ANALYSIS of Ireland’s encouraging start to World Cup 2015 has to be put on temporary hold as a consequence of what Japan achieved in defeating the most experienced South African side ever fielded when the sides met at Brighton Community Stadium on Saturday.

So there we have it, another season finishes with Dublin as All-Ireland champions...

Kerry 4-14 Tipperary 0-6: Of the 21 All-Ireland winning teams Jack O’Connor has been involved with, he described this latest Kerry minor batch as the most complete of the lot.

Not even the man who battled an evil empire in a galaxy far, far away could save the Kingdom — and so Sam Maguire will be residing in the capital for the next year.

England 35 Fiji 11: The trains weren’t running, the bars were overflowing, the stewards were next to useless and yet, at around 7pm yesterday evening, something rather strange happened in south-west London.

For one reason or another - even by their absence, or off the bench, this sextet will have a decisive bearing on the destination of Sam Maguire

Donaghy’s been unlucky, but so have other Kerry forwards

Long before he became an integral part of the Munster team, BJ Botha was part of a South African squad which captured the 2007 World Cup. So what was it like to claim world rugby’s greatest prize?

They don’t come more modest than Rena Buckley and Briege Corkery.

February 2011 and Dublin have beaten Cork by six points. Under the Hogan Stand, Pat Gilroy is quietly praising his team for getting their discipline in check in the second half, but his calm words betray his delight. Inside he’s dancing.

Dungourney 1-23 St Ita’s 2-12 (East Cork JAHC final): The Jamesey Kelleher Cup travelled home to Dungourney on Saturday after the men in the gold sashes demolished St Ita’s hopes of a fairytale ending to a first Junior A decider in their 114-year history.

The clock read 58 minutes when thousands of jubilant Limerick supporters, having rolled down from the Ryan and Kinane Stands, occupied every blade of grass on either sideline at Semple Stadium.

It’s funny how the first shots of a revolution are often fired when a people are on their knees. 

A blind musician, who overcame a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve a first class honours degree, has drawn on his own experiences to help other visually-impaired musicians get the most from their college course.

All in all, it’s been the best opening week we could have asked for. Certainly, as Rugby World Cups go. 

Got an issue? Ask Audrey...

On Monday night I brought my two small boys down town in Tralee to take a look at the most dreaded aspect of losing an All-Ireland final for the players – the homecoming. The dark grey weather matched the sombre mood on the streets and in the second bus.

Rookie Dublin midfielder Brian Fenton has revealed how he remembered his late mother, Marian, and Dublin GAA stalwart Dave Billings amid emotional scenes on All-Ireland final day.

Since Tom Brady and Deflategate earlier this year, the match ball in sport has come under scrutiny, but the chances of such an episode being repeated at Croke Park on Sunday are slim to none, writes John Fogarty

Kerry legend Charlie Nelligan has compared the strength of the current Kingdom panel to that of the all conquering one he was part of during the 1970s and 1980s.