New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams has hit out at media claims that he is "under pressure" to make the All-Blacks squad for the Rugby World Cup.

Eir sport has unveiled a "new and fresh" looking Rugby World Cup team of experts, with Gordon D’Arcy, Peter Stringer and Jerry Flannery fronting studio analysis for Japan in the autumn.

TWO MINDS: Chris Kamara made the most of a rare seat on the ‘Soccer Saturday’ panel:

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called for an emergency meeting of the governing body's council to discuss a €20.5billion plan to overhaul the Club World Cup and set up a new national league.

Chelsea have signed Olivier Giroud from Arsenal, with Michy Batshuayi leaving Stamford Bridge to join Borussia Dortmund on loan.

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, can postpone a renewal of his rivalry with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United by delivering Chelesa into the Carabao Cup final.

So much for transparency. For all the good intention of overseeing the most open, least questionable bidding process for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, governing body World Rugby is this morning as big a loser as South Africa, whose bid it unanimously recommended on October 31.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper has hinted that Ireland’s timing hasn’t been right as the country finds itself ranked behind “two masters of the universe in terms of putting on major world events” in the race to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, Rangers football club. These are names you expect to hear at this time of the year in connection with the player transfer market.

Joe Schmidt says the IRFU offered Donnacha Ryan a financial deal similar to the package he was already on but the second row decided to leave Munster for Racing 92 next season for a combination of professional and personal reasons.

Jack McGrath seems to have hit the right note with his gift to his Ireland teammates.

The Rugby World Cup has not yet reached the midway point of the pool stage but squads are already being stretched by injuries. Simon Lewis

Joe Schmidt has given Keith Earls and Simon Zebo a massive vote of confidence by saying the Munster duo had justified their selection in the Ireland World Cup squad’s most competitive unit.

Romania were once a force to be reckoned with in rugby but it will be very difficult for them to spring a surprise against Ireland today, writes Donal Lenihan

Paul O’Connell was planning to contact Toulon last night to hear his new club’s take on reports that it had been caught up in a criminal investigation involving pharmacists who are alleged to have illegally supplied the club with substances such as antibiotics and growth hormones.

England have selected Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph as their centre pairing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game against Ireland at Twickenham.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

Leinster will be burdened by massive regrets this week as they somehow attempt to patch themselves up for an unforgiving five-day turnaround with the season-defining outing against Ulster in Belfast on Friday night.

Gwent Dragons v Ulster

Munster’s Donnacha Ryan is set to make his first appearance of the season against Ospreys in Saturday’s Guinness Pro12 game at the Liberty Stadium. 

Sitting in the stand in Semple Stadium as Cork and Tipperary contested a wondrous draw in an electric atmosphere back in 1987, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if rugby was the number one sport in Ireland, writes Donal Lenihan.

A construction worker has died after falling from the roof of the Arena da Amazonia stadium which will host England’s first game in the World Cup in the Brazilian jungle city of Manaus.

The search for Giovanni Trapattoni’s replacement as Republic of Ireland manager will begin next week, with Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney focused on securing the best man for the job.

Chelsea 8 Aston Villa 0

Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu is expected to be out for six months after undergoing surgery on Monday, the Premier League club have announced.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has dismissed talk that he will be forced to retire from football due to his long-standing illness.

New Zealand have announced a 35-player squad to attend two training camps ahead of the three-Test Series against Ireland in June.

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin.

Former Brazilian federation chief Ricardo Teixeira has resigned from the FIFA executive committee.

Munster and Ireland second row Donnacha Ryan has signed a new IRFU contract to remain with Munster until the end of the 2013/14 season.

DAMIEN VARLEY has taken inspiration from teammate and new Irish skipper Paul O’Connell as he hopes to challenge for a starting place for Ireland.

The Rugby Football Union have launched an investigation into the leaking of three confidential and damning reports into England’s World Cup campaign.

Tomas O’Leary and new signing Will Chambers have both been included in the match-day squad for Munster A’s clash against Connacht A in Galway on Friday (2pm).

RONAN O’GARA should be handed the out-half jersey for Ireland’s crunch World Cup outing against Australia, according to the Munster man’s former international and provincial teammate Rob Henderson.

Former Munster and Irish flanker Alan Quinlan has expressed his concern that Ireland’s lacklustre 2007 World Cup campaign could reoccur in New Zealand over the coming weeks.

ROMANIA winger Catalin Fercu has revealed he pulled out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad at the last minute due to a fear of flying.

DECLAN KIDNEY, inthe company of his coaching assistants, spent most of yesterday making the final adjustments to his Rugby World Cup squad, completing a measured process that wasn’t fuelled by last-minute panic or even altogether influenced by the results of the last three weeks. Adrenaline, he said in the aftermath of the 22-26 loss to France, is for the players.

Warren Gatland believes Wales and England taking black change kits to the World Cup next month is a mark of respect towards host nation New Zealand.

Aston Villa have been given more time to decide about signing United States midfielder Michael Bradley on a permanent basis because of their managerial situation, it is understood.

EVEN the imaginations of those revered masters of comic opera, Gilbert and Sullivan, could not have devised a more topsy-turvy world than the august, 19th century, Courts of Justice in the Strand yesterday.

IT was the sort of performance, and certainly the sort of result, that had Avram Grant clutching at straws in his efforts to sound optimistic about West Ham’s hopes of avoiding another relegation battle – or, more accurately, clutching at Republic of Ireland international forward Robbie Keane.