Jackie Tyrrell is edging towards the maroon corner in Saturday's All-Ireland hurling quarter-final between Galway and reigning champions Tipperary. Conor Whelan, he feels, will be the difference. In his column this morning the former Kilkenny defender explains why this has the feel of a blockbuster: "these two teams have served up the best series of games of any two counties in the past five years. They have their own storylines, their own images that jump immediately into your head." The ties of the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1920 will bind generations this weekend as both Dublin and Tipperary - the two counties who were at the heart of the day 100 years ago - will mark the centenary with a special jersey in their provincial football finals.
Eddie Jones was up to his usual tricks ahead of Ireland's encounter against his England team this weekend. Talking to the media he highlighted the refereeing of scrums: "we've got a referee on the weekend who generally doesn't reward dominant scrums so it'll be interesting to see how he looks at that area." Gavin Cummiskey explains why the build-up would be all the poorer without Jones whispering sweet nothings and creating false narratives. England have named their team with Jonathan Joseph returning.
As the Irish players return to their clubs following another disappointing international break, Emmet Malone assesses Stephen Kenny's early tenure and fills out a next generation report card: "There has been little in the chaos of the past few months to persuade those who believed in him in the first place that their faith in Kenny has been misplaced but then he will not have won too many over either." Ahead of next week's draw, Ruaidhrí Croke has compiled an all you need to know guide to the 2022 World Cup qualifying. The FAI are 'looking into' reports Ireland players were upset by a video shown ahead of their friendly defeat to England at Wembley. The three-minute montage contained some material relating to the historical relationship between the two countries. In Premier League news, Pep Guardiola has agreed a new contract to remain as Manchester City manager for a further two seasons .
Meanwhile, champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins has been banned from accessing a racecourse and fined €2,500 over a breach of racing's Covid-19 protocols at Punchestown on Saturday. "It is regrettable what happened and it shouldn't have happened. It was a complete oversight on our part and we're sorry for it," Mullins said. This week, after Katie Taylor headlined a Sky boxing event, women's golf pitched its tent in the Royal Greens Golf Club on the Red Sea Coast near Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. One step forward, two steps back for women's sport - Johnny Watterson explains.
