It's to rugby we go first this morning and IRFU performance director David Nucifora has had some interesting things to say down in Sydney ahead of the final Test between Ireland and Australia (Saturday, 11.05am). Nucifora said yesterday that the IRFU have not ruled out a potential Ireland return for Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding down the line. He said it's been a difficult year for everyone in Irish rugby and that nothing "is ever forever". On top of that Nucifora also went on to hint that, when Joe Schmidt does eventually step down (many expect him to do so after next year's World Cup) his successor will very likely come from the current coaching staff. Step forward Andy Farrell.
Moving on to football and it was a case of good old England last night as they laboured and toiled and, eventually, saw off Tunisia 2-1. Even though they did manage to keep expectations under wraps before the tournament started, they were never going to make it easy for themselves. And, until the 90th minute in Volgograd the knives were being sharpened as an opening game draw with Tunisia looked to be on the cards. But then Harry Kane struck. For a second time. Gary Lineker in the BBC studio said Kane would be licking his lips at the prospect of Panama with the golden boot in mind and suddenly all was right with the world again. One game in and they've lost the run of themselves. There's a lot of comfort in the familiarity of it all and, as Ken Early writes from Volgograd, old habits really do die hard for England when the pressure rises.
Mary Hannigan takes a closer look at how the BBC and RTÉ panels reacted to England's victory, writing that Kane's goal denied us off the groundhogginess of another England World Cup slip-up. The Spurs striker had put Gareth Southgate's side 1-0 up early on but a Kyle Walker elbow conceded a penalty shortly before half-time and it was all going wrong until Captain Marvel stepped up again in the dying embers of the game and England escaped with victory.
Today the opening round of group games is completed with the meetings of Colombia v Japan (1pm) and Poland v Senegal (4pm) in Group H before hosts Russia are back in action, this time against what's expected to be a Mo Salah-inspired Egypt who desperately need a win. You can follow all of the action on our dedicated World Cup website including our liveblogs which will kick off at 12.30pm this afternoon.
On to GAA and Jim McGuinness writes in his column this morning that the key to Galway's potential All-Ireland success is their intensity which they showed off so well in beating Roscommon in Sunday's Connacht final.
“The critical takeaway for me from the game is that intensity is key to Galway’s system and if they’re going to do anything in the remainder of the championship that is the one element they have to get right,” he writes.
The breaking news in the hurling world last night was that Derek McGrath has stepped down as Waterford manager after informing his players at an emotional meeting. McGrath – who led the Déise to the All-Ireland final last year where they were beaten by Galway – saw his team crash out of the championship at the round-robin stage this year and has decided to call it a day after five seasons at the helm.
