Dai Sport

Former Wales captain Lloyd White believes the revamped rugby league structure in Wales can tempt plenty of new players from rugby union. The newly-titled JES Group Rugby League Conference kicks off across Wales this weekend in a major step forward for the 13-man code.

Rey Lee-Lo has been hailed as one of Welsh rugby’s greatest ever overseas imports as he heads into Judgement Day continuing to defy Old Father Time. The Samoan international is coming to the end of his ninth season with Cardiff, having joined from the Hurricanes of New Zealand in 2015.

Former Lions and Wales hooker Richard Hibbard insists the Wales No.2 shirt will be up for grabs when some of the front row contenders battle it out on Judgement Day this weekend. An ankle injury for the Dragons’ Elliot Dee has ruled him out of a direct head-to-head against the Scarlets’ Ryan Elias, but the Ospreys’ Dewi Lake is on the comeback trail and he will face off against Cardiff’s in-form Liam Belcher.

Angharad James will captain Wales against Ukraine in Friday’s Euro 2025 qualifier, but may not get the job on a full-time basis. Wales have been without a permanent skipper since Sophie Ingle stepped down after Rhian Wilkinson’s first game in charge, a 4-0 victory over Croatia in their opening Euro 2025 qualifier last month.

Cardiff Dragons can look forward to being part of a new golden era for UK netball, their chief executive Vicki Sutton has predicted. The bold prophecy came after the only Welsh team in the current Netball Super League were included in the new, slimmed down version of the tournament – for the next decade.

At a time when the judgements on Welsh rugby tend mostly to be harsh ones, it would be easy to dismiss this weekend’s Judgement Day as almost an irrelevance when it comes to the business end of the United Rugby Championship. After all, the Ospreys need a series of unlikely and complicated results on the final weekend in order to sneak into the play-offs.

Rob Page is confident Aaron Ramsey will play for Wales again after leaving his veteran captain out of the squad for two summer friendlies. Ramsey has been plagued by injury since returning to hometown club Cardiff last summer.

Rhys Ruddock has paid tribute to his family, including father Mike, after announcing this season would be his last. Ruddock will end a hugely successful 15-year stretch this month when he plays his final match for Leinster – bringing down the curtain on one of the most decorated careers of any player raised in Wales.

Wales’ Leicester City title winner Andy King believes Chelsea have been attracted to making Enzo Maresca their new head coach because of the Pep Guardiola factor. Chelsea are reportedly in advanced talks to appoint Leicester boss Maresca, the 44-year-old Italian who until last summer was Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

There will be three very interested spectators at Cardiff City Stadium at Judgement Day on Saturday all hoping for different things out of the regional double-header. The traditional derbyfest ends the season for the four Welsh teams in the United Rugby Championship – unless the Ospreys can squeeze into the play-offs.