James McClean cried the tears of a nation, crumbling in front of the cameras just as his Republic of Ireland colleagues had collapsed on a night of abject misery at the Aviva Stadium.

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Martin O’Neill has spoken in the past of how he likes the all or nothing games, of how knowing that only a victory will do helps “clear the mind.”

Age Hareide must have made for a challenging tenant.

Don’t expect a thriller

Italy 0 Sweden 0

Rassie Erasmus jetted home to South Africa last night confident that Munster are in safe hands with his replacement, Johann van Graan.

Sometimes a weather forecast actually turns out to be correct. And sometimes a preview of a game of football really does predict what will eventually happen. 

Average golfers have a saying: ‘It’s not how, it’s how many’.

After delivering a disciplined display in Copenhagen, Ireland’s players are confident that their record of emerging victorious from must-win games can count against Denmark tomorrow night.

Denmark’s Thomas Delaney described trying to break down Ireland’s defensive formation as “trying to open a tin of baked beans with your bare hands.”

Saturday night in Copenhagen marked my 25th anniversary return to the Parken Stadium and, at one level, it was as if nothing had changed in a quarter of a century.

There is never a good time to write a novel, writes Suzanne Harrington

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