Dai Sport

Cardiff trio Gareth Thompson, Callum Bradbury and Terri Gee are all leaving the Arms Park to join former Premiership champions Merthyr - as confusion over any re-start throws clubs’ planning into chaos. The three players have made their exit following uncertainty over how Cardiff will fit into any overall structure once rugby resumes. “It’s always a shame to see players moving on, but with so much uncertainty surrounding when the Premiership will be able to get back to playing, and what the Blues, who hold our licence, want to use the team for, you can’t blame anyone,” said Cardiff RFC chairman, Chris Norman.

Steve Cooper has admitted his Swansea City teams are now relying on “sneaking” into the Championship play-offs through the stumbles of others. The Swans head coach admitted deep frustration at his team’s failure to win at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night after they twice led before being forced to settle for a 2-2 draw. The point leaves Cooper’s side in eighth place, three points behind Cardiff City, with just two games remaining.

Zak Jones is ending his highly-successful 12-year reign as Wales head coach to join Great Britain's coaching set-up. Jones has been appointed Men's Assistant Coach having worked with the team and the Elite Development Squad in recent internationals. During his time with Wales, Jones has taken the men's squad from 36th to 18th in the FIH world rankings and lead them in retaining their top tier EuroHockey Championship status for the first time in two decades.

Swansea City may have to put their faith in the hands of back-up goalkeeper Erwin Mulder to keep their promotion hopes alive. Mulder – who has not started a game for the club for 16 months – is on stand-by to come in to the side at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night for a match the club cannot afford to lose if they are to hold realistic hopes of making the play-offs. The Swans have a fitness doubt over Freddie Woodman, who was forced off late on in the defeat to Leeds United last Sunday with a hip injury.

Basketball enjoyed global boom time at the start of the pandemic, but it had nothing to do with live matches on court. Instead, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls went into living rooms around the world via the TV documentary series, The Last Dance. For current players – like Wales and Great Britain international Emily Stradling - time has stood still as she tells Graham Thomas. Emily Stradling should have spent June in Georgia, USA – preparing to further enhance her reputation as the best female basketball player Wales has exported across the Atlantic. Instead, the student of Mercer University in the town of Macon is back at home in Porthcawl, wondering when she will next pull on the distinctive orange vest of her team, the Bears.

Neil Harris has revealed his team had worked on a plan to expose Wayne Rooney which paved the way for their final victory over Derby County on Tuesday night. Lee Tomlin hugely improved Cardiff's chances of making the play-offs – and almost certainly ended Derby’s – with a goal that Rooney will be keen to forget. Tomlin scored a second-half winner after he stole the ball off the slowing former England captain, who will be 35 in October.

Cardiff Met is a regular supplier of talent to the top leagues in Wales and England, but director of rugby Danny Milton is now seeing his graduates spread their wings further afield. Alex Cuthbert and Ken Owens both played for Wales and the British & Irish Lions after leaving Cyncoed and, more recently, Alex Dombrandt and Luke Northmore moved seamlessly into the Harlequins Premiership squad after completing their studies. But the Class of 2020 are heading as far as Portugal and Hong Kong to continue their playing careers, while two more are joining Jac Arthur at English Premiership club Ampthill.

Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has claimed Leeds United’s win at Swansea City was the perfect birthday present. Now he wants the Bluebirds to continue his celebrations against Derby on Tuesday night. Play-off-chasing Cardiff saw their bitter rivals Swansea lose ground on the top six after a last-gasp defeat to leaders Leeds on Sunday – the day gaffer Harris turned 43.

Glamorgan captain Chris Cooke has insisted he doesn’t care what format of cricket he plays over the next few weeks, so long as he can swing a bat. The county’s skipper has joined with the rest of the squad in resuming training this week as they prepare for the much delayed start of the season. Plans have been put in place for the county game to resume on August 1, although there has been disagreement and fierce debate about what type of cricket should take priority.

The New Saints look set to persist with their legal challenge to the Football Association of Wales despite their original appeal being rejected by the High Court. Saints - who were challenging the FAW's use of an unweighted points-per-game format to determine the Cymru Premier season – have confirmed they are now considering an appeal, which would add to the steep costs they have already committed to their cause, but underlines the determination of chairman Mike Harris. The club missed out on the league title to rivals Connah’s Quay by virtue of that decision after the season had been curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.