Emma Raducanu has stepped up her recovery from wrist and ankle surgery by returning to the practice court for the first time.

The 20-year-old was forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon after undergoing operations on both wrists and one ankle at the beginning of May.

She has been rehabilating over the last few weeks but made a big step by hitting for the first time at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton on Wednesday.

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Raducanu documented her session, which saw her gently hitting with a practice partner, on Instagram with the caption: “August 2nd, THE FUN PART. 1st time back on court.”

The US Open winner, who has been dogged by injuries since her amazing 2021 triumph in New York, will not be fit for the forthcoming tournament at Flushing Meadows, with a return in the Asia or European indoor swing in the autumn more likely.

Clive Cox makes no apology for thinking Jasour is at the top of the pecking order of his juveniles at Beechdown Stables in Lambourn as he bids for a hat-trick in the Markel Richmond Stakes at Goodwood on Thursday.

The Havana Grey colt has progressed in each of his three runs this term and followed up his Nottingham five-furlong maiden win with an authoritative two-length verdict over Lake Forest when upped to six furlongs in the July Stakes at Newmarket.

He tackles nine rivals in similar Group Two company on the Sussex Downs, with his trainer expecting him to back up that good performance.

Cox, who won this race in 2019 with Golden Horde and again the following year with Supremacy, said: “We were thrilled with the Newmarket success. He has come out of the race really well, we’re very happy with the way he’s been since then.

“It was nice to see him settle behind the pace and finish off in a race of that level, and to win as nicely as he did.

“We rate him highly. We had him entered in the Gimcrack before he ran at Newmarket and was our only entry in the race, so that tells you.

“It was not as if it was unexpected, but it is always nice to confirm what you hope and believe. We are hopeful that he’ll go well.”

First-time winners Vandeek, who landed a six-furlong maiden in easy ground at Nottingham for co-trainers Ed and Simon Crisford, and Sketch, who was an eyecatching Newbury scorer for Freddie and Martyn Meade, look worthy opponents.

Confidence is high that Showcasing colt Sketch, who scored by five lengths on debut 12 days ago, can back up that form.

Freddie Meade said: “He seems to have come out of it really well. Obviously it is quite a quick turnaround, but he was a true professional at Newbury. In the winner’s enclosure he seemed to take it all in his stride.

“It looks a tough renewal, but I think he showed he’s entitled to be there and he is a big, strong horse and it is not all about this season.

“He is a really nice horse who we think a lot of and we are hoping to go there with a live chance. Not many can do what he did first time out and the sectional times were good if you compare them to the Hackwood.”

Ed Crisford feels Vandeek will gain some useful experience, suggesting it is not all about his juvenile season.

He said: “He looked a bit inexperienced at Nottingham and just fell out the stalls, but with the ground the way it is – it was soft when he won there – it will help. He seems to have come on for that mentally for the last few weeks, so we thought we’d take a chance.

“If he can take a step forward from his maiden win, we’ll be pleased. He is one for the future and it is not all about this.”

The Group Three John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes over a mile and a half sees the King’s Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero having his first outing since landing the King George V Stakes.

However, the top two in the market are the Aidan O’Brien-trained Espionage and the Crisfords’ Chesspiece.

The former won a Listed race at Rosscommon on his seasonal bow, having shown some smart form in three runs last autumn, including when beaten a head by Donnacha O’Brien’s Proud And Regal in the Criterium at Saint-Cloud.

O’Brien said of the Galileo colt, who is towards the head of the betting on the St Leger: “He’s only had the one run this year and nearly won a Group One in France last year.

“He’s progressing, he’s coming on. That was his first run at Roscommon this season and we think he’ll progress as the year goes on.”

Chesspiece was placed in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot before dropping back in trip to land a Listed prize at Hamilton over a mile and three furlongs.

Ed Crisford feels he will appreciate the easy ground in what looks a high-quality renewal.

“He won nicely in a Listed race at Hamilton and he’s come out of it very well,” he said.

