Dragons fly-half Sam Davies is hoping his move from Ospreys can help rekindle his international career and impress Wales' new look coaching staff.

Davies signed a new two-year deal with the Gwent region and insists Gareth Anscombe's arrival at Ospreys was not a factor in his move.

The 25-year-old won the last of his eight caps two years ago.

"There is a new coaching team coming in and if we get things right here that will give me recognition," said Davies.

Wayne Pivac will succeed Warren Gatland as Wales coach after the World Cup in Japan later this year and his backroom staff will include Scarlets backs coach Stephen Jones.

"They will have a clean sheet of paper and know how they want to play the game," said Davies.

"That's why this a good move for me with my regional career starting with a clean slate as well."

Davies was linked with a move out of Wales but says his international career was a major factor in him staying in the country as a move abroad would have made him ineligible to play for his country.

"When I thought about my Wales ambitions and the opportunity that arose here, it was a no-brainer," said Davies.

"At the start of the season when there was a bit of interest it was exciting and you think about doing it (moving out of Wales), but I am 25 and have a lot of playing time left in me.

"I want to play for Wales and if I move away, that is gone and I could become the forgotten man. I want to stamp my authority on a team here in Wales and this the best opportunity to do so.

"I know Stephen Jones well from my time as a kid at the Scarlets. When my dad (Nigel Davies) was coaching there Steve used to give me pairs of boots.

"I spoke to him after Judgement Day and he was keen for me to stay in Wales so that excites me."

Davies burst onto the international stage in the 2016-17 season and kicked the winning drop-goal against Japan in November 2016.

But Davies was suffering from a groin problem on the 2017 summer tour where he started in Wales' victories against Samoa and Tonga.

Davies then endured an injury-plagued 2017-18 campaign and has not played for Wales since.

"It was tough for me the season after coming from such a high to almost a low but I will learn my lessons from what I did that season," said Davies.

"I was nowhere fit enough to go on the summer tour because I had a groin problem but to be offered the opportunity to start for your country is tough to turn down.

"I look back on that now and probably shouldn't have gone but I got two starts for my country. It did go well with two wins but came back to bite me."

Anscombe's signing from Cardiff Blues increased the competition at the Ospreys where Davies was already competing with Luke Price. However, Davies insists Anscombe's arrival was not a factor in his move.

"It was not that the competition bothered me and I had done that before with Dan Biggar at the Ospreys," said Davies.

"It was not a case of they had signed Anscombe, so I am moving. It was more of a case of seeing the ambition here [at the Dragons].

"I had been at the Ospreys for a long time and as much of a hard decision it was to leave, a move can be a good thing sometimes and that excites me.

"My best rugby is ahead of me. You have to be positive and if I can get this team moving in the right direction that will enable me to perform as well."

GAS CITY, Ind. – Wednesday’s Indiana Midget Week stop at Gas City I-69 Speedway was a disaster that turned into a rebound wrapped up in an enigma for Clauson-Marshall Racing.

For one of the power teams of the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series, nothing wanted to go right at the quarter-mile, black dirt oval, despite the fact they left the track with three top-10 finishes.

Things went sour for series point leader Tyler Courtney right from the get-go, after a mechanical issue in qualifying relegated the driver nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ to Windom’s backup car for the rest of the night.

Once he switched steeds, however, Courtney was off to the races. He won his heat race and charged from 15th to sixth in the 30-lap main event, garnering KSE/Prosource Hard Charger honors as a result.

It allowed Courtney to extend his championship lead, despite a trying run for the Indianapolis native.

“This was just a long day; you know what I mean?” Courtney quipped afterward. “I don’t see the moon from where I’m standing, but it’s probably full, or if it’s not then it should be. My guys never gave up, though, and it’s pretty hard to give up on them when they don’t give up and don’t stop working.

“That’s how you win championships; you have to make the most out of crappy nights, and tonight probably couldn’t have been any crappier in the first half than what it was,” he added. “To come home sixth is a win, I think, in our book. You want to win every race, but to go from 15th to sixth is solid in the big picture and in terms of the midget week points.”

If Courtney’s night was rough, then teammate Chris Windom’s go of things at Gas City was an unmitigated disaster – as he was forced to go through three different maladies in one night.

Windom lost the motor in his primary car during his heat race and was relegated to a backup power plant for the B-main, then suffered even more hardship during the B-main when more engine issues forced him to take a provisional just to start the 30-lap feature.

With one car out of commission and his backup car in Courtney’s hands, Windom and company had to get creative – going to Courtney’s repaired primary car in order to utilize their provisional grid spot.

After that, things finally smoothed over for Windom, who came from last on the 23-car grid to finish ninth, salvaging a solid points day after a continuation of his month-long streak of bad luck.

Windom’s rough seas at Gas City followed on from hard crashes at the Hoosier Hundred, Indy Lights Freedom 100 and Carb Night Classic during the Month of May, though this time he got a decent result.

