Plans for Super League unveiled; Leona Maguire at home in golf’s upper echelon

Manchester United and Liverpool are among 12 of Europe's top football clubs who are launching a breakaway Super League in the face of widespread opposition from within the game and beyond. In his column this morning, Ken Early explains why the move is a naked power grab by greedy clubs: "In an age of division and rancour, hating this idea might be the one thing all the peoples of Europe can agree on." Leicester edged Southampton in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final while Manchester United were 3-1 winners over Burnley in the Premier League.

Leona Maguire's joint runner-up finish to Lydia Ko – the two-time Major champion and former world number one – in the Lotte Championship in Hawaii has affirmed the 26-year-old Co Cavan golfer's upward trajectory into a new level of expectation and delivery. Maguire – who earned a career-best payday of $125,834 for her brilliant work in Hawaii, bringing her season's prize money to $226,542 – seeks to maintain her strong run of form when teeing up in this week's Hugel-Air Premia Los Angeles Open at Wilshire Country Club in California. She's now moved to 10th on this season's order of merit rankings and Malachy Clerkin writes this morning that Maguire is right at home in golf's upper echelon.

The IRFU and Italian Federation have agreed to switch Saturday's final match of the Six Nations from Parma to Donnybrook, with a 12pm kick-off, once the change of country is approved by the Irish government. Ireland head coach Griggs has bemoaned the absence of club rugby for over a year following his team's heavy defeat to France on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan revealed he was accosted on Saturday in a "nightmare" incident at a city centre restaurant, and will now cut back his appearances in public in order to minimise the risk of being forced to withdraw from the world championship due to a positive test later in the tournament.