Gregor Townsend admitted he had resigned himself to the likelihood that his time as Scotland head coach was drawing to an end before the Scottish Rugby Union recently moved to offer him a new deal until April 2026.
The 50-year-old’s previous contract was due to expire after the upcoming World Cup and, with no talks having taken place with the governing body, there was intense speculation during the winter that he would be leaving his post following the autumn showpiece in France.
However, tentative negotiations began in the middle of the recent Six Nations campaign and it was confirmed on Tuesday that Townsend – already Scotland’s longest-serving head coach after taking charge in 2017 – was set to remain at the helm for a further three years.
“I suppose the time when I wasn’t getting offered the contract, there was a lot of thinking going on there and a couple of stages in the season I thought ‘this will be my last season’, so to be able to at least have the discussion and think about the future has been a big positive and I’m obviously delighted to be able to stay with this group in this role for a few more years,” he said.
Townsend was linked with other jobs earlier this year but he insists there was never any likelihood he would commit to anything at that point.
“Not really,” he said, when asked if he was close to pledging his future elsewhere during his period in contract limbo.
“There were a couple of approaches between the Autumn Tests and the Six Nations but I don’t think there was any chance I was going to commit to anything before the Six Nations.
“The positive was that during the Six Nations, discussions started to happen between Scottish Rugby and myself. While I felt I wasn’t going to get a contract offer here, I don’t think I was going to commit to anything with a tournament on the horizon.”
Townsend, who will have been in charge for nine years if he sees out his contract, is thrilled to be remaining in a job he relishes.
“Not being able to make that choice or decision (to stay) was the difficult part,” he said.
“Me and the coaches focused on the rugby side of it because there wasn’t really any decision to make until we got to a stage where there was a contract offer.
“I love the job. You get ups and downs with it but I feel real sense of purpose being in the job.
“I’ve loved this season more than any other, the emotion down at Twickenham, seeing the way the guys came back in Paris, to have experienced a tour like last summer (in South America) with new, young players that breathed life into the team. We obviously want to build on that in the next few months ahead.”
British heavyweight Joe Joyce intends to jump straight back in with Chinese fighter Zhilei Zhang after activating his rematch clause.
Joyce’s hopes of a world title showdown against either Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk suffered a major setback when the Londoner was stopped in the sixth round by Zhang at the Copper Box Arena last month.
It was a first professional defeat after 15 straight wins for Joyce, whose right eye was almost swollen shut, which led to the bout being waved off after he was twice inspected by a ringside doctor.
Despite being outclassed by Zhang first time around, Joyce wants to immediately correct the record.
“Rematch clause activated. Taking back what’s mine,” the 37-year-old wrote on Twitter.
Zhang claimed Joyce’s WBO interim title and with it the mandatory position to face the sanctioning body’s full champion Usyk, who also holds the WBA and IBF belts in boxing’s blue riband division.
However, the WBA and IBF mandatories – Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic respectively – take precedent, which may have left Zhang waiting for his shot for at least a year.
Zhang was rumoured to be in talks for a showdown with Tyson Fury, but a return bout against Joyce, which could take place in China, now looks the likeliest option.
Gregor Townsend is braced for a “difficult” task in whittling his 41-man Rugby World Cup training group down to 33 for the tournament itself, although the Scotland head coach is intent on finalising his pool for France in early August.
There were few major surprises in the 50-year-old’s provisional squad named on Tuesday. Glasgow back Stafford McDowall and Leicester lock Cam Henderson were the only uncapped players included, although both were involved in the Six Nations squad earlier this year.
Jonny Gray was the highest-profile absentee after the Exeter second row suffered a serious knee injury recently, while Fraser Brown, Johnny Matthews and Mark Bennett have been left out.
“It was really difficult,” Townsend said of his selection. “Certain positions required a lot of debate, not just yesterday but the last few weeks.
“I was really keen for a 38-man squad and then I suppose Jonny picking up his injury last week, and a couple of other things, it got to 40 and then it got finalised on 41.
