twin sisters Abigail Roper and Emily Roper (both Pipers Vale).
Mia Evans (Park Wrekin) and Sofia Micallef (Cardiff Central Youth Club/Clwb Cymru) are named as reserves.
Some of Wales’ big hitters return on the men’s side.
Joe Cemlyn-Jones, Jacob Edwards and Josh Cook are back and are named alongside Theo-Amari Ochana (Heathrow) along with Leeds duo Henry Lewis and Elliot Vernon.
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Wales Teen Nel Metcalfe Set for Huge Black Ferns Test
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
While South Africa battle New Zealand for the World Cup trophy in the men’s game this weekend, Wales Women have an equally sizeable task.
In the early hours of Saturday morning on the other side of the world, Ioan Cunningham’s team also face New Zealand – the Black Ferns – in their second match of the new WXV1 tournament.
Wales lost their opener to Canada and they couldn’t have been given a tougher assignment in game two than a match against the world champions in front of New Zealand’s own fans in Dunedin.
What a match, then, to make a full debut as a teenager – which is exactly what Wales full-back Nel Metcalfe is doing.
As a result of Metcalfe’s first start for her country, Wales’ Olympic star Jasmine Joyce has been switched back to the wing.
Wales head coach Cunningham said: “Nel has impressed everyone since she has been with us and fully deserves this opportunity to show what she can do.
“It has been a remarkable journey for her since she played for Wales U20s, three months ago, in Canada.
“We know we have to tighten up on keeping the ball after the performance against Canada and as we showed in Wellington, when we do that we can score tries and be competitive against any side.”
Closer to home, the four Welsh men’s regions are all in action this weekend – aiming to bounce back after four defeats in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship.
The big domestic clash of the weekend is at Rodney Parade, where the Dragons host Cardiff on Sunday afternoon in what is always a fiercely-contested derby.
It’s a fixture that the Dragons have forgotten how to win. You have to go back to 2014 for the last time the Dragons enjoyed success – a 23-17 victory on Boxing Day.
Since then, Cardiff have won 16 times on the bounce, but Dragons outside-half Angus O’Brien insists the one-way traffic can be redirected this weekend.
“It’s now just about having that killer instinct and capitalising on the opportunities,” said O’Brien after the Dragons lost at home to Edinburgh last week.
“We’re creating them in abundance, we just need to be smart and clinical when those opportunities do arise.”
The Scarlets have another difficult task ahead of them out in South Africa, where they lost heavily last weekend, 63-21 against the Vodacom Bulls.
On Saturday, they face the DHL Stormers in Stellenbosch, a team that has made the last two URC finals.
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel says: “This South African trip was always going to be a tough one. We knew that when the fixture list came out, with these as our first two games.
“We are here without a lot of our senior players and internationals. That’s the reality.
“There is obviously disappointment in the group and a bit of frustration as well. We have to recognise it was a poor loss for us and a heavy loss. But we have to move on and make sure we build as the season goes ahead.”
The Ospreys are at home for the first time this season, aiming to make amends for last week’s defeat at Connacht by overcoming Zebre.
The Swansea-based region will be confident as Zebre have not won a URC match since April 2022.
Jason Strange is loving life at the top of the Indigo Premiership with his Ebbw Vale side, but is still taking nothing for granted ahead of a home clash with Bridgend at Eugene Cross Park.
Last weekend’s win over Neath earned the Steelmen five more priceless points to keep them a point ahead of reigning champions Llandovery. The Drovers host bottom of the table Neath at Church Bank.
“We are going alright, but we’re taking it week by week. We were beaten by Bridgend at the Brewery Field last season and only just won at home,” said Strange.
“I know we’ve got to go to Pontypool for a televised game next week, but we won’t be taking our eye off the ball against Bridgend. We’ll be picking a strong team having made a number of changes for the trip to The Gnoll last week.”
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Liam Cullen Wants To Cap Memorable Week
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
Swansea City striker Liam Cullen picked up a notable cap last week, but now he wants a big scalp to go with it.
Cullen made his full senior Wales debut in the friendly against Gibraltar, a match that served as the warm-up to Wales’ sensational Euro qualifiers victory over Croatia.
Now, it’s back to the day job for Cullen with the Swans and the opportunity to take down Championship leaders Leicester City at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The forward is keen for the club to regather the momentum gained by a draw and four successive victories in their last five matches.
Leicester, however, will provide the sternest test possible as the former Premier League club top the table, having won 10 of their 11 matches played.
“It is still very early on in the season, there is a lot of football still to be played and I think the aim for us now is to become that consistent team by continuing to show what we have shown over these last four or five games,” said Cullen.
