Claims of racism voiced by former England and Newcastle Falcons centre Luther Burrell have proven to be true after a thorough review.

Burrell opened up about experiences of racism in the Mail in June last year, resulting in Newcastle launching an internal investigation into the allegations.

Thorough process

Since October 2022, the investigation has interviewed 90 people who are or have worked for Newcastle to generate findings through an independent King’s Counsel.

In a statement released by the club, the finds showed that, “The report has concluded that on the balance of probabilities, the allegations made in the Daily Mail article are true, but there is insufficient evidence to say whether these allegations occurred at the club.”

The report did, however, note of incidents, including a WhatsApp message and two other situations where acts of racism were “more likely to have happened during his time with Newcastle Falcons than not.”

The club has committed to educating its employees about discrimination and how to deal with situations in more a positive and meaningful manner.

“We take our responsibility to help drive education and development in this area very seriously and are very much aligned with Luther’s aim of educating and eliminating any discrimination from across the sport.

“While we had already embarked on a full review of policies, procedures and training provisions following our return to work and the removal of red zone restrictions around playing and coaching staff after COVID in May 2022, we intend to take all possible learnings from the investigation report to ensure we continue to take every positive action we can for the better of our employees, our sponsors, our club, our loyal supporters and our game,” the statement wrote.

Click Here: union bordeaux begles rugby jerseys

“Luther raised numerous allegations and it remains gravely concerning that any individual would be subject to discriminatory behaviour within the game we all love, or within any walk of life. As such we welcome and support the wider action being taken by the RFU, alongside Premiership Rugby and the RPA, in terms of the wider listening exercise they’ve conducted across the sport and the resulting inclusion and diversity action plan – details of which are due to be released imminently.

“As a club we have an equality, diversity and inclusion policy in place, any breach of which would qualify as a serious disciplinary matter. We have delivered ED&I training to all our employees, have bystander training sessions scheduled for all employees and are committed to annual refresher training.

“We are also in discussion with the RFU about training that will be provided more widely across the sport and our owner has met with Luther to further discuss how we can all work together more closely to ensure rugby is a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone.”

Education is key

Ultimately, even after the extensive investigation, individuals involved with the incidents could not be identified, but the club once again underlined their focus of achieving Burrell’s aims of educating people about these issues.

“Given that after an extensive investigation there remains no way to identify those involved in any of the allegations outlined above, that many staff and players have left since the time Luther was at the Club, that the report refers to generally positive feedback on the culture and behaviours of the Club and given that Luther’s stated aim was to educate and improve things for the future, going forward the Club will be focusing on education and reinforcement of the aims and processes within our policies, as recommended in the report,” the statement added.

Ligue 1 side Lyon are in talks over the possible signing of 20-year-old Spanish youth international midfielder Pape Cheikh Diop from Celta Vigo, according to L’Équipe.

The 20-year-old of Senegalese origin is under contract with the La Liga side until 2021. Lyon are searching for a long-term replacement for Maxime Gonalons.

Click Here: cheap penrith panthers jersey

The Challenge Cup round-of-16 is on the schedule this weekend, with the action climaxing on Saturday night with Cardiff v Sale Sharks.

Bristol Bears v Clermont

Prediction: Bristol by 5

The teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall (cc), 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Sam Jeffries, 6 Steven Luatua (cc), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Magnus Bradbury, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 George Kloska, 19 Charlie Rice, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Sam Bedlow, 23 Ioan Lloyd

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Irae Simone, 12 George Moala, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Fritz Lee (c), 7 Lucas Dessaigne, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 3 Cristian Ojovan, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Jean-Maxence Jules-Rosette, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Edward Annandale, 20 Loic Godener, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Alivereti Raka

Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Scarlets v Brive

Prediction: Scarlets by 10

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Tom Rogers, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Brive: 15 Nic Krone, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Sam Arnold, 11 Kevin Fabien, 10 Stuart Olding, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Retief Marais, 7 Said Hireche (c), 6 Rodrigo Bruni, 5 Lucas Paulos Adler, 4 Mesu Kunavula, 3 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 2 Lucas Da Silva, 1 Daniel Brennan
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Nathan Fraissenon, 18 Wesley Tapueluelu, 19 Renger van Eerten, 20 Sacha Gue, 21 Paul Abadie, 22 Tom Raffy, 23 Seta Tuicuvu

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant Referees: Harry Walbaum (England), Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: Steve Leyshon (England)

Toulon v Cheetahs

Prediction: Toulon by 14

The teams:

