THEY never pretended to be the best side in the world even when winning Grand Slams but they must surely rank as one of the bravest.

ENGLAND like to bully teams. It’s their modus operandi. Throughout international rugby history, successful English sides have usually been aggressors.

DCU 1-12 Maynooth 1-6

READING booked an FA Cup quarter-final clash against Aston Villa after staging a remarkable comeback to see off a West Brom side who were themselves within a minute of a meeting their midlands neighbours.

PORTLAOISE will be asked to identify the supporter who engaged referee Michael Duffy after Sunday’s All-Ireland club semi-final defeat.

AUSTRALIA coach Robbie Deans has endorsed the new law interpretations featured in the opening two rounds of the Super 14 competition, but believes referees must go a step further in order to achieve perfection.

BODE MILLER wanted out. He felt trapped, like he was being forced to be something he had never asked to be: an All-American poster boy, a bang on the drum, red, white and blue, God Bless America branded piece of Olympic propaganda.

NO SOONER are we sure that our Premier League dance is done, than fate goes and gives Gooners reason to believe.

NATIONAL referees chief Mick Curley has insisted that weekend refereeing mistakes which saw two Gaelic football matches being concluded when the ball was in play were simply a result of ‘human error’.

A SECOND-HALF scoring burstput Cork in an unassailable position in this Division 1 NHL clash with Offaly in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.

IF THE reports emanating from Turin are to be believed, Rafael Benitez is being considered a serious contender to become the next manager of Juventus.

GAA president Christy Cooney described as “unsatisfactory” the fact that seven red cards were shown in an O’Byrne Cup game in Portlaoise on Sunday and has backed the Leinster Council to take the appropriate action.

DUBLIN and Meath will have to do it all over again after 90 minutes of football failed to separate the old sparring partners in a thrilling O’Byrne Cup tie at Parnell Park yesterday.

IF EVER there was a game to restore your faith in the FA Cup, then this was it.

UCC 1-12 Cork IT 1-10

AN OCCASION that every player dreams of! Ben Foden may be on the brink of a long and distinguished career as the England full-back but the star of Northampton’s victory over Perpignan last Sunday has only one thought in his mind right now – to be a member of the Saints side that beats Munster in tonight’s crunch Heineken Cup Pool One decider at Thomond Park.

FÁS has missed the opportunity to make a fresh start, according to Fine Gael, which claimed the new board of the troubled state training agency is “dominated by insiders”.

DECLAN KIDNEY believes Jerry Flannery has no case to answer after his clash with Alexis Palisson in Saturday’s Six Nations defeat at the Stade de France. And the coach remains quietly confident that his team can bounce back from what was a comprehensive 33-10 defeat at the hands of the rampant French.

IT wasn’t the classic many were expecting in Thurles yesterday, but it was a classic tale of two halves, Shamrocks dominating the opening period, denied on at least three occasions by exceptional goalkeeping from Newtownshandrum’s William Biggane.

IT was his 14th All-Ireland final but rarely has Kilkenny legend Michael Kavanagh performed as well in Croke Park as he did on Saturday evening and rarely has he felt as much satisfaction afterwards.