“It just shows the depth we have that we’ve left out some quality players and we’ve still got so much quality in the squad.”
Scotland play four warm-up matches between July 29 and August 26 and Townsend hopes to cull eight players after the game at home to France on August 5.
“It will be difficult,” he said. “It would have been easier if it was 38 because then you only have five players to drop out the squad.
“My goal is to get that down to 33 quickly, maybe after the second warm-up game. That’s what I’m looking at, so we can start working with that 33 in training weeks, get used to them working together, with two games after that.
“If we can get down to 33, that will be really good for our preparations for the World Cup.”
Townsend confirmed he does not expect lock Gray to be fit for the World Cup after the 29-year-old dislocated his kneecap in Exeter’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat by La Rochelle a week past Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be at least four months from now until he’s back in full training and ready to play,” said the head coach. “We kick off in four months’ time against South Africa so who knows?
“It might be that a couple of weeks into the tournament we pick up an injury and he’s back in full training and played pre-season games, but I think that’s unlikely from where we stand today.
“Let’s hope he’s ready to go around September or October, whether that’s for us if we pick up injuries, or his club.”
Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham and Glasgow flanker Rory Darge are both back in the mix after missing the Six Nations through injury, while former Scotland captains Stuart Hogg and Stuart McInally – both of whom recently announced plans to retire from rugby to pursue other interests after the autumn showpiece – remain on course for World Cup swansongs.
Townsend admitted it was always unlikely there would be many newcomers to the World Cup squad given the number of players that have been integrated gradually but deliberately over the past few years.
“The form of players that have been in our recent squads,” said Townsend when asked why there were so few new faces.
“Argentina and Chile (the summer tour) last year was very important for a number of reasons, and one of the reasons was development of players that got opportunities there and have kicked on and are still in our squad.
“The Six Nations was more of a senior squad, we picked the best squad we could put together and didn’t make many changes because we wanted to keep as much cohesion as possible, so it was always going to be difficult for players outside the group to come in when the players were performing so well in games and training.
“There’s lots of depth there so if we do pick up injuries, we know we’ve got quality players just outside the squad.”
AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud is determined to roll back the years as he attempts to add another Champions League crown to his collection of honours.
The Frenchman, who will celebrate his 37th birthday in September, picked up a winner’s medal as an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 1-0 final victory over Premier League rivals Manchester City in 2021 and is refusing to allow age to diminish his hunger for future success.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Wednesday evening’s eagerly-anticipated semi-final clash with neighbours Inter, Giroud said: “Today I’m more motivated than ever.
“For me, it’s a great opportunity to win the Champions League. I’m [nearly] 37 years old, but I have the same motivations as a young boy.”
The Milan rivals will battle it out for the right to face either Real Madrid or City in next month’s final in Istanbul, with each having won their respective Serie A “home” game this season and Inter triumphing in the Coppa Italia in January, but with both previous encounters in Europe’s biggest club competition going the way of Milan.
Giroud said: “A derby is always a special match. I am very proud of this Milan team and we hope to do something great tomorrow.”
Coach Stefano Pioli, who has guided his side past Tottenham and newly-crowned Italian champions Napoli to reach the last four, is hoping for more of the same, although that task may be all the more difficult with Rafael Leao battling a thigh injury.
Pioli said: “It will take great team-work, as we have seen in the last four Champions League matches. To get an exceptional result, you have to do an extraordinary job and we will try.”
The sides have met on seven occasions since November 2021, with Inter faring marginally better having won three to Milan’s two along with two draws, but boss Simone Inzaghi is reading little into that record.
He told his pre-match press conference: “We have played seven derbies in 20 months. We have won and we have lost.
“We can take something from those previous meetings, but every game is different. The players will need to sacrifice for their team-mates.
“We will need to use our heads and our hearts. I have no doubts about our hearts, but we will have to use our heads since there will be setbacks along the way. The race will last 180 minutes and we mustn’t forget it.”
