The Morning Sports Briefing

Soccer

Sunderland last night sealed their Premier League survival with a 3-0 win over Everton - condemning Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle and Norwich City to the Championship next season.

That despite Norwich's 4-2 win over Watford - coming from behind after Troy Deeney's opening strike.

Elsewhere Liverpool again showed their fighting qualities to rescue a well-deserved point against Chelsea - in their last game of the season at Anfield. Christian Benteke popping up with a late header after Eden Hazard's first half wonder goal put the visitors ahead.

Meanwhile this morning Ajax boss Frank De Boer has left his role as head coach at the Dutch club - leaving both Everton and Manchester United on high alert.

Golf

Shane Lowry is preparing for the start of the Players Championship today - a tournament he feels is in almost every way a Major. "If you look at the golf course and the strength of the field, it is just like a Major championship. I imagine if you win it, it'd feel like winning a Major, although obviously you don't get the perks."

(The Players Championship - Sky Sports 4, 6pm-midnight)

Women In Sport

Sonia O'Sullivan's column this morning explains how a visit to see Ger Hartmann while in Ireland has changed her shopping list - "The essential message is low carbohydrate, which actually resonated with me. When I was running at my best, in the 1990s, I never ate very much carbohydrate. Pasta, rice, potatoes were all kept to a minimum – the opposite of what most people would associate with an elite athlete's diet."

Rugby

World Rugby's three year residency rule 'is wrong' says vice-chairman Agustín Pichot - "Somebody will kill me but we need to change it".

“It should be for life, like in football. I would understand a five year [qualification period] and I think that will be on the agenda in the next six months.”