Gordon D’Arcy on Six Nations TV rights; Liverpool’s treble hopes dashed

The reports that the Six Nations could move exclusively to pay-television have caused quite the stir since they re-surfaced at the weekend with many claiming that such a move would be the death of the sport at large, while the flipside is that there would be much more cash flowing through the top levels of the sport. This morning Gordon D'Arcy writes in his column that rugby can't afford to get the Six Nations broadcast deal wrong. "The key is to be visible to as many eyes as possible; older rugby heads and new fans with the most valuable commodity being the next generation. Moving away from free to air, as many are assuming will happen if another joint bid by BBC/ITV is blocked, towards Sky will guarantee the days of 8.4 million people turning into England versus Scotland are over," he writes. Elsewhere, the coronavirus continues to cause havoc with a meeting today between the French Rugby Union and the French government potentially deciding whether Ireland's final Six Nations match in Paris in 10 days time will go ahead. The virus has caused some controversy in England yesterday as Mako Vunipola trained with Saracens, despite being removed from the England squad after travelling through Hong Kong. Rather than self-isolating, it emerged that the prop joined up with his club to train, with Saracens and England starkly at odds over governmental guidelines for anyone who may have been exposed to coronavirus sufferers.

No unbeaten season and no treble. That's the reality Liverpool fans are waking up to this morning after an impressive Chelsea side inflicted a third defeat in four matches on Jürgen Klopp's men, dumping them out of the FA Cup in the process. It means that just two trophies are still up for grabs with the Premier League title as good as sewn up while a comeback will be required against Atletico Madrid if they are to maintain their hopes of defending the Champions League. Lampard's Chelsea were exemplary in their task last night, shutting down the threats posed by Liverpool's fullbacks with 18-year-old Billy Gilmour playing a starring role in the midfield. The result leaves Liverpool firmly in wobble territory as sides look, finally, to have worked out a way to beat them. Elsewhere in FA Cup action, David McGoldrick was on target for Sheffield United as they saw off Reading to reach the quarter-finals while Newcastle disposed of West Brom.

Meanwhile, yesterday was a big day for next Ireland manager Stephen Kenny as he discovered who he will face in his first Nations League campaign when it begins in September after the draw in Amsterdam pitted Ireland with Wales, Finland and Bulgaria in a bizarre scenario where Mick McCarthy attended despite the fact he will not be in charge for the matches. The current Ireland manager did answer questions however with one of the most pressing being whether there are any issues between him and Kenny, as had been suggested in reports from the Sunday Times. However, McCarthy was quick to say that there is no rift between him and his successor and that the two men get on "very, very well."

On to GAA and Seán Moran writes in his column this morning that, like the Tories, the GAA is also fed up with experts. Whereas you might hesitate to say the GAA invented this sort of populist politics, for quite a while the association has built up a proven track record of deciding it knows better than experts.