Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television

Guide to sport on television (Monday – Sunday, Mar 18th – Mar 24th)

San Marino v St Kitts & Nevis

Imagine playing for your country more than 90 times and never, not once, being on the winning side. Captain of the San Marino football team, Matteo Vitaioli, will lead his troops into battle again this week against St Kitts & Nevis. Will they win the game? Probably not, but, well, who knows. It’s the worst ranked team (210th) in the world playing the relatively lofty 147th ranked side – a country with a population similar to Leitrim hosting a country with a population similar to Longford. – Wednesday, Premier Sports

Darts

Professional darts rolls into town this week, with Premier League action in Dublin on Thursday before moving to Belfast the following week. The 2024 tournament involves 17 venues in England, Scotland, Wales, Netherlands and Germany, as well as two dates on this island. Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion, after beating Gerwyn Price in the 2023 final. Both will be among the eight competitors at the 3Arena this week, which also includes Luke Littler, who burst on to the scene a few months ago when he became the youngest player to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final, aged just 16 years. – Thursday, Sky Sports

France v Ireland

The Six Nations is over, long live the Six Nations. With the men’s competition finished for the year, the women’s tournament begins next weekend. First up for Ireland is the daunting task of taking on France in Le Mans. Ireland had a tough season last year, which included a hammering at the hands of France in Cork. The priority, surely, for this season is to make sure they don’t finish bottom of the table again. – Saturday & Sunday, RTÉ, BBC & Virgin Media

MONDAY (Mar 18th)

  • SNOOKER – Eurosport 1, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 2pm-3.45pm Tour of Catalunya
  • CRICKET – Premier Sports 1 from 4pm – 3rd T20 Afghanistan v Ireland
  • GAA – TG4, 8pm-9pm League highlights
  • RUGBY – RTÉ 2, 8pm-9pm Against the Head
  • NBA – TNT Sports 3 – 11.30pm Heat @ 76ers; 2am Knicks @ Warriors

TUESDAY (Mar 19th)

  • SNOOKER – Eurosport 1, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 2pm-3.45pm Tour of Catalunya
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 3pm-11pm Miami Open
  • SOCCER – DAZN & TNT Sports 1 – Women’s Champions League – 5.45pm Ajax v Chelsea; 8pm Benfica v Lyon

WEDNESDAY (Mar 20th)

  • NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1am Nuggets @ Timberwolves
  • SNOOKER – Eurosport 1, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 2pm-3.35pm Tour of Catalunya
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 2.45pm-3am Miami Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 3.35pm-4.30pm – Men’s race Bruges-DePanne
  • SOCCER – DAZN & TNT Sports 1 – Women’s Champions League – 5.45pm Häcken v PSG; 8pm Brann v Barcelona
  • SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Friendly – 7.45pm San Marino v St Kitts & Nevis
  • NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 11.30pm Bucks @ Celtics

THURSDAY (Mar 21st)

  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 5am-10am Singapore Classic
  • SNOOKER – Eurosport 1, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am-10pm Valspar Championship
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 2pm-3.35pm Tour of Catalunya
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 2.45pm-3am Miami Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 3.35pm-4.30pm – Women’s race Bruges-DePanne
  • SOCCER – Virgin Media More & Premier Sports 1 – Euro Qualifier – 5pm Georgia v Luxembourg
  • DARTS – Sky Sports Action, 7pm-11pm – Dublin Premier League
  • SOCCER – Virgin Media More – Euro Qualifier – 7.45pm Greece v Kazakhstan
  • SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Euro Qualifier – 7.45pm Poland v Estonia
  • SOCCER – S4C, Virgin Media Three & Premier Sports 2 – Euro Qualifier – 7.45pm Wales v Finland
  • NBA – TNT Sports 2 – 11pm Pelicans @ Magic

FRIDAY (Mar 22nd)

  • F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 1am – Practice Australian Grand Prix
  • CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 3.45am – 1st Test, D1 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 5am-10am Singapore Classic
  • RUGBY – Sky Sports Action – Super Rugby – 6.05am Hurricanes v Melbourne Rebels; 8.35am Brumbies v Moana Pasifika
  • SNOOKER – Eurosport 1, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am-10pm Valspar Championship
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 1pm-3.30pm – Men’s race Harelbeke Classic
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 3pm-3am Miami Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 3.30pm-4.45pm Tour of Catalunya
  • SOCCER – RTÉ News Channel – Euro U-21 Qualifier – 5pm San Marino v Republic of Ireland
  • SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – Friendlies – 5pm Norway v Czech Republic; 7.45pm Romania v Northern Ireland
  • RUGBY – TG4, Premier Sports 1 & BBC Wales – URC – 7.35pm Ospreys v Munster
  • RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 7.45pm Leicester v Gloucester
  • SOCCER – Virgin Media More – Friendly – 7.45pm Netherlands v Scotland

