Thunder and Lightning tinker with selection for derby rematch

Brython Thunder will host Gwalia Lightning in the second Celtic Challenge Welsh derby during the festive period at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday. (KO: 2.30pm). Lightning beat Thunder 42-22 in the first of the Celtic Challenge Welsh derbies in a 10-try thriller at Ystrad Mynach last Saturday,  to kick-off the new expanded home and away […]

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New lead for Women’s game in Wales a key result of review

The Welsh Rugby Union will make a new lead appointment for the women’s game in Wales as a result of the review undertaken to examine its processes around recent contract negotiations with its senior Women’s national squad. The high profile role will directly manage the Wales Women head coach as well as set and implement […]

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McBryde and Meek take advantage of Lloyd’s absence

Sharp shooters Billy McBryde and Kieran Meek took full advantage of Evan Lloyd’s absence from round 12 of Super Rygbi Cymru to leap frog the Ebbw Vale fly half as the leading points scorers in the league. McBryd jumped from third position to top of the pile after guiding RGC to a hard fought 28-34 […]

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SRC round 12

dfdfd Player Club Points Scored (Kick Success %) Billy McBryde RGC 107 (73%) Evan Lloyd Ebbw Vale 105 (78%) Kieran Meek Pontypool 104 (76%) Josh Phillips Swansea 76 (81%) Ed Dunford Aberavon 60 (75%) Player Club Total tries Dewi Cross Cardiff RFC 9 Lewis Morgan Carmarthen 8 Joe Franchi Ebbw Vale 8 Cori Lewis-Jenkins Aberavon […]

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Broncos’ Ezra Mam expected to be suspended for nine games by NRL

  • Player sent breach notice for bringing game into disrepute
  • Mam was fined for drug driving and driving without a licence

Brisbane star Ezra Mam is set for a nine-game suspension after being sent a breach notice by the NRL for bringing the game and the Broncos into disrepute.

Mam, 22, was fined $850 for drug driving and driving without a licence when he appeared on 16 December in Brisbane Magistrates Court. He was disqualified from driving for nine months and issued with an infringement notice for failing to have proper control of a vehicle.

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Jac Lloyd guides Newport to SRC derby win in Cardiff

Newport condemned arch-rivals Cardiff to their first home defeat of the season as they enhanced their position in Super Rygbi Cymru with as 27-20 win at the Arms Park. The five precious points came thanks to stubborn defensive effort in the final 10 minutes as the Blue & Blacks threw the kitchen sink at the […]

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Gogs break duck on the road in SRC with win in Bridgend

RGC finally ended their search for a first win on the road – at the sixth time of asking – after running out victorious 34-28 at Bridgend Ravens in Super Rygbi Cymru. Tries from Dion Jones, Ethan Fackrell, Dan Owen and Rhodri King, as well 14 points from the boot of Billy McBryde, ensured the […]

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Lewis double helps Pooler topple SRC leaders Ebbw Vale

Pontypool stunned Super Rygbi Cymru leaders Ebbw Vale in the Gwent derby – and then immediately set their sights on doing the double over their neighbours. Full-back Pat Lewis scored in each half, with No 8 Morgan Allen also crashing over in the second period, to bag the bragging rights for Pooler in a 23-16 […]

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Wales referees in demand for Six Nations

The Welsh Rugby Union will complete a rare distinction of providing a full house of officials when defending U20 Six Nations champions England host France in Bath in the second round of the championship. Ben Breakspear will be the man in the middle at the Recreation Ground with fellow countrymen Ben Connor and Mike English […]

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Generation TikTok: how sportswomen set the bar higher than the men

Female athlete power on social media became ever more strident in 2024 – but the backlash also damaged careers and wellbeing

Lina Nielsen remembers the moment she had the idea. She was sitting around the Olympic Village in Paris with her sprinting teammates – and she was bored. “I said to Yemi Mary John: ‘I’m gonna make this TikTok’,” Nielsen recalls. She took herself to her bedroom, got out the flip phone each athlete had been given and typed into an Excel spreadsheet: “Where you at? Holla at me.”

Her five-second spoof of Kelly Rowland’s music-video texting fail took hardly longer than that to make. It also got 8m views. “It’s funny that the videos that do that best are the ones you don’t put any effort in,” says Nielsen with a laugh. She is still trying to make sense of the fact that her TikTok channel was the most popular of any British athlete at the Games, beating even the knit-tastic Tom Daley in second place. At the end of the Olympic fortnight her channels had been viewed by more than the Australian and German teams combined.

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Gwalia Lightning claim bragging rights in opening derby clash

Gwalia Lighting won the opening Welsh derby of the Celtic Challenge league campaign over a young Brython Thunder side 42-22 in the first of two festive Welsh derbies at Ystrad Mynach this afternoon. A crowd of more than 500 turned up for a traditional and typically physical and bruising Welsh derby in the new home […]

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Bristol raise the bar in Premiership with record victory at Leicester

  • Leicester 24-54 Bristol
  • Gabriel Oghre and Kalaveti Ravouvou both score two tries

First, a simple stat: Bristol notched a 10th consecutive away win in the Premiership. A record for the league. Impressive. Second, another: they scored the most points any team have ever registered against Leicester at Welford Road, as much as any have ever scored against the Tigers anywhere in the Premiership. Impressive again, and this time beginning to hint at what went on here.

But, really, numbers are inadequate. In an extraordinary era of attacking rugby in the Premiership, Bristol must be ranked the most outrageous of them all. They should be listed as a national treasure. Rugby when played like this becomes an art, an entertainment that does not require any grounding in the sport to enjoy.

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