Dai Sport

Danny Newcombe has been handed the job of leading Welsh hockey into next year’s European Championships after being named as the new head coach following Zak Jones’ move into the team GB set-up. Hockey Wales have adopted the tried and trusted football ‘boot room’ policy of promoting from within in the wake of Jones’ departure. Newcombe has worked alongside Jones as his assistant for the past two years and has been working within the Welsh hockey coaching network for almost a decade.

Scott Ruscoe will lead The New Saints side into their latest European campaign in three weeks' time, quietly encouraged by his summer transfer activity. With last season's disappointment and off-field wrangling behind them, Ruscoe has been able to focus entirely on preparing his team for what will be his fourth season in charge. His recruitment has seen three senior players come into the fold: in defence, midfield and attack.

Rhondda Netball are calling on supporters to back their bid for a share of £1m as they aim to develop more role models and leaders within their organisation. Having already become a regional winner, the Valleys netball charity – one of the largest female sports participation programmes in Wales – need online votes to win the top cash prizes on offer. Rhondda Netball have already made the shortlist to win a share of Persimmon Homes’ Building Futures £1million pot, supporting under-18s across the UK.

Newport County manager Michael Flynn believes he has taken an important step in rebuilding his squad for the new season, having re-signed defender Scot Bennett. Having already seen Jamille Matt slip through his fingers when the striker moved to League Two rivals Forest Green Rovers, Flynn was determined to secure Bennett as the first keystone to his reconstruction job following the shutdown of last season. There remains a great deal of re-shaping for the County manager to do before the new campaign, but he views the retention of Bennett – who seemed destined to leave after the running down of his previous contract – as crucial to those plans.

Jamie Clarke has confessed he thought he would be going home after round one of the Betfred World Championship. The world No. 89 from Llanelli – the lowest ranking player in the tournament in Sheffield – is instead preparing a second round match on Friday after beating world number four Mark Allen, 10-8. Clarke produced a superb display on Tuesday night but admitted: “I haven’t looked at the draw. I just looked at Mark Allen and thought, I’m going home.

You’ve waited five months for racing to restart, you fly to Italy for the Covid-19 delayed opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and then one of your team-mates crashes the car before you get the chance to drive it. The situation doesn’t bare thinking about, does it?

The Welsh Assembly Government has today pulled the plug on what was going to be the long awaited return of motor racing at Pembrey Circuit – even though this weekend’s now postponed BTRDA Rallycross Championship event was going to be run behind closed doors.

Multi-talented Lewis Binns believes believes Merthyr Town will flourish in the Southern League Premier Division during the 2020-21 season.  The former Cardiff City and Newport County youth midfielder is among 15 senior players who have committed to the Martyrs and said: “The manager has signed a few young players who have been at professional clubs and they will be quick and technically extremely good.  “We’ll have a good mix of experience and youth and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do and how we can develop as a squad.

New Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has been backed to take them to the top of Welsh rugby again and competing for the Pro 14 title. The commendation has come from the region’s former Wales prop Paul James, who believes Booth is the man to bring the good times back to the Liberty Stadium. The Ospreys currently lay bottom of Conference A of the Guinness Pro 14 and their two remaining matches, when the re-start happens later this month, will not lead to them being involved in the shake-up for the play-offs.

Swansea City are keen to strengthen their squad by signing former Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala from Middlesbrough. The centre-back is a free agent after refusing to sign a short-term extension to his Middlesbrough contract when football returned from the coronavirus shutdown in June. But Swansea head coach Steve Cooper is likely to face competition from a number of clubs – including those in Ayala’s homeland of Spain - for the 29-year-old.