Peter Stringer is poised to write his name into the history books as only the third player to secure 100 caps in European competitions should he get the nod to start in Bath’s Amlin Challenge Cup game against Rugby Mogliano tomorrow.

As Mayo manager James Horan anticipated, Joe McQuillan has been appointed to referee Sunday week’s All-Ireland football final.

“They are enthusiasmus,” protested Giovanni Trapattoni before the start, falling back on his favourite word, one more time.

Sadly, the passion and skill on the field isn’t matched by the promotion of tomorrow’s replay

AFTER the constant blue skies and dry days of recent months, I had forgotten what the view looked like in rain.

Mayo began their journey under James Horan with a talk about what it would take to become winners.

INTERNATIONAL RULES SERIES, SECOND TEST:

Celtic 2 Ajax 1

Newcastle 2 West Brom 1

Mount Leinster Rangers manager Tom Mullally was honest enough to admit he hadn’t processed his side’s win at the final whistle yesterday.

Like every bar, school, water cooler and gathering point in the land this week, the Munster team room has heard numerous discussions about the remarkable events at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

A good hour had passed since Saturday’s final whistle and yet Peter O’Mahony was still catching the eye. As Joe Schmidt and Paul O’Connell held court at the top table press conference, the Munster flanker could be seen through the side door, lounging luxuriously on a couch, chatting and smiling into a mobile phone.

BLOWING THE WHISTLE

The Everyman Sunday Songbook marks its 10th anniversary. Colette Sheridan reports.

Sergeant Maurice McCabe is experiencing ongoing harassment at his place of work as a result of his efforts to expose malpractice in the Garda, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Atletico Madrid 1 Barcelona 0 (Atletico Madrid win 2-1 on aggregate)

Aston Villa 1 Fulham 2

Republic of Ireland 2 Germany 3

Montferrand. Agen. Paris. Bordeaux. And the rest.

One thing was for sure going into Saturday’s all or nothing La Liga clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. The fifth Argentinian coach in history was going to win the trophy.