Dai Sport

When football managers – and rugby coaches – talk about training sessions having “an edge” about them, it normally only means one thing. There’s been a fight. It may not have been full-on, fists swinging, bare-knuckle bruising. But someone, somewhere has over-stepped the mark and tempers have boiled over. Nine times out of 10, managers love this kind of thing. It proves their players are more like thin, hungry dogs, than fat, sleepy cats and they look forward to unleashing the hounds on Saturday afternoon.

Has there ever been a more reliable Welsh footballer than Jess Fishlock? It’s a question worth considering after her country’s heroine once again came to Wales’ rescue late on Tuesday night.

Steve Cooper is facing a touchline ban for Leicester City’s Premier League fixture against Ipswich, having received his third yellow card of the season during the Foxes’ defeat to Manchester United. The Welsh manager’s protests over a potential offside in the lead-up to United’s second goal in their 5-2 Carabao Cup win led referee Andrew Madley to show him a yellow card, a move Cooper later claimed the official “enjoyed” giving.

Lock Ben Carter has been released from Wales’ Autumn Nations Series squad after suffering a knee injury and replaced by Cardiff’s Teddy Williams. Dragons skipper Carter was hurt during training, the Welsh Rugby Union said.

It may be the “Land of his Mother” but new Wales squad member Blair Murray will be doing all he can to learn the words of “Land of my Fathers” ahead of his potential first Wales cap next week. The 23-year-old Scarlets wing has made such an impact since arriving in Wales in June that he found himself being chosen by Warren Gatland as one of two uncapped players in his 35-man squad for the November clashes with Fiji, Australia and South Africa.

Phil Salt is optimistic Brendon McCullum can get the best out of him when the England Test head coach also assumes control of the white-ball sides. The parallels between them as ultra-aggressive opening batter-wicketkeepers were remarked upon during Welsh star Salt’s stint this year with Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League franchise McCullum previously played for and coached.

Ceri Holland finally settled Wales’ near fatal anxieties with the goal that puts her team on the edge of history. After missing countless chances in a one-sided second leg of their play-off semi-final at home to Slovakia, Holland scored the crucial goal eight minutes from the end of extra-time.

The Wales coaches and players arrived in camp ahead of the three-match Autumn Nations Series this week, all with the same blunt message in mind - "we've got to start winning matches". Warren Gatland's men may have wound-up their summer tour to Australia with a 36-35 win over Queensland, but the hard facts show they have lost their last nine internationals and haven't tasted victory in a meaningful match since beating Georgia 43-19 at last year's World Cup on 7 October.

Dwayne Peel says he’s delighted to see so many of his Scarlets receive “the greatest honour” of being selected by their country. Eight of his players have been named in the Wales squad for the autumn internationals, with the uncapped Blair Murray joined by fellow wing Tom Rogers, centre Eddie James, fly-half Sam Costelow, back rower Taine Plumtree, hooker Ryan Elias and props Kemsley Mathias and Henry Thomas.

Jess Fishlock insists Wales can make it to the Euro 2025 play-off final if they keep cool heads and clear minds when they take on Slovakia on Tuesday night. The Wales star - her country’s best player and inspiration for over a decade - is the potential saviour Wales will look to as they seek to overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.