SATURDAY (Mar 23rd)

  • NBA – TNT Sports 2 – Midnight Cavaliers @ Timberwolves
  • F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 1.10am – Practice & Qualifying Australian Grand Prix
  • RUGBY – Sky Sports Action – Super Rugby – 1.05am Fijian Drua v Waratahs; 3.35am Chiefs v Highlanders; 6.05am Blues v Crusaders; 8.35am Western Force v Reds
  • CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 3.45am – 1st Test, D2 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 4am-7am Singapore Classic
  • SNOOKER – Eurosport, 6.30am-9.30am, 11.30am-3pm World Open
  • BADMINTON – TNT Sports 4, 11am-4pm Swiss Open Semi-finals
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 11.45am-10pm Valspar Championship
  • SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League 2 – 12.30pm Mansfield Town v Colchester Utd
  • SOCCER – BBC 1 – Women’s Super League – 12.30pm Manchester City v Manchester Utd
  • RUGBY – Premier Sports 2 – URC – 1pm Sharks v Ulster; 3.05pm Stormers v Edinburgh
  • RACING – ITV4, 1.10pm-4.05pm Doncaster, Bangor & Newbury
  • RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Top 14 – 2pm Toulon v Montpellier
  • RUGBY – RTÉ 2 – Women’s Six Nations – 2.15pm France v Ireland
  • GAA – TG4 – Women’s Football – 2.45pm Armagh v Dublin
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 3pm-3am Miami Open
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 3pm-3.45pm Tour of Catalunya
  • RUGBY – S4C – URC – 3pm Scarlets v Benetton
  • RUGBY – UTV & TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 3.05pm Saracens v Harlequins
  • GAA – TG4 – Hurling League Division One Semi-final – 4.30pm Limerick v Kilkenny; Football League Division Two – 7pm Kildare v Louth
  • RUGBY – BBC 2 & Virgin Media Three – Women’s Six Nations – 4.45pm Wales v Scotland
  • SOCCER – Virgin Media Two & Premier Sports 1 – Friendly – 5pm Republic of Ireland v Belgium
  • NBA – TNT Sports 2 – 5pm Nets @ Knicks
  • RUGBY – RTÉ 2 & Premier Sports 2 – URC – 5.15pm Connacht v Lions; 7.35pm Zebre v Leinster
  • SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League 2 – 5.15pm Stockport County v MK Dons
  • SOCCER – Channel 4 & Virgin Media Two – Friendly – 7pm England v Brazil
  • RUGBY – S4C – URC – 7.35pm Dragons v Bulls
  • SOCCER – Virgin Media More & Premier Sports 1 – Friendly – 8pm France v Germany
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 10pm-1am – LPGA LA Open

SUNDAY (Mar 24th)

  • UFC – TNT Sports 2 from 2am – Las Vegas Amanda Ribas v Rose Namajunas
  • F1 – Sky Sports F1 from 2.30am Australian Grand Prix
  • CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 3.45am – 1st Test, D3 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 4am-7am Singapore Classic
  • SNOOKER – Eurosport, 6am-9am, 11.30am-2.30pm World Open Final
  • BADMINTON – TNT Sports 4, 10am-3.30pm Swiss Open Final
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 11.45am-10pm Valspar Championship
  • MOTOGP – TNT Sports 2 from 1.15pm GP of Portugal
  • SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Women’s Sky Sports Cup Final – 1.30pm Rangers v Partick Thistle
  • GAA – TG4 – Football League Division One – 1.45pm Kerry v Galway; Hurling League Division One Semi-final – 4pm Clare v Tipperary; Football League Division Three – Deferred Down v Clare
  • CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 3pm-5pm Gent-Wevelgem
  • RUGBY – BBC 2 – Women’s Six Nations – 3pm Italy v England
  • RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 3pm Bath v Sale
  • TENNIS – Sky Sports Tennis, 3pm-3am Miami Open
  • SOCCER – Sky Sports Football & Showcase – Women’s Super League – 4.30pm West Ham Utd v Chelsea; 6.45pm Aston Villa v Arsenal
  • SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Women’s Primera Division – 5pm Real Madrid v Barcelona
  • GOLF – Sky Sports Mix, 7pm-10pm – LPGA LA Open
  • NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 7.30pm 76ers @ Clippers; 11pm Thunder @ Bucks
  • RUGBY – Virgin Media Two, 8pm-9pm Women’s Six Nations Highlights
  • RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Top 14 – 8.05pm Bordeaux Bègles v Toulouse
  • GAA – RTÉ 2, 9.30pm-11.30pm League Sunday
  • CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 3.45am – 1st Test, D4 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
Damian Cullen

Damian Cullen

Damian Cullen is Health & Family Editor of The Irish Times