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The Morning Sports Briefing

Ireland bounce back but there’s work to do, Waterford lay down marker against Cats, Robbie Brady earns Burnley draw with Chelsea and Sizing John wins Irish Gold Cup

Sizing John took the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown to put himself into the reckoning for the Cheltenham Festival. Photograph: Inpho/Donall Farmer

Mon Feb 13 2017 - 08:36

Ireland back on track

Ireland got their Six Nations campaign back on track on Saturday with a resounding 63-10 win over Italy in Rome, but Joe Schmidt is under no illusions at to the size of the challenge facing his team if they want to reclaim the championship.

He said: “I really think there’s going to be some battles that come down to the wire and there’s going to be a number of coaches’ fingernails missing at the end of this Six Nations because it’s just going to be really tight and combative.”

Waterford lay down league marker

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Elsewhere Waterford laid down an early marker as they began their Division 1A campaign with a narrow 1-15 to 0-17 win over Kilkenny yesterday - their first win in Nowlan Park for 13 years. This followed wins on Saturday for Tipperary and Cork over Dublin and Clare respectively.

In football’s first division Monaghan and Cavan played out an agricultural 0-7 to 0-7 draw in Castleblaney, while Roscommon were edged out 0-16 to 2-9 by Donegal. In the weekend’s other top flight fixtures Dublin and Tyrone drew in Croke Park while Mayo had too much for Kerry.

Brady or Beckham?

Robbie Brady scored a stunning free-kick on his Turf Moor debut yesterday to earn Burnley a 1-1 draw against champions-elect Chelsea. Meanwhile Leicester’s woes continued as they lost 2-0 to Swansea, slipping down to one place above the relegation zone.

Sizing John enters festival frame

Sizing John Produced a brilliant performance at Leopardstown yesterday to win the Irish Gold Cup for Jessica Harrington - finishing ahead of the Gordon Elliott-trained duo Empire of Dirt and Don Poli to enter the frame for next month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.

It was a mixed day for Willie Mullins who saw Bacardys win the Deloitte Hurdle but saw two of his other main hopes - Bapaume and Bellshill - well beaten by Mega Fortune and Disko respectively.

Spieth ends PGA Tour drought

And Jordan Spieth has ended a 13-month PGA Tour drought after he won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am by four strokes thanks to a final round 70. Shane Lowry finished tied for 14th place after closing with a 70, while Seamus Power was three strokes further back, finishing on four under par.

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