Robbie Henshaw looks set to start at fullback for Ireland in Saturday's Six Nations opener against England in Dublin. Henshaw has won all but one of his 36 caps at centre, but a wealth of options in midfield - coupled with Joe Schmidt's desire to get as many in-form players onto the pitch as possible - means he is likely to wear the 15 jersey at the Aviva Stadium. With Henshaw at fullback, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose are Schmidt's probable 12-13 partnership. The Championship kicks off on Friday night with Wales travelling to play France. Warren Gatland will announce his XV for the Stade de France at 11.0am this morning, with Jacques Brunel revealing his side at 9.0am. Italy meanwhile take on Scotland on Saturday - you can read our profile of Conor O'Shea's side HERE.
In his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy looks ahead to the Six Nations and says Ireland's status as underdogs is long gone: "The players moved past it several years ago. The rest of us caught up in November." And he believes defeat to England in Saturday's opener would not derail a side who thrive on operating in the toughest environments, he writes: "I don't see any one result stalling the progress of this team . . . Ireland, now more than ever before, control their own destiny. From Johnny Sexton to Andrew Porter, this group of players crave pressure. It's their primary motivation." D'Arcy is one eight pundits who have made six predictions for the 2019 tournament - you can read their thoughts HERE.
Manchester City's hopes of winning the sixth league title in their history took a huge blow last night as they were beaten 2-1 away to relegation-threatened Newcastle United. Pep Guardiola's side took the lead in the first minute through Sergio Aguero, but second-half goals from Salomon Rondon and Matt Ritchie saw the hosts secure three vital points at St James' Park. Liverpool can now extend their lead at the top to seven points with victory over Leicester City tonight. Elsewhere Manchester United staged an old fashioned comeback to salvage a 2-2 draw against Burnley at Old Trafford - goals from Paul Pogba and Victor Lindelof ensuring the 20-times champions remain unbeaten under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In the night's other games, Fulham came from 2-0 down to beat Brighton 4-2 at Craven Cottage, while Huddersfield were beaten 1-0 at home by Everton. Wolves eased past West Ham 3-0 at Molineaux, and Arsenal beat Cardiff City 2-1 at the Emirates.
The GAA's Central Council is expected to bring a motion to next month's GAA Congress, seeking to further relax the rule prohibiting the use of its grounds for foreign games. It follows controversy last July when permission to stage the Liam Miller tribute match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork in September was originally refused, only for the GAA's management committee to recommend the decision should be overturned.
