In his column this morning Gerry Thornley has suggested it could be a case of being in the right place at the right time for Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher, as a new era dawns for Ireland under head coach Andy Farrell. With former captain Rory Best now retired and provincial teammate Sean Cronin injured, Kelleher's outstanding performances since the start of the season have seen him move firmly into the international reckoning - and he could be a worthy bolter for next year's Six Nations squad. Gerry Thornley writes: "It might seem remarkable that a 21-year-old, who only switched to hooker when he was 16, and came into this season with just two Guinness Pro14 games to his name (a start against the Southern Kings and an appearance off the bench against Ulster), might feature in the Six Nations. But circumstances can be hugely significant parts of playing careers, and Kelleher's timing could hardly be better."
Conor Hourihane inspired Aston Villa to a 2-0 win over Newcastle United last night, the Ireland midfielder ensuring Steve Bruce's return to Villa Park was an unhappy one. Hourihane opened the scoring with a smartly taken free-kick before turning provider for Anwar El Ghazi's second, as Villa ended a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats. Tonight the Champions League returns and José Mourinho takes charge of Tottenham under the lights for the first time, with Spurs knowing a victory against Olympiakos at home will see them progress into the last-16. Elsewhere Manchester City need a point at home to Shakhtar Donetsk to reach the knockouts, but will be without Sergio Aguero, who is set to miss next month's Manchester derby with a thigh injury. Among the night's other fixtures, Real Madrid welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Bernabeu.
In this morning's Pay for Play column Ruaidhrí Croke has investigated season ticket prices in the League of Ireland, and suggests there is plenty of value to be found when it comes to watching domestic football. The 2020 season starts in February meaning many clubs are looking to cash in over Christmas and sell as many tickets as possible - with Shamrock Rovers among the clubs trying different initiatives to get supporters through the turnstiles. He writes: "While Derry City have the most expensive regular season ticket at £230 (€270) or €15 per match, Shamrock Rovers are offering the best value with full adult season tickets for just €180 and child season tickets for €20 meaning an adult and a child can go to all 18 home league matches for just €200." Meanwhile, with Christmas approaching he has also looked at five runs which are open for all, and can offer a bit of balance before the festivities get into full swing.
Elsewhere a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) panel have recommended a four-year Olympics ban for Russia, after data they retrieved from a Moscow laboratory had been manipulated - leading to a doping scandal which has dragged on since 2015. The ban would mean Russian athletes would have to compete at next year's Tokyo Olympics as neutrals.
And work is set to commence on the new UCD athletics track on Monday December 2nd, which could be completed by the end of next year. It is eight years since the track was closed and almost two years since an anonymous €3 million donation took it off life support.
