Connacht will hope to put PRO14 victories back-to-back for only the second time this season when they battle the heat and demands of the Highveld against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this evening (5.35pm Irish time).

New Connacht defence coach Peter Wilkins believes a first-ever win in Belfast in the professional era tonight can kickstart their season.

Police have launched a CCTV appeal to find a mother reported missing with her two young children.

Wales 7 Ireland 12: Ireland Women’s head coach Tom Tierney is wary of the challenge his team face in Friday’s Six Nations Grand Slam decider with England.

No murder charge amid doubt that baby survived outside womb.

Dynel Lane went to extreme lengths to show family and friends that she was expecting a baby. She shared ultrasound images with her daughter and kept photos on her mobile phone of herself seemingly pregnant.

Guus Hiddink has edged towards a second stint as interim manager at Chelsea after holding talks with Stamford Bridge bosses.

A carer for an elderly lady has received a three-year suspended sentence for stealing over €30,000 from the retired school teacher.

A 59-year-old con man who posed as a gynaecologist duped a young woman into paying him €4,000 to visit his Swiss clinic and sexually assaulted her at her home in Cork on the pretext of carrying out a medical exam.

A carer for an elderly lady will be sentenced later at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after she stole over é30,000 from the retired school teacher.

A 59-year-old man yesterday confessed to posing as a gynaecologist, sexually assaulting a young woman, and conning her into paying him €4,000 for treatment at a clinic in Switzerland.

As John Terry confirmed a contract extension for another season, the Chelsea Pitch Owners hosted an evening with the Blues captain. Chelsea fan Trizia Fiorellino was there.

A seven-year-old girl who survived a plane crash that killed her parents and two other family members has been released from the hospital, an official has said.

A man accused of clocking up thousands of euro in unpaid hotel bills in Cork City has been remanded in custody as details of his identity need to be checked through Interpol.

A woman who let loose with a torrent of racial abuse against an innocent Asian woman on a train in Australia says she is deeply ashamed of her behaviour.

A US judge has refused to dismiss the government’s lawsuit against disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and associates for alleged doping and use of banned performance-enhancing techniques.

Ray Wilkins has revealed he suffered from depression during his playing and coaching career and received treatment for the illness at the UK's Sporting Chance clinic.

Support for same-sex marriage; a new scheme aimed at getting long-term unemployed back to work; Ukrainian politics descends into mass brawl and ex-Chelsea captain's battle with depression revealed, in the Lunchtime Report.

Former Fulham coach Ray Wilkins has announced he is struggling with ulcerative colitis in order to dispel rumours of a drinking problem.

Former Fulham coach Ray Wilkins has announced he is struggling with ulcerative colitis – the same condition afflicting Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher – in order to dispel rumours of a drinking problem.

Ireland 14 Wales 6

Ray Wilkins has become the latest high-profile member of Rene Meulensteen’s backroom staff after being named as the new assistant head coach of the Barclays Premier League strugglers.

Police in India have arrested a hotel management graduate who is alleged to have raped a young Irish woman working in Calcutta for a charity founded by Mother Teresa.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich deserves a “pat on the back” for bringing Jose Mourinho back to the club, according to former Blues favourite Ron Harris.

A GROWING consumer demand for health-enhancing foods has helped a distribution company in the Muskerry gaeltacht to create 65 jobs and grow turnover last year to €15m.

Former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins has revealed that club owner Roman Abramovich is a “big fan” of Watford boss Gianfranco Zola.

Former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins has branded the club “wrong” not to offer Lampard a new contract.

Ray Wilkins believes it is “out of the question” that Chelsea would sack under-fire new manager Rafael Benitez before the end of the season.

John Terry’s disciplinary hearing will go into a third day today as the Chelsea skipper continues to contest a charge of using racist language.

Ray Wilkins today leapt to the defence of Chelsea’s players in the wake of Andre Villas-Boas’ sacking.

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien will discover over the coming days the severity of his latest knee problem.

CHELSEA face an anxious wait for an update on the fitness of Michael Essien after the Ghana midfielder sustained a knee injury.

Ray Wilkins says Andre Villas-Boas’ biggest challenge as Chelsea manager will be to win over some of the high-profile names in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.

TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp yesterday ridiculed Chelsea’s bid for Luka Modric before insisting he would not entertain the thought of allowing his star midfielder to leave this summer.

Carlo Ancelotti has insisted he will not beg to keep his job when he learns his fate as Chelsea manager next week.

IN A world where we are constantly being told that everything we know is wrong, it has always been a relief to turn to the reliably comforting certainties of 11 against 11 and highest score wins. But no longer.

IT’S good to be despised again. Enemies of football once more. Ruining the game, the axis of evil etc. Funny how we didn’t hear these phrases when City were buying anything that moved.

Frank Lampard admits Chelsea are experiencing a crisis of confidence but the England midfielder refuses to blame their slump on the exit of Ray Wilkins.

Ray Wilkins has backed Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti to turn around the club’s torrid season.

LIVERPOOL and Chelsea may not be the most natural of bedfellows but such are the size of the crises enveloping both clubs, they are inextricably linked in misery as headline writers struggle to decide who go first: Roy Hodgson or Carlo Ancelotti.

I MUST admit the last few weeks had blunted my enthusiasm temporarily. It wasn’t the results as such —a football fan needs to be able to take losing or a bad run of form – it was everything else.

Ray Wilkins has denied that a falling-out with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was behind his surprise departure from Stamford Bridge last month.