Columns
It’s a double columnist Wednesday for you today with Darragh Ó Sé and Gordon D’Arcy both taking to the pitch for us.
First up, Ó Sé is writing about this being the worst time of the year to be an intercounty footballer. He also reflects on the difficulties facing small clubs around the country and remembers one particular tale in which a referee told him about how he used to steal footballs from the likes of Dublin and Kerry in order to save his club some money.
Meanwhile, D'Arcy is looking ahead to the Lions tour and how the tourists can nullify a lot of the All Blacks threat by stopping Beauden Barrett. At the weekend the Crusaders took the game to Barrett during their Super Rugby clash with his side the Hurricanes. The Lions can learn a lot from those 80 minutes of rugby.
Football
On to football and Arsenal last night ensured that there will at least be something for Sky Sports to get excited about on the last day of the season. A brace from Alexis Sanchez means the Gunners can still pip Liverpool to the final Champions League place while Manchester City need just a point on the final day to secure their spot after beating West Brom 3-0 last night.
Tonight Manchester United take on Southampton in a game where José Miurinho is expected to rest many of his top players ahead of the Europa League final next week against Ajax. Yesterday Mourinho bemoaned the fixture pile-up which he says has affected his players both mentally and physically.
Meanwhile, Reading edged past Fulham by the narrowest of margins to book their place at Wembley for the Championship playoff final. Tonight Huddersfield take on Sheffield Wednesday in the second semi-final. That one is 0-0 from the first leg.
Rugby
With the Pro12 semi-finals inching closer Leinster's Hayden Triggs has been reflecting on his time in Ireland, his love for Leinster and his lack of love for the game of rugby. Triggs spoke to John O'Sullivan about change in the game, suicide and losing his two-day old daughter Stella, among other things.
Meanwhile, Munster's Andrew Conway talks about reaching his goals, and then getting greedy. The winger says he would love to add some Pro12 silverware to the trophy cabinet before touring Japan and the USA with Ireland this summer.
