Close, but no cigar. Ireland missed out on the chance to book their place at next summer's European Championships last night, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Denmark at the Aviva Stadium. On a bitterly cold evening, Mick McCarthy's side delivered arguably their best performance of the qualification campaign - but they fell short of the victory they needed to secure safe passage to Euro 2020. The Danes arrived in Dublin needing just a point to progress, and they looked to have done enough when Martin Braithwaite ghosted in behind Matt Doherty to break the deadlock in the 73rd minute. However Ireland rallied, with the Wolves fullback making amends as he equalised with five minutes to go. The hosts then huffed and puffed during a raucous finale, but they couldn't find that precious winner. From the Aviva Stadium, Keith Duggan writes: "Never a dull moment, at least not in those wild, injury-time seconds when time and the world in general is pressing hard against the Republic of Ireland team and the players on the field are pulsing with raw belief and surging recklessly in chase of late glory."
Ireland must now bid to qualify for Euro 2020 via the backdoor of the play-offs, which take place in March of next year. McCarthy's side will play a one-off semi-final match away from home on March 26th and, if they win, will then play a one-off final on March 31st with a place at Euro 2020 on the line. Ireland's opponents in the play-offs depend on the result of tonight's fixture between Wales and Hungary (kick-off 7.45pm) - if Ryan Giggs's side win at home then they qualify automatically, meaning Ireland would play Slovakia in Bratislava. You can read Ruaidhrí Croke's explainer on the new system HERE. Elsewhere Ken Early has suggested the manager's defensive mindset is what has cost Ireland their place at the Euros, especially on a night when Denmark seemed there for the taking. He writes: "Why did Ireland fail to qualify? It's because they scored seven goals in eight games and the Danes scored more than three times as many. McCarthy has appealed throughout the campaign for more positivity around the team. But if he is seeking the source of negativity, he might also want to look at his own tactics."
Elsewhere in his column this morning Gerry Thornley has looked ahead to this weekend's round of Champions Cup fixtures, which sees the four provinces - who all started their campaigns with a win - facing French opposition. Ulster face Clermont Auvergne on Friday night, Connacht travel to Toulouse and Leinster travel to Lyon on Saturday before Munster welcome Racing 92 to Thomond Park later that evening. And while the province's have their Ireland internationals back and firing, their Top 14 opposition will also be bolstered by French stars with a point to prove. Gerry Thornley writes: "The almost angry outpourings of Ringrose after his third try and Sexton after his, akin to CJ Stander in Swansea, demonstrated the depth of motivation within Ireland's returning World Cup players. They're also super fit, refreshed and relatively light on game time. But herein lies a note of caution. The same applies to the French, and due to the cancellation of their final pool game against England they only played four matches in Japan."
International Rules has been given new life following a two-year hiatus after it was confirmed yesterday that Ireland will meet Australia in a two-Test series in 2020, before travelling down under for a return series in 2022. Next year there are Tests pencilled in for 15th and 21st November in Croke Park and one other venue.
And Ireland Under-21s are looking to strengthen their position at the top of their Euro 2021 qualifying group, with Stephen Kenny’s side taking on Sweden in Tallaght tonight (kick-off 8pm, EirSport).
