The Morning Sports Briefing

Golf: European Amateurs

Paul Dunne makes his return to competitive action this morning at the European Amateur Championship where he will be aiming to become the first Irishman since four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy in 2006 to win it outright.

The 22-year-old Dubliner, who plays out of Greystones, heads into the prestigious 72-hole event fresh from his stunning performance at the British Open at St Andrews last month, when he became the first amateur since 1927 to lead heading into the final round.

That has also earned him a spot at the US Amateur Championship later this month, via a special exemption from USGA.

GAA: Darragh Ó Sé

Darragh is talking Kerry and Dublin in his column this morning, he seen two teams last Sunday who were miles apart from their quarter-final opposition and from where he's standing it's looking like the big two will go all the way. Even as a Kerryman though, it's hard to play down the pursuit of back-to-back Sam Maguires he says.

“I’ve always said that to win back-to-back All-Irelands you have to improve by 25 per cent on the year before. This thing is so delicate and the line between success and failure is so thin. Michael Murphy could and maybe should have got a black card on Saturday – would Donegal have come through if that had happened? James O’Donoghue’s injury didn’t matter on Sunday – wouldn’t it matter another day?”

Soccer: FAI

Selling domestic television rights to foreign countries is the key way in which to positively develop soccer in Ireland – along with a change in what the country's governing body stands for, according to Niall Quinn. He also believes the FAI need to change their mentality and put the development of young players to the fore and not just exist "to go on trips in blazers".

Quinn believes the age-old question of how to improve the League of Ireland doesn’t hinge on pumping money into new stadiums but rather on making it a global product, thereby increasing clubs’ revenue through television deals.

Rugby: Irish camp

The four upcoming World Cup warm-up games are a last chance for a number of Irish fringe players to break into what's been a very successful XV this year.

Simon Easterby told Gerry Thornley yesterday that while selection may not be as pre-meditated as during his playing time, a number of slots are already locked down;

“There are certain positions which you would probably say are locked down, but it’s also a case that the World Cup comes around once every four years and you’ve got to be on form,” the Irish forwards coach said at the squad’s base in the Carton House hotel.

One of those players biting at the bit is Munster's Keith Earls, should he face Wales on Saturday it'll be almost two and a half years between his 39th and 40th caps. He views it as potentially the second half of his career.

The lure of the World Cup is massive. “It would be great, after all the frustration I’ve gone through. Even talking to Luke (Fitzgerald), and him getting in (to play) during the Six Nations, he said he thought he’d never see the day when he’d play again. He’d a lot of serious injuries. It’s tough when you’re ‘rehabbing’ and you think you’re never going to get there.”

Athletics: Doping

Thomas Barr is one of the few Irish athletes to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing later this month – currently ranked 10th fastest in the 400m hurdles – and he remains understandably alarmed at the extent of the latest doping allegations made over the weekend by the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD.

Barr suggests that making it criminal offence is something all countries serious about anti-doping should consider, including Ireland. “It could be something that might actually work,” he says. “Essentially it is stealing from someone else, in an unfair way.”

What to watch out for:

Celtic go into tonight's Champions League third qualifying round second leg against Qarabag with a 2-1 advantage. Kick-off in Azerbaijan is at 6.30pm.

BT Europe from 5.30pm

Probably the best game of the whole pre-season is on tonight, Real Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup final, kick off at 7.45pm.

Setanta 1 from 5.10pm