PORTUGAL negotiated a tricky tie to qualify for the World Cup after a 1-0 success in Bosnia-Herzegovina sealed a 2-0 aggregate success last night.

MAYBE the spirit of Patrick Vieira lives on after all.

THE nation’s supply of asterisks has been seriously depleted in the last 48 hours as reports have differed about the precise content of the inflammatory remark made by France’s Lassana Diarra to Ireland’s Keith Andrews after the final whistle blew in Croke Park on Saturday night.

ANYONE still in denial as to the scale of the mountain Ireland must climb in Paris tomorrow night need only ask Damien Duff.

IRONIC that the scrum provided the platform to salvage an Irish draw from yesterday’s international test that Australia always seemed destined to win.

KEITH ANDREWS last night claimed Lassana Diarra had made a “disgraceful” comment to spark the ugly scenes which marred the end of Ireland’s defeat to France on Saturday.

A SUPERB contest in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday as Limerick three-in-a-row champions Adare defied predictions and really put it up to heavy favourites Newtownshandrum in this Munster Club SHC semi-final.

RICHARD DUNNE, whose early football career was pock-marked with erratic off-pitch behaviour, knows how to turn a situation around.

GAA chiefs are set to investigate the unruly scenes during yesterday’s All-Ireland Club SFC semi-final in the Gaelic Grounds, as 13-man Portlaoise crashed to defeat against Clare champions Kilmurry-Ibrickane.

JERMAIN DEFOE may have recorded his 22nd goal of the season, and his sixth against Wigan, to help rekindle Tottenham’s hopes of Champions League qualification, but a late double from out of favour striker Roman Pavlyuchenko proved to be the talking point.

CORK hurler Ronan Curran says he and this teammates are looking forward to this year’s National Hurling League, having enjoyed a trouble-free preseason in comparison with previous years.

GAA President Christy Cooney has told Tyrone there’s “absolutely” no chance of them avoiding playing on television.

NEH NEPTUNE coach, Pat Price, has appealed to referees to “sit up and take notice” of the physicality being directed at their American player, Juwann James.

IT’S so long since Ireland lost a game that one had forgotten how bad it feels. Those once familiar pictures of dejected figures in green jerseys at the final whistle had almost faded into sepia-tone. It was inevitable that a reality check would come at some stage and the fact that it occurred in Paris shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Waterford IT 0-18 UCC 1-10

IT’S a sorry state of affairs when one’s aspirations are limited to a desire to see the local rivals prospects of silverware run their course for yet another campaign.

DISAPPOINTING, if expected news for Ireland coach Declan Kidney last night came with the confirmation Jerry Flannery will face an independent citing commission of the Six Nations Championship tomorrow arising out of an incident in the game against France on Saturday.

IT’S a moot point now as to what the final score would have been in Paris on Saturday had bonus points been on the table but Jamie Heaslip believes that such a system should be introduced to the Six Nations.

OLLIE CANNING has promised there will be no loose talk about three-in-a-rows in the Portumna camp before next month’s All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling final against Kilkenny’s Ballyhale Shamrocks.

FLAVIO BRIATORE is considering taking legal action against Nelson Piquet Snr and Jnr following his court triumph in Paris on Tuesday.