Vera Pauw takes aim at US soccer report as she defends her tactical approach

The chief difficulty for reporters covering Vera Pauw press conferences is that they’re never quite sure where to start with all the material she provides. That was Gavin Cummiskey’s experience too when the Republic of Ireland manager spoke about a range of issues at an International Women’s Day event, Pauw, he writes, “providing enough lines to pen three stories”.

Once again, she took aim at the US soccer report that found her guilty of “weight-shaming” during her time as Houston Dash coach, Pauw questioning the legitimacy of the investigation and describing the only “nastiness” she has experienced since it came out as coming from “one or two lunatics”.

She also discussed her displeasure with Karen Duggan’s debut column for The Irish Times, in which the former international questioned Pauw’s defensive style of play.

There’s unlikely to be anything defensive about Ireland or Scotland’s approach to Sunday’s Six Nations game at Murrayfield, about which James Ryan talks to Gerry Thornley. The Irish lock is having a storming campaign after struggling with concussion issues last time around, and he talks about how he has rebuilt his confidence since then.

Sonia O’Sullivan, meanwhile, writes about next weekend’s American college indoor championships (the NCAAs) where Irish eyes will be firmly fixed on Rhasidat Adeleke after her blistering start to the year. Adeleke is aiming to become the first Irish woman athlete to win an NCAA indoor title since Maria McMahon in 1996.

Dave Hannigan uses his America at Large column to tell us the remarkable story of Greta Andersen, “the greatest woman swimmer in history” who died at the age of 95 in California last month, while Paul Fitzpatrick talks to Ciana Ní Churraoin after her shock victory over reigning champion Caitriona Casey in last weekend’s All-Ireland handball final.

Telly choice: The Players Championship gets under way today at Sawgrass (Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am-11.30pm), with three Irish players in the field. Rory McIlroy is in a half decent group that also features Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, so that’s your world top three. They tee off at 12.56pm while Shane Lowry gets going at 5.34pm, followed by Séamus Power at 6.18pm.

Keep an eye on: Today’s Irish team announcement for Sunday’s Six Nations game against Scotland, Andy Farrell having a bunch of big calls to make. Johnny Sexton is certainly expected to return after recovering from the leg injury he suffered against France. The Irish captain talks to the press later today.