NORTHAMPTON crashed to a second consecutive Heineken Cup defeat and to the brink of elimination.

GEORDAN MURPHY reckons Leicester team-mate Niall Morris is on the fast-track to the Ireland side — and has tipped the youngster to show why against Ulster this evening.

FERGUS McFADDEN must be one frustrated guy this week.

FIRST this and first that, Conor Murray must be tired of it already.

HEINEKEN CUP boss Derek McGrath has handed Irish provinces the chance to cash in on their huge followings abroad and play ‘home’ games overseas.

THERE are many reasons why the entire country will be shouting for Connacht at the Sportsgrounds tomorrow night; one being that minnows generally get the nod from the real neutral fans of sport.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS insist there has been no formal contact from England to Jim Mallinder about taking over Martin Johnson’s role — but the Saints insist they will battle to keep hold of their director of rugby.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS will try to pick up the pieces from their last-gasp Thomond Park defeat last weekend when they face Scarlets tonight at Franklin’s Gardens (8pm) but Jim Mallinder admitted the scars have not yet healed.

CARDIFF BLUES forwards coach Justin Burnell has warned his side they will have to “go up another gear” when wounded London Irish visit the Cardiff City Stadium for tonight’s Heineken Cup Pool Two clash.

EMBATTLED FIFA president Sepp Blatter yesterday appeared to stand by his suggestion that racism on the pitch should be settled by a handshake.

WITH all eyes now focused on the European Championship finals next summer, there’s a reminder today that there are further big tests in store for Giovanni Trapattoni and his players come the autumn.

LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish believes striker Luis Suarez will be full of confidence as he prepares to pull on the red shirt again this weekend.

SITTING in the press box in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night behind a laptop and under a sky filled with paper planes, it was clear that travel — if not beautiful football — is what we do best.

WHETHER it was by design, or co-incidental, one major theme emerged at last Tuesday’s National Equine Conference: The need for more thoroughbred blood in the sport horse population.

STANDING at the bottom of this main street on a grey Galway day, it’s difficult to believe that nothing on either side of you is in fact real.

WHILE Tony McGahan had the luxury of naming an unchanged Munster squad for this Saturday’s Heineken Cup tie against Castres in Toulouse, the head coach downplayed hopes of a quicker than expected recovery for his long-term injured.

ANYONE who doubted Michael Swift’s ability to last the pace and stay the course with Connacht would be red-faced as the big lock forward gets ready to square up to European heavyweights Toulouse at the Sportsgrounds on Saturday.

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL is on the road to recovery after confirming yesterday that he has had successful surgery on his injured shoulder.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN is set to make a return to European rugby, following his resignation as head coach of the USA Eagles yesterday.

MARTIN JOHNSON made a noble exit from Twickenham yesterday after taking the decision to stand down as England team manager on his own terms.