The Morning Sports Briefing

Rugby

CJ Stander is talking about the thrill he felt when getting suited and booted in his new Lions gear last week.

The South African tells Johnny Watterson about the stash of goodies the players got with each player also reportedly receiving €82,000 for the eight-week tour with a further €12,000 if they win the Series.

Meanwhile John O'Sullivan uses his stats column to look at the injury rates for Lions players before the tour begins. With full-blooded Pro12 games still on the agenda for many of the Irish players before their tour begins they will be hoping to come through unscathed.

Soccer

On to soccer and last night Huddersfield held their nerve to beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties and set up a Championship playoff final against Reading at Wembley. After a 1-1 draw the teams could only be separated by spot kicks with Town goalkeeper Danny Ward emerging as the hero when he saved two of Wednesday's efforts.

Rugby Stats: Nervous times for Lions still involved with clubs

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Real Madrid a point from La Liga title after Celta Vigo win

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Paul Boyle ready to lead injury-hit Ireland under-20s to Georgia

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Heartbreak for Sheffield Wednesday as Huddersfield reach Wembley

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In the only Premier League game of the evening Manchester United and Southampton played out a tedious 0-0 stalemate.

In Spain Real Madrid are just a point away from the La Liga title after their 4-1 win over Celta Vigo. With the title on the line Cristiano Ronaldo once again stepped up to the mark by bagging a brace alongside goals from Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema.

Women in sport

Finally, in our women in sport pages Sonia O'Sullivan gets all philosophical as she writes about filling the void left in her life since retirement from competitive running.

Meanwhile, Mary Hannigan speaks to Manchester City's Megan Campbell about her performance in last week's FA Cup final which helped City claim the trophy.