For Inter wing-back Federico Dimarco, the tie conjures up painful memories, but also presents an opportunity to gain revenge for old wounds.
The 25-year-old was among the crowd at San Siro in May 2003 to see Andriy Shevchenko’s strike send Milan through on away goals after a 1-1 semi-final, second leg draw.
Dimarco said: “Like all derbies, it’s always an incredible feeling to play them as an Inter fan. I’ve also seen many. I’m really happy to play in a semi-final. I want to enjoy it.
“I was at San Siro in 2003. I don’t have wonderful memories as an Inter fan. To think that I was there 20 years ago and now I can play this match is an incredible feeling.”
Mark McCall says Saracens’ defeat in the Gallagher Premiership final last season has proved a driving force behind their quest for an immediate Twickenham return.
Victory over play-off opponents Northampton on Saturday would land Saracens a ninth appearance in English rugby’s domestic showpiece on May 27.
Their title hopes last year were dashed by Freddie Burns’ dramatic late drop-goal that saw Leicester claim a 15-12 victory.
“I guess it wasn’t so much losing the final, it was how we lost it, which is the thing that is driving us, I think,” Saracens rugby director McCall said.
“It felt like we played within ourselves. It was how we lost, not because we lost.
“Anyone can lose a final – knockout games are hard to win – but when you don’t feel that you have given it a proper go, then you carry that all summer. I guess that has driven this season to a degree.
“We’ve enjoyed a couple of really good weeks’ preparation. The players are in good spirits.
“We don’t take these things (semi-finals) for granted and we are looking forward to it. To get a home semi-final is exactly what you want.
“They (Northampton) are a very good team, an unbelievably dangerous team, full of talented players in their squad. And this is their second semi-final in a row, so they have shown some really good consistency as well.”
Saracens go into the play-offs after topping the regular season table and finishing 16 points above Northampton.
Fly-half Owen Farrell, though, does not believe that Saracens require a trophy to validate their Premiership return three years after relegation following persistent salary cap breaches.
“I think we have performed consistently enough over the past two years since we’ve been back to be enough of a presence in the Premiership,” Farrell said.
“Do we want to win the Premiership? Yes, of course we do. We’ve got some big personalities maybe playing in their last games for the club and we want to make sure we do them proud.
“To come back and do it (win the title) within a year, we talked about it being special, and we didn’t do it.
“We are on another year now and I have not thought about it in that way too much if I am honest. We’ve been consistent enough over the past two years, without winning last year, to validate us being back in the Premiership.
“We want to be at our best, getting the best out of of ourselves, and I am sure Northampton are the same. We want to make sure we are playing some of our best stuff and we want to enjoy it.
“It’s tough to lose any final. We felt like we didn’t put the best out of us out on that day (last year) and that is obviously a credit to Leicester and what they did as well.”
Liverpool have asked for next season’s opening match to be played away from home to allow preparations to be completed on their new Anfield Road stand.
Work, which began in September 2021, is on course to be finished this summer on the £80million redevelopment and will add around 7,000 extra seats, taking the ground’s overall capacity to more than 61,000.
However, with test events and potential additional work required on the pitch as a result of the building work – which will see the roof of the existing stand removed at the end of the season – Liverpool are looking to buy themselves more time to ensure everything is ready to open on the second weekend of the new campaign.
The club made a similar request to the Premier League when they completed the new Main Stand in 2016, which followed the same process of erecting the new building behind the existing one so the ground’s capacity was not affected during the season.
“We are on track and on budget,” vice-president of stadium operations Paul Cuttill said. “The progress has gone really well and we’re due to complete by the end of July, with a view to being ready for the first home game of the 2023-24 season.
“It’s not been confirmed yet but we’ve asked for the first game to be away, which will mean the first home game is August 19 or 20.
“It just means we have the best possible chance to make sure the stadium is ready, that we have had test events which are licensed and good to go.
“There is an element of pitch work, to make sure it has recovered from the roof being removed and the work which takes place on the pitch during the close season.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva praised his captain Tom Cairney after watching him score two goals in the thumping win over Leicester on Monday.
