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All Blacks to play Munster in November
RUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP: MUNSTER WILL play New Zealand on Tuesday, November 18th, to mark the official opening of the redeveloped Thomond Park. The All Blacks have confirmed the acceptance of an invitation from the IRFU to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Irish province's 12-0 victory over New Zealand at the venue in 1978. p

McCloskey criticises use of Parnell Park for league finals
GAA FOCUS ON DERRY FOOTBALLERS: DERRY TRAINER John McCloskey has criticised the use of Parnell Park as a venue for the weekend's Footbal League finals. p

Rijkaard confident Barcelona have the strength to advance
SOCCER UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: WHEN FRANK Rijkaard was asked at Old Trafford last night if his players had prepared for the eventuality of penalties deciding whether they or Manchester United would go to next month's Champions League final in Moscow, he looked at the questioner as if he were mad. p

Captains make a case for the defence
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: EVEN A QUICK glance at the squad lists and you know these teams have the attacking talent required to win tonight's intriguing semi-final at Old Trafford. Who has the defensive strength required to contain their opposition is, however, a different matter altogether. p
United boss comes well armed
HE'S A MAN with a well-earned reputation for coming prepared so when Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson took the stage at Old Trafford yesterday it was hard to avoid the thought that his already deeply scarlet complexion might be a ploy to save time when the questions start coming and he proceeds to get angry. p
Game on as Trapattoni faces press this week
ON SOCCER: Most of the media here will give new coach Giovanni Trapattoni time to find his feet p
Adebayor does the trick
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE/Derby County 2 Arsenal 6: THE SOONER this season ends, the better for Derby County, because this could have been double figures. They were humiliated last night, especially during the second half, when for long periods Arsenal barely allowed them a kick. p
Wigan take action to protect their pitch
WIGAN ATHLETIC are taking no chances with the state of their pitch when Manchester United visit the JJB Stadium aiming to seal the Premier League title on Sunday week. p

Munster on threshold of true European immortality
Munster have earned themselves a tilt at the princes of European and French rugby and for that we owe them a huge debt of gratitude p
Horan makes light work of coalface
MARCUS HORAN is not cowed by a challenge, which is just as well because in Sunday's Heineken Cup semi-final he was giving away two and four stone to Cobus Visagie and Cencus Johnston respectively. At 16-and-a-half stone Horan is one of the lightest props in Test rugby so is used to grappling with heavier opponents. p
IRFU will not name coach today
ALTHOUGH RUMOURS circulated yesterday that Declan Kidney was to be formally confirmed at some juncture today as the next Ireland coach, IRFU sources have indicated no such announcement will be made today. p

Call for match bans to close off loophole reports
NEWS ROUND-UP: THE CENTRAL Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) chairman Jimmy Dunne has called for the introduction of match bans after three Meath players who accepted four-week suspensions, arising from the Dublin match on April 20th, will not miss any game time because of a flaw in the GAA's redrafted disciplinary procedures. p
Wexford slate Brennan
THE WEXFORD County Board unleashed a scathing attack on GAA president Nickey Brennan yesterday in reaction to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) decision to reject their recent appeal on a "technicality". Wexford sought to overturn the result of their National Hurling League match with Cork and in turn avoid relegation to Division Two. p

Shanghai high puts Clarke back in business
EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS: THE REALITY for any professional golfer worth his salt is that playing, and more pertinently contending, in majors is what life on tour is primarily about. p
Scott sinks 49-foot putt for play-off victory
US TOUR NEWS: AUSTRALIAN ADAM Scott sunk a mammoth 49-foot putt to birdie the third play-off hole and claim the Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday, his first PGA Tour title in more than a year. p
Fruit of expansion is more and more Mandarin
CADDIES' ROLE: As the European Tour spreads its borders, communication can prove a challenge, especially for your average monoglot Anglophone p
Clever links between land and water
Philip Reid visits a course where the members have combined modest resources with imaginative design to turn what was an admittedly bland layout into a greener, more varied and more attractive challenge p
Golf LPs come up way short of being Top of the Pops
If Gary Moran thought he was sitting on a nice little nest egg he was in for a rude awakening when he made inquiries about his Arnold Palmer double vinyl LP p
A round and about
Eric Miller Former Leinster and Irish rugby international p
The Short Game
A round-up of today's other stories in brief... p

New Approach heads Guineas 19
NEWS: ANTE-POST favourite New Approach heads a total of 19 horses to stand their ground for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. There were no surprises at the five-day confirmation stage with Jim Bolger's unbeaten Dewhurst winner leading the Classic charge. p

Field of dreams a step closer to reality reports
ABBOTSTOWN SPORTS CAMPUS NEWS: THE ABBOTSTOWN sports campus always had a field-of-dreams sense about it, with an emphasis on the dream. Now, however, it is to become a reality, and as the Government finally sets about building it, the hope is they will come from all over the country to benefit from the first such national sports campus. p
Pair impress Jahrling
ROWING NEWS: IRELAND COACH Harald Jahrling, who put Irish heavyweight rowing back on the map in recent years and oversaw the qualification of a men's heavyweight four for the Olympic Games, believes he has found a combination in a men's pair that can seriously contend at international level. p
Ireland in control
WOMEN'S HOCKEY OLYMPIC QUALIFIER: IRELAND'S PENALTY corner routine came good in Vancouver as Cathy McKean and Claire Parkhill scored cracking goals to defeat hosts Canada 2-0 at the Olympic hockey qualifier. p
Sports Digest
A round-up of today's other stories in brief... p

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