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Niall Carson/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Early Doors

The Morning Score: Tuesday

The Irish football team assemble, initial declarations for the Punchestown Festival emerge, and Ollie Palmer hangs his head in shame.

1. #EURO 2012 Giovanni Trapattoni’s 26-man Irish squad will meet up later on this morning for their first training session ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia.

Despite all of the speculation surrounding his international future, one man who’ll definitely be out in Malahide is midfielder James McCarthy. He put a lot of minds at ease over the weekend when he publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the Republic of Ireland.

2. #IN THE SWING American Gary Woodland claimed a first USPGA tour victory of his career on Sunday when he won the Transitions Championship in Tampa Bay.

If, like us, you don’t know a massive amount about Woodland, there’s no need to worry. Our golf expert Neil Cullen will be along with his weekly column shortly – he’s sure to clear things up.

3. #SIX NATIONS We know that the Six Nations is over for another year but the World Cup seems so far away (171 days I do believe) that we’re reluctant to let go just yet.

If you’re suffering from withdrawal symptoms as well, you could do worse than have a look at our team of the tournament. If that’s too taxing, you might just want to put the feet up and a have a laugh at this.

4. #PUNCHESTOWN Time waits for no man, particularly if that man is interested in horse-racing. Cheltenham may have only just finished but we’re already looking forward to Grand National weekend and the Punchestown Festival.

Two horses that will definitely be making an appearance at the County Kildare venue in early March are Captain Cee Bee and Oscars Well. Jessica Harrington has suggested that Oscars Well is likely to drop back in trip for one of the two-mile hurdle events while Eddie Harty is hopeful that Cee Bee can record back-to-back victories at the festival.

5. #SHAME We like scouring the net for ridiculous footballing misses – it makes us feel slightly better about our own weekly displays of ineptitude on the five-a-side pitch.

So about this one? Step forward Ollie Palmer.