Soccer
Arsenal exited the Champions League last night as Bayern Munich doubled their humiliation with a 5-1 second leg win in London. The defeat making it a 10-2 last-16 loss on aggregate, piling further pressure on manager Arsène Wenger.
Theo Walcott’s stunning 20th minute goal gave the Gunners hope of being the first side in Champions League history to overturn a four-goal deficit, but the controversial sending off of Laurent Koscielny and resultant penalty led to a total collapse.
Elsewhere Real Madrid also advanced to the last eight, where despite taking the lead at the San Paolo, Napoli were also defeated by the same scoreline as in the first leg.
Rugby
Gerry Thornley expects Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt to retain faith in the same XV which started the win over France a fortnight ago when announcing the matchday squad at lunchtime today for Friday night's penultimate Six Nations outing against Wales in Cardiff. That means Garry Ringrose holding on to the 13 jersey despite the return of Jared Payne.
In his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy explains why, despite closing in on a world record, England look a shadow of the team that dominated 2016.
“England, unlike the All Blacks run, appear to be trailing off, their performances dipping as they inch closer to the record. That’s heavy pressure.”
In the Leinster School's Senior Cup yesterday Blackrock College advanced to the final with an impressive 34-8 win over Gonzaga College.
GAA
Kieran Donaghy's call-up to the Irish basketball squad yesterday is the latest example of how Gaelic football is rich territory for crossovers. Sean Moran cites some more examples this morning, including Shane Horgan and Brian O'Driscoll's GAA roots. And Cian O'Sullivan and Michael Dara Macauley, vice versa.
Cycling
Sam Bennett yesterday became the first from this country to win a stage in Paris-Nice in 28 years. Bennett ended a long wait since Stephen Roche's victory atop Col d'Eze in 1989, blasting home ahead some of the world's top sprinters.
Racing
Meanwhile Willie Mullins will leave any decision about supplementing Limini into next week's Stan James Champion Hurdle until as late as possible before Wednesday's vital declaration stage.
What to watch out for
Ireland's team announcement media conference will take place at the slightly later time of 1.30 today.
In Champions League action tonight Barcelona look to come back from their 4-0 first leg defeat against PSG (RTE 2 from 7pm), while Borussia Dortmund host Benfica, trailing 1-0 from the first leg (eir Sport 1 from 7.30pm).
