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The new director of rugby and elite performance for Wales Rugby Union (WRU) is Dave Reddin.

Following the resignation of rugby executive director Nigel Walker in December 2024, the WRU was looking for a person to oversee the men’s and women’s professional senior games in Wales.

At such a pivotal time in the rich history of the game, Reddin said, “I’m delighted and honoured to be playing rugby in Wales.”

Because of the enthusiasm and meaning that Wales’ sport has, this is one of the biggest jobs in rugby.

Although the new vision and strategy have some well-documented challenges, I’m inspired by the very real potential.

Former Football Association (FA), England Rugby, and Team GB performance expert Reddin collaborated with Gareth Southgate and Sir Clive Woodward.

Wales’ men have lost a total of 17 Tests in succession, which they will aim to stop when they play Japan in a two-game series in July.

When Ray Williams took over the position in 1967, the WRU was the first governing body to appoint a director of rugby.

Although the job title has changed over time, Reddin will essentially be the 14th person to hold the position.

Reddin will start working for the WRU full-time starting in September, but he will gradually get more involved starting in July and take part in the hiring process for head coaches.

Reddin said, “My immediate concern is the appointment of the next senior men’s head coach.”

However, I will also be attempting to learn as quickly as possible about the people and the game in Wales to enable me to start making positive changes in the future.

Reddin will be in charge of creating and implementing detailed plans and structures in accordance with the recently released “One Wales” strategy.

As well as working closely with the four professional clubs, this work will include responsibility for all of the national teams and pathways for men and women.

Abi Tierney, the organization’s chief executive, expressed her excitement over Reddin’s joining.

Tierney remarked, “Dave brings a level of expertise and experience in directly relevant elite sporting environments unmatched around the world.

We are aware that this appointment will benefit Wales as a whole.

We evaluated a wide range of candidates for this position, and I want to thank everyone who expressed interest and everyone who gave suggestions on what would be the ideal candidate for this position.

Reddin’s rugby career began in 1996 with Leicester as a fitness instructor.

Between 1997 and 2006, he spent his career working as a fitness expert for England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU), culminating in Australia’s 2003 World Cup triumph.

On the British and Irish Lions’ 2005 tour of New Zealand, he also participated in Sir Clive Woodward’s backroom team.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, Reddin served as Team GB’s director of performance services.

Reddin became the FA’s head of performance services in 2014 as Dan Ashworth, the organization’s then director of elite development.

Reddin was first tasked with leading England’s development teams, but he was later promoted to the position of head of team performance and strategy in 2016.

Performance medicine, analysis, physical performance, nutrition, and people development were among the duties in that role.

Reddin and Gareth Southgate’s senior England team played together, including in the 2018 World Cup, where they reached the semi-final.

When Reddin left the FA in 2019, FA CEO Martin Glenn claimed that Reddin had played a “key role” across all 28 of our England teams.

Reddin co-founded Pitch32, a football-related consulting firm that works with football investors to improve both on-field and off-field performance, in 2020.

He was a member of the management team that helped create the conditions for their promotion to the second tier when they were managing the acquisition and transformation of the third-tier Spanish football team, CD Castellon.

Chris Eubank Jr. will be fined £375,000 after missing Conor Benn’s grudge match on Saturday.

The 35-year-old was 0.2% heavier than the 11st 6lb limit on the first attempt, and it was still too heavy the second time.

At 11st 2lb, a trim and toned Benn, who has spent most of his career at welterweight, was lighter than expected.

A rehydration clause forbids both Eubank and Benn from weighing more than 12st 1lb on Saturday morning.

Benn, 28, posted the phrase “Show me the money” in a video that was shared on social media.

On Friday, the weigh-in took place in a hotel in London behind closed doors.

On Friday night in Islington, a ceremonial weigh-in will be held open to the public.

In the build-up, and particularly during fight week, Eubank’s weight has been a major talking point.

This is more of a level playing field, according to Benn’s team, because the rehydration clause, which limits the amount of water both fighters can add for a further 24 hours, limits how much.

Fighters typically shed some body fat over the course of a training camp to reach a weight limit that has been set.

They may dehydrate before the weigh-in, which occurs one day before the fight night.

They can refuel with food and water much more easily by losing weight close to the battle.

Although Eubank has more experience competing at middleweight, he typically puts on about 14 pounds following weigh-in.

After their fathers shared two fights in the 1990s, the pair were scheduled to fight in October 2022, which was followed by the cancellation of the fight because Benn failed a drug test.

