He has finally collected his Olympic medal but Rob Heffernan remains as committed to improvement as ever as he vows to ‘go to war’ one last time. He just wishes people wouldn’t take it so personally when he pushes to raise standards for all Irish athletes.

For all the superlatives rightly thrown in the direction of Joe Schmidt’s team the past couple of days, one aspect of Soldier Field has probably still not been fully appreciated.

From the amateur model he thrived in, the world of professional rugby is a different game to Donal Lenihan. Vastly improved, of course, but not better in every way. Nowadays, head coaches are conjuring up ways to achieve what a few pints in once managed, writes Kieran Shannon.

One of the ironies of the Premier League being so hyped through the years is that criticisms and critics of the same league can be guilty of gross exaggeration as well.

When Cusack Park stood for a minute’s silence at the Clare county final last Sunday, a man in front of me didn’t bow his head. Instead he shook it, while scrolling down his phone, scanning tweet after tweet making reference to the passing of one of the county’s finest ever sons.

Since the final whistle of last Sunday’s chaotic and compelling All-Ireland final, there’s been a consensus that Jim Gavin’s Dublin will automatically be better in the replay.