Iain Henderson and Robbie Henshaw are set to make bench for Ireland's Six Nations clash in France this weekend. Gerry Thornley is predicting an unchanged starting team following last weekend's dominant win over Wales. Irish head coach Andy Farrell will this morning unveil his matchday 23 to face France in the Stade de France on Saturday. Check out Patrick Madden's all you need to know guide here - including kick-off time, TV details, team news, odds and more.
Southampton scored twice in two minutes to edge Tottenham in a breathless game in a rain-soaked north London last night. Aston Villa and Leeds shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller, while Crystal Palace came from behind to draw 1-1 at Norwich. Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne scored as Manchester City breezed to victory against Brentford. There were also wins for top of the league Celtic in the SPL, and Chelsea in their World Club Cup semi-final.
Both GMIT and NUIG were comfortable winners last night, setting up a Fitzgibbon Cup Galway semi-final derby. An 11-point haul from Kevin Cooney led GMIT to victory against TUS Midwest, and with Evan Niland and Cian Lynch to the fore NUIG were 1-22 to 2-13 winners over Waterford IT. In his column this morning, Ciarán Murphy asks, who are these lunatics who want to play into the wind in the first half?
Meanwhile, Sonia O'Sullivan explains in her column how a podcast can make light work of the daily run, and much more: "It's a bit like meeting a new friend, and can make the challenge less daunting and help you to settle into the run; a slow start, a nice warm-up, then gradually you get moving and feel that bit lighter while out and about on the tracks and trails."