At the news conference on Thursday, Benn called Eubank “fat boy.” Eddie Hearn, a promoter, has previously questioned whether Eubank would set the middleweight cap.

According to speculation that Eubank may be struggling with weight, he arrived an hour later than the scheduled 11:00 BST start time on Friday.

Both men will take the scales on Saturday, according to matchroom promoter Hearn, who was with BBC Sport. If he misses the weight once more, there will be a fine.

The competitive element of this fight has little to do with Eubank’s missing weight, which is the weight of a single AA battery.

Benn coming in lighter than expected has only improved the light on this fight because it is already a weight fight with a significant weight difference.

However, we must consider the effects this had on Eubank in terms of both physical and mental health.

How much of a toll has been caused by that agonizing cut? Will he have the same issues as I do trying to reach the 12th grade weight limit tomorrow morning?

As Olympic athletes begin to prepare for their shot at world glory in 2025, the 16th Diamond League season kicks off in Xiamen, China on Saturday, live on the BBC.

In order to advance to the winner-takes-all two-day finals in Zurich in August, athletes will compete for points in 32 disciplines over 14 meetings.

The World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan will begin in September just over two weeks before that.

The Diamond League must compete for athletes’ attention for the first time with Michael Johnson’s new Grand Slam Track.

Only one of the three Grand Slam Track competitions, which will take place on May 2 through May 4, coincide with the meet in Keqiao, China, on May 3rd, will take place directly opposite to the Diamond League competition.

With a total prize pot of $9.24 million (£6.95 million) available across the series, The Diamond League has raised its prize money to the highest level in its history.

That includes $500, 000 (£375, 000) at each of the 14 series meetings, and $2.2m (£1.7m) at the Diamond League final.

On Saturday, from 12:00 to 14:00 BST, watch the Diamond League action on the BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app.

In a stacked race, the 23-year-old will compete against South Africans Akani Simbine, American Christian Coleman, and Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo.

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, a pole vault champion from Sweden, broke the men’s world record 11th time in February with a men’s pole vault victory.

Before moving on to claim a fourth trophy in Xiamen, Duplantis set the earliest world record in a Diamond League season with the win in Xiamen a year earlier.

Three-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will compete in the women’s 1, 000m in Xiamen after revealing this week that she will attempt to run a sub-four-minute mile in June.

Olympic 800m silver medalist Tsige Duguma and GB’s Erin Wallace compete in the same race, just 0.17 seconds behind the world record of two minutes and 28.98 seconds.

In other competitions, Morgan Lake faces Ukraine’s Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who is competing against Jamaica’s two-time world champion Shericka Jackson.

The 14 regular series meetings, which will take place from April through August, will feature athletes competing for points.

On a scale of eight to one for the eighth place, points are given.

The top six athletes in the field events, the top eight in the track events, and the top 10 in the distances from 1500m upwards, are eligible for the final after the 14th meeting in Brussels.

Xiamen, China, April 26

China’s Keqiao on May 3rd.

Doha, Qatar, May 16

Rabat, Morocco, on May 25,

Rome, Italy, on June 6,

Oslo, Norway, June 12

Stockholm, Sweden, on June 15th.

Paris, France, June 20,

Eugene, USA, on July 5, 2005

Monaco, 11-07

London, England, on July 19,

Silesia, Poland, on August 16th.

Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 20,

Brussels, Belgium, August 22

The London Marathon will be broadcast on BBC Sport until 2030, the year the iconic race’s 50th anniversary.

One of the longest-running broadcast agreements in British sport is the agreement that has been formed with London Marathon Events, which dates back more than five decades.

With more than 56, 000 people expected to complete the 26.2 miles from Greenwich Park to The Mall, the 2025 event is scheduled for Sunday.

One of BBC Sport’s most adored partnerships is strengthened, according to Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski, who is also in charge of BBC Sport.

Our wonderful partnership with BBC Sport dates back to the very first London Marathon competition in 1981, according to Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events. We are thrilled to extend our partnership to the 50th edition in 2030.

Our collaboration has been extraordinary, showcasing fantastic races, inspiring millions of people to run, taking on this challenge, and raising more than £1.3 billion for charity.

Beginning at 8:30 BST, BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app will broadcast live coverage of the 2025 London Marathon on Sunday.

The Big Half, the Vitality London 10, 000, and the Vitality Westminster Mile will also be broadcast on digital platforms as part of the new contract, according to BBC Sport.