Previous Day
Staunton's days numbered
Soccer: Steve Staunton's reign as Republic of
Ireland manager looks to be coming to an end as the FAI's chief
executive, John Delaney, said last night the association's board of
management could meet to consider "recent performances" over the
"next number of days". p
Master and commander
Rugby World Cup Final countdown: Gerry Thornley on
the long journey travelled by South Africa captain John Smit and
coach Jake White. p
Rugby 
White points to preparation as key to success
Final countdown: If somebody had told Jake White that to win the World Cup the Springboks would have been required to beat Fiji, Argentina and England in the knock-out stages he wouldn't have believed it. pWar of words between camps
Third place play-off/ France v Argentina : Were it a heavyweight boxing fight for some obscure title, with the distinctive coiffure of Don King lurking in the background, you would almost certainly presume it to be an attempt to boost ticket sales. pMistakes but Barnes not to blame for All Blacks defeat
News: English referee Wayne Barnes made three errors in the final 15 minutes of New Zealand's World Cup quarter-final defeat against France, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has said. p
McClaren has little chance of survival
Euro 2008 qualifiers: England are a child who has stayed up well past bedtime. Everything just goes on too long and fractious tears must fall. pUnited front puts Drogheda in pole position
League of Ireland Premier Division Championship : On the eve of what's likely to be the biggest night in the club's history, Drogheda United players pointed to the camaraderie of a tightly-knit squad as being one of the cornerstones of their success. pDrogba wants to leave Chelsea
English Premier League: Didier Drogba has confirmed he will follow Jose Mourinho and leave Chelsea. The striker claims the club has been "broken" by the manager's departure. pArsenal chiefs in share pact
English Premier League: Arsenal's directors moved to settle the instability around the club's ownership yesterday by announcing at the club's agm an extension until April 2009 of their "lockdown" agreement not to sell any of their shares. pVan Persie injured
Soccer Shorts : Arsenal could be without leading scorer Robin van Persie for a month after the Holland striker suffered a knee injury on international duty on Wednesday. p
McEniff says 'kill or cure' label would be unfair
News round-up : Long-serving Ulster football manager Brian McEniff says it would be unfair to treat the staging at Croke Park of next weekend's finals of the interprovincial competition as a "kill or cure" situation. pQuinn directs St Vincent's
Dublin SFC Semi-finals/ St Vincent's 2-11 Kilmacud Crokes 2-9 : With a fine defensive performance, St Vincent's outfoxed before outplaying the favourites to return to the county final where they will set about atoning for last season's defeat to UCD. pGallagher returns to help Brigid's to final
Dublin SFC Semi-final/ St Brigid's 1-11 St Jude's 0-7 : Once St Brigid's more illustrious names upped the tempo, and fouls within Joey Donnelly's range were curtailed, the 2003 champions ensured safe passage back to the Dublin football final. pO'Neill to miss 2008 league
TYRONE : Stephen O'Neill has confirmed he will play no part in the 2008 National Football League, even if Tyrone reach the latter stages. p
Kaymer's birdie blitz leaves the field trailing
Portugal Masters : The European Tour stands still for no man these days and while Peter Lawrie was pleased with his five-under par 67, the Dubliner was somewhat dismayed to find himself six shots behind Germany's Martin Kaymer after yesterday's first round of the Portugal Masters at Victoria Clube de Golfe in Vilamoura. pHat-trick chasers go head to head
Golf Digest/ CHALLENGE TOUR : Robert Dinwiddie and Peter Whiteford will go head to head in a battle to become the Challenge Tour's most prolific champion of 2007 in the last match of the third round of the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup today. p
New Approach heads strong Irish challenge
News : New Approach will lead an Irish team of nine horses into tomorrow's prestigious Emirates Airlines Champion Stakes day card at Newmarket with European juvenile championship honours on the line for Jim Bolger's colt. p
Convincing victory for Taylor
Boxing/ European Women's Championships : Katie Taylor's continued her relentless drive towards a third European title in a row yesterday when a convincing victory over Yana Zavyalova put her into tomorrow's 60kg final at the European Women's Championships in Vejle, Denmark. pHolland to make fresh start
Rowing Column : Irish rowing talent is spread far and wide this weekend: from Boston to Cannes and back to Ireland, where John Holland begins his tenure as national lightweight coach with a 10-day get-together in Blessington. pLong journeys a big factor in cup
Women's Hockey: The Irish Senior Cup takes centre stage this weekend with six of the 10 first-round ties pairing teams from Leinster and Ulster. pTesting time for senior players
Men's Hockey : Ireland's preparation for their Olympic qualifiers are likely to take a number of international players out of play before Christmas (Pembroke and Glenanne to be hardest hit), due to a proposed tour to Chile. pICRA to leave no stone unturned
Sailing Column : If persistence is a virtue then it must pay off for the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA) who, as expected, have announced a further bid to win the Commodore's Cup. pReed gets help with Hoops job
Basketball : The Shamrock Rovers Hoops board have reacted to their poor opening to the Superleague campaign by adding former Irish underage coach Martin McGetterick to the coaching ticket ahead of tonight's game against University of Ulster at the National Arena. pIrish duo start to wind down
Cycling : ProTour duo Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan will bring their seasons to a close this weekend, giving the riders the chance for a well-deserved break from competition. pIreland out to maintain record
Motor Sport Column : Limerick-born Ollie O'Donovan and Andrew Jordan will battle for the British Rallycross Championship of which the final round is at Croft in North Yorkshire on Sunday. pSports Digest
A roundup of today's other sports stories in brief: p
