Noel Baker It was black tie night on Dancing With The Stars, but not all contestants will go to the ball.

It’s the end of the line for The Young Offenders star Demi Isaac Oviawe, who is the latest celeb to get the boot from Dancing with the Stars.

It would be fair to say that as anti-climatic and disappointing as last Saturday in the Aviva was, it hardly constituted the sort of crisis and crossroads Irish rugby was looking at the last time we played and lost an opening Six Nations game to England, writes Kieran Shannon.

The scrum, the lineout, and the gainline are areas Ireland must dominate to beat England this Saturday, but where are England most vulnerable? The space between Owen Farrell’s ears.

Having delayed the inevitable longer than anyone could possibly imagine, Peter Stringer last night finally brought down the curtain on his 20-year rugby career.

Having delayed the inevitable longer than anyone could possibly imagine, Peter Stringer last night finally brought down the curtain on his 20-year rugby career.

"I cannot describe how it feels to have lived that dream for nearly all my life."

Serge Betsen enjoyed many momentous days playing for France: Six Nations Grand Slams, Top 14 titles, World Cup semi-finals. But something still rankles: The 2006 Heineken Cup final defeat to Munster, and that try by Peter Stringer.

It is seven years since Peter Stringer packed his Ireland kit bag for what would be his final Six Nations campaign but that does not stop that annual championship feeling from taking a firm grip on the veteran scrum-half.

Former Irish scrum-half Peter Stringer said he feels as fit now as he did 10 or 15 years ago and is determined to keep on playing as long as he has the opportunity.

Former Irish lock Donncha O’Callaghan said that getting through his 20th preseason campaign as a professional was made all worthwhile when he was this week named as captain of Worcester Warriors for the season.

Worcester Warriors 26

This weekend will be a day of celebration for Cork clubs, Constitution and Dolphin, as three of their number are rewarded for endeavour with high profile selection for the British and Irish Lions and Ireland.

A police sergeant in Missouri has warned Pokémon Go users and parents about the dangers of the app and its lure feature after a spate of robberies.

Even at 38, there is simply no stopping Peter Stringer who tonight equals Ronan O’Gara’s record for European appearances.

Richard Cockerill may have enjoyed a famous Leicester win at Thomond Park but the Tigers’ director of rugby refused to write off Munster’s chances of a Champions Cup fightback at Welford Road this Sunday.

’I wondered if we would have won if Paulie had been on the field. I know the same thought crossed other players’ minds. As captain he would have been barking at us, making sure fellas didn’t take the soft option.’

When 34-year-old Tom Court considers how much time he might have left as a professional rugby player, he looks no further than former Irish international Peter Stringer for inspiration.

Peter Stringer and Brad Thorn don’t share too many attributes as rugby players, but the Irish scrum-half may yet match the Kiwi by stretching his professional career beyond his 40th birthday.

PHOTOS: After a seven-year romance, rugby star Peter Stringer has finally married fellow Corkonian Debbie O’Leary — they tied the knot in Marbella, Spain, yesterday.

Munster coach Anthony Foley believes Peter Stringer will make another big impact with a new English club after it was confirmed that the durable 37-year-old scrum-half has been signed by Sale Sharks on a one-year contract from Bath.

Johnny Sexton had suffered a few knockouts in his time but never one like this — sitting on a chair in a Paris suburb just off the peripherique.

For all we now hear that sportspeople have no obligation to be role models, our rugby players and coaches are.

Speak to people close to Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson or George Ford and they all talk of ‘wow moments’.

When Ireland won their first Triple Crown in 19 years back in 2004, a young English boy joined in the celebrations at their training base.

The full extent of the damage caused to Jamie Heaslip’s back by Pascal Papé’s knee on Saturday was revealed last night when the Ireland camp revealed the No.8 has been ruled out for a month.

Only three Irish players have ever had more experience of days and games like this but by now, Peter Stringer has become reluctantly accustomed to looking in from the outside on them.

Munster Senior Cup: Rockwell 16 PBC Cork 14

Racing far from a cert in Europe’s knockout stages

Champions Cup round up: Guy Noves’ Toulouse handed Leinster a home Champions Cup quarter-final after blowing the chance to top Pool 4 by squandering a 20-9 lead yesterday.

It is not just Clement Poitrenaud threatening to break up the Irish party in Europe this weekend.

It feels strange for the Millennium Stadium to host a Heineken Cup decider this weekend without an Irish province in sight. Of the 18 finals to date, Cardiff has staged six, including the first two in 1996 and 1997 won by Toulouse and Brive respectively.

AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP SEMI-FINAL:

Peter Stringer still hankers after the big Heineken Cup days at Thomond Park.

Brian O’Driscoll may be calling time on his stellar career at the end of the season but his former Ireland team-mate Peter Stringer is set for at least another year.

Replacing Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy will be Joe Schmidt’s toughest challenge as Ireland boss, according to Peter Stringer.

Peter Stringer is poised to write his name into the history books as only the third player to secure 100 caps in European competitions should he get the nod to start in Bath’s Amlin Challenge Cup game against Rugby Mogliano tomorrow.

Cork’s city manager has confirmed that engineers are close to identifying a suitable location in the city centre for a privately funded statues of Munster and Ireland rugby legends Ronan O’Gara and Peter Stringer.

Marcus Horan sat down to decide his future. Another year in rugby? With no contract on the table from Munster he knew it was time to end a long and fruitful sporting career.

Marcus Horan joined the growing list of ‘golden generation’ Ireland players to call time on their career.

Peter Stringer is thankful Bath rescued him from “oblivion” at Munster after feeling he was unfairly ignored by Rob Penney and Simon Mannix.