Newport County head coach Nelson Jardim was a relieved man after his side took a vital step towards securing their League Two status. The County boss was content with a tense 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Morecambe at Rodney Parade.

Wales great Justin Tipuric says the Ospreys are playing with a smile on their faces as they continue their unbeaten run under new head coach Mark Jones. They recorded a six-try 43-0 bonus point victory over Benetton Rugby in Swansea on Friday night – their biggest league win in seven years.

Ospreys outside-half Dan Edwards and Scarlets wing Ellis Mee are the two uncapped players to have been named in coach Warren Gatland’s Wales squad for the Six Nations. Gatland has also included hooker Sam Parry – who walked out of a national camp last year after feeling disrespected by the Wales coach – along with a number of players who have recovered from recent injuries.

Scarlets skipper Josh Macleod is a man making up for lost time in a big way. The luckless flanker has been plagued by injuries over the past few years, including a ruptured Achilles, knee ligament damage, shoulder surgery and hamstring issues. That’s severely limited his regional appearances – just three last season – and restricted him to only the two Wales caps.

Jac Morgan believes the turbulence caused by a change of coach has revealed a strength of character within the Ospreys squad. Morgan produced a real captain’s display as the Ospreys ended a difficult week with a dramatic late win over their arch rivals, the Scarlets.

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.

Teddy Williams is having a season to remember and is thoroughly enjoying himself in the process. The Cardiff second row has been one of the stand-out performers during the opening seven rounds of the BKT United Rugby Championship, as his impressive stats confirm.

A new training facility has been hailed as a “game changer” by the Welsh grass roots rugby club which has benefited from the project. Kenfig Hill RFC, in the Ospreys region, was selected from more than 30 entries as winners of the BKT Power Zone competition.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt has given his backing to Cameron Winnett after his axing by Wales coach Warren Gatland. Sherratt paid a glowing tribute to Winnett following the full-back’s player of the match performance in the 31-23 victory over the Dragons at the Arms Park.

Dragons interim coach Filo Tiatia remains optimistic of his team’s prospects, despite suffering another difficult defeat at the hands of rivals, Cardiff. The Dragons added a 19th successive loss against Cardiff to their decade-long streak, after a gruelling 31-23 defeat at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday night. Despite playing their first match under new head coach Tiatia, the Dragons failed to alter the course of their losing pattern this season.

Wales insist they are ready to make history when they take on the Republic of Ireland in the first of a two-legged qualification battle on Friday night. The first meet will take place at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night, which will give Wilkinson’s team the benefit of having the ever-growing Welsh crowd of supporters behind them, as they fight for a place at the 2025 Euros. But Ireland, who are ranked 24 in the world – five spots above Wales – pose a serious threat to the Welsh side’s dreams of making history by appearing at their first major tournament finals.