Knockout All-Ireland could be the way forward; Gerry Thornley on Ireland’s lineout

Could a blast from the past provide a blueprint for the future? There have been some eye-catching results in this year's All-Ireland football Championship, with some big names falling by the wayside earlier than planned due to the knockout format. And in his column this morning Kevin McStay has suggested a knockout Championship could be a "solution for the future," in the wake of famous wins for Tipperary and Cork at the weekend. He writes: "Because we have to ask ourselves: what is this thing, the All-Ireland championship? Is this some kind of money spinning entertainment or is it still what it was originally conceived as: a national cup competition in which the best team emerges." Meanwhile Louth have announced three-time All-Ireland winner Mickey Harte as their new manager on a three-year term. The blockbuster appointment comes less than two weeks since Harte departed Tyrone after 18 years in charge, and he will also take over the under-20s, with long-term number two Gavin Devlin alongside him.

A noticeable factor in Ireland's 18-7 defeat to England at Twickenham on Saturday was the set-piece, with Maro Itoje repeatedly spoiling the visitors' lineout ball, particularly whenever the English whitewash was in sight. And in his column this morning Gerry Thornley has asked if Ireland need to revise their previously lucrative gameplan of kicking penalties into touch in search of tries. He writes: "It has largely remained a profitable go-to tactic but the Irish lineout is no longer the secure platform it used to be. Defensive mauls, helped by law tweaks, are better able to repel catch-and-drives, excepting teams such as Georgia." Meanwhile Owen Doyle has suggested referee Pascal Gauzere failed to get to grips with the breakdown at Twickenham: "English bodies persistently slowed down Irish possession, and the referee tried a blend of management, prevention and sanction. The course of action needed was to sharpen his whistle and penalise mercilessly to achieve the necessary change in player behaviour and to enable fast ball."

Honours were even between Wolves and high-flying Southampton last night, with the sides sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Molineux. Theo Walcott opened the scoring for the visitors just shy of the hour mark before Pedro Neto levelled things up in the 75th minute. In the evening's earlier kick-off Burnley earned their first win of the season, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Turf Moor thanks to an early Chris Wood strike. The Champions League returns tonight, with Manchester United looking for revenge against Istanbul Basaksehir at Old Trafford (kick-off 8pm). In one of the earlier kick-offs, Chelsea travel to play Rennes (5.55pm).

Elsewhere Munster made it a Pro14 cleansweep for the provinces last night as they beat Glasgow Warriors 23-17 at Scotstoun, picking up a bonus point and stretching their winning run to six in the process. Munster's young halfback pairing of Craig Casey and Ben Healy were particularly impressive.

Owen Doyle: Ireland suffered from officiating of the breakdown

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Crowds of up to 4,000 will be allowed to return to sporting events in England from next week, it was announced yesterday. However, the attendance of spectators will depend on which tier of coronavirus restrictions each area is in. "Proposed rules would see 4,000 spectators allowed into outdoors events in Tier 1 areas, or 50 per cent of capacity depending on which is smaller, and 1,000 in indoor events. In Tier 2 that number will be capped at 2,000 and again 1,000 indoors. In Tier 3 spectators will remain banned altogether."

And Davy Russell is hoping to return to action in the New Year following a serious neck injury he suffered after falling from Doctor Duffy at the first fence in the Munster National at Limerick last month. "I'm in no pain. It's just another broken bone. I know it was a very close one and I dodged a bullet. (But) it's still just a broken bone," he said.