World Rugby bosses have hit back at claims 31-man World Cup squads threaten player welfare by insisting top coaches left their objections too late to have any effect for the 2019 tournament in Japan.

Over a long and distinguished career, Brian O'Driscoll became adept at dealing with everything and anything thrown his way.

RORY KEANE IN SHIZUOKA: Carty starts only his second Test in place of conductor-in-chief Johnny Sexton, who is out with a groin injury. Schmidt reckons Carty has the right stuff.

Johnny Sexton has questioned the 'strange' negativity around Ireland's World Cup campaign, insisting Joe Schmidt's men are ready to peak for the All Blacks.

Caelan Doris has been backed to make a huge impact for Ireland on his Six Nations debut against Scotland on Saturday, with assistant coach Simon Easterby saying the No 8 is 'made for this level'.

WILL KELLEHER IN DUBLIN: The 59-year-old Bono dropped into the Irish camp to give a rallying speech to Andy Farrell's team ahead of their Six Nations clash with England.

MIKE BROWN: You always know when it's an Ireland Test week because the coaches put a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Johnny Sexton in the team dining room.

It worked with Politologue in Wednesday's Queen Mother Champion Chase and Paul Nicholls is hoping that saving Clan Des Obeaux for one big shot will pay off in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

New dates will now have to be sought for the four Classics, which are the 2,000 Guineas on May 4 and the 1,000 Guineas on May 5 at Newmarket, as well as the Oaks on June 5 and Derby on June 6.

William Haggas' runner struck Group One gold under Tom Marquand in the Ranvet Stakes last month and he added another top-level success as he saw off Verry Elleegant in some style.

The son of Giant's Causeway was yesterday sadly euthanised at Kildangan Stud as a result of health issues, and brought an illustrious career at stud to an end.

The 33-year-old Italian midfielder has decided to hang up his boots after leaving Russian outfit Zenit Saint Petersburg as a free agent in the summer.

The Argentine striker has been in enthralling form this season, bagging three goals in nine appearances in all competitions, including a strike against the Catalan giants in the Champions League.

Marchisio and his wife were threatened 'with two pistols and a screwdriver' and he was forced to hand over money and other expensive possessions to the four robbers during the horrific incident.

Italy are meant to have lucrative a trip to Qatar in March that will include two friendly games as part of their preparations for the upcoming Euro 2020. But Roberto Mancini does not see this as tough enough.

Reports suggest that the players are to be fined between one quarter and one half of this month' wages by the club for refusing to stay in a training retreat earlier this month.

Italy is the worst affected country outside of China and the decision was made earlier in the week to suspend all sporting activity across the country until April 3.

Juventus defender Daniele Rugani was the first Serie A player to test positive for Covid-19, just days after he was in the matchday squad for the club's win over Inter behind closed doors.

After a quiet and trying two years, Selena Gomez is dancing again. Just a week before the release of her sixth studio album, the 27-year-old is ready to make 2020 better than years past.

Rebel Wilson has defended the widely-panned movie Cats, claiming it could one day become a cult classic. 

Quite a few albums that should have come out now have been postponed till the autumn. You can understand why, but it's no use to the fans who have time to kill and a thirst for new music.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday morning, the 39-year-old Sunrise host decided to clarify herself after The Daily Telegraph reported she wants to have children 'in the next few years'.

Two studies released today have identified antibodies to fight Zika. They have been hailed as some of the most precise investigations into Zika to date as the virus sweeps the world.

None of the rats tested at Philadelphia's Wistar Institute contracted Zika after getting the vaccine. It is the best result of a Zika vaccine to date, and it is the same being tested in the first human trials.

The mosquito-borne virus sparked global panic this year after millions were infected, causing scores of babies to be born with birth defects such as microcephaly.

Officials lifted the warning on Tuesday, saying more than 45 days had passed since they have found a new last local case of the mosquito-borne infection.

Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology have found a way to kill the Zika virus using compounds found in an Australian native plant.

Robert Lewandowski has urged Poland to approach their crunch Euro 2016 game against Germany 'without fear' ‒ although the captain admits their opponents are favourites to win the tournament.

Poland's first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will miss Thursday's Euro 2016 clash with Germany but could return for their final Group C game against Ukraine

Germany's players have taken to Twitter ahead of their second game of Euro 2016 Group C against Poland at the Stade de France. Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger both got involved.

Bucharest police have questioned 17 football fans after clashes at the World Cup qualifier between Romania and Poland on Friday.

The Bayern striker, who scored twice in his country's 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over Romania on Friday, will not be in the squad for the friendly against Slovenia after returning to Germany.

Robert Lewandowski is 'an example' to young players everywhere, according to his coach Adam Nawalka, but there is more to this Poland side than the Bayern Munich star's goals.

Italy prepared for Sunday's UEFA Nations League clash with Poland with a training session in the Florence sunshine. Roberto Mancini watched on as the late afternoon sun beat down.

Roberto Mancini very much put his Italy players through their paces as they look to claim their first victory in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday night against Poland.

Honey Ross, 22, from London, explains in the Sunday Times' Style how she navigates dating as a plus size woman, claiming she has often been 'oversexualised' or 'desexualised' by men.

She's been candid about her struggles with weight loss. And on Monday, Lauren Goodger claimed to have lost seven pounds in just seven days after checking into a detox retreat.

Previously thought incurable, Crohn's is a debilitating gut disease that affects around 115,000 people in the United Kingdom and almost 3 million globally.

It's fair to say the nation might be struggling with food cravings as people are stuck indoors during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Prince's former drug dealer has revealed the star would regularly buy powerful opiates concealed in mislabeled bottles in a bid to hide his secret addiction.

A woman from the southernmost town in New Zealand has claimed Prince is the father of her adult son, and he's getting a DNA sample in an attempt to prove it.

Chelsea defender Jake Clarke-Salter will spend the season on loan at Birmingham after signing a new contract with the Premier League club.

Jota insists Aston Villa are a big club as they look to fix their wretched home record. Villa have won just 22 of their previous 95 home Premier League games over the last five seasons.

Birmingham have been fined £42,500 after a supporter ran on to the pitch and punched Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish during the derby match at St Andrew's in March.

Clarke-Salter has made just five league starts this term but is set for an extended run in the side, with Marc Roberts likely to be out until January after suffering an ankle injury against Millwall.

Birmingham will be the away team at their own stadium when they face Coventry in the FA Cup fourth round after the Sky Blues' third round replay win against Bristol Rovers.

The Coast Guard says the short-range projectiles did not reach Japanese waters or the  Exclusive Economic Zone.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Monday walked back Donald Trump's claim that Melania Trump and Kim Jong Un 'got to know' on another.

North Korea has not yet confirmed any cases of the coronavirus, formally known COVID-19, but has closed the land border with China, where 254 people died yesterday from the outbreak.

North Korea maintains it has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, despite tens of thousands of cases in neighbouring China and South Korea.