Eddie Jones has opted to stick with his tried and trusted method for the biggest match of his England tenure this Saturday by selecting an unchanged starting lineup to meet South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final. Kyle Sinckler had been a doubt for the match but was declared fit to play and will start in Yokohama. Jones spoke this morning about the success of the tournament in Japan and what it would mean to cap it with the trophy. Meanwhile, Rassie Erasmus has also largely stuck to his guns with star winger Cheslin Kolbe coming back into the team for the finale. If England are to go all the way and lift the Webb Ellis Cup they will need Owen Farrell to once again be at his best. The England captain has been the steady hand on the tiller all the way through the tournament, as Gerry Thornley writes this morning. Don't forget you can follow all of the action from Yokohama on our liveblog which will begin at 8.30am this Saturday morning.
Moving on to GAA and it's in no way surprising that All-Ireland champions Tipperary make up the core of the Hurling All Stars team which was announced this morning with Liam Sheedy's men taking seven awards. Last night there was drama in Donegal as John O'Malley's last gasp point gave Naomh Conaill the Donegal SFC title after their replay with Gaoth Dobhair.
In soccer it was quite a night of Carabao Cup action last night as Liverpool eventually saw off Arsenal on penalties after a mad-cap 5-5 draw at Anfield with Ireland's Caoimhín Kelleher eventually proving the hero by denying Dani Ceballos in an otherwise perfect shootout. Afterwards Jürgen Klopp was effusive in his praise for his young guns but also warned that his team may withdraw from the competition if the organisers cannot resolve the fixture clash which sees the quarter-finals take place while Liverpool are at the Club World Cup in Qatar. Elsewhere, Manchester United made it three away wins in a row thanks to a stunning Marcus Rashford free-kick which sealed a 2-1 victory at Chelsea. Both sides will now advance to the quarter-finals which the draw takes place for at 8.45am this morning. Last night the news also emerged that Derby County have sacked Richard Keogh after he refused a pay cut following his season-ending injury in a late night car crash. Keogh had been out with Lawrence and a host of other Derby players, including Mason Bennett, after a team bonding day. Lawrence's car went into the back of Bennett's, before going across a roundabout and hitting the lamppost.
Finally to our women in sport pages this morning where Joanne O'Riordan writes that it's a do-or-die weekend for Irish hockey while Philip Reid speaks to R&A referee Anne O'Sullivan about her experiences officiating at the very top of the game of golf.