Toulon: 15 Thomas Salles, 14 Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Waisea Vuidravuwalu, 11 Aymeric Luc, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Jules Coulon, 5 Adrien Warion, 4 Swan Rebbadj, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Bruce Devaux
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Matthias Halagahu, 20 Mathieu Bastareaud, 21 Jules Danglot, 22 Maëlan Rabut, 23 Ihaia West

Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Dan Kapepula, 13 David Brits, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Munier Hartzenberg, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Beertjie van Vuuren, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Cohen Jasper

Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 BST, 11:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Alex Frasson (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

🐺 𝗟𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼 𝗱𝘂 𝗟𝗢𝗨 pour affronter le @SFParisRugby ce samedi (16h) ⤵️#SFPLOU#LaForceduLOU#LaMeute pic.twitter.com/fhl3WVbtJW

— LOU Rugby (@LeLOURugby) March 31, 2023

Stade Francais v Lyon

Prediction: Lyon by 5

The teams:

Stade Francais: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Stephane Ahmed, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Theo Dachary, 11 Pienasi Dakuwaqa, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Giovanni Habel Kuffner, 7 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 6 Ryan Chapuis, 5 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 4 Baptiste Pesenti, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Laurent Panis (c), 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Nemo Roloefse, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Juan Johan van der Mescht , 21 James Hall, 22 Juan Martin Scelzo, 23 Alex Arrate

Lyon: 15 Fletcher Smith, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Tavite Veredamu, 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Arno Botha (c), 7 Liam Allen, 6 Felix Lambey, 5 Loann Goujon, 4 Killian Geraci, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Jérôme Rey
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Feao Fotuaika, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Beka Saginadze, 21 Jonathan Pélissié, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Noa Nakaitaci

Venue: Stade Jean Bouin
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Benetton v Connacht

Prediction: Connacht by 10

The teams:

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8 Henry Stowers, 7 Michele Lamaro,6 Seb Negri Da Oleggio, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Thomas Augustin Gallo, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Izekor, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Click Here: antrim gaa jerseys

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 David Hawkshaw, 9 Caolin Blade (c), 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 David Heffernan, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisin Dowling, 20 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Shane Jennings

Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace (England), Gareth Holsgrove (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

Lions v Racing 92

Prediction: Racing 92 by 10

The teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manny Rass, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee

Racing 92: 15 Louis Dupichot, 14 Donovan Taofifénua, 13 Warrick Gelant, 12 Olivier Klemenczak, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Cameron Woki, 7 Maxime Baudonne, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Anthime Hemery, 3 Ali Oz, 2 Peniami Narisia, 1 Thomas Moukoro
Replacements: 16 Jonathan Maiau, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Fabien Sanconnie, 20 Ibrahim Diallo, 21 Martin Meliande, 22 Max Spring, 23 Asaeli Tuivuaka

Venue: Emirates Airline Park
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 BST, 16:30 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Ian Tempest (England), Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)

🐉 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 | Here are your Dragons 23 to take on @GlasgowWarriors ⚔️ in the last 16 of the @ChallengeCup_ tomorrow evening, 5:30pm KO! 👊

👏 RIOOOO is 🔙
9️⃣ changes to starting xv
💪 Roberts, Carter, Wainwright & Basham all start
🙌 Rosser & Clark also come in#WeAreGwentRugby pic.twitter.com/BAfjpmb2IE

— Dragons RFC (@dragonsrugby) March 31, 2023

Glasgow Warriors v Dragons

Prediction: Glasgow Warriors by 7

The teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Rory Darge, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Lewis Bean, 21 Ryan Wilson, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Tom Jordan

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Steff Hughes, 12 Max Clark, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Will Reed, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 George Nott, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Ben Fry, 22 Lewis Jones, 23 Ioan Davies

Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant Referees: Adrien Marbot (France), Benoit Rousselet (France)
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin (France)

Cardiff v Sale Sharks

Prediction: Sale Sharks by 3

The teams:

Cardiff: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 James Botham, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Kieran Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Thomas Young, 21 James Ratti, 22 Lloyd Williams, 23 Ben Thomas

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Jono Ross, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Sam James, 23 Arron Reed

Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Evan Urruzmendi (France), Kevin Bralley (France)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (France)

FC Metz have announced the signing of Argentine striker Brian Fernández from Racing Club, on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

The 22-year-old spent last term on loan with CA Sarmiento of the Argentinean second division, and will hope to impress in his first spell away from his homeland, with Metz.

“My main quality remains one against one. I like to provoke and eliminate,” said Fernández, “I think I have qualities that fit well with the French championship. Then, it is up to me to adapt to the requests of the coach.”

