Andy Farrell will name his Ireland side for Saturday's crunch Six Nations clash against Wales at 2pm this afternoon, with any changes likely to be enforced by injuries. Garry Ringrose injured his hand in the opening 19-12 win over Scotland and has been ruled out of Ireland's next two Championship fixtures, while 21-year-old Caelan Doris is following protocols after suffering a head injury early on against the Scots. And according to Gerry Thornley they are likely to be replaced by Robbie Henshaw and Peter O'Mahony for the visit of the defending Grand Slam champions - you can read his predicted Ireland squad HERE. One position which remains up for debate has been at scrumhalf, with Conor Murray retaining his place ahead of the in-form John Cooney. However the duo have insisted any competition between themselves is healthy - Murray said: "We're both very ambitious. We want to play. We want to start. We want to wear the number nine. There's a lot of talk outside about the rivalry. I think there's just a respect there."
Elsewhere in his column this morning Gerry Thornley has reflected on France's resounding win over England in Paris last Sunday - a victory which has blown this year's Six Nations wide open. He suggests Les Bleus are now live title contenders for the first time in a decade - especially with Italy to play at home next - and that much of their early renaissance has been built on the arrival of Shaun Edwards as defence coach. He writes: "Improvements in defence are invariably quicker to implement, and Edwards' impact was clear in France's defensive effort against England. Already signed on for the duration of this World Cup cycle, in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's win he could probably have signed a contract extension." Meanwhile Eddie Jones's side are still licking their wounds after their defeat at the Stade de France, and they could be without Manu Tuilagi for Saturday's clash with Scotland on Saturday. He is set to discover the extent of a groin injury later today, with Jones also confirming he will stick with Tom Curry as number eight rather than switching the 21-year-old back to flanker.
In today's Pay for Play investigation Ruaidhrí Croke has asked if there is now too much live football on television, with Sky Sports and Sports Extra customers receiving 1,248 live matches a year across the UK's domestic competitions, La Liga, the Champions League and Europa League alone. And he suggests with attention spans getting shorter - and with more to distract viewers during a match - that offering more bite size content could be the way forward for broadcasters: "If any one of us asked ourselves when was the last time we watched a match without checking our phones numerous times we'd be hard-pressed to come up with an answer. There's even a name for it: second-screening. Within a 90-minute football match there is a lot of time to be distracted and the fact is that, now, no one has to watch a match to see the main parts." And he has also written a guide on how to get to Wimbledon this summer, where to stay and where to get tickets, which you can read HERE.
Liverpool take on Shrewsbury Town in their FA Cup fourth round replay at Anfield tonight, with manager Jurgen Klopp to watch on a laptop as Under-23 coach Neil Critchley manages a youth side against League One opposition. In the night's other replays Newcastle travel to play Oxford United, Birmingham City take on Coventry, Cardiff face Reading and Derby County play Northampton Town, with the winners earning a fifth round clash at home to Manchester United.
Henry De Bromhead is keeping Honeysuckle's Cheltenham options open after her victory in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown last Saturday, with the Champion Hurdle and the Mare's Hurdle both possibilities for his unbeaten stable star.
And Graeme McDowell is back in the world's top-50, with last weekend's European Tour victory in Saudi Arabia moving him up to 48th in the rankings and on course for a return to the US Masters in April.