“We know he likes softer conditions and with all the rain, we thought it was a good option to run him.

“He is doing extremely well and I’m sure he will be very competitive. It looks a strong race for the class and if he can take another step forward, he’ll be right in the mix.”

Big Evs proved his surprise Royal Ascot success was no fluke with victory in the Jaeger-Lecoultre Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood.

Narrowly beaten on his debut at Redcar in May, Mick Appleby’s juvenile was sent off at 20-1 for the Windsor Castle Stakes but ran out a clear-cut winner.

He was the 9-4 joint-favourite to follow up at Group Three level and a smart start meant he was soon leading the field in the hands of Jason Hart.

Purosangue came at him hard as the post loomed, but Big Evs kept responding to pressure and clung on by a neck.

Kylian, the other 9-4 favourite, appeared outpaced early on, but made late progress to place third and may well have finished closer with a clearer run.

Betfair cut Big Evs to 5-1 from 8-1 for the Gimcrack at York on August 25, although connections also raised the possibility of paying the £40,000 required to supplement him for the Nunthorpe on the same day.

He is an 8-1 shot with Paddy Paddy Power to become the first two-year-old to win the all-aged Group One since Kingsgate Native in 2007.

Magical Sunset finished with some gusto to secure the Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes at Goodwood.

Richard Hannon’s filly won three times last season, including a Listed success, but could finish only fifth when favourite to make a winning reappearance in the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury in April.

She had also troubled to fail the judge in four starts since, but bounced right back to the best in deteriorating conditions on the Sussex Downs.

Matilda Picotte cut out much of the running in the seven-furlong Group Three before being swallowed up by the chasing pack, and in the final furlong 4-1 joint-favourite Breege hit the front.

But Kevin Stott was biding his time in behind aboard 18-1 shot Magical Sunset and she picked up well once in the clear to get up and score by three-quarters of length.

Hannon said: “I think she would have been unlucky if she’d been beaten, she’s much better on this ground – she won the Radley Stakes at Newbury very well on it and that’s helped her today.

“She looked the best turning in at Sandown the other day and it looked to me like she didn’t get home, so we came back to seven furlongs today and I’m delighted. She won very well.

“The owner rang me and was actually pleased – that’s very rare! Group races are very hard to win. My god, there’s a massive bottle of Whispering Angel over there – he’s not getting that! That’s what you call tax…”

He added: “She’s a really sweet filly. She’s always been lovely, but she’s much better on that ground. She cost a few quid, mind you. She was unlucky in the Goffs Million, she’s getting her revenge slightly and getting her slice of luck.

“I think she’s entered in a Group Three in Deauville, so she might go there – she’ll have a penalty, obviously, but she’ll go wherever the soft ground is.”

Europe captain Luke Donald has named former skipper Jose Maria Olazabal as his fourth vice-captain for this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.

Olazabal enjoyed a stellar playing career in the biennial contest against the United States before leading his side to victory in the famous ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012.

The 57-year-old won a total of 20.5 points in his seven appearances, with 12 of those coming from 15 matches in partnership with fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.

Olazabal, who was also vice-captain in 2008, 2010 and 2014, joins Thomas Bjorn, Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts in Donald’s backroom team.

The two-time Masters champion said: “With my previous experiences in the Ryder Cup I am obviously thrilled to be back involved once again.

“I am really looking forward to feeling that special adrenaline flow, the intensity and the electricity that only the Ryder Cup can bring.

“It was a very nice surprise to be asked by Luke. I didn’t expect it, but I was delighted when the call came.

“I have no doubts that Luke will be a great captain. He has played in the Ryder Cup four times and won four times and he therefore knows what is required to perform well in the match.”

Donald, who was sent out first by Olazabal in the Sunday singles at Medinah, said: “To know he had that respect and confidence in me to go out and lead Europe in such a pressurised last-day environment meant a lot and this feels, perhaps, that I am returning that favour a little bit, as I have a huge amount of confidence in him.