“I think I set the record for most equipment used in one night,” Windom joked afterward. “We went out, ran OK in hot laps, but in qualifying something seemed off. The first engine finally went away in the heat race, and we had to change engines for the B just to get out last second. When we killed another engine there in the B, going to Courtney’s primary car was about the last option we had at that point.

“Somehow, after all that, we went all the way from the tail to a top 10,” he continued. “That’s just a testament to these CMR guys and how much time and effort they put into these cars. It’s why they do win championships and why I’m glad to be associated with them.”

After falling from 18th on the grid to 23rd at the start, 16-year-old Zeb Wise notched a 10th-place finish in the No. 39bc for CMR, while fellow teenager and series rookie Andrew Layser hopped the cushion midway through the main event and ended up 13th in the rundown after starting 22nd at the green flag.

Though each of the four CMR drivers had their issues to overcome over the night, no driver in the stable has endured more bad luck than Windom has lately – a trend he sorely hopes will reverse itself soon.

“I thought this stuff was finally over after last weekend, but luckily, this time it was just engine failures as opposed to some of the hard hits we took a couple races ago,” noted Windom. “No one wants that, but these guys will get it all patched up and hopefully get us back to winning races pretty quick.”

Courtney summed up the night for the team as a whole in one word and a shake of his head.

“Bizarre,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had one go quite like this before, but we’ll come back.”

GAFFNEY, S.C. – JD Motorsports with Gary Keller has signed Ryan Repko to compete in multiple NASCAR Xfinity Series events this season.

Repko will make his debut with the team at Iowa Speedway on June 16.

Repko, 19, has two ARCA Menards Series starts to his name, with the most recent coming at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville in April of 2018. Repko has two top-five finishes and one pole award in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour in 11 previous starts. In 2018, Repko won three Late Model Stock Car races, including the prestigious Bobby Isaac Memorial 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway.

“I am really thankful for this opportunity,” said Repko. “All of the pieces are coming together for this to be a great weekend for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, as well as for myself. I’m looking forward to making a name for myself in my first NASCAR National Series event.”

More Xfinity Series races will be added to Repko’s schedule as the season progresses.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Seventeen-year-old Canadian driver Raphael Lessard will join DGR-Crosley for two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races this year.

Lessard will drive for the team at Iowa Speedway on June 15 and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, on Aug. 25 driving the Réseau Dynamique Toyota Tundra.

Lessard previously raced a super late model for DGR-Crosley co-owner David Gilliland in 2016 where he went on to win a CARS Super Late Model Tour championship after posting four wins and eight top-five finishes. Looking to get as much seat time as possible, the St.-Joseph de Beauce, Quebec native is racing in Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and ARCA Menards Series this season.

“I’m super excited to work with Raphaël again,” said Gilliland. “He’s a great kid. He won a CARS Tour championship with us back in 2016, and it’s been really fun to watch his progression the past few years. He’s done a great job in his first two truck races with KBM. He’s put together solid races, ran all the laps and that’s what it takes to learn and get better at this level. We are looking forward to getting him over here in one of our Tundra’s and continuing to help him learn and grow.”

Lessard has two Truck Series starts ,which occurred this season with Kyle Busch Motorsports. In those two starts, he earned 14th and 11th-place finishes, respectively, at Martinsville Speedway and Dover Int’l Speedway.

“I am really happy to participate in these two additional truck races,” Lessard said. “The DGR-Crosley team has changed several personnel since I last raced with them two years ago. Things do look great, as Crew Chief Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion has an excellent reputation at all levels in NASCAR. In addition, I participated in a test session in Iowa and covered 100 laps, which will allow me to drive hard right from the start of the first practice session. I would also like to thank my partners, especially Réseau dynamique and the people who allow me to have great experiences like these two races.”

Editor’s Note: Holley Hollan, 17, is a rookie in the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series. From June 5 through June 10, Hollan will be sharing her experiences with SPEED SPORT subscribers while competing during Indiana Midget Week. 

Hollan drives the No. 67k Toyota-powered midget for Keith Kunz Motorsports. Below is her second diary entry, recapping Wednesday night’s events at Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, Ind.

GAS CITY, Ind. – Hey guys, Holley Hollan here after the second night of Indiana Midget Week at Gas City I-69 Speedway, and we definitely made some progress compared to where we were at Montpelier.

Gas City is a small, tight little track and just like most of the rest of the places we’re going to this week, it was my first time racing there.

We started out the night really strong, though, qualifying 10th-quickest and setting ourselves up in a really good position for our heat race.

The heat race was a big moment for me and for the team, as we got the jump from the outside pole and led all the way for my first USAC heat race victory!

RELATED: It’s All Grant In Round Two Of Midget Week

Coming off a rough night at Montpelier, winning that heat race finally gave me a chance to breathe and realize that I do have speed at these new tracks. Locking myself into the feature directly out of the heat race was a big relief, especially given the amount of cars we had at the race track – enough for a C-main.

