1. #SIX NATIONS Tournament organisers hope to provide “comprehensive clarification” on a rescheduled date for France and Ireland’s postponed Six Nations match following further meetings today.
Reports from France yesterday suggested that the French Rugby League were campaigning in favour of a date in June or September to avoid further clashes with the Top 14 league, although the weekend of 3/4 March still appears to be the most likely date for a refixture.
2. #SETANTA SPORTS CUP There were mixed fortunes for the Airtricity League clubs in last night’s Setanta Sports Cup. A wondergoal from new recruit Karl Moore gave Bohemians a 2-1 first-leg win at home to Portadown, while in Belfast, Cliftonville beat St Pat’s 1-0.
3. #INTERPROVINCIALS Seán Boylan and Joe Dooley yesterday named their Leinster football and hurling squads for this Sunday’s Interprovincial semi-finals against Munster.
Boylan named 10 Dublin footballers in his team, including his captain Alan Brogan, which forced the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) to revise their plans to reschedule Mayo and Dublin’s abandoned Division 1 match for Saturday afternoon.
Mayo v Dublin will now take place on 31 March in Castlebar.
4. #TEVEZ Wantaway Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez will report to the club’s Carrington training ground this morning, ending his self-imposed exile.
Yesterday, Tevez claimed that his refusal to play against Bayern Munich last October was because manager Roberto Mancini had treated him “like a dog”.
5. #CRICKET Ireland clung on for a nail-biting 10-run win against Kenya in Mombasa yesterday to stay top of the Intercontinental Cup table with three wins from three.
Albert van der Merwe and George Dockrell were the Irish heroes, taking all 20 of the Kenyan wickets between them over the course of two days.
6. #CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Our “Zadok the Priest” CD is in the office stereo system — that’s right, the Champions League is back tonight.
In the last 16, Lyon host APOEL Nicosia while Pep Guardiola and Barcelona travel to Germany to play Bayer Leverkusen. Both games kick off at 7.45pm.
As Reading striker Karl Sheppard tweeted this morning: “Roses are red, Violets are blue, I’m watching Barcelona tonight, And so are you!”
