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Ireland's Six Nations title hopes are all but over, after they were beaten 15-13 by France in Dublin yesterday. Andy Farrell's side were full of graft and endeavour at the Aviva Stadium but ultimately lacked the cutting edge to see off the tournament favourites, whose victory was orchestrated by the excellent Atoine Dupont. Things had looked ominous for Ireland when they fell 15-3 behind in the second-half, but a try by replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher brought them back into the game and they ended it on the ball, looking for a score. However it wasn't enough, meaning they have lost their opening two Championship fixtures for the first time since the 1998 Five Nations. Afterwards Farrell said he was proud of his players but saw it as another missed opportunity: "Even though people were writing us off this week we never wrote ourselves off. The game was there to be won. It was a hard-fought contest but it's one that slipped away from us at the end." This was a view echoed by captain Iain Henderson, who lead with aplomb despite being forced off for a HIA after a nasty clash of heads with Cian Healy.
Head injuries have been a recurring theme of the opening two rounds of the tournament - something which John O'Sullivan has picked up on in his Six Nations talking points this morning. Ireland are now fifth bottom in the table with two bonus points to their name and take on Italy when the Championship resumes in a fortnight's time. The Azzurri were beaten 41-18 by England in a messy affair at Twickenham on Saturday, while Wales made it two wins from two as they edged Scotland 25-24 at Murrayfield.
Manchester United stalled again yesterday as they were held to a dour 1-1 draw by lowly West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. The Baggies took advantage of some lax defending to take a second-minute lead through Mbaye Diagne before Bruno Fernandes equalised on the stroke of half-time with a stunning, hooked, left-footed volley. However despite dominating Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side couldn't find a winner and slipped further off the pace set by Manchester City. Elsewhere yesterday Everton were beaten 2-0 by an impressive Fulham side at Goodison Park, Wolves beat Southampton 2-1 while Arsenal thrashed Leeds 4-2 at the Emirates. Tonight West Ham play Sheffield United (6pm) and Chelsea welcome Newcastle to Stamford Bridge (8pm). Meanwhile the Champions League returns this week, and Ken Early has looked ahead to Tuesday's meeting of PSG and Barcelona, who are currently crippled with debt and look set for another trophyless season.
Elsewhere in his column this morning Brian O'Connor has discussed the vaccination dilemma which is on the horizon ahead of the proposed Tokyo Olympics: "What are the ethics of vaccinating the young, fit and healthy ahead of more vulnerable members of society? Are all those fine words about sport's importance to society just lip-service or worth backing up with action?"
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And Jordan Spieth's long wait for a tournament win continues, as he missed out at Pebble Beach by three strokes overnight - Daniel Berger's final round of 65 saw him win by two strokes.
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