“Just his mere presence brings energy to any Ryder Cup environment and I saw that first hand when I asked him to be involved in the Hero Cup we staged in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of this year.

“He was such a big part of that week, being with the players and sharing stories with them of just what the Ryder Cup is all about.

“People notice when Jose Maria walks into a room and you could see at the Hero Cup how much everyone respected him and admired him for all he’s done in the game. I could not be more excited to have him on my team.”

French trainer Christopher Head is excited to see how the “filly of my life” Blue Rose Cen shapes up against Nashwa in a mouthwatering Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

Unbeaten in three starts this season, Blue Rose Cen landed the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and then produced a powerful performance over an extended 10 furlongs, winning a deep Prix de Diane (French Oaks) at Chantilly by four lengths.

Last year she won four of her six starts, culminating in another top-class success in the Prix Marcel Boussac, to be crowned the French champion two-year-old.

Her first crack at the older generation comes on her international debut. And Head is relishing the chance to visit a track where Solow landed the Sussex Stakes for his father, Freddy, in 2015.

“Everything is all right – all lights are green,” said Head.

“She has had a brilliant preparation and we are very happy with her, and we can’t wait to get to Goodwood races.

“She is a wonderful filly, the filly of my life for now, and I’m really happy to have the luck to train her.

“It has been a tremendous season with her and we can’t wait to see what she is capable of doing at the Goodwood track.”

Head is a fifth generation of his family to excel in the thoroughbred business. He is the son of Freddy, the multiple champion-jockey-turned-trainer, and grandson of Alec, something akin to French racing royalty.

While this will be Head’s first runner at the undulating circuit, he is no stranger to British racing and is keen to see how far the daughter of Churchill can climb.

“It has been a very nice run and I think it is a very tactical racetrack and a very interesting one,” he added.

“I can’t wait to get into it, because there is such a good atmosphere at the races in the UK and it is really a unique feeling when you run a horse there.”

The Chantilly-based handler has no qualms that Blue Rose Cen will handle the rain-soaked ground.

“The ground should not be any issue for her,” he said. “She has already encountered various tracks and there is no problem at any of them.”

Though he initially felt she was a 10-furlong filly on pedigree, he is exploring the possibility of seeing her race over further.

“We will need to see her run, but there is a project about seeing what she is capable of doing in a staying capacity, such as the Vermeille, just to see if she is capable of going further,” he added.

“We don’t have the limit of the filly now – she looks like she can do everything! For now, she has the benefit of choice.”

Five fillies stand in her way, including Roger Varian’s Al Husn, who won the Group Three Hoppings Fillies’ Stakes, at Newcastle, and Joseph O’Brien’s Above The Curve, who won the top-level Prix Saint-Alary last season.

Nashwa, though, would appear to be Blue Rose Cen’s biggest danger. The John and Thady Gosden-trained four-year-old won this race last year, having previously given Hollie Doyle her first Classic success in the Prix de Diane.

The daughter of Frankel, who is rated 2lb superior on official ratings, will be conceding 8lb to the French raider due to the weight-for-age structure.

She took her time to find her form this season, and was narrowly beaten by Al Husn at Newcastle, but was subsequently an eyecatching winner of the Group One Falmouth at Newmarket, where she powered to a five-length success back over a mile.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Imad Al Sagar, who owns Nashwa, feels she is up to the task now she has found her form.

He said: “She’s in good form, actually. She came out of the Falmouth really well. I think it was so encouraging the way she did it at Newmarket.

“Everybody’s faith has been repaid, as it were. She looked good and had done well over the winter and, if anything, might have done a bit too well.

““She is a big, scopey filly and sometimes they just take a little while to come to themselves. It was never that she worked badly, she was always going nicely, but I think after Newcastle, it looked like she suddenly began to take hold of the bridle.

“She settled really well at Newmarket and showed a really good turn of foot, galloped out well and wasn’t stopping.”

Nashwa justified favouritism, beating Aristia by a length and three-quarters in the race 12 months ago, but Grimthorpe knows she faces a tough task against Blue Rose Cen.

