Sexton, Kearney and Henshaw all ruled out; Andy Murray to retire

Johnny Sexton, Rob Kearney and Robbie Henshaw will all miss Leinster's potentially season defining Champions Cup clash with Toulouse on Saturday. Ross Byrne is expected to start at outhalf beside Rory O'Loughlin, who featured at 12 against Bath, although the in-form Conor O'Brien is an option after being registered for Europe. Jordan Larmour will return at fullback. Meanwhile Munster take on Gloucester at Kingsholm Stadium tonight, and with each of the four protagonists in their pool still in the race, the pressure is on. Gerry Thornley writes in his preview: "Munster were ruffled in Castres, but appeared to apply those lessons to good effect against Leinster and Connacht. If they keep their cool, and Carbery nails his kicks, they can keep the scoreboard ticking sufficiently to ride this one out."

At a tearful press conference ahead of the Australian Open, Andy Murray laid bare the effects of the pain in his right hip that has dogged him for more than 18 months. While hoping to able to go out on home soil at Wimbledon in the summer, he conceded Monday's match against Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round in Melbourne could be his last. The draw for the first Grand Slam of the season was made yesterday and Roger Federer will start his bid for a hat-trick of Australian Open titles next week against unseeded Uzbek Denis Istomin.

Seán Moran explains that "the fact that only three fixtures – two hurling and one football – make it into the top 20 sports broadcasts for last year indicates historically low audience interaction and is a matter of concern to the GAA." It was confirmed on Thursday that RTÉ will simulcast four Allianz League games this Spring, while also beginning to broadcast games from the club championships.

Ahead of his first big test as Manchester United's interim boss against Tottenham this weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjær accepts Mauricio Pochettino "has done a very good job" at the London club and understands why he is being linked with the permanent manager's role at Old Trafford.