1. #RWC2011 Tony Buckley is Declan Kidney’s only injury concern ahead of next Saturday’s Pool C game against Australia. The Sale prop injured his shoulder during yesterday’s 22-10 victory over America.
Meanwhile, Ireland will be boosted this morning by the news that Australian winger Digby Ioane will have to sit out Saturday’s clash. Ioane, who scored one of the Wallabies’ four tries in a 32-6 win over Italy, will undergo surgery after fracturing his thumb.
2. #US OPEN Sam Stosur won her maiden Grand Slam title with a surprise 6-2 6-3 win over Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows last night.
Stosur’s win was overshadowed somewhat by a second-set outburst from Williams, who launched an astonishing verbal tirade at chair umpire Eva Asderaki who penalised her for celebrating a point before it had ended.
3. #CLEVERLEY Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has not broken his ankle as initially feared, much to the relief of the Old Trafford club.
The youngster did sustain ligament damage during Saturday’s 5-0 win at Bolton, however, and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.
4. #WALKER CUP A gutsy final day performance saw Great Britain and Ireland win golf’s Walker Cup for the first time in eight years at Royal Aberdeen.
Leading 10½-5½ ahead of yesterday’s singles match-ups, Team GB&I held on to score a convincing 14-12 victory over their US opponents.
5. #AIRTRICITY LEAGUE After Friday night’s results blew the Airtricity League title race wide open, there is another full programme of Premier League games this evening.
The pick of the bunch is the Dublin derby at Inchicore, where defending champions Shamrock Rovers take on title outsiders St Patrick’s Athletic (k.o. 8pm).
6. #NFL The Baltimore Ravens were among the big winners on gameday one in the NFL, forcing seven turnovers in a 35-7 win against old rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Elsewhere, Cam Newton — the 2011 number one draft pick — threw two touchdowns and rushed for another on his NFL debut, but couldn’t prevent his Carolina Panthers from falling to a 28-21 defeat at the Arizona Cardinals.
