After Scarlets yesterday forfeited their opening Champions Cup match to Bristol due to the vast majority of their players remaining in quarantine, Munster moved quickly to confirm that they will play their match against Wasps after registering 22 new players. Leinster are also gearing up for their opener against Bath and this morning Gerry Thornley speaks to Josh van der Flier about his development as a dangerous ball carrier, adding another element to his already impressive CV. "I take different things from different people and then I try and visualise doing that myself and then hopefully it translates into training and games," he says. Also speaking yesterday was Ronan O'Gara who will lead his La Rochelle team into battle with Glasgow this weekend. The re-formatted competition looks to suit the French teams a bit better than anyone else and O'Gara wants his team to adopt a "kill or be killed" approach.
Moving to soccer and Liverpool last night became the first English team ever to complete a clean sweep of six wins in the Champions League group stages when they beat AC Milan at the San Siro. The result saw the Italians finish bottom of the group and afterwards Jurgen Klopp spoke of his pride at seeing his team do what no English team has done before. Elsewhere, Manchester City were beaten by RB Leipzig as Kyle Walker saw red but it mattered little as Pep Guardiola's side had already qualified for the knockout stages. Tonight Barcelona are under pressure to book their place in the last-16 as they need a win against Bayern Munich to guarantee progress, but a draw will be enough if Benfica fail to beat Dynamo Kiev. Also tonight Manchester United face Young Boys at Old Trafford after Ralf Rangnick recruited Sascha Lense to be the club's first sports psychologist for two decades.
On to GAA and in his column this morning Seán Moran writes that land is the biggest issue for Dublin as the playing population of the county continues to rise. "Land in Dublin is the most expensive in the country and there is a desperate need for public amenities if the provision of leisure and sporting activities are to keep track with the county's steadily growing population," he writes.
Elsewhere, in racing, the body that represents professional jockeys in Ireland isn't able to get indemnity insurance for its members and believes it could present a fundamental problem for the sport as the £6 million High Court case taken by Freddy Tylicki against former colleague Graham Gibbons garners headlines in the UK. In tennis, the organisers of the Australian Open have denied seeking exemptions for unvaccinated players to enter the country for next month's grand slam as doubts continue to swirl about Novak Djokovic's chances of playing.
