Ireland coach Andrew Meredith was relieved to see his side escape from New Delhi with qualification for round three of the World League yesterday.

IRELAND’S new cap Jonathan Sexton seemed impervious to the miserable weather which settled over the RDS on Saturday.

IRELAND manager Hugh McCaughey is confident his side can “spring a few surprises” at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai this week.

IN money terms, Fiji are amongst the poor relations of world rugby.

SKIPPER Trent Johnson insists Ireland can spring a surprise at the World Cup.

SPRINGBOKS captain Corne Krige admits he called England skipper Martin Johnson a dirty player — but denies this was designed to stir up trouble ahead of the two nations’ pool C clash.

Rafael Benitez today admitted John Terry could travel to the Club World Cup before making his Chelsea comeback.

Defender Sean St Ledger admits the Republic of Ireland feel “robbed” after France’s controversial winning goal in their World Cup qualifying play-off.

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz intends to call up Cristiano Ronaldo for the upcoming World Cup play-offs against Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite the latest medical reports from Real Madrid saying the forward will be out of action for at least two more weeks with his ankle injury.

Maik Taylor wants extend his stay at Birmingham when his current contract ends this summer – even though he has lost his first-team spot to on-loan Joe Hart.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Sweden coach Lars Lagerback insisted his team would not settle for the draw they need against England to progress to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Padraig Harrington has finished off Chris Riley at the World Match Play in Wentworth. Riley had a chance to keep it alive, but missed a 10-footer.

Clive Woodward has backed the continued pursuit of rugby league’s greatest talents as the New South Wales Rugby Union close in on the signing of superstar Australian half-back Andrew Johns.

Mick McCarthy has warned that goalkeepers face a tougher task than usual at the World Cup finals, after his Republic of Ireland team trained with the new FIFA regulation footballs today.

A group of hackers claim to have shut down the website of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament in protest at organisers holding it in the "dictatorship" of Gabon.

The World Rowing Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, presents Ireland’s seniors with a final chance to test themselves before the year’s main event, the World Rowing Championships in September.

The South African government have approved a €170m guarantee to strengthen the country’s chances of hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup.