Man United held by Burnley; Gordon D’Arcy on what it’ll take to beat France

Manchester United lost further ground in the race for the top four when held by bottom of the league Burnley last night. Paul Pogba's first half goal gave United a deserved half-time lead, but as they did against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Ralf Rangnick's team collapsed in the second half. Elsewhere West Ham were 1-0 winners over Watford, although Kurt Zouma's inclusion was the main talking point following his cat-kicking shame. Following their 3-1 defeat to Newcastle, Frank Lampard's Everton are firmly into the Premier League relegation battle.

In his column this morning, Gordon D'Arcy explains why Ireland must show courage and continue their unrelenting attack against France in this weekend's Six Nations clash: "The onus for Ireland is to continue to manufacture quick ball and produce carriers the moment the ball is available. To shy away from this, to stop passing the ball to the space will play into the very large hands of the French."

IT Carlow reversed the 2020 Fitzgibbon Cup hurling final result when deservedly stripping UCC of their title at the IT Carlow grounds last night. They're joined in the last four by UL who were 2-22 to 1-19 winners over MTU Cork, with Tipperary panel member Gearoid O'Connor scoring eight points and impressing. Seán Moran explains why Limerick's sluggish start to the hurling league will provide little comfort to their rivals.

Meanwhile, Irish Sailing has welcomed a report into its cycle from the Rio to Tokyo Olympic Games that outlines missed targets for athletes and also deals with the confusion in relation to an illegal harness that resulted in disqualification from two races in Japan.