Owen Scourfield scours the best of the sporting world on offer this month in Wales, with plenty of big-hitters and pure belters on the cards.
GLAMORGAN VITALITY BLAST FIXTURES
SSE SWALEC, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Thurs 18 July-Fri 30 Aug
For those of you that struggle to sit through a multi-day County Championship game, Glamorgan’s seven home Vitality Blast group matches will be a lot more bearable. The bitesized Twenty20 form of the game always manages to pull in a good crowd, especially as the Cricket World Cup draws to a close. They start off at Sophia Gardens on Thurs 18 July against local rivals Somerset, before travelling to Gloucestershire the very next day. Another away trip to Surrey, on Thurs 25 July, is followed by a home encounter with Middlesex on Fri 26. The concluding fixtures run into August, to be completed in a block of six weeks, and will see Glamorgan field Australian brothers Shaun and Mitch Marsh as their two overseas signings for the tournament.
Tickets: £60 for all seven home games. Info: www.glamorgancricket.com
THE CELEBRITY CUP
Celtic Manor, Newport, Sat 13 + Sun 14 July
Stars from sport, showbiz and beyond will be returning to the Celtic Manor on the second weekend of July for the annual golf Celebrity Cup, with defending champions Team Wales returning to take on teams from England, Scotland and Ireland. Celebs signed up so far include TV presenter Gethin Jones and former rugby stars Jonathan Davies and Scott Quinnell for Wales; actor James Nesbitt plus Westlife’s Brian McFadden and Boyzone’s Keith Duffy for Ireland; Dragon’s Den regular Peter Jones and rugby player Mike Tindall representing England. Meanwhile, presenter Jenni Falconer is joined by a strong Scottish rugby contingent in Stuart Hogg, Max and Thom Evans, Rory Lawson and Greg Laidlaw. There’ll be plenty of entertainment on the course as well as a wealth of food and drink and attractions in the on-site tented village, and a family Activity Zone available including activities like archery, laser combat, adventure golf and laser clay shooting.
Tickets: from £5. Info: 01633 413000 / www.celtic-manor.com
The British Transplant Games
Newport International Sports Village, Newport, Thurs 25-Sun 28 July.
Around 2,500 transplant recipients, donor families and supporters are set to come together to compete Olympics-style in the 42nd edition of the British Transplant Games. Participants of all ages and abilities can still register to compete in one of 25 sports, as charity Transplant Sport aims to show that those suffering with illness can still live active lives.
Tickets: Free. Info: www.britishtransplantgames.co.uk/aboutnewport2019
LONG COURSE WEEKEND WALES
North Beach, Tenby, Fri 5-Sun 7 July
The Long Course Weekend is recognised as one of the most difficult triathlons in Wales. Pembrokeshire plays host to this pretty unique event that lasts the whole weekend – one discipline per day; the perfect warmup for an Iron Man challenge. It starts on the Friday with The Wales Swim, on Tenby’s North Beach and a distance of 2.4 miles. The following day, the athletes put themselves through The Wales Sportive: 112 miles of punishing Welsh countryside cycling. And to top it all off on Sunday, just your run-of-the-mill 26.2-mile Wales Marathon. Over 20,000 individuals have attempted the challenge since its first event in 2010, and to put into perspective, out of last year’s 1,000 competitors, only around half managed to cross the finish line.
Tickets: from £20 to enter/free to spectate. Info: www.lcwwales.com
PAUL JAMES TESTIMONIAL: CLASSIC LIONS MATCH
The Gnoll, Neath, Sat 27 July
Welsh international prop Paul James, or ‘Assey’ to those that know him, has been awarded a much-deserved testimonial year by both the WRU and the Ospreys, which will conclude in August after an impressive career playing top-flight rugby for Neath RFC, Ospreys and Bath, in addition to achieving international honours for both Wales and the Barbarians. His testimonial has been named Ten21, in reference to James being the 1021st player to be capped for Wales and – perhaps his greater consideration – the Ten21 bistro bar that he and his wife own in Neath. The year-long testimonial events are building up to this one-off Legends Game on the Gnoll in Neath at the end of this month: the Paul James Select XV already boasts a strong lineup in Gavin Henson, Shane Williams, Ryan Jones and Adam Jones, while the Classic Lions opposition will see Dafydd James, Delon Armitiage, Chris Wyatt and Ceri Sweeney run out.
Tickets: £10/£5. Info: www.ten21testimonial.info
MANCHESTER UNITED VS AC MILAN
Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Sat 3 Aug
Following pre-season games overseas in Perth, Singapore, Shanghai and Norway, Manchester United will be on Welsh soil for an interesting, and presumably money-spinning, showdown with AC Milan in Cardiff as part of the International Champions Cup. This will be United’s sixth friendly fixture of the summer, and their last before the 2019-20 Premier League season opens the following weekend. Will it be a new-look Manchester United with Solskjaer putting his stamp on the team after a full pre-season? Hopefully Welsh United fans will get a first glimpse of Daniel James, recently transferred from Swansea City, sporting new club colours in his national stadium, as well as some other new additions to the squad.
Tickets: from £25. Info: www.principalitystadium.wales