The Rugby World Cup final approaches, with England taking on South Africa in Yokohama on Saturday morning. If Eddie Jones's side get past the Springboks, it would mean they have beaten all four of the southern hemisphere's big guns - after wins over Argentina, Australia and New Zealand - to lift the trophy. And in his column this morning, Gerry Thornley suggests this would be an unparalleled achievement. He writes: "Hence, were England to complete the set by beating the recently crowned winners of the Rugby Championship, thereby completing a four-in-a-row clean sweep of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, there'd be nothing bogus about their claims to being champions of the World. Arguably, they'd be the worthiest winners of all nine to date. Certainly a four-timer against the southern hemisphere quartet would not only be another first but most probably a last as well."
One man trying to stop England from making history on Saturday is Siya Kolisi - the Springboks' excellent backrow and the side's first ever black captain. Gerry Thornley has profiled the 28-year-old, from Zvide township in Port Elizabeth, whose potential lifting of the Webb Ellis Cup would become arguably the tournament's most iconic moment. "It's impossible, from this juncture anyway, to ascertain the social significance of Siya Kolisi potentially captaining the Springboks to victory in next Saturday's World Cup final. But, almost akin to Barack Obama winning the US elections, the possibility would have been utterly unthinkable at least until the mid-90s." Jerome Garces will become the first Frenchman to referee a Rugby World Cup final, after he was awarded the job on Tuesday. Jaco Peyper will assist Wayne Barnes in Friday's third place play-off, after he caused controversy following the quarter-final between Wales and France.
Meanwhile Brian O'Driscoll has insisted Ireland must improve their skill set and handling if they are to become regularly competitive with sides like the All Blacks. New Zealand blitzed Ireland 46-14 in the quarter-finals - running in seven tries - and O'Driscoll has urged there must be a change at grassroots level in order to escape similar defeats in the future. He said: "I've never seen passing like that. Joe has always prided his teams on being good passing teams. On the basis of that we still have a long way to go because I don't think I've ever seen a team as good at it, and it allowed them to play any sort of way. . . We've got to have a rethink within our systems and our grassroots that that has to be more of a focus. It's New Zealand's greatest strength, the skillset of their teams, their under-age teams. They're better passers than us."
Away from Japan and Hockey Ireland will wait for the return of performance director Adam Grainger from Canada before deciding how to proceed following their agonising penalties defeat to the Canadians on Sunday, which has cost them their place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Canada were awarded a highly controversial penalty stroke in the last play of the game, after a video referral. And this morning Johnny Watterson suggests Hockey Ireland should scrutinise the decision in the same way the IRFU did after Bundee Aki's red card against Samoa in the Rugby World Cup.
And a late Chris Lyons goal has put Drogheda on the brink of promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division, with his side beating Finn Harps 1-0 in the first leg of their relegation/promotion play-off last night. The second leg is on Friday. In England, there are five League Cup fixtures tonight, with Southampton travelling to play Man City as they try to bounce back from their 9-0 defeat to Leicester.
