AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL:

Joe Schmidt has exonerated referee JP Doyle from any blame over Georgia flanker Viktor Kolelisvhili’s unpunished stamp on Ireland debutant Dominic Ryan’s face.

Johnny Sexton’s nomination for the IRB World Rugby Player of the Year Award gives him a chance of becoming the first Irishman since inaugural winner Keith Wood to take the prestigious honour.

Munster Rugby are urging fans to give themselves plenty of time to get to this evening’s Champions Cup pool clash with Saracens at Thomond Park as roadworks continue to disrupt travel between Cork and Limerick.

Tickets for next year’s Rugby World Cup go on sale on this morning with high-demand games to be decided via a ballot.

The International Rugby Board is ready to block exploitation of a loophole in qualifying regulations for Rio 2016 that enables players to switch national allegiance.

Sports journalists, like the people they write or talk about, are creatures of habit. It’s human nature to lean on the familiar, of course, but this job sure does reinforce that point.

It’s over two months since Brian O’Driscoll laced up his boots for the last time, but the former Leinster and Ireland centre is still rated as one of the game’s principal movers and shakers.

England have been gifted their team talk for Saturday’s first Test against New Zealand after blundering All Black Brodie Retallick failed to correctly name a member of Stuart Lancaster’s squad.

Kieran Read has been ruled out of the series opener at Eden Park against England on Saturday.

There may not be any Irish teams running out in Cardiff later today, but Ireland will be represented by referee Alain Rolland and assistant referee George Clancy in the 19th Heineken Cup final.

Pitch-side concussion tests are to be extended to 10 minutes, the International Rugby Board (IRB) announced yesterday.

Bath centre Gavin Henson has been named in the Probables squad to prepare for Wales’ senior trial match on May 30.

Supporters will not face segregation at Rugby World Cup 2015, tournament bosses have been at pains to confirm.

The European peace deal averted a crisis that could have seriously damaged professional rugby’s world image, according to International Rugby Board boss Brett Gosper.

The chief executive of TV3 yesterday insisted the station’s success in winning the primary rights for broadcasting next year’s Rugby World Cup had nothing to do with the Ballymount operation losing out to Sky in the latest GAA TV deal.

Johnny Sexton last night dismissed speculation linking him with a return to Ireland by confirming that he has no intention of cutting short his stay in France.

Wales forwards coach Robin McBryde fears that prop Gethin Jenkins might have become “a marked man” in Test match rugby.

Shane Horgan believes Brian O’Driscoll may yet continue his love affair with rugby after he hangs up his boots, despite the Ireland centre’s continued assertions he is unlikely to seek a coaching role.

The number of concussions reported in the Aviva Premiership rose last season - but medical experts believe this is due to more awareness of the head injuries.

George North intends to continue playing in every Test he can for Wales despite his appearance against Australia last month landing his club Northampton with a £60,000 fine.

Northampton have been fined £60,000 after releasing George North for Wales duty outside the International Rugby Board’s designated Test window, Premiership Rugby has confirmed.

The IRFU has warned parents, coaches and players of their responsibility to be extra vigilant for signs of concussion among amateur rugby players.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL ONE:

“Life is about timing,” said the American track and field star Carl Lewis — and he ought to know.

South Africa will bid against Ireland to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Irish rugby boss Philip Browne can find “no reason on earth” why Ireland could not host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Eighteen years have passed since the Rugby World Cup brought a bitterly divided country together and provided an impetus for what would become the ‘Rainbow Nation’.

The cost of upgrading Irish stadia to the standard required to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup would not be prohibitive, Sports Minister Leo Varadkar insisted last night.

Ireland will bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

The Government will today launch an ambitious go-it-alone plan to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup with games to be hosted in rugby and GAA stadiums north and south of the border.

Andre Villas-Boas put Hugo Lloris’ long-term health at risk with his “dangerous” and “irresponsible” decision to let the Tottenham goalkeeper play on at Everton after being knocked unconscious by Romelu Lukaku, according to brain injury charity Headway.

Wales’ four regional teams have pledged “full support” for the proposed Rugby Champions Cup mooted by England and France next season.

Rugby faces the prospect of an NFL-style lawsuit due to the long-term impact of concussions, according to one of Britain’s leading experts in motor neuroscience.

European Rugby Cup (ERC) chief executive Derek McGrath has urged rebellious English and French clubs to return to the negotiating table in an effort to save the Heineken Cup, insisting there is still time to thrash out a new accord to continue the prestigious European club competition.

What looks destined to be the 19th and final Heineken Cup will be launched at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium this morning.

Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have all made clear statements that they will not take part in the new European rugby competition planned by English and French clubs.

Premiership Rugby and its French counterparts have been accused of showing a lack of respect during an increasingly bitter row over the Heineken Cup’s future.

Anglo-French efforts to form a European breakaway competition have stepped up with the confirmation that a new tournament open to Celtic and Italian teams will be established in time for next season.

European Rugby Cup has appointed an independent mediator in their attempts to thrash out a new tournament agreement for the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup competitions.

Premiership Rugby will step up plans to create a new European competition - despite the International Rugby Board declaring they would oppose a format composed exclusively of Anglo-French clubs.

English fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has thrown his support behind the Heineken Cup

The International Rugby Board have entered the dispute over the future of the Heineken Cup by declaring their support for a European tournament.

The $765m (€578m) settlement the National Football League in the US has reached with 4,500 former American football players over concussion-related lawsuits to would fund medical examinations, concussion-related compensation, and medical research could have serious implications here.