The Morning Sports Briefing

First to rugby this morning and, writing from Christchurch, Gerry Thornley looks at how Conor Murray and Owen Farrell have come a long way since the last time they partnered together for the Lions in 2013. The pair will join together tomorrow morning for the Lions' clash with Crusaders. You can follow all of the action from that third warm-up match on our liveblog from 7.30am. You can also follow all of our Lions coverage on our dedicated site.

Over 12 hours later on Saturday night Ireland will come up against the US Eagles in the first of their summer tour matches and Joe Schmidt yesterday said that he is happy to give youth its chance in New Jersey with Jacob Stockdale among those ready to make his debut.

In soccer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will leave Manchester United today when the club releases its retained list. The Swede had the option of a second year at Old Trafford but his cruciate ligament injury has put paid to that.

On the international front, Seamus Coleman yesterday linked back up with the Ireland squad ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Austria. The injured right-back will lend his support to the team as he continues to recover from a broken leg.

On to GAA and Jackie Tyrrell writes in his column this morning that Brian Cody has been backed into a corner - and he therefore expects the Cats to show their claws.

“Come championship time, you were fighting so hard in Kilkenny training to get on the team that complacency never really came into it,” he writes.

In golf, Seámus Power and Graeme McDowell enjoyed steady starts to the St Jude Classic in Memphis, the final tournament outing before next week's US Open.

Finally, this week Alan Bonner from Co Meath became the third person to die in this year's Isle of Man TT race. Tragedy is a part of the fabric of the famously dangerous circuit but, as Johnny Watterson writes, that doesn't discourage the riders' devotion.

Murray and Farrell have come a long way, Zlatan to leave United, Jackie Tyrrell column and more