He added: “We know she acts at Goodwood, anyway. It is a very interesting race and the French filly looks exceptional. It is going to be a good race.

“We are always hopeful, but the good thing is she is going into the race how we’d want her to.”

Jac Morgan will captain Wales on Saturday in what is effectively the first of three World Cup leadership auditions.

The 23-year-old Ospreys flanker takes charge for Wales’ opening tournament warm-up game against England in Cardiff.

Wales then go to Twickenham seven days later before hosting reigning world champions South Africa – and there is likely to be a different skipper each time as head coach Warren Gatland considers his options.

Hooker Dewi Lake, fly-half Dan Biggar, plus locks Adam Beard and Will Rowlands are also among realistic captaincy candidates.

Should Morgan or 24-year-old hooker Lake be handed the World Cup reins, it would echo Gatland appointing Sam Warburton as skipper for the 2011 tournament, when he was just 22.

“We’ve named Jac as captain for this match, and it is a great honour for him to be leading his country,” Gatland said.

“We will be looking at probably having a different captain for each of the matches as we give as many as possible in the squad an opportunity to impress, but also mindful about potential combinations as we get closer to naming the World Cup squad.”

Gatland is set to name his final 33-strong World Cup squad later this month, and there are early chances in the spotlight for an uncapped trio of Max Llewellyn, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti, who all start against England.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Since the start of last year, players can switch to their country of birth – or their parents’ or grandparents’ birth – provided a minimum period of three years has elapsed since they were last selected for an adopted country.

Thomas, who won the last of his seven England caps against New Zealand in 2014, follows players like Jean Kleyn (Ireland to South Africa), Charles Piutau (New Zealand to Tonga) and Byron McGuigan (Scotland in Namibia).

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations after tough training camps in Switzerland and Turkey.

Gatland added: “I have been really pleased with the players’ effort and commitment in Turkey, Switzerland and the mini camps in Wales, but now it is about putting what we’ve been training into practice.

“There is some great competition among the squad in all positions, and we’ve selected a team this week with a few debutants because we want to give them the opportunity to see what they can do.

“There is a lot to play for over the next three matches, and everyone is still in contention to make that final squad for France.”

Centre Llewellyn, who is the son of former Wales lock Gareth Llewellyn, will partner George North in midfield, with Cardiff props Domachowski and Assiratti also gaining immediate chances to shine.

Swansea-born Plumtree, meanwhile, goes straight into the matchday 23 after linking up with the Wales squad ahead of last month’s trip to Switzerland.

He has played Super Rugby in New Zealand and will be part of the Scarlets set-up next season.

For Halfpenny, Saturday’s game sees him reach three figures almost 15 years after he made his Wales debut as a teenager against South Africa.

He will become the ninth Wales player to clock up a century, and only the fifth back, joining North, Biggar, Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas.

Gatland said: “I would like to make a special mention for Leigh Halfpenny, who will win his 100th cap for Wales on Saturday.

“Reaching this milestone is an incredible achievement and testament to the player and person Leigh is. I know it will be a very special day for him and all his family.”

Dylan Hartley has urged England to install Owen Farrell at fly-half for the entire World Cup and its build up in the belief it will provide reassurance to the team.

Farrell is competing with George Ford and Marcus Smith for the role of chief conductor with the alternative option to pick him at inside centre, operating alongside one of his rivals for the number 10 jersey.

Head coach Steve Borthwick used both Farrell and Smith in the position during the Six Nations, while Ford is back in contention having fallen out of favour under Eddie Jones.

Hartley, who led England to the 2016 Grand Slam, insists his successor as red rose captain should start the Summer Nations Series opener against Wales on Saturday and then be retained, to send out a message.

“I would love for Owen to play at 10 and for Steve Borthwick to make his mind up and go with him for all these opening games,” Hartley told the PA news agency.

“The team ticks when there is certainty and I love the conviction of seeing Owen at 10. If he’s at 10 then it frees up Ollie Lawrence or Manu Tuilagi, or whatever combination there is outside him.

