Dai Sport

Welsh coaching guru Osian Roberts is spending his summer watching the seeds he has planted across Europe come into full bloom. It might have been a very different few months for Roberts had he not decided to withdraw himself early on from the race to succeed Rob Page as Wales manager.

If you were to pick two players from the past 20 years who have done more than anyone to personify and showcase Welsh rugby to the wider world, then Shane Williams might be one. The other would probably be Jasmine Joyce.

Welsh Rugby Union chairman Richard Collier-Keywood insists Warren Gatland has his "full support". The head coach is under significant pressure following a run of nine consecutive international defeats, including all five matches at the 2024 Six Nations.

Rosie Eccles will join Lauren Price, Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather and Lennox Lewis as boxers who have appeared at the Olympics, with a new generation of fighters eager to follow in their footsteps in Paris. Eccles, 28, has finally made it to the Games after overcoming illness and injuries that scuppered her bid to be alongside fellow Welsh fighter Price in Tokyo three years ago.

Matt Richards is embracing the weight of expectation at the Olympics as he insisted his mindset heading into Paris gives him an almost “invincible” aura. At the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, Wales’ Commonwealth Games star, then only 18, was the junior swimmer alongside Tom Dean, James Guy and Duncan Scott as they captured gold for Team GB in the men’s 4×200 metres freestyle relay.

Faster. Higher. Stronger. The Olympic motto used to be unchanging and did its job well enough from its introduction back in 1894. That was until 2021 when the organisers/modernisers/do-gooders/diversity officers/woke police (insert depending on political outlook) decided on an upgrade.

New Swansea City goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux has revealed the chance to reunite with head coach Luke Williams played a major part in his move from Burnley. Vigouroux has joined the Swans for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal and will work under Williams for a second time after the pair were together at Swindon Town.

Head coach Liza Burgess has named her Wales Women U20s side to take on Canada at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday in the Transatlantic Quad Series (KO 8pm). Both teams enter the match on the back of encouraging wins from the last round

New Saints manager Craig Harrison admitted his team were powerless to prevent a heavy 5-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round in Hungary. The Cymru Premier champions were overwhelmed by Ferencvaros and TNS already look destined to drop down to the Europa League after the home leg.

Team GB athletes – including a record 31 from Wales - will be encouraged to take part in decompression programmes following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics in a move designed to follow the example of military personnel returning home. The initiative, which has been drawn up by the UK Sports Institute (UKSI), is intended to help competitors reacclimatise to life away from the tightly curated environment of the Olympic village and the routines imposed by competition.