Steven Davis will earn his 100th Northern Ireland cap tomorrow night but he insists the World Cup play-off with Switzerland is more important than such personal landmarks.

Like his Munster team-mates, Andrew Conway felt the pain that came with last weekend’s meek capitulation in Glasgow but he knows it will take more than words to engineer a fightback this Saturday against Cardiff Blues.

Leo Cullen has warned that Leinster cannot allow their upcoming South African trip to distract them from the business at hand tonight when they face Cardiff Blues at the RDS in the second round of the Guinness PRO14.

Leo Cullen has warned that Leinster cannot allow their upcoming South African trip to distract them from the business at hand tonight when they face Cardiff Blues at the RDS in the second round of the Guinness PRO14.

Munster and Cardiff Blues won’t be lacking incentives when they clash at the Arms Park this evening in a Guinness PRO12 encounter that could play an important part in their seasons.

Oscar night is nearly upon us and there have been a few surprises — and some apparent snubs — in the shortlist, says Esther McCarthy.

Iain Henderson and Chris Henry return to the Ulster side for this evening’s Guinness Pro 12 game at Cardiff Blues, a match both teams regard as critical to relaunching their seasons.

James Maddison's stoppage-time winner ensured Rangers suffered a miserable return to Pittodrie as Aberdeen claimed a dramatic 2-1 Ladbrokes Premiership win.

Hibernian's 114-year wait to win the William Hill Scottish Cup is over after skipper David Gray headed in a stoppage-time winner to beat Rangers 3-2 at Hampden Park.

Munster’s charge towards the top four of the Pro12 hit a speed bump as they slipped to a 37-28 defeat at Cardiff Blues.

“It’s like every game we play from here on, we’re in cup final mode.”

Plastic pitches, 3G surfaces, artificial turf.

The IRFU is to provide clubs with up to €400 in grant aid to encourage them travel to the Aviva Stadium for the World Cup warm-ups with Scotland and Wales in August.

New manager Mark Warburton has started his Rangers revolution by signing former Ireland Under 21 captain Rob Kiernan.

TODAY

He may have been outshone by clubmate David McGoldrick in Ireland’s 4-1 friendly win over the USA last week but Daryl Murphy remains the star Irishman at Ipswich after his goal earned Mick McCarthy’s men a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

Corkman Conor Hourihane has admitted that life at Barnsley couldn’t have started any better after he was named League One’s player of the month for August.

With the start of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign less than a week away, the weekend’s championship action brought some unwelcome news for Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill as Jeff Hendrick suffered a dislocated shoulder in Derby’s 1-1 draw with Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich.

Reluctant gambler Mick Martin will rarely punt the full house: “You’d have put your kitchen sink on Hernandez to score there.”

Hearts 0 Celtic 2

Celtic romped through to the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round with a 7-0 humiliation of Hearts at Tynecastle, handing the Gorgie side their biggest defeat in 40 years.

Anthony Stokes was on target as the Hoops overcame Hearts in today's SPL clash at Tynecastle.

A list of all the confirmed deadline day signings so far.

Celtic 4 Hearts 1

Goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska was given a rare start for Celtic in their Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Hearts at Parkhead.

Hearts have completed a transfer coup 24 hours after their registration embargo was lifted by signing Liverpool defender Danny Wilson on loan.

Sheffield United 0 Birmingham 4

TODAY

THEY might have shared the spoils on the pitch, but Manchester United and Liverpool remain poles apart.

Scotland 2 Czech Republic 2

Darren Fletcher returns as skipper for Scotland’s crucial Euro 2012 qualifier against Czech Republic at Hampden tomorrow.

Sheffield United have announced the appointment of Danny Wilson as their new manager.

FORMER Ireland and Lions star Mike Gibson has become the fifth Irishman to be inducted into the International Rugby Board’s Hall of Fame.

THE biggest star in the NBA is investing in Liverpool.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish finds himself facing a defensive injury crisis after Daniel Agger’s season was ended prematurely and Glen Johnson was ruled out for a month.

West Brom 2 Liverpool 1

Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez have both been named in the Liverpool starting line-up for this afternoon’s Premier League clash with Sunderland.

Liverpool 0 Braga 0 (Braga win 1-0 on aggregate)

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been left out of the squad for tomorrow’s Europa League last-16 first leg against Braga in Portugal but record signing Andy Carroll is set for his European debut.

Liverpool’s club record signing Andy Carroll made his first appearance in the matchday squad after being named among the substitutes for the visit of arch-rivals Manchester United.

Steven Gerrard returned to lead Liverpool out at West Ham today after missing their last three matches with a groin injury.