By the time we got to the feature, things were a little bit tricky because we were buried back in the lineup. We started 17th and were able to make it up to 14th at the finish, despite being bottled up in traffic. All in all, it was just good to be able to roll the car back onto the trailer in one piece.

This experience has been fun so far. Because there’s such a short amount of time between hot laps and qualifying to figure out the track, it can be tricky on a newer driver, but I like that challenge. The entire Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team works day and night to give us all fast race cars, and being part of such a dedicated organization pushes me to be my best every time I hit the race track, for sure.

Everyone in the KKM pit area is all in and each person on the crew is the definition of a team, because they all work together toward our common goal of winning races and chasing championships.

I want to say a special thanks to all of the members of the Toyota Racing family, especially everyone representing Toyota who came out to support our team at the race track last night at Gas City. We couldn’t do any of what we do without them and their support to grassroots racing is unbelievable!

I’m already looking forward to making my first laps at Putnamville tonight and hoping to keep building on the momentum we’re starting to put together here. Hope to see everyone at the race track!

Hollan’s prior entry can be accessed via the link below:

Entry No. 1: Rough Start For Hollan

BOSTON -- Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was back on the ice -- in a full face shield -- on Thursday morning ahead of Game 5, and will be a game-time decision, according to coach Bruce Cassidy.

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has been out since Game 2 with a concussion, is also a game-time decision.

The Bruins have been mum on details about Chara's health -- only calling it a "facial injury" -- after he was hit with a deflected puck in the second period of Game 4 and bled profusely. Multiple reports suggest that Chara is dealing with a broken jaw.

Team doctors did not clear Chara to return for the third period of Game 4, though he sat on the bench because he wanted to be with teammates.

"The first thing you worry about is a concussion, because then you're in the protocol," Cassidy said. "We avoided that, Z avoided that, so that was good news. Then it's a matter of what's next? So I guess yesterday we had a better idea and then this morning he was here, obviously, he was on the ice. And now it's just real."

Cassidy said that first, Chara needs to get the OK from team doctors, then it will be up to the defenseman on whether he can play.

An NHL spokesperson said Chara is unable to speak clearly right now. He gave written answers to a few questions from reporters on Thursday.

Asked how he weighs the risk of future injury when deciding whether to play, he responded: "You don't think about that. You think about playing. You don't go into a game thinking you might get hurt."

"Much is made of his professionalism, his toughness, his approach," defenseman John Moore said. "But until you see it in the flesh, you don't really have an appreciation for it. The guy is 42. When I'm 42 I'm certainly not going to be the first guy in the gym weighing all my food, squatting the most on the team. You throw in what he's going through, that's something I'll tell my kids about. When they wake up with a fever and they don't want to go to school. Those are life lessons I'll carry long beyond hockey that I'm grateful to have with Z."

Said Brad Marchand of Chara: "He's willing to play with one leg, one arm. It doesn't matter. He's out there working as hard as he can and sacrificing his body because he knows, at the end of the day, you win."

The Bruins have considered several contingency plans if they are without Chara, Grzelcyk, or both. Cassidy said on Thursday that dressing seven defensemen and only 11 forwards was still an option his staff was considering.

Chara is a left-shot defenseman and the Bruins don't have many experienced understudies on that side.

Rookie defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, a left-shot defenseman, practiced with the main group on Wednesday, although Cassidy said it was a "long shot" for Vaakanainen to play. The 20-year-old Finn played in only two regular seasons games for the Bruins.

"That would be a big ask," Cassidy said, noting Vaakanainen, who played a majority of the season in the AHL, has not been around the NHL club much. "A real big ask."

Veteran Steven Kampfer is a more likely candidate to plug in on the blueline. Kampfer, a right-shot defenseman, played in two Stanley Cup playoff games this spring -- including subbing in for the suspended Charlie McAvoy in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. Kampfer scored a goal in that game.

"Whoever comes in, it's kind of a seamless transition," Kampfer said on Wednesday. "I think that's been our identity of our team this year, next man up and making sure that you're ready to go."

The 42-year-old Chara has a goal and four assists with a plus-12 in 20 playoff games this spring. He typically plays on the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy, and is an important player on the penalty kill. Chara played over 24 minutes in Games 2 and 3.

Grzelcyk spoke with reporters on Thursday and said he was still in concussion protocol, but is hopeful to be cleared before the game.

"I'm not really sure how it works," Grzelcyk said. "I'm just taking it day-by-day."

Grzelcyk was knocked out of Game 2 after being boarded by Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist. Grzelcyk has not played since and only began skating with the Bruins players on Wednesday. Sundqvist received a one-game suspension for the hit.

Grzelcyk, who has averaged 19:22 in his 19 playoff games this spring, declined to comment on the play on Wednesday, saying the league handled it and he would leave it at that.