“It’s been a real team effort from everyone. It’s not just about the 11 who have started games, but we have had subs coming off the bench, bringing energy and making an impact. You just look at Ollie Cooper in the Plymouth game, everyone is playing their part.
“Hopefully we can keep kicking on, and taking on the league leaders at home is an exciting game to come back to.
Following a draw at Queens Park Rangers, Swansea manager Michael Duff’s side have reeled off wins against Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall, Norwich City and Plymouth Argyle.
That spurt has moved them up to 12th in the Championship table, just three points outside the play-off places.
But Duff has warned his players they are up against what he believes are the best team in the division.
I think they will win the league,” said Duff.
“I think they are better than Burnley last year, which probably tells you everything.
“Teams have gone different ways about trying to beat them and they have worked it out every time because they have got good players. We will have to try and come up with something and impose us on them.”
Higher up the table than the Swans, in eighth place, sit Cardiff City, who are away to Blackburn Rovers.
The Bluebirds, though, were starting to stumble before the break, with only one win in four matches and a defeat at Rovers – plus a surprise win for the Swans – would see the Welsh rivals swap places in the table.
Cardiff manager Erol Bulut issued some home truths earlier in the week, particularly around the defensive work – or lack of it as he saw it – of Callum Robinson and Rubin Colwill.
It was their failure to work hard enough when opponents had the ball, claimed Bulut, that was keeping the pair out of his starting line-up. “Some players like to play with the ball, I appreciate this, but without this they have to work for the team.”
“Both Callum and Rubin are included in this. It’s not enough or what I am expecting from them to be in the starting 11. I cannot play with 10 players. I need 11.”
Blackburn were 4-0 winners at QPR in their last game but had previously lost four league matches in succession.
Newport County manager Graham Coughlan hopes to celebrate a year in charge at Rodney Parade on Friday night, with a victory at home to Walsall.
County have hit a rough patch and are down in 20th place in League Two, a point beneath where they were a year ago when the Irishman took charge.
He said: “I think it’s been one thing after another, which is really difficult. Have I had a clear run at it to make the progress I would have liked? Probably not.
“But I suppose that is what makes the team, the club, the man, that I am – the adversity and the fire fighting. I think I have become a better manager, a better person at dealing with issues and problems.”
At the other end of League Two, fifth-placed Wrexham can climb nearer the top of the table if they can win away at Bradford City.
It’s a return to his former club for Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, who says: “I have got some fantastic memories of being at Bradford.
“They have had a bit of resurgence, but we will go there and give it everything we have got to keep our run going.”
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Glamorgan Give Rookies New Deals
Harry Corish - Sportin Journalist
CRICKET
Glamorgan teenage pair Henry Hurle and Asa Tribe have something to celebrate this weekend – new contracts.
The two 19-year-olds have both earned rookie deals for the next two seasons.
Wicket-keeper batsman Hurle has graduated through the Glamorgan Academy, making his second team debut in 2022.
He appeared for England U19 in their series against Ireland and Australia earlier this year and will spend the winter playing club cricket in Melbourne before linking up with the squad in the new year.
Tribe was a member of the Cardiff UCCE squad in 2023, having grown up in Jersey and made his international debut for them in 2021.
Tribe was awarded the Glamorgan Balconiers Supporters Club 2nd XI Player of the Year award earlier this month after scoring back-to-back centuries and amassing 456 runs over the final four games of the season.
Rookie contracts allow players to mix education and further development opportunities with taking their first steps into the professional game.
Second XI coach Steve Watkin said: “Both Henry and Asa have shown their skills across the season, and we’re delighted to be offering them their first contracts with the club.
“They’re both exciting talents and we’re looking forward to welcoming them into the professional environment as they continue their development.”
NETBALL
Lucie Leonard will captain Anglesey (Ynys Mon) in a prestigious new netball tournament.
The 21 year-old will lead the team against five other regions at the inaugural Invitational Island Games, to be hosted by the National Sports Centre, Isle of Man, from November 6-11.
Leonard, from Brynsiencyn, has the support of students and staff at St Gerard’s School in Bangor, where she was a pupil from the age of four to 18 years old.
The school sponsored her participation in the unique event, which will also be contested by Guernsey, Jersey, Orkney, Shetland, and the Isle of Man.
Currently studying for a Masters’ degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University, she is confident the competition will be a big success and netball will eventually become part of the International Island Games.
“This is a pilot event with six islands taking part, so we are really proud to be a part of it,” said Leonard.
“Netball as a sport is growing all the time so it would be great to see it develop as part of the Island Games, and for more and more people to start playing it.”
Leonard, who is captain of the netball team at Loughborough for the second successive season and a student ambassador, was a competitive swimmer before being struck by a serious shoulder injury. She recovered and switched to netball and is now set to lead her side at the Island Games!