“As the leader, heartbeat of the side and world class player when given the reins, Owen is integral to how England will perform.

“He’s not just the fly-half and goalkicker, he’s everything to that squad. He’s not a young kid any more, he’s a battle-hardened warrior.

“He’s still matching where he needs to be physically, it’s not like they’re carrying him just for his experience, whereas you’d probably argue I was just there for experience and captaincy instead of performance.

“In that regard you hit a tipping point and my tipping point came pre-30-years-old. Owen ticks all the boxes for me.”

Borthwick has four Tests – Wales’ visit to Twickenham and clashes with Ireland and Fiji complete the schedule – to fine tune England ahead of their seismic opener against Argentina on September 9.

The Principality showdown is the only match to take place before Borthwick names his 33-man World Cup squad on Monday with the management team holding their final selection meeting on Saturday night.

Hartley, who is now exploring coaching consultancy roles, having retired in 2019, believes it is crucial England use the Tests to stitch together a winning run.

“You want to roll these games into the World Cup and win them all. You don’t want to experiment and I’d like to see conviction from the off. Don’t mess around and pick the team you would for a World Cup final,” the former Northampton hooker said.

“Pick a team against Wales to win, not to work on combinations. If you experiment with a player you might learn more about him, but you get more from a winning team. You go through the gears easier when you’re winning.

“Uncertainty can keep environments competitive and honest, but you also need a little bit of comfort.

“Injuries will come, but deal with those retrospectively and go win the games which will build momentum and confidence.”

Rugby is going through a challenging period amid concerns over concussion, its laws, finances and playing numbers, but Hartley believes the coming weeks in France will provide a much-needed lift.

“The game has taken bit of a shoeing but the best of rugby is displayed at rugby World Cups, so it’s timely,” the 97-cap front row said.

“You have the underdog stories – the teams you never get to see like Portugal and Chile – that emerge and are hugely positive.

“The game is in a tough place but with the quality of teams and calibre of athlete we’ll see at the World Cup, it will be a great advertisement for the game and we can stop talking about the negative stuff.”

:: All 15 Summer Nations Series matches are available exclusively on Prime Video in the UK.

Bluestocking will be given a couple of options at the upcoming Sky Bet Ebor Festival at York following her narrow defeat in the Irish Oaks.

Placed behind Warm Heart in both a Listed race at Newbury and the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Camelot filly comprehensively reversed that form in the Curragh Classic and looked the likely winner after travelling powerfully to the lead.

In the end she was outstayed by Epsom Oaks runner-up Savethelastdance, but lost little in defeat in being beaten half a length and is now bound for the Knavesmire.

Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte, said: “Whilst we thought the world of her, her form before the Irish Oaks wouldn’t have suggested she was going to put in a run like that, but we sort of always felt she had that in her.

“It was a huge run and I thought she had it won for most of the straight, but unfortunately we didn’t.

“We’ll look towards York for her. It will more than likely be the Yorkshire Oaks, but because she hasn’t won yet this year she has the option of the race we won with Haskoy last year (Galtres Stakes).

“You’d imagine she’ll probably go for the Yorkshire Oaks, but she’ll be in both anyway.”

Two other horses who have made a big impression for the Juddmonte team in the last week are Waltham and Task Force.

Trained by Ger Lyons, the three-year-old Waltham supplemented an impressive debut win at Leopardstown with a runaway six-length success in a conditions event at the same track. He now looks set for a step up to Pattern class, but Mahon feels talk of a tilt at Classic glory in the St Leger is premature.

“He’s a nice horse and he’s a horse that went into training late – he only went into training in May this year,” he said.

“He’s done nothing wrong in his two wins, he’s progressing nicely and stays well and something like the Irish St Leger Trial at the Curragh (August 20) would be next on the cards.

“He is a nice horse, but you have to remember he’s won a pretty uncompetitive maiden and he’s won a nice conditions race – it’s a long way off Group One standard.”

