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Six changes to Ireland team; Dinamo Zagreb dump Spurs out of Europa League

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with ‘The Irish Times’ sports team

Dinamo Zagreb’s players celebrate their 3-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur. Photograph: Getty Images
Dinamo Zagreb’s players celebrate their 3-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur. Photograph: Getty Images
Fri Mar 19 2021 - 07:17

Jacob Stockdale is one of six changes to the Ireland team for Saturday's Six Nations clash with England. Andy Farrell has also made three positional changes, with Robbie Henshaw moving to outside centre, Tadhg Beirne steps into the secondrow and CJ Stander moves out to number six. The Irish head coach is hoping some solid choices will help his team withstand England's assault and finish a disappointing campaign on a high.

Dinamo Zagreb's remarkable turnaround dumped Tottenham out of the Europa League last night. The Croatian side trailed 2-0 after the first leg of their last-16 tie but hit back to win the return at the Maksimir Stadium 3-0 after extra time and snatch a place in the quarter-final draw. Manchester United and Arsenal both had tough nights but did enough to progress. United needed a second-half strike from substitute Paul Pogba to beat AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro and prevail 2-1 on aggregate. Arsenal were beaten 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium by Olympiacos but held on to go through 3-2 overall. Stephen Kenny has named his initial Republic of Ireland squad of 29 for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. He's confident that Aaron Connolly will be fit enough to feature in next Wednesday's opening game in Belgrade.

Rachael Blackmore bids to become the first jockey in 24 years to complete the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double at Cheltenham today. The first woman to win a Champion Hurdle could also become the first to ride a Gold Cup winner when she teams up with A Plus Tard in steeplechasing's "Blue Riband". Blackmore brought her haul for the week to five winners on Thursday, read Brian O'Connor's day three report here. As for the feature race, jockey Jonathan Moore endured a maelstrom of emotions when forced to give up the winning ride on Flooring Porter in the Stayers Hurdle.

Meanwhile Shane Lowry enjoyed an opening round of three-under-par 67 in the Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - and, then, he had to collect his daughter Iris from school. Matt Jones, without a win since the 2014 Houston Open, somehow conjured up a sizzling 61 to claim the first round lead.