A former Irish coach is one of four men to receive lifetime bans from the NWSL amid an investigation into alleged abuse and misconduct in the league. A wide-ranging investigation initially launched by the NWSL amid complaints against ex-North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley found “failures across the league and US Soccer were largely systemic in nature”. Amid the four “lifetime exclusions”, any future employment for Ireland boss Vera Pauw in the league has been listed as “conditional” after allegations were made by players she coached at the Houston Dash. Pauw strongly denied claims that she body shamed those who spoke out.

Following yet another late reversal at the weekend, Ulster have now lost five of their last six matches. In his column this morning, Gerry Thornley unpicks just exactly where things have gone for the province, tracing back a historical inability to close out tight matches, something that has lead to significant psychological damage for Dan McFarland’s side. Owen Doyle looks at a recent conference held by World Rugby called The Shape of the Game, expressing disappointment at a failure to address the prevalence of high hits and dangerous head contacts at breakdowns. According to Doyle, “this omission confirms the deep, unhealthy divide within unions and World Rugby on these grave issues which challenge the very existence of rugby.” In Leinster news, despite the encouraging revelation from Leo Cullen that Johnny Sexton is set to be available for the start of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign, Stuart Lancaster is adamant the influential outhalf won’t be rushed back ahead of time from a provincial perspective.

Robbie Brennan’s screensaver on his phone is a picture of Kilcoo lifting last year’s All-Ireland club championship. No, seriously. The Kilmacud Crokes manager has that image imbedded into his everyday life so as to spur himself on to avoid another dramatic defeat, now that the Stillorgan club has returned to the national decider. Galway man Shane Walsh has no such baggage having not been with Crokes last year, but he insists his teammates are not dwelling on trying to avoid becoming the first side to lose back-to-back All-Ireland club finals.

In a bid to test out potential Ryder Cup pairings ahead of this year’s event, Séamus Power and Shane Lowry are set to partner up at this week’s Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi. Power has already started off his 2023 with a tied-25th finish at the Tournament of Champions, holding onto his lead of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in the process, while Lowry, who has spoken extensively about the importance of reducing America’s advantage when it comes to team events, is in action for the first time since the turn of the year: “Just because me and Séamus are Irish doesn’t mean we should play together or have to play together,” said the 2019 Open champion. “But it’s a natural thing. Because I know Séamus quite well and he knows me quite well. And I think we will play a game together. He is a great player, isn’t he?”