Former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt releases his book - Ordinary Joe - today, which he has written exclusively by himself. And before you ask for it for Christmas, Gerry Thornley has done the reading for you and revealed some of the most eye-catching stories from Schmidt's diary this morning. Ordinary Joe is split into four sections - the first on growing up in New Zealand, the second on his coaching career with Clermont Auvergne and Leinster, with the second half dedicated to the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. In his diary of the World Cup, he gives his reasoning for omitting Devin Toner from his squad, with the secondrow facing a potential six-week suspension for an incident which took place during the defeat to Wales in the final round of the Six Nations. And he also sheds light on where he feels Ireland went wrong in Japan: "Our performances did not have the consistency of 2018; our levels of accuracy and cohesion fluctuated from game to game, and during games. On reflection, I don't believe that you can afford to taper and peak: you have to be building all the time, and that is done training by training, and performance by performance."
Schmidt also reveals he tried to get Ireland's World Cup win over Samoa called off before full-time due to the state of the pitch - a request which was refused by Australian referee Nic Berry. He writes: "We discussed the state of the pitch in the coaches' box and sent a message to (Ireland team manager) Paul Dean to request that the match be called off early. Deano approached the match manager and a message was conveyed onto the referee, via the fourth official. The referee chose to continue, but chatting to the Samoans and the players later, we thought it was incredible that two teams at rugby's premier tournament had to play on a pitch as badly cobbled together as that one was." And he also suggests former Ireland captain Rory Best was close to quitting the game ahead of the 2018 Six Nations, following the fallout from his decision to attend the trial of Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding in Belfast.
Elsewhere new Tottenham Hotspur manager José Mourinho has been told he will have no money to spend in January, as he bids to steer his new side from 14th in the Premier League to a top four finish. However, he has suggested he is happy with what he has to work with in north London: "It's a privilege when a manager goes to a club and feels that happiness in relation to the squad that he's going to have. These are not words of the moment. They are not words of me being the Tottenham head coach. These are words that I've told and I've repeated in the last three, four, five years - even as an opponent." In her column today, Mary Hannigan has suggested Mourinho's move could have long-term implications closer to home: "In Ireland, though, we only had one concern: "WHAT ABOUT TROY PARROTT?!" Our national fear being that Matic is more likely to play first-team football for Spurs than our Troy, now that José's the gaffer."
The final event of the European Tour season is underway this morning, with the top 50 in the Race to Dubai taking part in the DP World Tour Championship. Shane Lowry is currently fourth in the money standings and knows victory would land him the order of merit title - he tees off his opening round at 8.30am Irish time. Rory McIlroy meanwhile is looking for the fifth victory of his campaign - he gets underway at 8.30am.
And England close the opening day of their first Test against New Zealand on 241-4, after captain Joe Root won the toss and chose to bat in the glorious setting of the Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui. Opener Rory Burns made 52, with Joe Denly making 74 at number three and Ben Stokes 67 not out at stumps.
