The weekend started for me with England V Ireland on Sky Sports, another game in the World cup warm up series for these two teams. England were playing their third game in as many weeks,Ireland were playing in their second game following their second string recording a comfortable victory over Italy. England were dominant from the first to last whistle, Ireland did not seem as prepared as England, Ireland had pretty much a first choice team on show and apart from some brief moments they could not match England. Manu Tuilagi powered through the Irish backline for the entire 80 minutes and earned his man of the match award where he displayed his strength and athleticism which takes some stopping. England seized on the majority of their chances and head into their final preparation game in a confident mood. England prospered from the dynamic back row partnership of Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Billy Vunipola which allowed their backline to punch through the Irish defence on first phase ball way too frequently for Irish defence coach Andy Farrell’s liking. Ireland will want to seriously step up their performance in Cardiff next week against a welsh team which may be full of players playing for their place in the final world cup squad, Wales will announce their squad less than 24 hours after the final whistle which could provide some spice to an already important fixture.

Sunday morning led to me spectating at the Severn Bridge half marathon and 10k which was run in scorching conditions. The hill and the heat led to a lot of exhausted runners but the event was well organised and the competitors left happy and ready for some well-earned refreshments, it was nice to watch a half marathon rather than run especially in the heat but it was an enjoyable experience.

I then managed to catch the Swansea v Birmingham City game where the Swans were looking to make it two wins this week, after a first half where Birmingham parked the bus the Swans battled to break open the resolute defence. The approach that Steve Cooper has brought this year has been a breath of fresh air, he attacks when games are in the balance which has seen us overpower teams this week. The approach worked again with a half time change seeing Kyle Naughton replace Jake Bidwell who did not have a good first half in attack. The Swans have an enthusiastic team spirit this season and this is a game we definitely would have struggled in last season. Naughton grabbed the first goal of the game which provided confidence for the Jacks. We continued to probe the Blues defence with Yan Dhanda showing some nice touches and Andre Ayew looking a level above our opposition. Bersant Celina scored a second goal this week after a swift break saw the Kosovan finish in a cool manner.

The Swans again showed more defensive resolution with Joe Rodon bossing his defence in a show of defiance to the fans who gave him abuse last week. Rodon has been named in the Wales squad and needs to be allowed to grow this season rather than a loan player taking his place in the lineup due to contractual demands. The scoring was rounded up after Dhanda was felled in the penalty area after making a late run into the box, Borja Baston slotted the penalty to add another to his season tally so far. Baston had worked hard without the ball and the birthday boy was rewarded with a deserved goal. The Swans head to Elland Road next week in an early season first v second match against Leeds, a new Amazon documentary has revealed the Daniel James transfer debacle at Leeds in January and there is now some bad blood between the boardrooms. On the pitch Leeds have started well and have some dangerous players most notably ex Swan Pablo Hernandez who on his day is the best player in the league. This game will not define us but we can head into the game with confidence and have a go at Leeds which could see us win some points in this fixture.

Next was one of the most entertaining sporting finale’s I have seen for some time. England V Australia in the third test in this Summer’s Ashes series, a topsy turvy affair so far which saw England head into the final day chasing an improbable victory. After losing cheap wickets this morning the match saw a last wicket stand between Ben Stokes and Jack Leach defy the Australian attack to secure the victory. Australia could have won if they had not wasted a review earlier in the day where the umpire missed the call of LBW against Stokes which would have been overturned with a review. Star spinner Nathan Lyon fumbled the ball when he was faced with the opportunity to run out Leach saw England squeeze through on a balmy afternoon in Leeds. England have levelled the series and Stokes has displayed his importance to English Cricket once again having already been the star of the show in the World Cup Final where he scored the runs to take England into the super over. England have a lot of batsmen in poor form and some changes to the lineup and order are sure to be made, in Stokes England have a player who can impose his will on a match and the pressure is well and truly on him. England have the young Jofra Archer who can bowl with great pace but the team need to up their performances to wrestle the Ashes urn back from the Australians who have star man Steve Smith returning in the next fixture.

Star performer this week has to be Stokes who provided a seminal moment which will be discussed as a great Ashes performance for generations.