Task Force, trained by Ralph Beckett, is bred to be a bit special as a son of Frankel out 1000 Guineas heroine Special Duty and made a big impression on his racecourse introduction at Salisbury.

While plans are fluid, Mahon hopes he can go on to bigger and better things.

He said: “It’s not too many times you have a two-year-old that’s by a Guineas winner and out of a Guineas winner and he’s a nice horse.

“He’s a very late foal (born in May) and he’s been a little bit immature, but he’s shown up well at home, Ralph decided to bring him down the road for his first start and he won well.

“Again the quality of the race might not have been the strongest, but he did it in impressive fashion over what I’d imagine is his bare minimum trip of six furlongs.

“Without discussing it with Ralph, he would remind me of a horse who probably won’t have a huge amount of racing this year. If he had another two starts that would probably be the height of it as he’s a horse to look forward to for next year.

“I’d say he’ll step up to seven furlongs next time.”

When asked whether the Acomb Stakes at York could be a target, he added: “At the moment I think the plan is for Starlore to go to the Acomb, but if Task Force was in good form and Ralph wanted a go it’s not impossible we could run two of them.”

Finn Russell will captain Scotland in this Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against France – less than 10 months after Gregor Townsend left the fly-half out of his initial squad for the autumn series.

The 30-year-old will lead the team in the absence of Jamie Ritchie, who misses out with a minor niggle. Scotland medical staff hope the regular skipper will be fit to return for the rematch with France in St Etienne the following Saturday.

Head coach Townsend has restored most of his senior players, making 13 changes to his starting XV, after a largely experimental side defeated Italy last weekend.

Darcy Graham and Matt Fagerson are the only two to retain their places from the win over the Azzurri, while hooker Ewan Ashman – with just seven caps to date – is the least-established player in the XV to face the World Cup hosts.

Ritchie and George Turner – who played against Italy – are the only notable absentees from the starting XV.

Versatile Edinburgh back Blair Kinghorn has been given a chance to establish himself as the first-choice number 15 following the recent retirement of Stuart Hogg.

Russell being handed the captaincy marks a significant turnaround in fortunes for a player whose international future looked in serious jeopardy just under a year ago after he was a surprise omission from the autumn series squad, with Townsend citing concerns about his form and consistency levels.

However, following an injury to Adam Hastings that left him short of dependable options at stand-off, Townsend held clear-the-air talks with Russell and recalled him for the third of the four autumn Tests at home to New Zealand.

The number 10 – who has moved to Bath from Racing 92 this summer – shone against the All Blacks and Argentina last November and continued to flourish in the Six Nations, rediscovering the faith of Townsend who has rewarded him with the honour of leading the team this weekend, just five weeks out from their opening World Cup match against South Africa in Marseille.

Tadhg Beirne admits the scars of the last World Cup took a long time to heal and insists Ireland will do everything possible to avoid making the same mistakes.

Andy Farrell’s side go into the tournament in France at the top of the world rankings and buoyed by clinching a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam on the back of a historic tour success in New Zealand.

Ireland were buzzing with similar belief under Joe Schmidt in 2019 before suffering an emphatic quarter-final exit to the All Blacks following a shock pool-stage loss to hosts Japan.

Munster lock Beirne believes the tone for that forgettable campaign was set during an underwhelming build-up, which included a record drubbing by England, and is determined to help prevent a repeat outcome as he prepares for Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy.

“It was really disappointing to be honest, we had such expectations of ourselves and we probably felt like we didn’t fire on all cylinders,” he said of the 2019 tournament.

“Overall, just disappointment from the get-go.

“Even when you talk about warm-ups we didn’t particularly play well in them, did we? And that fed into the World Cup in terms of our performances over there.

“I think afterwards it took a long, long time to get over it so I’m certainly hoping that’s not the case this year and we’ll be doing everything we can to change that.”

Ireland begin the World Cup on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

After hosting Italy, preparations continue when England visit the Aviva Stadium a fortnight later before a fixture against Samoa in Bayonne the following weekend provides a final chance for fine-tuning.

