There was no FA Cup fairytale yesterday, as José Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur routed non-league Marine in the third round. Spurs were 5-0 winners at Rossett Park, with Carlos Vinícius scoring a hat-trick against the side from England's eighth tier. Among the day's other fixtures League Two Crawley Town beat Leeds 3-0, with television celebrity Mark Wright coming off the bench to make his debut against Marcelo Bielsa's side. There were also wins for Chelsea and Manchester City, while Brighton needed penalties to beat Newport County. Tonight West Ham play Stockport County at Edgeley Park, with the draw for the fourth and fifth rounds to take place afterwards.
The 2021 Six Nations is scheduled to start on February 6th, however hopes the tournament can go ahead remain in the balance. This is due to rising coronavirus rates in Ireland and the UK, which could lead to France being unable to take part in the Championship. Gavin Cummiskey writes: "The French government's instruction for rugby clubs to cancel cross border competition "in the short term" makes the postponement of the 2021 Six Nations a real possibility. The coronavirus variant spreading across the United Kingdom and Ireland has already led to a travel ban into France which is expected to override a previous exemption for elite sports."
In his column this morning Ken Early has assessed the departure of Damien Duff from the Ireland coaching staff - something he suggests reflects poorly on both the national team set-up and Duff himself. He writes: "And yet, while you can easily imagine why Duff might have fallen out of love with the job, walking away after eight months without a clear explanation leaves an unavoidable impression of flakiness. What else did he expect when he signed up to work with this FAI and this Ireland team? It was always going to be like rolling a stone up a hill, and watching it roll down again."
And Connacht boss Andy Friend has spoken of the frustration his side are feeling, heading into a European Cup week without knowing if the competition can continue or not. His side were beaten 16-10 by Munster on Saturday evening, despite rallying late on at the Sportsground. He said: "Every week you are working day-by-day, and it does takes its toll, and I'm speaking on behalf of everyone here at Connacht Rugby. It's been a long six months. Yes, we still are still playing and we love what we do, and the uncertainty is nobody's fault, but it does add stress, not just to Connacht, but every Pro14 and European team. So the quicker we can get a clarity on what the next few weeks looks like, the better for everyone."
