Dai Sport

Former world number one judoka Natalie Powell has insisted it was the right time to bring down the curtain on her glittering career. The Welsh star reached the top of the sport and became Great Britain’s first female to lead the rankings, but at 33 she has opted to retire.

Wales will be without injured midfielder Eathan Ampadu for their autumn Nations League matches, but his Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has insisted his knee problem was feared much worse. Ampadu is set to be sidelined for the rest of the year with knee ligament damage.

Brennan Johnson has earned more praise for his goal contribution from Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou. Wales striker Johnson scored for the fourth successive match as Spurs cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Luke Williams has admitted Swansea City were fortunate to cling on for a point as their winning streak stalled at home to Bristol City. The Swans were held to a 1-1 draw as they missed the chance to nudge close to the play-off positions following two previous back-to-back victories in the Championship

Coach Ioan Cunningham has admitted he can offer no excuses for his team’s humbling defeat to Australia which has put Wales on the back foot after just one game of the WXV2 tournament in South Africa. Having been thrashed 37-5 by a team they had beaten eight days earlier, Wales must bid to avoid a second defeat when they face Italy on Friday.

Cardiff City caretaker manager Omer Riza insists he has not given up hope of being given the job permanently despite the worst possible audition. The Bluebirds, who sacked Erol Bulut eight days ago following their worst start to a season in 94 years, are still rock bottom of the Championship table after a 4-1 hammering at Hull City.

Glamorgan coach Grant Bradburn insists the county have enjoyed a successful season, despite their failure to mount a promotion charge from Division Two of the County Championship. Bradburn’s team won their final game of the season against Gloucestershire to finish fifth in the table, but some distance behind the promoted top two. But with Glamorgan having won the One Day Cup, Bradburn believes the 2024 campaign should be viewed in a positive light.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt insists he won’t be getting carried away by his team having opened their United Rugby Championship campaign with back-to-back bonus point victories. They followed up the round one maximum against Zebre by coming from behind to claim another as they won 24-15 away to the Scarlets in Saturday’s Welsh derby. It has put them level on 10 points with Leinster at the top of the table and set them up nicely for Friday’s big Arms Park clash with champions Glasgow.

Can lightning strike twice in eight days? Having beaten Australia for the first time at Rodney Parade last weekend, Keira Bevan will lead the Welsh side into battle with the Wallaroos once again in the opening round of the WXV2 in Cape Town.

Dragons coach Dai Flanagan admitted his team were brought back down to earth after their last gasp home win over the Ospreys was followed by a heavy defeat to Leinster in Dublin. Flanagan watched his side go down to a 34-6 loss against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.