Furlong available for Ireland after citing dismissed

You’d imagine that it was one of the longer Thursdays in the life of Tadhg Furlong, but it came to a happy conclusion for the Wexford man. A disciplinary committee dismissed the citing complaint levelled against him for that incident involving Munster’s Gavin Coombes last Saturday, John O’Sullivan reporting on the decision. The key line for Furlong in the committee’s statement was: “The player is free to play upon his next match-day selection.”

He’s not free to play in Leinster’s trip to Connacht this evening, though, seeing as he’s on duty with Ireland. John previews the URC game for which both sides are much changed from their last outings. Paul Boyle, one of just three players to retain his place with Connacht, will captain the side, Gerry Thornley hearing from the number eight ahead of the game.

It’s all change at Munster too for the visit of the Sharks to Thomond Park tomorrow night, Clayton McMillan making seven switches to the team that lost to Leinster last weekend. John rounds up the team news for all four provinces.

Ireland’s women are in action in Cape Town tomorrow, Scott Bemand’s side aiming for their second win over South Africa in a week, Michael Scully previewing the game. And John has news on the Ireland XV squad named for next month’s meeting with Fiji A in Cork.

In Gaelic games, Paul Keane hears Dublin football manager Ger Brennan concede that “this eejit here deserved something” for that run-in with a member of Galway’s backroom staff in March, but he still maintains that his 12-week ban was much too harsh.

In a wide-ranging chat, Brennan also gave his views on football’s new trial rules - and he’s no fan of the four-point goal experiment. Ethan Dunne likes it, though, but the DCU and Dublin midfielder tells Paul that he’s less enthusiastic about the rest of the tweaks having tried them out in the first three games of the third-level league campaign.

In golf, Gavin Cooney looks at the demise of the LIV rebel circuit. Who’s to blame for its failure? Well, Donald Trump’s decision to destabilise the Middle East by bombing Iran hardly helped.

Ahead of his appearance in Sunday’s New York City marathon, Peter Lynch talks to Ian O’Riordan, the Kilkenny man hoping to find the kind of form that saw him smash the Irish record in London back in April.

And in racing, Brian O’Connor previews the Breeders’ Cup which gets under way in Kentucky tonight. There will, of course, be plenty of Irish interest in US racing’s showpiece event, 24 horses from this neck of the woods due to line up.

TV Watch: Liam Nolan’s pursuit of a DP World Tour card had a solid start at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca yesterday, his round of 70 leaving him five shots off the lead. Sky Sports Golf’s coverage of the second round starts at 11am. At 6.30pm, ITV4 has the opening day of racing at the Breeders’ Cup and at 7.45pm you have your pick of champions Shamrock Rovers’ final game of the season, away to Dundalk (Virgin Media Two), and the URC clash of Connacht and Leinster (TG4 and Premier Sports 1).