What to do in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod – a place closed off to outsiders until 1989 – when the host country is playing 1,100km away? Go to the pub, of course. Keith Duggan is in the city on the banks of the River Volga for Argentina's meeting with Croatia tomorrow and yesterday he went along to some of the city's bars to watch Russia's win with the locals and see if World Cup fever had gripped the city. From St Petersburg, where Russia saw off Egypt 3-1 to all but secure their place in the second round, Ken Early reports on a stunning victory for the hosts and a first two games which few people expected.
Just under 2,000km south, Emmet Malone has been in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the last week where the locals say they are fearful of being left behind by president Vladimir Putin in a city that was once thriving and where Joseph Stalin himself used to own a villa. The gleaming sports complexes built for the 2014 Winter Olympics tell one side of the story but the rugged and slightly rundown seafront paints a different picture altogether.
On to GAA and Darragh Ó Sé writes in his column this morning that Cork will beat Kerry eventually – just not on Saturday night in the Munster SFC final. "People think it's cute-hoor stuff but it's actually the complete opposite. It's a fear that they'll rise up again – which they definitely will at some stage. I spent my early days as a Kerry footballer losing to Cork and even in their worst days, I'm always wary of them coming up with something," he writes.
Following Derek McGrath's decision to step down as Waterford hurling manager the Déise face a huge challenge next season in maintaining the pace that McGrath set for them at the top table of the championship. Seán Moran writes that a spate of injuries, coupled with the fact that this year they have no home ground, all added up to make it even tougher for Waterford to emerge from a very tough Munster round-robin.
Down in Australia Robbie Henshaw is relishing the action after returning from injury and says that Ireland can end a 39-year wait for a series win in Australia on Saturday. "We started slow and the game was there for the taking but we were delighted with how we bounced back and really showed how physical a team we can be, how dominant we can be when we're on the front foot," he says.
Meanwhile, forwards coach Simon Easterby has spoken of how Ireland are keen to get things right in the lineout and the maul after coughing up some silly penalties in the last Test.
And finally, you can now play our World Cup Spot The Ball game on our World Cup website. Just follow the link and see how many you can get.
