#Steve Phillips

It has been a hugely eventful year in the world of rugby, amid a plethora of incident and individual excellence. Here's our A-Z guide of what went on in 2021. A is for Alun Wyn Where better to start than with a man who has risen to new heights this part year amid more superhuman exploits. Having skippered Wales to the Six Nations title, he was then…

Bryan Reynolds, an All-Star center fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, made a formal trade request earlier this month after the two parties were unable to come to terms on an extension. Here, the Pirates hold the most sway. Reynolds' contract will be managed by the team, and they don't appear to be interested in trading him. Far before Reynolds…

The men's national team clinched a Six Nations title in empty stadiums and endured a bruising autumn when fans returned, while the women's game made significant progress on the pitch and in the boardroom. But for domestic rugby in Wales, problems continue to intensify after another austere 12 months. BBC Sport Wales looks back at an incident-packed…

Warren Gatland wants to operate in a "no excuse environment" after taking charge of Wales for a second time. The New Zealander's previous spell as Wales head coach between 2007 and 2019 delivered four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-final appearances and a brief time as rugby union's world number one team. This time…

Warren Gatland won't save Welsh rugby without major root and branch surgery to the game at all levels. That's the verdict of former Sport Wales chief executive Huw Jones, who has urged newly-elected Welsh Rugby Union chairman Ieuan Evans to call an extraordinary general meeting to propose the establishment of a skills-based board to take Welsh…

England are considering RFU director of performance Conor O'Shea as an interim coaching option with Warren Gatland also in the frame as Eddie Jones' future looks increasingly uncertain. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney, alongside O'Shea, is holding a review into the performance of their current head coach Jones after England's worst year in terms…

Rob Howley has emerged as a shock contender to join Warren Gatland as part of Wales' Rugby World Cup coaching ticket should they decide to get rid of Wayne Pivac. A sub-committee of the main Welsh Rugby Union board met last week to discuss potential options to succeed Pivac after the New Zealander finished the year with a shocking three wins from…

Could this mean something more? On Tuesday, the New York Yankees re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo to a deal that could max out at three years and $51 million. Now that they've got Rizzo, all eyes are on what the Yankees will do about Aaron Judge. BUY YANKEES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETSMARTER, TICKETMASTER The New York Post's Joel…

Newsday | Erik Boland: The Yankees have several needs to fill during the offseason, most notably retaining Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo while upgrading shortstop, third base, and left field. Brian Cashman feels comfortable about his starting pitching, however. "I feel good about going into the wintertime having [Gerrit] Cole, Nestor [Cortes],…