The autumn Test series - and more pertinently a date with the All Blacks - looms large for Ireland, with the world's first and second ranked sides set to go toe-to-toe at the Aviva Stadium on November 17th. Johnny Sexton will be key to Ireland's hopes of toppling the world champions - especially in the absence of Conor Murray - and he knows better than anyone what to expect when facing Steve Hansen's side. Indeed, this morning he remembers the intensity of his first start against New Zealand back in 2010 - a game the tourists won 38-18 in Dublin: "I vomited at half-time," he said. "It was just an incredible pace to the game, just every collision was ferocious. Every collision was like the first collision of the game. That was my first time playing against them and it was an eye-opener. Our levels of fitness now and our levels of preparation have gone up a lot since then."
Arsenal made it 11 wins on the bounce in all competitions last night, as they beat Sporting 1-0 in Lisbon thanks to a 77th minute strike from Danny Welbeck. Unai Emery's side now sit three points clear of the Portugese in their Europa League Group E. Celtic's hopes of reaching the competition's knockouts were dealt a blow however, as two goals in the space of five first-half minutes saw them beaten 2-0 in Leipzig. Meanwhile Ruben Loftus-Cheek pressed his claims for a place in Mauricio Sarri's regular starting XI as his hat-trick helped Chelsea brush aside BATE Borisov 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Ireland Sevens star Robert Baloucoune will earn his first Ulster cap tonight as the province take on the Dragons in the Pro14 at Ravenhill (kick-off 7.55pm). Dan McFarland has also named new Ireland call-up Will Addison in midfield alongside Stuart McCloskey, a combination which could be used by Joe Schmidt at some point during November. Connacht meanwhile travel to play the Ospreys in Bridgend, and Andy Friend has been able to call on his quartet of Ireland call-ups (kick-off 8.05pm). Bundee Aki, Finlay Bealham, Quinn Roux and Kieran Marmion all start, with the scrumhalf's return from injury particularly timely given Conor Murray will miss the autumn.
Sligo's Charlie Harrison has announced his retirement from inter-county football. The 36-year-old is one of just four Sligo footballers to have won both a Connacht medal (2007) and an All Star (2010). However, his one regret is not picking up a second provincial title, despite having gone close twice again: "In 2010 and '12 we suffered narrow defeats but I really wanted to win two medals - to be as successful as I could be or even the most successful."
And American College Football is returning to Dublin from 2020, with Notre Dame to take on Navy at the Aviva Stadium in a repeat of their clash in 2012. That fixture is the first of five scheduled to take place at the Aviva, with the games estimated to be worth €250 million to the local economy.
