Dai Sport

For once, Jazz Joyce-Butchers had to stand aside and take second billing when Ilona Maher made her Bristol Bears debut at the weekend. Wales star Joyce-Butchers is used to seizing the limelight for club and country but she was forced to stand in the shadows when U.S. Olympic bronze medallist Maher made her debut in the Premiership Women's Rugby clash at home to Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday.

David Brooks has been told he can continue to play a huge part in Bournemouth’s stunning climb up the Premier League. The Wales midfielder earned rave reviews for his superb winner that helped the Cherries beat Everton 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium at the weekend.

Calum Chambers has again been hailed as vital to Cardiff City’s hopes of climbing away from relegation trouble. Bluebirds manager Omer Riza praised Chambers before his team’s trip to Middlesbrough at the weekend and was full of admiration for him afterwards following his stunning strike in a 1-1 draw.

Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams was labelled a “cheeky chappy” as well as a matchwinner after his brilliant display for Gloucester. Less than two weeks before Wales coach Warren Gatland names his squad for the Six Nations, Williams gave a masterclass for his English club, spearheading Gloucester’s 36-20 triumph over Sale Sharks in the Gallagher Premiership.

Joe Allen has been labelled as a pure footballer after rescuing a point for Swansea City which keeps them on the outskirts of the play-off race. The Wales veteran came off the bench to score in the 93rd minute as he headed home the equaliser to earn his side an unlikely share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw against West Brom.

Cardiff City manager Omer Riza has praised Calum Chambers’ switch from defender to midfielder and insists the transformation could be key to the club’s hopes of pulling away from the Championship relegation zone. Bluebirds boss Riza has praised the 29-year-old's performances in his new role, calling him "excellent" after his displays in recent matches against Watford and Coventry.

Newport head back to the ground where they were beaten in last season’s Indigo Premiership final, hoping not to suffer a similar fate in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Llandovery ended up as Cup and Premiership winners last season and have added a shiny new all-weather playing surface to their Church Bank home since the Black & Ambers last visited.

Luke Williams has told Swansea City fans there is more chance of him “drinking in Uplands with the Jack Army” at the end of the season than of him being the manager of West Bromwich Albion. In a clear rebuttal of the suggestion he is in line to become Albion’s new boss – issued on the eve of a clash between the two clubs at the Swansea.com Stadium – the Swans head coach has pledged his future to his current club. But Williams has also apologised to fans for not killing off the rumours at an earlier stage, given that he was odds-on favourite to succeed Carlos Corberan on Friday morning.

Phil Parkinson is set to reach an extraordinary milestone this weekend, managing his 1,000th professional game as Wrexham face Peterborough United at the Racecourse Ground. The 57-year-old manager has carved out an impressive career spanning over two decades, beginning with his first game in charge of Colchester United in March 2003, a 4-1 victory against Port Vale at Layer Road.

If Warren Gatland needs any pointers on how to clear out the old and bring in the new - and maybe even win a few games - then he could do worse than have a chat with Jason Strange. The Ebbw Vale head coach started last season with 18 new players and developed a strategy aimed at taking The Steelmen to the top of the semi-pro game.