Looks like things are finally improving for Munster as they receive a much-needed piece of good news in the midst of their South African Omicron nightmare. With Munster in a desperate bind when it comes to having available players for next week's Champions Cup opener away to Wasps, EPCR has changed the rules allowing them to register new players for the European competition up until Wednesday. This means the province is likely to recruit from within their own AIL clubs in order to fulfil the fixture, rather than ask for loans from any of the other provinces. By stark contrast, Cardiff are in a godforsaken position as they are still stuck in South Africa. One of their players, fullback Matthew Morgan, showed his frustration in branding the United Rugby Championship a "shambles of a league" on Twitter and labelling the Welsh government "a joke" for not doing more to help them return home, before quickly deleting his tweet. Meanwhile, in URC action that will still be going ahead as normal, Gerry Thornley previews Leinster's clash with Connacht tonight as they seek to avoid back-to-back interpro losses at the RDS.
In her column this morning, Lisa Fallon talks about how the League Managers Association made her figure out what sort of a manager she wanted to be - was it a Sam Allardyce, or a Sean Dyche, or someone else? Taking inspiration from outside of soccer, she looks at Jim Gavin as an example of a leader who empowers his players and what that can mean for an individual coaching philosophy. In Premier League action last night, a helter skelter affair at Old Trafford ended in a 3-2 victory for Manchester United over Arsenal with their new boss Ralf Rangnick watching in the stands. After the result, Michael Carrick confirmed that he would be stepping away from the club now that his spell as interim boss will be coming to an end.
The Women's Tennis Association has stood up to China over their lack of transparency in the Peng Shuai situation, suspending all of their events in the country until a full investigation into her allegations of sexual assault against a national top official takes place. It is a move that could cost them billions in revenue, but Johnny Watterson this morning labels it a rare case in modern sport of a governing body sticking to the principles it publicly professes. Speaking of sporting figures standing up for wider social good, Lewis Hamilton has spoken out against Saudi Arabia's torrid record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights ahead of the grand prix in the kingdom. That being said, Hamilton has also been criticised by survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire for Mercedes' sponsorship deal with Kingspan that will see Hamilton's racing car emblazoned with the logo of an Irish firm that made combustible insulation used on the tower.
Rory McIlroy continued his run of good form with an opening round 66 yesterday at the Hero World Challenge. The Holywood golfer's decision to extend his season to include this tournament looked to be a good one as he took a share of the lead in the Bahamas. Elsewhere, Leona Maguire has spoken of her determination not to rest on her laurels after a breakout year that included a dominant display at the Solheim cup as well as her first top 10 finish at a major. In the local game, the Royal Dublin Golf Club has decided to accept women as members after a vote took place in the club.
