Ireland welcome Wales to the Aviva tonight, with the hosts still in pursuit of their first Nations League win at the third time of asking. The visitors are without Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, but Ireland manager Martin O'Neill wasn't getting anyone's hopes up in his pre-match press conference. His team, he says, may be "technically short", but goes out equipped with a workable plan. Last night England shocked Spain with a 3-2 win, their first in Spain since 1987. Raheem Sterling bagged two along with a Marcus Rashford goal, and while Spain's comeback fell short they were denied what looked a certain penalty. Edin Dzeko, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, condemned Northern Ireland to a third straight Nations League defeat in a match that saw them hit the post three times.
In his column this morning Gerry Thornley explains what's setting Leinster apart from everyone else. Yes, they've a squad packed with "young ready-made, highly skilled professional rugby players who bring a ridiculous amount of energy and work to their game". But they also "seem to be running straighter than anyone else".
It is understood the Dublin County Board have narrowed down their list of senior hurling manager candidates to three: former Dublin and Clare manager Anthony Daly, Cuala club manager Mattie Kenny, and former Galway manager Anthony Cunningham, who worked alongside Pat Gilroy this season (before Gilroy's sudden departure last month). The outcome of Sunday's Dublin hurling final may speed up the process.
Pádraig Harrington's decision to add this week's Valderrama Masters onto his schedule – in a bid to jump up the Race to Dubai order of merit – is further proof, if it were needed, of his competitive fire still burning. Currently 86th on the European Tour moneylist, he needs to break into the top 70 players available if he is to earn an automatic place in the field for the upcoming, big-money Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya.
Meanwhile in an interview in this morning's Irish Times Ian O'Riordan introduces us to Sinead Diver - the Irish runner setting records for Australia: "It wasn't like I had to choose between the two. I was given the opportunity to run for Australia, and my only other option was to hang on a few years . . ."
