Dai Sport

The Mark Jones era at the Ospreys got off to a flying start as an overtime try from Iestyn Hopkins earned his side a dramatic 23-22 West Wales derby win over Scarlets at the Swansea. Com Stadium. The replacement full back slid over the line as the home side made the most of the space created by the sin binning of Scarlets wing Ioan Nicholas to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Swansea City’s skipper Matt Grimes and head coach Luke Williams have both admitted the club’s fading form needs to be urgently reversed. Both were united in their criticism - and admitted they had let down fans - after the team’s lethargic 2-1 defeat to Hull City, which snapped the Tigers’ 13-match winless streak.

Cardiff City manager Omer Riza admits there’s nothing to be done about their position in the table - other than to start winning. The Bluebirds’ 2-0 home defeat to Sheffield United makes it no wins in their last eight matches under Riza. The Londoner, who was given the permanent manager’s job until the end of the season at the start of the month, knows his side are in a precarious position ahead of a crunch clash with fellow strugglers Oxford United on Boxing Day.

New Ospreys head coach Mark Jones insists his team have one last debt to repay to Toby Booth this weekend - a derby day victory over the Scarlets. The Ospreys began the week with Booth in charge, but will end it with Jones at the helm after the region opted to change ho

Cardiff City host Sheffield United on Saturday against a familiar backdrop of uncertainty around manager and club owner. Except this time, we are talking about the visitors, not the Bluebirds.

Steve Diamond is not everyone’s cup of tea, but the English rugby coach often stirs interest along with his two sugars. Diamond is a gruff northerner, who is about as removed from Twickenham - both socially and geographically - as you can get, now that he is employed by Newcastle Falcons rather than Sale Sharks.

Warren Gatland has been told he had better start winning again during the Six Nations, otherwise his time will be up as Wales coach. Gatland’s position has been under intense scrutiny after a dire autumn consisting of defeats to Fiji, Australia and South Africa extended Wales’ losing run to a record 12 matches.

Wales playmaker and centre Ben Thomas has confirmed his future is at Cardiff by signing a new contract, reaffirming his commitment to the club where he has grown into a pivotal figure. The 26-year-old, whose versatility allows him to operate at full-back and fly-half, burst onto the scene in 2019 and has since accrued 87 first-team appearances.

Richard Merriman has won the JD Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship title for a fifth time, although it was an extremely emotional victory this year as it came after the death of his long-time co-driver and friend Kath Curzon. Since contesting their first event together in 2009, the dynamic duo had started 114 rallies, scored four major overall wins (including one on Epynt), won their class 41 times and recorded 75 class podium results.

The final meeting of the calendar year at Ffos Las Racecourse takes place on Wednesday with a seven-race offering to celebrate the Christmas Jumper Raceday. The action gets underway at 12.22pm as nine runners tackle the class four handicap hurdle before the action comes to a close at 3.50pm with the bumper - a Flat race ran over Jumps rules for runners making their way in the early stages of their career.