Cairney has made only 23 starts in the Premier League this season but took full advantage of his inclusion against the relegation-threatened Foxes, registering his first league goals of the campaign and putting in a fine all-round performance.
The 32-year-old swept in his side’s third goal of a 5-3 rout of Dean Smith’s team on the stroke of half-time, before adding his second after the break with a deft first touch and finish from Kenny Tete’s cross.
It kept Fulham in the hunt to register their highest-ever points tally in the Premier League, with two wins needed from their final three matches to break the club record of 53 set by Roy Hodgson’s team in 2009.
Silva said he was pleased to see Cairney working in midfield to help the team out of possession while also instilling the calm in the first half that ultimately helped them to sweep away Leicester before the break.
“Tom is always a player that can give us the calmness to start the game, even some moments under pressure he can give us what we need,” said Silva.
“Of course he knows I am pushing him to arrive in certain areas, to be between the lines.
“In some moments, first and second phase, we need players like him to start well, but when the game goes forward and we are in our defensive half, we need him to arrive in certain areas as well.
“Two great finishes, two great goals from him. Top quality player. We know his quality on the ball, everything that he can do.
“I’m pleased to see him working hard off the ball, understanding the moments, understanding the moments to press higher with Vini (Carlos Vinicius), the moments that he should drop to help the other midfielders as well. It was a very good performance from him and I’m really pleased for him.
“He deserves it and he’s having a good season, even if he’s not playing every time from the start. All of the last season for him has been good.”
The victory ended a run of three straight losses that had effectively ended Fulham’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.
Despite the disappointment, Silva remained optimistic that they can still record the club’s best tally for a top-flight season.
They will have Aleksandar Mitrovic back for the trip to struggling Southampton on Saturday and will relegate Saints with a victory, before hosting Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage and finishing with a visit to Old Trafford to play Manchester United.
“It’s really important we don’t hide that it’s our clear goal to achieve the target points that we want, to make the season even to be more brilliant, if I can say,” said Silva.
“We want really to finish the season with a big stamp, and the stamp will be to get that certain amount of points. We are going to fight for it definitely.
“We don’t know if it’s going to happen. But we are going to work hard and fight really hard and to enjoy to embrace the challenge to achieve it.”
Arsenal are hoping to announce Bukayo Saka’s new contract before the end of the Premier League season.
The England forward has been in talks with the club since last year but is committed to signing a new deal, which could now be sewn up before the summer break.
Saka, 21, has played a pivotal role in the Gunners’ title challenge this season and is the only Premier League player to reach double figures for goals and assists.
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He has hit 13 goals and laid on 11 assists to help Mikel Arteta’s side to second place and remain in the title hunt heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
Saka has missed just an hour of league football this season and also hit three goals at the World Cup as England made it to the quarter-finals in Qatar.
Talks with Arsenal over fresh terms have stretched back to last summer, with Saka saying in August he “shared confidence” with Arteta that he would extend his deal at the Emirates Stadium.
The PA news agency understands an agreement has all-but been reached for a new contract for the academy graduate, whose last deal was signed in the summer of 2020 and expires next year.
It is believed promotional footage to be released alongside the announcement has already been completed and it is a matter or working through the finer details before the deal is finalised.
While Saka is close to committing his long-term future to Arsenal, Granit Xhaka could be on the move this summer.
It is understood the club would be willing to let the Switzerland captain, whose deal also expires in 2024, move on if they receive an offer they deem acceptable.
Former Scotland captains Stuart Hogg and Stuart McInally remain on course for World Cup swansongs after the pair were named in Gregor Townsend’s 41-man pre-tournament training squad on Tuesday.
The experienced duo announced recently that they will retire from rugby to pursue other interests after this year’s showpiece in France.
While Exeter full-back Hogg was always expected to be included in the squad, there was some doubt about whether Edinburgh hooker McInally would be included.