S.H.

Click Here: Alfa Romeo Racing Suit

Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan has slammed the NRL over their reaction to Joseph Suaalii’s decision to join rugby union.

The talented back, who played both codes before turning professional with the Sydney Roosters, inked a huge deal with RA last week, reportedly worth $1.6m.

He has signed with the Waratahs and will make the switch from rugby league after his Roosters contract expires at the end of 2024.

There have already been several jibes from the 13-man code, with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys chief among them.

V’landys stated that teenage sensation Suaalii would “get terribly bored” playing union, adding: “He is going to be paid twice the money for doing half the work.”

Hysterical

“It’s been hysterical, really,” McLennan told ABC Sport Daily.

“They’re cry-babies. So, they’ve lost their rising star, their talent. Joseph has made the choice. I think they should respect his choice and they’re attacking his age and having a swing.

“The reality is, our guys travel the world. The current Wallaby crop will be playing at the third-biggest sporting event [Rugby World Cup] in France … our players get life experience that you wouldn’t get anywhere.”

Suaalii’s signing has also brought about a mixed response in Australian rugby union circles, with Wallabies great Stirling Mortlock unsure about the move.

“Look, there’s no doubt he’s a weapon. Even when he was playing under-16s, you could see he was a freakish talent and a class above the others,” Mortlock told AAP.

“But $1.6 million per annum? That could have kept 19 or 20 other players in the system.”

Click Here: sligo gaa jerseys

McLennan, however, very much disagrees with Mortlock and believes the addition of Suaalii can bolster the sport in other ways, not just on the field.

Grassroots investment

“We’re going to be growing the pie,” RA’s chairman said.

“With the current [RA] board, I would say we have been the most prudent board in the code’s history. Just between 2020 and now through COVID, we’ve cut $40 million worth of costs out of the organisation, so we’re putting it back now.

“We’re happy to pay our players well. That’s a good thing if you want to come and play rugby because you get to travel the world and you will be looked after by us at the elite level.

“But if we sell our media rights for more, we’ll have more money to put back into grassroots, so this is a strategy that will work and the public need to understand that.

“Our elite players, at the end of the day, will earn more than NRL players and we’re happy to pay them well.”

Bordeaux have announced that they have loaned out midfielder Daniel Mancini to Ligue 2 side for a whole season, but without the option to sign him permanently at the end of the deal.

The 20-year-old Argentine striker joined Bordeaux in January on 2017 from Newell’s Old Boys for an undisclosed fee following some impressive displays in the Argentinian Premiera Division, where he scored twice in 16 games.

Both the player and the club hope that this loan move can be for the best, and if Mancini performs well early on in Ligue 2, we could see him make a return to Girondins quicker than we had already anticipated.

T.S.

Click Here: 2021 Soccer Tracksuit

Warren Gatland claims that Wales will surprise some teams at the World Cup later this year with how much they will have improved.

Wales finished the Six Nations in fifth after a 41-28 loss to France in Paris on Super Saturday.

Expecting rapid development

Gatland’s return to the helm did not go as smoothly as he would have hoped, with losses to all teams but Italy. However, Wales seem to have started to find their feet, and the veteran coach believes things may be different at the global showpiece.

“We will surprise some teams in the World Cup by how good we will be and how much we will improve having that time together to prepare,” he said.

“We have taken steps in the right direction during this campaign but we have a lot of work to do.

“We have developed some youngsters who will learn from these experiences, and we will review stuff and what are the things we need to keep working on to not allow some of those soft tries we did concede.

“Today against a team like that when they get on top of you (Wales trailed 34-7 early in the second half), they can really punish you. A bit like the All Blacks.

“But the boys didn’t capitulate. They showed some heart and character. That is what we are looking for as a starting point.

“Some of the variation in the second half in terns of our game-management was much better. We put a few little kicks in behind and varied it nicely. I was pleased with the ambition of what the players were trying to achieve.”

Hard work required

Skipper Ken Owens echoed his coach’s sentiments and believes through hard work, the team will come right.

Owens added: “From the outset, we knew we wouldn’t be in a 12-9 arm-wrestle. We knew we had to score tries and we showed that.

“I am confident we will get better the more time we have together with that conditioning work and putting ourselves under pressure in training.

“That will solve those inaccuracies in our game that we’ve seen throughout the tournament.

“Personally, for me and a lot of the boys, it probably will be our last Six Nations game. It’s got to come at some point.

“I have seen enough over the last eight weeks of the work that the players, management and coaches are putting in. One thing with Welsh people, we work very hard.

