Dundalk’s Champions League dream over

Dundalk’s Champions League dream is over after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Legia Warsaw in Poland last night, with Stephen Kenny’s side beaten 3-1 on aggregate.

The Lilywhites more than held their own at the Polish Army Stadium, with an early Robert Benson screamer giving them hope of achieving the improbable, but the League of Ireland champions gassed down the straight and Michal Kucharczyk’s late equaliser killed off the tie.

Dundalk’s European odyssey is far from over however, and they will be in the pot for Friday’s Europa League group stage draw – with Manchester United among their possible opponents.

Pro 12 launch

The Pro12 was officially launched yesterday, and the provinces have been given an added incentive of an Irish final to play for, with the competition’s showpiece being held at the Aviva Stadium in 2017.

And it is back to business for defending champions Connacht, captain John Muldoon said: “That’s gone. We’ve had our time celebrating. We’ve had our time with the cup. It’s back to business. I saw the cup an hour ago and I hadn’t seen it for six weeks before that. So we’ve definitely moved on.”

Darragh Ó Sé: Kerry need to lift Dublin hoodoo

Meanwhile in his column today Darragh Ó Sé reflects on the need for Kerry to lift the Dublin-shaped monkey off their backs in this weekend’s All-Ireland semi-final, he writes: “They have our number. They’ve beaten us in 2011, 2013 and 2015. They gave us a hosing in the league in April.

“Not alone are they beating us but they’re enjoying beating us, just as we used to enjoy beating them. Something has to change.”

But he believes something might change at HQ on Sunday: “But I just don’t accept that there’s as big a distance between the teams as people think. Kerry’s motivation – maybe even their desperation – should make the gap even smaller. The gap should always be small between Dublin and Kerry anyway.”