José Mourinho has been officially confirmed as the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur, following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday night. The Portugese has been out of work since being fired by Manchester United last December, but returns to the Premier League with Spurs on a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season. Tottenham announced the appointment on Wednesday morning, and in a statement chairman Daniel Levy said: "In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in football. He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached. We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room." The outgoing Pochettino leaves Spurs after five and a half successful - albeit trophyless - years in charge.
Elsewhere the Republic of Ireland will face Slovakia in the semi-finals of the Euro 2020 play-offs next March, after Wales secured qualification with a 2-0 victory over Hungary in Cardiff last night. Two goals for the returning Aaron Ramsey either side of half-time gave the hosts a comfortable win and confirmed their place at next summer's Euros, with manager Ryan Giggs calling it, "one of the greatest nights of my life." Ireland will now take on Slovakia on March 26th next year, before a potential play-off final against Northern Ireland - who were beaten 6-1 by Germany last night - or Bosnia on March 31st. You can get to know Ireland's play-off opponents a bit better by reading Ruaidhrí Croke's profile of the Slovakia HERE.
Meanwhile in his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy has offered a word of caution to the provinces, as they all prepare for French opposition in the Champions Cup this weekend. Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster all won their opening European fixtures, but they will have their work cut out to produce a repeat in round two. He writes: "The return of the Champions Cup highlights just how competitive Irish rugby remains. Still, I am very cautious about the 2019/20 season. Round one could be a mirage." And he suggests there could be a French renaissance just around the corner, as Les Bleus begin to plan for a home World Cup in four years time. "Bernard Laporte has been putting a plan in place for two years now to deliver the Webb Ellis trophy in 2023. It starts with forcing the clubs to stop flooding their sides with foreigners (with the exception of French-qualified Fijians of course) and presumably finishes with giving Fabien Galthié all the tools he needs to win a World Cup. They have started with defence. Shaun Edwards will not be long sorting them out."
Yesterday the Club Players Association announced they are to withdraw from the GAA's fixtures calendar review task force, describing it as a cynical "Trojan horse", assembled merely to ratify the "status quo" in the football championship. On the back of that announcement Ian O'Riordan asked four leading club players - Brendan Maher, Shane O'Sullivan, Kieran Fitzgerald and Niall Daly - if the GAA club fixture schedule demands closer attention or amending?
And Dave Rennie has been confirmed as the new head coach of the Wallabies, with the Kiwi to leave Glasgow Warriors at the end of the season and replace Michael Cheika.
