County Carlow 26 Dungannon 14

Cardiff defender Rhys Weston could be the shock inclusion in Mark Hughes’ plans for his last match as Wales manager.

England 2 Wales 0

MARK HUGHES will look to Ryan Giggs to provide the performance of his life while challenging his Wales stars to put pride before cash as they take on England in today’s World Cup qualifier.

Ben Thatcher today rejoined his Wales team-mates and was declared ready for World Cup action as boss Mark Hughes stepped up his preparations for Wednesday’s group six qualifying clash with Northern Ireland in Cardiff.

West Ham manager Alan Pardew expects Michael Carrick to commit himself to the club’s cause if his prospective move to Tottenham breaks down.

West Ham have confirmed they are in talks with Tottenham over the transfer of Michael Carrick.

Hot-shot Nathan Ellington scored twice to fire Wigan to a comprehensive victory over woeful West Ham at Upton Park and to the top of the Championship table.

Ipswich 1 West Ham 0

SO, Steve Hansen has gone back to the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’, joining fellow Kiwi returnees Graham Henry and Wayne Smith in their bid to capture the Webb Ellis trophy for New Zealand for the first time since 1987.

Carlow 24 Lansdowne 24

Ian Pearce has completed his move from West Ham to Fulham after successfully undergoing a medical. Pearce was part of a player-plus-cash swap deal which involved Andy Melville coming to Upton Park.

Premiership latest:

Shannon 20 Co Carlow 11

Co Carlow 14 Cork Con 16

Fulham 2 Southampton 0

Marian Pahars was the surprise omission from Gordon Strachan’s Southampton squad to face Fulham.

Fulham 0 Chelsea 1

Leeds 3 Fulham 2

Buccaneers 20 Co Carlow 14

Russia 0 Wales 0

Fulham 1 Liverpool 2

KEVIN KEEGAN insists he has assembled a Manchester City team capable of travelling to England’s elite and claiming a victory. The former England coach claims he cannot see a weakness in his squad.

Birmingham 2 Fulham 2

Wales 1 Finland 1

MARK HUGHES yesterday criticised German referee Markus Merk’s performance in Milan after Wales’ dreams of qualifying for Euro 2004 were savaged by Italy.

MARK HUGHES admits the simmering club versus country row over Craig Bellamy has been a severe distraction before Wales’ crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Italy.

RYAN GIGGS knows he is facing probably his best and last chance of reaching a major international tournament with Wales.

Carlow and DLSP will both be bidding to win their first Leinster Senior Cup at Donnybrook this evening (7pm).

IRISH rugby is not the preserve of the traditional areas like Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick. There is a place in the game for everybody, or at least there should be in spite of the campaign to get rid of Connacht, and anybody disputing that point of view ought to have been at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Burnley 3 Fulham 0

Andy Melville knows the exact words he wants to hear at 1.30pm on Monday - “Fulham...will play Chelsea.”

SO Clinton Huppert has gone home to mama. Who the hell is Clinton Huppert? Exactly.

Dungannon, fielding five Ulster inter-pros in their back division, were given a scare by a courageous Co Carlow side before claiming the points at Carlow today.

Belfast Harlequins 26 Co Carlow 16

Newcastle battered 10-man Fulham into submission to climb into fourth place in the Premiership table for at least 24 hours with their eighth successive league win at St James’ Park.

Fulham 0 Birmingham 1

Birmingham 0 Fulham 0

Fulham 2

Wales quintet Ryan Giggs, Robbie Savage, Mark Pembridge, Andy Melville and John Hartson have been cleared to play for their clubs on November 17 after FIFA performed a U-turn on their controversial four-day rule.

Half-time: Dinamo Zagreb 0 Fulham 1

Fulham 0 West Ham 1

MARK HUGHES admits he has been picking the managerial brains of Alex Ferguson as he goes about transforming Wales from no-hopers into a team feared on the world stage.

Facundo Sava fired Fulham in front against Charlton at half-time at Loftus Road.