Officials from England and France sold visions of a bright new order, when they took a wrecking ball to the Heineken Cup, writes Brendan O’Brien

Donegal’s Declan Boyle and his Monaghan co-driver James O’Reilly made the perfect start to this year’s Triton Showers National Rally Championship with victory in the Achill Island-based Óstán Oileán Acla/Connacht Print & Signs Mayo Rally.

The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee Christopher Wray to serve as FBI director.

US president Donald Trump has defended his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer, saying it was standard campaign practice and maintaining "nothing happened" as a result.

Taking the lead on the third stage, Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC) won the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally finishing 32.1 seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings and his Letterkenny co-driver Rory Kennedy. 

Saracens’ trophy hunters may not have achieved greatness yet, but Billy Vunipola believes they are striving to bring Barcelona-esque levels of domination to European rugby.

Donegal cousins Declan Boyle and Brian Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC) blitzed the opposition in the Martin Howley Donegal Harvest Rally in Killybegs, the final round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

We’ve already crossed off 126 games across four countries over the course of 35 weeks. 

Chris Ashton believes Saracens are “in a good place” after positioning themselves for another full-blown assault on major European silverware.

Ulster head coach Les Kiss believes Saracens are the greatest threat to Toulon’s reign as European champions.

All season long Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) has been a consistent barometer of pace in the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. 

Racing Metro 92 11 Saracens 12: Marcelo Bosch basked in the gratitude of his team-mates after kicking Saracens into the semi-finals of the Champions Cup in dramatic scenes in north Paris.

Circus skills are about to explode in Ireland writes Nuala Woulfe

You shall never forget Firefly, never.

The Irish pair Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) could find little comfort at the end of Rally Guanajuato Mexico where they finished well outside the top ten.

The Zone Of Interest

Saracens 64 Connacht 6

Saracens chairman Nigel Wray has vowed that English teams will be prepared to carry out their threat to pull out of the Heineken Cup.

Paolo Di Canio's controversial political views are "pretty irrelevant", according to the man who gave the controversial Italian his first chance in management.

RETAIL giant Tesco yesterday apologised to a customer who claimed she found newborn mice in a multipack of crisps.

Online sports betting firm Betfair today fired the starting gun on a flotation expected to value the firm at around £1.5bn (€1.8bn).

Gaming giant Betfair is considering a potential £1.5bn (€1.72bn) flotation amid discussions over the future of the firm, it was reported today.

I WOULD have loved to have watched Andrew Wray’s face when he wrote his letter (Friday, July 17) about the cause of this recession.

Saracens director of rugby Eddie Jones will step down from his position at the end of the season.

Saracens chairman Nigel Wray has confirmed discussions with a South African company that could see the Guinness Premiership club receive a substantial cash injection.

CORK CITY and Dungannon Swifts will have to be content with a share of second place in Group 2 of the Setanta Cup after this scoreless draw in Stangmore Park last night.

Cork City 2 Dungannon Swifts 0

The Empire State Building - the skyscraper that King Kong scaled while holding tight to Fay Wray - yesterday dimmed its lights for 15 minutes in honour of the actress who died on Sunday.

Fay Wray, who won everlasting fame as the damsel held atop the Empire State Building by the giant ape in the 1933 film classic King Kong, has died at 96.

THE Bloody Sunday inquiry was urged yesterday to determine the extent of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath’s responsibility for the deaths of the 13 people shot dead by troops at the civil rights march in Derry over 30 years ago.

A lawyer representing the family of one of the Bloody Sunday victims has described the British soldiers involved in the incident as a “death squad”.

A GARDA was last night hailed a hero after he saved the life of a 79-year-old man trapped in a house fire.

The brother of a Bloody Sunday victim today angrily denied an allegation that he passed on a threat from the Provisional IRA to a man forced to flee Derry.

A former IRA man told the Bloody Sunday Inquiry today he saw a soldier finish off an unarmed man as he lay on the ground.

Sinn Féin has condemned loyalist death threats against a priest in north Belfast.

Lord Saville today slammed late moves to introduce new photographic evidence after the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was held up for an hour.

Families of the victims of Bloody Sunday sobbed after witnessing a powerful dramatisation of the horrific events of that day.

A witness at the Bloody Sunday tribunal in Derry broke down this morning after revealing how he pretended to be dead to avoid being murdered by British soldiers.

UNBEATEN Six Nations rivals Ireland and England were last night still in the dark on when their postponed championship clash will take place.