In a squad of few major surprises, Glasgow back Stafford McDowall and Leicester lock Cam Henderson are the only uncapped players included, although both were involved in the Six Nations squad earlier this year.
Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham and Glasgow flanker Rory Darge are both back in the mix after missing the Six Nations through injury.
Exeter second row Jonny Gray has not been included after suffering a knee injury recently, while Fraser Brown, Johnny Matthews and Mark Bennett are among the most notable absentees.
The 41-player group will gather for an initial training camp on 29 May to begin preparations for warm-up matches at home to France, Italy and Georgia and away to the French in July and August.
The squad will then be trimmed to 33 ahead of the tournament in which Scotland will be in a group alongside South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania. Their first match is against the Springboks in Marseille on Sunday 10 September.
Jack Grealish is ready to be "the X factor" for Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final tie with Real Madrid, according to the club's former defender Kolo Toure.
Toure heralded the winger’s uniqueness and bravery with the ball ahead of what many have identified as treble-chasing City’s toughest challenge so far this season.
Pep Guardiola’s men will be desperate to make it past Los Blancos after their opponents’ stunning comeback against his side in last year’s semi-finals.
Pundits and fans have been identifying Erling Haaland as City’s key difference maker following a record-breaking first season in Manchester that has seen him score 51 goals in all competitions.
But Toure feels it may well be Grealish who City end up relying on as they look to finally get their hands on the elusive Champions League trophy, with the first leg of their last-four tie taking place on Tuesday.
"He is such an effective player and for me it is unique players like that who win the Champions League because he has that X factor," Toure told Stats Perform about Grealish ahead of the match at Santiago Bernabeu.
"It is his personality. He's not scared, he likes getting the ball under big pressure, and they need him in the Champions League.
"I think he's going to be really big for them in the Champions League games coming up."
Grealish will not need reminding of last season’s disappointment in Madrid, where City led by two goals going into the final minute of the second leg before collapsing to a 6-5 aggregate defeat after extra time.
As City sought to put the tie beyond doubt, the Englishman was centre stage. He saw an effort cleared off the line by Ferland Mendy before the exceptional Thibaut Courtois saved from him as opportunities went begging.
Many questioned whether City had made the right move bringing Grealish to the club. A low output – just three Premier League goals and three assists – in his first season under Guardiola and a £100 million transfer fee did not help his case.
He entered a squad stacked with attacking players who have technical ability in abundance and were already established as greats of the Guardiola era. The records of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne speak for themselves.
But Grealish’s development this season has been impressive, and this has not been lost on Toure.
"I think when he came to City, he came to a different team," explained Toure.
"With Aston Villa, he used to play as a free man and he used to be the playmaker. He used to be the one who does everything when they have the ball.
"They were working for him to make sure he just created chances on his own really by dribbling past one or two players and then passing the ball to his team-mates or scoring himself, and he had a habit of doing that from a young age.
"And then he came to Man City, which is a team with tactical discipline, which is a team with top players around him, which is a team that is not about one player but is about all the squad, it is about all the players on the pitch.
"And you find it difficult because he was learning the Man City way.
"He was trying to be disciplined because when you have been a free man running everywhere and then your manager says ‘you just stay there and the ball will get to you’ [it is an adjustment]. When the ball doesn't come for 20 seconds, you just want to get it.
"But Pep knew that this boy has big quality, and you just needed to be taught the tactical discipline and you can see how effective he is now.
"What happens when you have tactical discipline, you are not running everywhere on the pitch and you save a lot of energy and, when the ball gets there, you have plenty of energy to do even better than you used to.
"And you can see as how defensively he is working harder because he is not wasting energy. He is just in the right position for the ball get to him and then to attack one, two or three players."
Toure’s observations certainly stack up when looking at Grealish’s numbers. The England man has improved his assist output (11 in all competitions) and receives more progressive passes per game than in his first season at City, pointing his better understanding of his manager’s demands in tandem with his team-mates.