Beirne says the three upcoming matches are far from friendlies and acknowledges that any player not up to scratch is at risk of being dropped when head coach Farrell cuts his squad from 42 to 33 at the end of the month.

“You can certainly lose your spot in a World Cup squad if you don’t play well,” said the British and Irish Lion, who was restricted to a peripheral role for his country in Japan in 2019.

“As a squad we have a record at home that we are proud of at the moment, we are playing a certain type of rugby that we want to continue doing.

“We are looking at it very much as we would a Six Nations game or a November international game.

“It’s a Test match we want to win and we are going out there to prove a point, 100 per cent.”

Mike Phillips has urged Wales to inspire their fans at what he considers the most important World Cup in the nation’s rugby history.

The Welsh game has spent 2023 in crisis off the field due to a sexism and misogyny scandal at the Welsh Rugby Union and in dire straits on it, with Warren Gatland struggling to transform the team’s fortunes during his second spell in charge.

Wales, World Cup semi-finalists in Japan four years ago, have fallen to ninth in the global rankings, with supporters expecting Gatland’s side to make a major impact at the tournament in France next month very much in the minority.

“It’s more important this time,” former scrum-half Phillips said of Wales’ forthcoming World Cup campaign.

“The public needs it. It seems that it has just been a constant negative about Welsh rugby over the last 18 months. The public needs some inspiration.

“We all want to support success, just as with the football team reaching the World Cup.

“The Welsh people want to be inspired and there’s nothing like the national team to galvanise the game, all the way down to the grassroots.

“It would be nice to have people excited about what’s happening on the pitch.”

Wales play two warm-up games against England – the first in Cardiff on Saturday – and another at home to South Africa before embarking on their World Cup adventure.

British and Irish Lions trio Alun Wyn Jones – Test rugby’s most capped player – Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb have all left the international scene in recent months and there will be several new faces in France.

“There’s no pressure on these players but my only concern is that they’re not winning often, either for club or country,” said Phillips, who won 94 caps for Wales and another five for the Lions.

“Winning in sport is tough, it doesn’t just happen. Sometimes you need to grind it out. A few years ago that’s what they were doing.

“Gatland will have them fit but the game has moved on from when he was first in charge. There’s far more kicking now so the tactics need to be spot on, strong defence and discipline is key because games turn on a moment.

“You can’t keep picking the same guys forever. Ideally you would have a core group with 30 or 40 caps but we seem to have players either with lots or none.”

Phillips starred as Wales reached the last four of the 2011 World Cup, losing agonisingly 9-8 to France after skipper Sam Warburton had been sent off in the opening quarter.

He said: “The youngsters have to learn to become leaders, that’s how they will grow. Perhaps it’s good to throw them in the deep end.

“It feels similar to 2011 when Wales brought in a load of new young players like George North, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland, Taulupe Faletau and Sam Warburton.

“They came back from the World Cup experience and won a Grand Slam, another title, and all went with the Lions in 2013.

“We may not know a lot about these lads now but they can be household names by the time they return.”

Wales meet Fiji – who famously knocked them out the last time the World Cup was held in France 16 years ago – in a crunch Bordeaux opener on September 10 before further group games against Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

England or Argentina are potential quarter-final opponents.

“Fiji is a monumental game,” said Phillips. “Getting that first win gives you momentum and takes a bit of pressure off.

“But Fiji are very physical and athletically they are absolute monsters. They are strong and powerful and seem to have a more tactical game now with their driving maul.

“Their scrum is pretty solid, they play in that Super competition (Super Rugby Pacific franchise Fijian Drua provided 19 of the most recent national squad), and they are going to be tough to break down.”

:: Mike Phillips was speaking at S4C’s 2023 Rugby World Cup launch.

Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up clash against England at the Principality Stadium.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has yet to announce his World Cup skipper, though, and says each of the preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa in Cardiff, could have a different player at the helm.

Centre Max Llewellyn, plus props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti will make their Test debuts on Saturday.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations.