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This group don't do miracles
RUGBY: Time for a miracle then. And, indeed, rarely have an Irish team looked so in need of divine intervention. Maybe the green hordes will invade the French capital, and the French will adopt Ireland purely out of self-interest, but the Parisian air is far from thick with Irish optimism. Not alone has there been no sign that the real Ireland will stand up, but of all the teams that they had to run into when hanging onto the precipice by their fingernails, it's those dastardly Pumas. p
Charismatic Pichot is as shrewd off the field as on it
RUGBY: Agustin Pichot fielded questions in Spanish, French and English but the message never varied at Enghien-les-Bains. Argentina will not underestimate Ireland, they won't place any store in previous performances and they won't allow any mental laxity to compromise an opportunity to finish top of Pool D and earn an easier passage into the knock-out phase. p
Grant knows how to win hearts and minds
SOCCER: David Hytner hears how Avram Grant is
confident of winning Chelsea fans' hearts with attractive
football p
Soccer
Miller must now seize the moment
A year on The Wear: Up on a slope on Newcastle Road, out near Sunderland's training ground, sits a windmill. It is an imposing structure, a town landmark from its creation 200 years ago. Despite accidents, dereliction and disregard down the decades, it still works. As he goes to work each morning a man called Miller could just see the symbolism in its stubborn presence should he choose to. pBenitez defends his use of Torres
Rafael Benitez has issued a caustic riposte to critics of his decision to rest Fernando Torres and claimed Liverpool cannot win the Premier League if the €39-million striker represents their only hope of success against the likes of Birmingham. pUsmanov raises the stakes at Arsenal
Arsenal's start to the season has won them plaudits aplenty, but not all the admiration is welcomed by the current board - notably that of the Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who yesterday became the club's second largest shareholder by raising his stake from 21 per cent to 24 per cent. pDrogheda extend their lead
Longford Town 1 Drogheda United 2: As the chasing pack bunched behind them, Drogheda United extended their lead at the top of the Premier Division to eight points last night as first-half goals from Guy Bates and Paul Keegan proved enough to give them victory at Flancare Park. pBohemians make hay
Bohemians 3 Sligo Rovers 0: Make no mistake about it, Bohemians were flattered by this scoreline. Sligo deserved great credit for the manner in which they set about their hosts but Séamus Coleman's sending off late in the game left them rudderless at a time when a point was clearly on the cards. pCork make their chances count
Derry City 1 Cork City 2: Cork City continue to find the Brandywell a happy hunting ground. On this occasion, however, they would admit that Derry City could have been out of sight by the half-time whistle. pStudents pile on Blues' woe
UCD 2 Waterford United 1: A madcap three first-half minutes brought further misery to Waterford's week as they slumped to a dispiriting defeat at Belfield. pRight Guy in right place
Galway United 0 St Patrick's Athletic 1: Substitute Ryan Guy pinched the only goal of an interesting game as St Patrick's Athletic maintained their push for European football. Still it was a depleted Galway who enjoyed the more productive moments in a first half. p
Dogfight is all about the bonus
In the event of two sides finishing level, the first criterion for deciding the final rankings will be the result of the head-to-head match between the two. In the event of Argentina, France and Ireland finishing level, they will all have recorded one win each against each other, and then the final rankings would be determined by points difference. pMunster the ideal templatefor Ireland
Pool D/Ireland v Argentina: If you want a starting point for the performance Ireland require then you'd look at a Munster template from their Heineken European Cup triumphs. They managed to produce a number of performances where they were chasing big victories and they managed to achieve it through mental strength, singularity of purpose and patience. pThis Wasp has earned his stripes
Pool D/Ireland v Argentina: Gerry Thornley on the scrumhalf's long and grinding road to starting for Ireland in crunch World Cup games pFrance do their sums and hope
Pool D/France v Georgia: A victory with a bonus point against Georgia and an Irish win by more than seven points over Argentina would be France's dream scenario tomorrow. pWelsh fate in the balance
Pool B: Today is judgment day for the Wales head coach, Gareth Jenkins. If Wales win they qualify for the quarter-finals. pCarter forced to sidelines
New Zealand v Romania: New Zealand outhalf Dan Carter has been forced to drop out of his team's final Pool C match because of a calf strain, the All Blacks said yesterday. pWhite prepared to look beyond Italy
