Vaeluaga Steve Jackson believes his Samoan side will be all the more dangerous a proposition for Ireland this weekend precisely because of the fact that their involvement in this World Cup will end, regardless of the outcome, with the final whistle.

Antoine Griezmann intends to stay calm and focused on making the most of a new start at Barcelona as the fall-out from his transfer from Atletico Madrid rumbles on.

AS a boy Ross Byrne was rarely seen without a rugby ball in his hand. Being motivated to play was never an issue for the Dubliner since he first took up the sport at the age of five or six, a passion that was cultivated in the rugby-playing schools he attended.

Gareth Bale was once again feeling the heat

The possession football championed by coaches like Pep Guardiola is supposed to produce aesthetically-pleasing goals. Against strong defences and world-class goalkeepers, sometimes you need to go back to basics.

More people are becoming homeless because of family breakdowns, than those being forced out by landlords.

Key Munster players Keith Earls and James Cronin are unlikely to play any rugby for the remainder of 2017.

Real Madrid are a team in crisis and free fall following their Champions League “nightmare” against Tottenham, according to the Spanish press.

AS rookies in the international men’s Test cricket league, Ireland’s XI might have hoped for understrength opponents for their debut five-day contest in Dublin next May; the West Indies, currently, just aren’t cutting it. 

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says he is ready to stand down from Spain duty if he is deemed a "problem" by national team coach Julen Lopetegui or the Spanish Football Federation as a result of his support for Catalan independence.

AS expected, the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, John Delaney, has been elected to the Uefa executive committee. That makes him only the second Irishman to hold a seat at the top of European football, after Dundalk’s Des Casey in 1994.

AS we fret about Brexit and the darkened world that will bring; as we fret about the excitable US president, Donald Trump; as we fret (some of us anyway) about Fine Gael’s grand adventure in ineptitude and prevarication; and as we fret about really important things such as Johnny Sexton’s fitness and the size of the French pack, the people of Greece are, again, wondering what the future holds and how much more they might be asked to sacrifice and endure.

The modern Champions League format has little space for romance or novelty — as seen by this week’s fixture list as Arsenal and Bayern Munich, and Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, met again for the upteenth time in recent years.

Gareth Bale is likely to miss Wales’ crucial World Cup qualifier with Ireland at Aviva Stadium next March as his recovery from an ankle injury is now expected to take four months.

AS Roma 1 Cork City 0 (Roma win 4-1 on aggregate): As David Coffey, who spent the previous five minutes down injured, risked life and limb to fling himself across goal and deny Emanuele Spinozzi Roma’s second in the dying embers of yesterday’s game, he summed up Cork City Under 19s’ admirable European campaign.

Cork City 1 AS Roma 3: Edoardo Soleri’s 86th-minute strike spared AS Roma’s blushes, and stole a famous result from Cork City as the Leesiders almost trumped the odds, but not the clock, in a 3-1 defeat in front of a bumper crowd at Turner’s Cross.

AS the Euro 2016 party gets into full swing it is easy to forget how corrupt the administration of international football has become and how many entirely inappropriate decisions, especially around selecting venues, have been made.

David de Gea has the full support of Spain coach Vicente del Bosque after allegations about the Manchester United goalkeeper's private life appeared in the Spanish press.

Kieran Shannon talks about the in-house game a week out from a championship match, commonly known as As versus Bs.

If Louis Van Gaal’s days as Manchester United boss are numbered, then his fellow Dutchman Edgar Davids believes the club are dispensing with a coach they should feel blessed to have.

Even before the final whistle had gone in last Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Wolfsburg, talk of another historic second leg comeback by Real Madrid had begun.

AS a minor, Mark Sherry became the first Kildare captain to lift the Leinster Cup at that grade since 1991.

Last week, many around Real Madrid were claiming that the selection of their youth talent was their best hope of getting something from this season.

Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 win at Real Madrid on Saturday has reopened an internal Estadio Santiago Bernabeu debate which could end badly for Blancos superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, coach Zinedine Zidane and even president Florentino Perez.

AS the Irish Government considers sending relief peacekeepers to free French soldiers to fight against the self-styled Islamic State, last night saw musicians from the four corners of Ireland offer support of a different kind in Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral.

La Liga went into the last international break on the back of something bizarre — both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had failed to score in both of the opening two games.

Real Madrid’s 5-0 hammering of Real Betis on Saturday evening helped to ease the pressure on both Gareth Bale and Rafa Benitez — but may have troubled Los Blancos longtime talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

AS plans to mark the centenary of 1916 are developed, might it be worth considering something that might leave a lasting legacy and say something worthwhile about the Ireland that has evolved over the last century?

Last Monday afternoon, Sergio Ramos was spotted getting into his gleaming white Mercedes AMG GT coupe on a Madrid street by reporters from local sports paper Marca.

He is a very visible reminder of Kerry’s Golden Years’ glitz, so picking holes in the All-Ireland champions’ Sunday best sits as uncomfortably with Mikey Sheehy as anyone.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea admits he must decide where his future lies as he continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea admits he does not know what his future holds as he continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Barcelona’s Copa Del Rey final win may have been Xavi’s last game at the Nou Camp but after the game it was Lionel Messi’s wonder goal which was at the forefront of the captain’s mind.

Football managers are either wizards or muggles.

Not for the first time in his almost two seasons at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale goes into tonight’s Champions League semi-final second leg with debate raging over his talents.

Cristiano Ronaldo went into Saturday evening’s La Liga game at Sevilla under pressure. Real Madrid’s talisman had just one goal in five games, and his team’s title hopes were in danger.

Barcelona seemed set to take a giant step towards sealing this season’s La Liga title when they were 2-0 up inside half an hour at Sevilla on Saturday night.

Spain’s 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifier win at home to Ukraine did little to suggest the once all-conquering La Roja side have got over losing their unbeatable aura at last year’s World Cup.

LA LIGA

AS our correspondent Cathy Tobin reminds us today the wrench of emigration, the separation from a loved family never eases for some Irish people.

Manchester United are holding talks over a new contract for goalkeeper David de Gea, according to his agent Jorge Mendes.