As excitement builds ahead of tomorrow’s must-win World Cup play-off, Danish police have praised the good behaviour of the 8,000 Irish supporters who travelled to Copenhagen for the scoreless first-leg.

Martin O’Neill has warned his players that they may have to score twice to beat Denmark to a place at the World Cup finals in Russia.

How times have changed. When Ireland toured South Africa back in 1998, it was clear the only player in the Irish squad the Springboks knew was Keith Wood, who had played a key role in the Lions test series win over our hosts the previous season.

Ireland’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup has been “holed”, but not sunk, by the report that placed them third of the three bids, IRFU chief, Philip Browne, has said.

Weekend review

If they beat us to go to the World Cup, we’ll cry for six months, writes Enda McEvoy

Northern Ireland defender Corry Evans was forced to apologise last night for a foul-mouthed racist rant from his wife on Twitter over the Romanian referee’s controversial penalty award for Switzerland at Windsor Park on Thursday.

Robbie Brady is often a man of few words in the public arena, but sometimes less is more.

Danish manager Age Hareide was asked to expand yesterday on what he meant when he said recently that Ireland are easy to read but difficult to resist. 

It was the greatest night for at least five years, the night that marked a turning point for the Danish national team.

Ireland take one more step along the road in Dublin this evening when their credentials as one of the world’s top four teams are tested by old rivals South Africa.

Kasper Schmeichel is expecting the Republic of Ireland to play in Roy Keane’s image as they attempt to edge past Denmark and reach the World Cup finals.

As the Melbourne Cup unfolded, shortly after 4.00 on Tuesday morning, you’d imagine the Australian handicapper was starting to feel decidedly uneasy.

Wales are determined to begin a two-year World Cup countdown today by ending their dismal run of defeats against Australia.

The spectre of further rail chaos has receded after unions representing Irish Rail workers opted to suspend industrial action pending the result of a ballot on a Labour Court recommendation.

If Ireland charge out of the blocks after four months of international inactivity, this callow Springbok side will struggle to cope, writes Donal Lenihan

Facebook is so good at ‘microtargeting’ that many e-commerce start-ups barely even bother advertising anywhere else — a shift with frightening implications for companies and consumers alike. Burt Helm reports

Four Irish hopefuls will begin their final journey towards a European Tour card in the last Qualifying School stage at Lumine, Spain, today.

Eoin Hand’s was a journeyman’s career in football, but it was still the stuff of his boyhood dreams. Managing his country was beyond those wildest dreams and he was so close to success. But chaos and catastrophe confounded his best-laid plans.