Gaelic Football: Offaly came from behind to win their opening round LeinsterVocational Schools tie against Kildare at Newbridge yesterday.Goals from Keith Doyle and William Heffernan towards the end of the half pushed Kildare into a 2-1 to 0-4 lead at half time. Offaly, however, had been convincing performers in the opening period and were much the stronger team in a one-sided second half. Thomas Deehan narrowed the gap with two early scores and Jonathan Farrell had the ball in the Kildare net in the 36th minute to put Offaly into a lead they never lost.

OFFALY 3-9 - T Deehan 0-4; D Egan 1-1; M Deehan, J Farrell 1-0 each; P Thornton 0-2; M Mitchell, C Kelly 0-1 each.

KILDARE 2-1 - K Doyle 1-4; W Heffernan 1-0.

Rugby: The South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) has offered five black players contracts among a group of 30. Breyton Paulse, South Africa's most prominent black player and South African rugby player of the year in 2000, was not among the players named as he was away with the national sevens team in Argentina.