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Ioan Cunningam is choosing to look on the bright side even though his Wales women’s team have dropped to 10th in the latest World Rugby rankings after losing 40-14 to Scotland last weekend. That makes Wales the lowest ranked team in the Six Nations, with both Ireland and Italy having moved above them.

Craig Bellamy expressed pride over Wales’ win in Montenegro after facing what he said were the toughest conditions in his career. Torrential rain in Niksic saw the City Stadium pitch cut up from the early stages, with players regularly losing their footing and the ball skidding everywhere on the sodden surface.

Stevie Williams says he could not be prouder after becoming the first Welshman to win the Tour of Britain. The Welsh rider Williams, 28, who won stages two and three, secured victory in 21 hours 25 minutes 14 seconds, with fellow Briton Oscar Onley 16 seconds behind him in second place.

Craig Bellamy has paid tribute to the legacy left by Gary Speed by declaring that Welsh football will always carry his identity. Speed, who played alongside Bellamy for Newcastle and Wales and also coached him at international level, took his own life in November 2011 at the age of 42.

Aled Davies has admitted he is finding it hard to offer an explanation for his failure to win a fourth Paralympic gold medal. Wales’ greatest current Paralympian was unable to follow up his titles of the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games and had to settle for shot put silver in Paris on a final weekend where Laura Sugar took gold in para canoeing and Phil Pratt earned a silver in wheelchair basketball.

Toby Booth has insisted the Ospreys’ shock announcement that he is to stand down at the end of the 2024-25 season is the right decision. The Swansea-based region have said that former Bath and London Irish coach Booth, who masterminded progression to the United Rugby Championship play-offs and EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals last term, will be succeeded by former Wales wing Mark Jones. Jones will step up from his current position as Ospreys defence coach, with Justin Tipuric replacing Jones in that job.

Phil Parkinson has insisted it is early days, but there is no denying his Wrexham team have quickly regained the Hollywood-fuelled momentum that carried them to back-to-back promotions. The Wrexham manager smiled broadly, but made calming gestures with his hands after his team moved three points clear at the top of League One, with an emphatic 3-0 derby victory over Shrewsbury at The Racecourse Ground. Parkinson’s side were told by many pundits to temper their expectations in the third tier, given that bigger clubs with larger budgets would be muscling their way to the top.

Rob Davies was overjoyed to be back on the Paralympic podium after winning silver at Paris 2024, eight years after his first medal. The table tennis player last competed at a Paralympic Games in Rio and won men's singles class one gold but was unable to defend his title at Tokyo 2020 after he was side-lined with a shoulder injury.

Wales began the Craig Bellamy era with a 0-0 Nations League draw against 10-man Turkey in Cardiff. New boss Bellamy did not get the victory he would have craved at kick-off but it was a positive performance from Wales against opponents who reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 this summer.

Welsh rugby is back. It may not be a big fanfare opening as the regions and also the clubs involved in the new Super Rygbi Cymru are still in their summer slumber, but the third tier of the sport awakens this weekend.