“The more time as a Welsh team we spend together, the better we get. We will raise some eyebrows at the World Cup.”

Owens had missed some of the training week for the birth of his child, and he looks to get back to his family.

“Obviously, I haven’t trained much this week. That is probably why I was hooked (taken off) on 45 minutes,” he said.

“I was proud of Carys and becoming a father again. Everything went OK and it will be back to the family. Hopefully, Dwayne Peel (Scarlets head coach) will give me a nice little week off to enjoy with the family.”

Click Here: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Premier League side West Bromwich Albion are very close this morning to sealing the loan signing of PSG’s Polish international and defensive midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak.

The player wants an experience in the Premier League, and only another side from the top division in England could block this deal, if Krychowiak prefers them over West Brom.

SFR Sport report that Leicester City in particular remain interested in the player.

Click Here: Luka Modric Jersey Sale

Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton says that it would be a special achievement should he captain them to their fourth-ever Six Nations Grand Slam.

Andy Farrell’s men are just one victory away from winning the title and etching their names into the history books following Sunday’s 22-7 triumph over Scotland.

They now face an England team who are licking their wounds after a record home defeat to France on Saturday.

The Red Rose went down 53-10 to Les Bleus which was their biggest-ever loss at Twickenham.

Ireland are expected to get the job done relatively comfortably, despite their injury issues, but Sexton knows that they need to focus.

Big week

“It was a very special day (against Scotland) but ultimately it was a semi-final and the big one is next week,” he said.

“It would be the stuff of dreams really. It’s what you grow up wanting to do.

“I don’t know why you grow up wanting to be captain of Ireland, maybe because the players you admire the most were captains, but to do it would be dream-come-true stuff.

“It’s a great group of lads, so to lead them is very special. Who wouldn’t be proud?

“It’s going to be a big week, there will be lots of hype, plenty of distractions, tickets and family and all that and we need to get down to business and get a big performance.”

Sexton is wary of the threat a wounded England could pose, knowing that Steve Borthwick’s men have little to lose, but Ireland are determined to claim the title in front of their fans.

Previous Grand Slam successes in 2009 and 2018 have been done away from the Aviva Stadium, so this would be extra special for the Irish.

“It’s obviously dangerous because they’ve nothing to play for but it will mean a hell of a lot to us to play at home and to try and win something at home,” the fly-half said.

“The times when we have won things, they’ve all been away from home. That’s something we acknowledged from the start that doesn’t come around too often, so it will hopefully be a special day.

“They’re going to be hurting. They’re going to be wanting to show what playing for England means to them and they’re a good team; they’re a better team than they showed (against France).”

Six Nations points record

Sexton kicked seven points on Sunday – two conversions and one penalty – to move level with countryman Ronan O’Gara on the all-time points-scoring list in the Six Nations.

Should the playmaker be fit to play this weekend, the Leinsterman will more than likely move ahead of O’Gara and into first place.

“Rog (O’Gara) will be paying me off to try and retire now,” he joked.

Click Here: Robert Lewandowski Jersey Sale

“It’s obviously a nice thing. Hopefully (I will) get back on the pitch next week and it’s all about winning. These other things they can come along but they’re not at the forefront of my mind.”

Ireland will have to win the Grand Slam without the services of Garry Ringrose and Iain Henderson, who have been ruled out of their match with England.

An IRFU statement read: “Garry Ringrose is doing well today and has returned to Dublin. He will take no further part in this year’s Championship.

“Iain Henderson is due to undergo surgery today on a fractured forearm sustained in the first half of yesterday’s game. The uncapped Ross Molony is added to the squad to provide additional second-row cover.

“Both Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher sustained shoulder injuries against Scotland and both will be managed in camp this week. Ulster’s Tom Stewart has been brought in as cover.

“Caelan Doris’ hip complaint will also be managed in camp this week.”

Yacouba Sylla has left Stade Rennais and will join Greek club Panathinaikos on a loan until the end of the season, with an option to buy at the end of the deal.

The Malian National Team captain joined Rennes from Championship side Aston Villa in 2015 for €1.5m after failing to nail down a place at Villa Park under both Paul Lambert and Tim Sherwood. However, Sylla struggled to get a good run of games under his belt at Rennes either, only playing 23 times for the club.

Last season, Sylla was sent out on loan to fellow Ligue 1 club Montpellier where he scored one goal in 20 appearances, but didn’t do enough to warrant the club making another move for the midfielder.

T.S.

Click Here: FC Barcelona soccer tracksuit