Guardiola is known to demand so much of his players and even Sergio Aguero once faced questions over his suitability. Many goals and many trophies later and that sentiment is one those who shared it will be hoping to forget.
Throw in names like Mahrez and Raheem Sterling and the list of attackers who have taken time before growing into key roles at the club is now a who’s-who of City successes.
Grealish will be hoping his critics will be quieter still as the season draws to a close following his breakout year at the top of English football.
But he along with his team-mates know Champions League glory will be the true marker of how they are viewed as City return to Madrid looking to show their growth and seeking redemption.
Everton winger Dwight McNeil cautioned against premature celebrations despite his side taking a significant step towards Premier League safety.
McNeil’s second-half brace helped the Toffees climb out of the relegation zone with an emphatic 5-1 away win at Brighton on Monday to move them one place and two points clear of 18th-placed Leicester.
While taking all three points from Roberto De Zerbi’s side provided a considerable boost, McNeil quickly diverted his attention to Everton’s remaining fixtures.
“Winning on the road is massive for our confidence within the camp, especially going forward into our final three games,” he told the club website.
“Now we are out of the relegation zone, we have a massive game coming up Sunday, then after that, the last two games are massive as well. We have to rest up now and get ready for that big game on Sunday.
“It’s massive to be out of the relegation zone, but we know nothing is done yet. We have got to go right to the end and get more points on the board and that’s what we want to do.”
Just three points separate 16th-placed Nottingham Forest and second-from-bottom Leeds.
Everton will look to dampen another club’s ambitions when they host Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday before encounters with Wolves and Bournemouth to close out the campaign.
Boss Sean Dyche was full of praise for former Burnley man McNeil, who picked up an assist for one of Abdoulaye Doucoure’s two goals against Brighton, while it was his cross that ultimately led to Jason Steele’s own goal.
Dyche said: “I’ve said keep going, keep driving forwards, because he does it so well. He can cross the ball and as you saw he can deliver calm finishes. His two finishes were terrific.
“It’s just another sign of what he’s got. I think he’s got a lot, to be honest, but I do about a lot of these players, when they’re on the edge and they’re all playing well and they’re full of confidence, but you have to build confidence and I think he’s been building his confidence levels and his performances.”
Brighton boss De Zerbi, meanwhile, encouraged his side to quickly move on from the defeat as they continue to target a place in Europe next season.
While it looks likely that seventh will be good enough for a Europa Conference League berth – a permutation thanks in part to the all-Manchester FA Cup final – De Zerbi wants his men to aim higher and refocus their mindset.
He said: “What you did in the past is not important, it doesn’t count, and we are Brighton. We have become Brighton. We won against Liverpool, against Manchester United, against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, against Chelsea.
“Not because there is a top coach, not because there are top players, [but] because we showed pride, we showed courage, energy, patience, and I’m sure we will show for a long time.”
Former Old Firm rivals Martin O’Neill and Alex McLeish are united in their disappointment over the lack of away supporters at games between Celtic and Rangers.
Former Celtic boss O’Neill believes the Glasgow derby has lost something from the development after describing the past atmosphere as “combative and brilliant”.
McLeish also feels the lack of away fans could even hamper the home team.
Both clubs formerly handed about 7,500 tickets to their rivals until Rangers announced in May 2018 that they were slashing that allocation to about 10 per cent of that figure. Inevitably, Celtic immediately followed suit.
Celtic are believed to be in favour of a return to the original allocation but neither club have taken away tickets for the final two league meetings between the sides this season amid concerns over the safety of small groups of away fans inside Ibrox and Celtic Park.
Speaking ahead of Celtic’s trip to Ibrox on Saturday, O’Neill said: “The thing I would miss most now is that there are no Celtic fans allowed into Ibrox and no Rangers fans allowed into Celtic.
“I think that really does take away from the atmosphere.
“My goalkeeping coach, Seamus McDonagh, brought some friends and his grandchild up to the game here, I got him some tickets for the 3-2 game (at Celtic Park). His grandchild was blown away by the atmosphere and Seamus, who hadn’t been up for a while, thought it was fantastic.
