TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Turlough Duffy raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at his teacher’s suggestion that he be on the debating team opposing the motion: “We need a change of government.”

Even in the big games, Andrew Porter finds his eyes drawn to the big screen.

Former Ireland U21 goalkeeper Liam Bossin has completed a move to Cork City — and he is set to make his debut at home to Shelbourne on St Valentine’s Day, after the 2020 Premier Division fixture list was revealed today.

Meanwhile, the extent of the groin injury which forced team captain Peter O’Mahony to withdraw before the match has not been established.

Munster have been counting the cost of their losses, with four Ireland internationals among those injured at Allianz Park.

Johann van Graan backed his players to make the right on-pitch decisions after Munster missed a chance to rescue a losing bonus point in a 15-6 defeat at Saracens today.

The United Kingdom goes to the polls on Thursday and the result will have a profound bearing on how that entity will, or can, remain united.

Stuart Lancaster believes the disappointment felt by Ireland’s World Cup contingent can spur the four provinces to memorable heights in Europe, just as it did their English counterparts four years ago.

Less than half an hour had passed following Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand before Mike Ross took to Twitter.

Sometimes you just need a feel good story and without a doubt, this is today's.

Kiladangan advanced to the Tipperary SHC semi-finals following a hard-earned six-point win over Toomevara in Cloughjordan on Saturday.

There may be an ill wind blowing his way this weekend but as far as Andrew Porter is concerned the only storm that matters is the one Ireland can produce against Samoa.

Peter O’Mahony and Bundee Aki face a race against the clock to prove their fitness for Ireland’s meeting with World Cup hosts Japan this Saturday following failed Head Injury Assessments in the win over Scotland.

Joe Schmidt has urged his players not to go into their shells when Ireland get their chance to atone for their Twickenham nightmare against Wales tomorrow.

Tadhg's attempts from outside the car to get Otis to unlock the doors are hilarious.

Twenty-two years ago, Dr Liam Hennessy was working out at a gym when he bumped into Tadhg Harrington.

Win or lose at Croke Park tomorrow you will probably find a bleary-eyed Ben Brennan clutching a bottle in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Marvel illustrator Will Sliney is one of many well-known people who has lent his talents to anew fundraising initiative for CUH children’s unit. Marjorie Brennan meets the real-life heroes of the unit

Defeats make doubters of us all.

Johann van Graan has urged Munster supporters to look at the positives of a playing squad in it for the long haul despite the “strange” situation of two key coaches deciding to quit.

The received wisdom for Leinster’s loss was poles apart in the moments after Saturday’s final whistle and in the hours that followed when thousands of post-mortems had been undertaken in the pubs and eateries around Newcastle.

Waterford manager Páraic Fanning is adamant their Munster championship campaign is far from over, even though the Déise will likely need points from their remaining three games to finish in the top three.

Edinburgh Airport, Saturday evening, March 30. As the Munster squad and supporters prepare to fly home after a tense quarter-final victory at Murrayfield, there are numerous emotions on display.

The echoes of Munster’s European semi-final defeat to Saracens two years ago may still be ringing in newspaper columns and the minds of supporters but Peter O’Mahony spoke for his squad and management yesterday when he declared his team have long since moved on, and for the better.

Conor Murray admits that there was a touch of the theatrical to Tadhg Beirne in Edinburgh last weekend.

This past year I’ve gone back to college to study sports science and yesterday morning I had to hand in an assignment.

A man on trial at the Special Criminal Court gave no reply when asked by gardaí to account for the presence of 150kg of explosives in a car in which he was a front seat passenger, the court has heard.

"I had no symptoms beforehand. I woke up and it was the weirdest feeling. I saw my left hand on my left leg and thought it was someone else touching me."

It is a recurring theme in a coach’s lexicon when discussing the loss of players to both injury or poor form that one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity.

Finally, the pieces are falling into place for Ireland, just as their Guinness Six Nations campaign draws to a close.

Ireland boss Joe Schmidt is hopeful Tadhg Beirne could return to fitness in time to face Italy in Rome when the defending champions resume their Guinness Six Nations campaign in 13 days.

Donal Lenihan looks at three statements Munster need to make today to beat Leinster.

It’s eight years since Greg Feek plugged himself into the mainframe of Irish rugby but the Kiwi scrum coach wasn’t exactly in the mood to measure his input as he pulled up a pew ahead of Saturday’s game against Argentina.

Some familiar faces await Niall Scannell this Saturday at Thomond Park. Gerbrandt Grobler was a teammate last year, and now he’s a Gloucester player.

The Dublin County Board may have to embark on a charm offensive if they want Mattie Kenny to take over from Pat Gilroy as their senior hurling manager.

When Paudie Murray stepped into the role of Cork camogie manager in the winter of 2011, he had his sister Aoife in one ear telling him there were All-Irelands in this group, while in the other he had people outside of the squad remarking that Cork “would be down for 10 to 15 years”.

“At the thought of getting Finn the right support, I’d run five marathons back-to-back,” declares Sinead Lucey.

Leinster’s defence of their Champions Cup title is set for an early boost with the expected returns from injury of an influential back row trio comprising of Sean O’Brien, Josh van der Flier, and Dan Leavy.

Austin Gleeson blamed himself for the phantom goal which saw Waterford miss out on a crucial victory over Tipperary.

It was all around to Derek McGrath’s house last Tuesday evening. From 5pm to 12pm, the players, management and backroom team reminisced, drank and sang on the day after the host signed off as Waterford manager.

Shortly after my wife and I took up a pair of seats about four rows from the back of the covered stand in Cusack Park last Sunday, I could hear a young fella behind me asking his father: Is that Tony Browne?

Derek McGrath has taken responsibility for the litany of injuries which derailed their Munster SHC opener, saying management may have “went a step too far” in their preparations.

Derek McGrath is discussing the sanctity of the dressing room. It couldn’t be more important now as seemingly everyone but John Mullane has them down to be also-rans in Munster this year.