Pool C: Scotland v Italy Venue: St Etienne Kick-off: 8pm today On TV: Setanta Ireland Scotland may have finished at the bottom of this year's Six Nations Championship, but they appear to have a better chance than any of the other five of making the World Cup semi-finals. Victory over Italy here tonight would give them a probable quarter-final against Argentina in Paris, and captain Jason White is dreaming of what might be.Tonga take bouquets in defeat
Pool A/England 36 Tonga 20: The ovation the Tongan players received at the final whistle and on their subsequent lap of honour was heartfelt recognition for a team that had entertained and played the better rugby on the night. Unfortunately it was only in snatches and to their credit England toughed this one out, albeit with the help of some Tongan naivety at crucial stages. So to Tonga the plaudits at the Parc des Princes, but for England the satisfaction of a place in the knock-out stages of the World Cup in defence of their title. pWarwick leads rally
Dragons 16 Munster 26: Munster showed Eddie O'Sullivan's men the way with a thrilling second-half comeback to beat the Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade last night. pLeinster break loose
Celtic League/Cardiff Blues 19 Leinster 30: Cardiff are still top of the Magners Celtic League but they looked anything but potential champions as they crashed to their first home defeat in 20 months - ending a record run of 17 successive victories at the Arms Park. Leinster handed out a lesson in finishing which brought them a deserved bonus point. pUlster setback
Edinburgh 24 Ulster 10: Ulster tasted their first defeat in the current Celtic League, at Murrayfield last night. Their misery was compounded when lock Ryan Caldwell was shown a red card for stamping in a ruck late in the second half. pConnacht crash
Llanelli Scarlets 34 Connacht 11: Connacht came crashing down to earth after their bright Celtic League start when they were carved open by a rampant Llanelli Scarlets at Stradey Park last night. pThe World is Oval
A bird's eye view of rugby p
Crossmaglen occupying a prime place in history
Armagh SFC final: Gavin Cummiskey on the quest of the footballers in the famous black and yellow stripes to clinch a 12th county title in a row pCroke Park spring yields to bitter autumn
Sideline Cut: Where have you all gone? There were 80,000 of you gathered on a damp, frozen afternoon last February to proclaim your passion for Ireland and the national rugby team. Remember that? England came to Croke Park for that unforgettable day when tough men were permitted to belt out the Soldier's Song with a tear in their eye; when an Irish crowd applauded the pristine, white shirts of England onto the field in Croke Park and felt great about it. Those of you who were lucky enough to have tickets stood to attention for the brassy rendition of God Save the Queen and felt like ambassadors for the rest of the country. You cried with pride. pCounty Previews ...
Previews from around the country p
Faldo's tinkering begins to pay off
Some would say, rather cruelly perhaps, that the two teams battling it out - manfully, as it transpires - in this latest edition of the Seve Trophy at The Heritage at Killenard in Co Laois are of the patched up variety. Marc Warren, though, inadvertently provided some substance to that insinuation when a bedroom accident on Thursday night meant he turned up on the first tee for yesterday's second series of fourballs as the original Mr Band-Aid. pFightback begins with Appleby and Singh
Vijay Singh and Stuart Appleby crushed Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk 5 am 4 in the first fourballs match to spark a comeback bid by the International team in the Presidents Cup yesterday. pMaybin and Hoey share halfway lead in Aruba
Irish pair Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey share the lead at the halfway stage of the World Cup qualifying tournament in Aruba. p
O'Brien pair face a tough test at Ascot
Tomorrow's Juddmonte Beresford Stakes at the Curragh is the home feature of a triple-fixture Irish weekend but there is no doubt that today's main focus will be on the Group One action at Ascot where Aidan O'Brien is aiming to secure back-to-back victories in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. p
Beijing could be added to O'Sullivan's 'last lap' tour
ATHLETICS: It would be exaggerating a little to describe Sonia O'Sullivan and Paula Radcliffe as the greatest of rivals, and yet somehow their running careers became inexorably intertwined. Given their four-year age difference they probably never clashed at the peak of their careers, and in reality O'Sullivan was much more of a track specialist, while Radcliffe lapped up the country and roads. pHamilton believes plans are on track
MOTOR SPORT: The Fuji International Speedway is virgin territory for modern Formula One and, with three races of a remarkably tight season to go, the challenge of mastering the circuit quickly is one that teams and drivers cannot afford to failIreland maintain lead with Zagreb second
SHOW JUMPING: Ireland continued to lead the FEI Nations' Cup league following the latest round in Zagreb yesterday when the team finished second of 12 countries to clear-cut winners France, writes Margie McLoone. p
