If Martin O’Neill was seeking encouragement about the talent pool for the next campaign, the Ireland manager should have received some assurance from the display of the next generation.

Ireland U21 0 Norway U21 0

Declan Rice admits the desire to resume working with Roy Keane endures but helping Ireland’s U21s break their major finals duck is his immediate objective.

In an U21 qualifying group which underdogs Kosovo have taken the early initiative, victory for Ireland in Azerbaijan today (4pm Irish time) is a must for their 2019 European Championship hopes.

Kilcoo (Down) 4-13 Maghery (Armagh) 0-12: It was far easier than they expected, and Kilcoo impressive enough yesterday to suggest they’re going to take a lot of stopping in the Ulster Club SFC final.

Ireland U16 2 Estonia U16 0

Kilcoo (Down) 1-09 St Gall’s (Antrim) 0-10

Kilcoo (Down) 0-13 Ballybay (Monaghan) 0-07

The Ireland Under-15s staged a second-half comeback last night in Killarney to clinch a draw against Belgium.

Dublin 4-15 Kildare 0-5

TWO bad blows in first half injury time left Roscrea with a mountain to climb in the second half of the Vinnie Murray Senior Cup Final yesterday, after they had made all the running for the first 25 minutes.

ST MARY’S College eclipsed Gonzaga in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-finals, and now wait on the winners of today’s clash between CBC Monkstown and St Michael’s College.

Perpignan 6 Wasps34

Borders 21 Leinster 26