Four South African franchises - the Bulls, Lions Stormers, and Sharks - look set to join the Pro14, after a SARU General Meeting yesterday voted to explore the possibility of them joining the competition. Their arrival could come as early as March next year, which would mean this year's league is abbreviated before the tournament becomes rebranded and reconfigured as the Pro16. In his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy has suggested if the South African heavyweights move north, "the game will never be the same again." And not necessarily in a good way. He writes: "Here we are, at the precipice, the point of no return for our 25-year-old professional sport. Once the South Africans enter the Pro14 everyone must jump off the cliff together. Only the strongest will survive."
Stephen Kenny announced his Ireland squad for next week's crunch Euro2020 play-off away to Slovakia yesterday, with Jack Byrne returning to the fold. And Ireland boss Kenny has pointed to the form of West Brom's Callum Robinson, and regular game time for Shane Duffy at Celtic, as reasons to be positive: "The reason I see the move to Celtic as being advantageous is that they will certainly defend with a higher line and that is what we need; practice in that." Elsewhere, in last night's sole League of Ireland fixture Sligo Rovers beat Derry City 1-0.
Tottenham Hotspur are through to the fifth round of the League Cup, after they squeezed past Chelsea on penalties last night. Both Jose Mourinho and Frank Lampard made a number of changes to their starting XI - nine and eight respectively - and it was summer signing Timo Werner who gave the Blues a first-half lead. Spurs, who are on a run of eight games in 20 days, rallied late with Erik Lamela equalising in the 83rd minute. The match went to a shootout with Tottenham winning 5-4 after Mason Mount missed Chelsea's fifth spot kick. Tonight there are four more League Cup fixtures, including Brighton against Manchester United and Burnley against Manchester City.
Elsewhere in his column this morning Seán Moran has reflected on the success - in the circumstances - of this year's delayed club championships, with the inter-county season finally moving into view. But even if that is completed smoothly, what will follow? He writes: "Farther into the future what will next year's championship look like? The cataclysmic impact on GAA finances of tiny or non-existent attendances for a second year is obvious."
In today's Sporting Upset, Mary Hannigan looks back to the famous Headingley Test of 1981, when Ian Botham and then Bob Willis dragged England to an improbable 18-run victory over Australia in the third match of the Ashes. "Famously, the bookies offered odds of 500/1 on an England victory after they were forced to follow on by Australia, trailing them by 227 runs after their first innings, only one Test side ever having won from that position - and that was back in 1894."
And Novak Djokovic breezed into the second round of the French Open yesterday thanks to a straight sets win over Sweden's Mikael Ymer, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. Today Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal are both in action.
