Gerry Thornley on Farrell’s Ireland; Carrick in charge as Man United face Villarreal

The November window was one to remember for Ireland, as they produced an impressive clean sweep of wins over Japan, New Zealand and Argentina. They were a joy to watch at times, and in his column this morning Gerry Thornley suggests Andy Farrell is building something pretty special. He writes: "In empowering them and in creating this family-type feel to the group, Farrell has created an environment where the players will reciprocate and go that extra bit further. It helps that he's both a renowned motivator and yet easygoing, and the players will also go that extra yard as a result. Along the way, Farrell has also subtly rebuilt the side, without satisfying the constant craving for wholesale changes and the latest new things." However there are a couple of caveats to Ireland's successful autumn both in the weary southern hemisphere sides they faced, and also the form of their nearest rivals - particularly France. "Antoine Dupont and Ntamack just might become the best French halfback partnership of all time and, to keep things in perspective, those two, their blossoming team and an engaged Stade de France lurk in this season's Six Nations, and potentially in a World Cup quarter-final as well."

Michael Carrick will take charge of Manchester United this evening as they travel to Villarreal for a crunch Champions League fixture (kick-off 5.45pm Irish time. Live on RTÉ2, BT Sport 3 and LiveScore). United currently sit in top spot in Group F, ahead of today's opponents courtesy of their superior head-to-head record, with the visit of Young Boys still to come on December 8th. It will be the United's first game since the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday, with Carrick now in interim charge as the club search for an interim manager until the summer. Yesterday it was reported PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen on the job and would be open to leaving Paris mid-season. In tonight's other games, Chelsea welcome Juventus to Stamford Bridge while Xavi's Barcelona look for revenge against Benfica at the Camp Nou (both 8pm).

Elsewhere this morning Ruaidhrí Croke has asked if the new World Handicap System is working, just over a year since its introduction. There have been plenty of teething problems with the new system which has proven controversial at times - but, he writes, the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of golf courses is largely to blame: "Taking all of that into account, the World Handicap System may officially be in place a year now but realistically it is only working off six months of play. And that's important, because this system works much more off a basis of the golfer's current playing ability as opposed to their potential. To put it simply: the more someone plays, the more accurate their handicap index will be."

And in his column this morning Owen Doyle has reflected on last weekend's final round of November Test matches, which saw a number of controversial moments for officials to deal with. One came at the Aviva Stadium as Thomas Lavanini was sent off for his challenge on a prone Cian Healy - something the Argentina secondrow has form for. "He is a serial offender with a litany of cards on his record and is capable of doing some serious damage. His shoulder charge into Cian Healy, as the kneeling prop was minding his own business at the back of a ruck, was a disgrace, an utter disgrace. Maybe it's time for Argentina to review their selection policy. Maybe World Rugby will do it for them, it should."