“I said to Seamus, it genuinely doesn’t compare to the atmosphere when the opposition are in. It’s really something. I mean the Rangers goal was virtual silence.
“I thought there was something really combative and brilliant about the fans being in.
“You felt kind of consolation that you had Celtic fans at Ibrox.
“It’s a shame. Honestly, there’s definitely something missing from that. You miss it. The games were fantastic. I’m not saying I always looked forward to them but they were fantastic.
“The games are still special but they were extra special when the away fans were in.
“It would be nice if the clubs sat down and organised something. Losing the away fans does take something away from the game.”
McLeish, who spent most of his Ibrox reign up against O’Neill, agreed with his former opponent.
“You get inspiration from both sets of fans,” the former Rangers manager said.
“If you’re getting ribbed by the opposition fans then it inspired you to do a wee bit more for yourself.
“It seems bizarre that there won’t be opposition fans. It’s a shame.
“I never thought I’d see that happening but it’s the way the world has evolved. Social networks are quite vitriolic at times as well. It’s something I could just never foresee.”
Wales international back-row forward Dan Lydiate has sealed a return to the Dragons ahead of next season.
Lydiate, who was recently released by Dragons’ United Rugby Championship rivals the Ospreys, will rejoin a region he played for between 2006 and 2013.
The 35-year-old British and Irish Lion has won 69 caps and is part of Wales head coach Warren Gatland’s extended preliminary World Cup training squad.
The Dragons have not specified Lydiate’s length of contract.
“We are delighted that Dan is coming home to a club where it all started and a place that means a huge amount to him,” Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan said.
“Dan has enjoyed a fantastic career, playing at the very highest level, and he comes back to the Dragons producing some of his finest rugby, underlined by his recent call-up by Wales.
“He is a leader, someone who sets the standards, while his vast experience and approach to the game will be of huge benefit to our young squad.”
Lydiate said: “I’ve had a lot of positive conversations with Dai about what is being built here, and he is one of the reasons I wanted to return and sign.
“There is a good crop of young talent at Dragons, and now I am back on board I will hopefully add some experience, play my part and help them on their journey, too. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.”
Sophia Floersch has set her sights on competing in Formula One “in the next three to five years” after recovering from a spinal fracture.
The 22-year-old currently drives for PHM Racing by Charouz in Formula Three, and has also taken part in endurance events such as Le Mans.
Floersch’s F1 aspirations are all the more remarkable given she broke her spine in a horrific crash at the 2018 Macau Grand Prix, aged 17.
The German driver’s incredible return to the sport saw her awarded Laureus World Comeback of the Year in 2020, and earlier this year she joined Alpine’s Race(H)er programme, which aims to increase diversity.
Speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Paris, she said: “I always dreamt of reaching F1 and now Alpine being behind me actually having the same goals and a clear way of how they want to get there with a woman makes it even better.
“It’s obviously not just on the education side a big plus for me, but financially it’s a big help which I need in my position.
“I think at some point there will be a female driver in F1. In the end, when you’re all in the car, you’re all just driving to win and you don’t really care about gender, or at least that’s (the case) for me.”
She continued: “Nothing is easy in life and especially not motorsports. It’s difficult. In this sport there are many different things that need to fall in place – not just for a woman, but for a man.
“I hope to reach it (F1) in the next three to five years but in the end I think I’m trying to look year to year.”
Floersch feels she has improved as a driver, with help around the more technical aspects of her trade, since joining Alpine in February.
“In general, especially tyre management, tyre warm-up procedure and so on… how to work with the team as well, because it’s a complete new team. We have learned a lot together,” she said.
“That’s where they helped me a lot and also tried to advise which directions to go.
“In the end, it’s really positive to be back, because that’s what I’ve wanted for the past two years, and for next year we’ll try to make the move to F2.”
:: Sophia Floersch was speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards. Find out more at www.laureus.com
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