It's safe to say the news coming out of the Ireland camp in Chiba over the last few days has not been the most encouraging with Robbie Henshaw falling to injury while Keith Earls has also been battling a thigh problem. However, the latest news coming from the camp could spell another problem for Ireland with Rob Kearney now a doubt for the opener against Scotland after picking up a calf injury in training on Monday. Irish management gave an update on the situtation overnight in Chiba and Gerry Thornley was at the press conference to report on the situation. Kearney's experience at full-back – particularly in what could be terrible conditions in Yokohama on Sunday – would be a major loss to Ireland but there is cover in the form of Jordan Larmour. Meanwhile, much of the talk coming into this tournament has been on Ireland's heavy reliance on foreign-born players such as Bundee Aki, Jean Kleyn, CJ Stander and others. In his column this morning Gerry Thornley writes that a player's birthplace should have no bearing on their right to play for Ireland. "For anyone's nationality or loyalties to be questioned in this day and age on the basis of appearance is absurd and dislikable. In the current climate of rampant nationalism, ironically driven by the descendants of immigrants in America and Britain, it is dangerous territory," he writes. Moving on and many pubs around Dublin and further afield will be opening early over the next few weeks to show the Rugby World Cup although very few will be allowed to serve alcohol until 10.30am. However, the cost of showing live sport is becoming a huge burden on a lot of pubs, particularly smaller places in quieter areas and some are even deciding to get rid of their TV subscriptions. In our consumer pages this morning, Ruaidhrí Croke looks at those costs which, in some cases, works out at selling about 440 extra pints per month just to cover. Don't forget you can follow all of the build-up to Japan with columns, analysis, news, interviews, stats, fixtures and much more on our dedicated 2019 Rugby World Cup site.
Moving to GAA and Kevin McStay writes in his column this morning that the great worry for the GAA and every county outside of the capital is that Dublin are unbeatable. "For the rest of the GAA family, the sight of six-in-a-row will be a bridge too far. They will begin to insist on intervention. Nobody within the official GAA has stepped out yet and said: we acknowledge that this is a problem. The tier-two system is just a band-aid to the issue," he writes. One potential change to make things somewhat more even is to limit Dublin's Croke Park games to just one in the Super 8s. However, that proposal as well as possible rule changes and a Tier 2 championship will have to wait until next year for when congress takes place in October.
On to football and the Champions League gets underway tonight with defending champions Liverpool touching down in Naples for their opener. Manager Jürgen Klopp feels his team still have plenty to prove and must put last May's victory in Madrid behind them and focus on adding a seventh title. "If you go nuts and start drinking and taking drugs, driving different cars and leaving your missus at home because you are a Champions League winner then I can't help you," said Klopp. "We want to create more stories," he said. Chelsea are the other English team in action tonight as they welcome Valencia to Stamford Bridge and Frank Lampard is aware that their opponents will be coming with a lot to prove after sacking their manager last week and proceeding to los 5-2 to Barcelona at the weekend. In the Premier League last night Aston Villa and West Ham couldn't be separated in what was a cagey stalemate at Villa Park while, closer to home, Bohemians avoided any slip-ups against Crumlin United to set up an FAI Cup semi-final clash with Shamrock Rovers.
Finally, if you've ever dreamed of teeing it up at the Home of Golf then look no further than our consumer pages this morning where you'll find a full guide on how to organise a golf trip to St Andrews as well as the all-important tee time at the Old Course.
