Séamus Power impresses in Bermuda; Andy Farrell embraces World Cup focus

Waterford's Séamus Power is sitting nicely in a tie for fourth position after an impressive start at day one of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. A four-under 67 sees Power lying just two shots off the leaders heading into the second round. Power played both the front and back nines at two-under, picking up five birdies in all with just the one blemish coming at the par-five second. His second round will begin at 4.59pm Irish time, with coverage on Sky Sports starting at 6.30pm. Closer to home, speaking at the site of a new public putting green which will be opened in spring 2022 in Marlay Park, Pádraig Harrington outlines to Philip Reid how he has never felt better about his game and has never been hitting the ball further.

After previous regimes might have preferred a more narrow focus that put upcoming World Cups to the back of the mind until just before the tournament, Andy Farrell has encouraged his squad to openly embrace the fact that everything they do is in preparation for France 2023. Speaking ahead of next weekend's test against Japan, Farrell is refusing to offer up any excuses for the preparation of his players - particularly Ireland's Lions - who come into this test window with much less game time than any of the visitors to the Aviva Stadium. One of Ireland's opponents, the All Blacks, get their European tour under way tomorrow against Wales in Cardiff. The Welsh are missing a number of key players since this fixture falls outside of World Rugby's official test window, meaning clubs don't have to release their players. New Zealand boss Ian Foster has played down the impact of Wales having a number of absentees, citing what he sees as their impressive squad depth.

Shamrock Rovers have the opportunity to clinch the League of Ireland tonight at home at the Tallaght Stadium, but manager Stephen Bradley was decidedly coy when discussing his future beyond this campaign. Victory over Finn Harps would secure Bradley's second crown since taking over in 2016, but despite having another year left to run on his contract, the manager refused to confirm that he would be staying on past this season. One manager whose future is certain is Xavi Hernandez. The former Barcelona star midfielder has agreed to return to his old club to take the reins after Ronald Koeman was sacked.

South African cricketer Quinton de Kock made news this week for dropping out of the lineup for his side's game against the West Indies after Cricket South Africa issued a directive for all players to take the knee before their games at the ongoing World T20, the organising body believing it important to display a united stance against racism. He has since apologised and agreed to join in with the stance, but in his column this morning, Johnny Watterson talks about how, given South Africa's history, de Kock should have taken the knee from the start. Elsewhere, John Treacy will be stepping down as the chief executive of Sport Ireland at the end of the year. The one-time Olympic silver medal marathon runner has been chief of the organisation since its establishment in 2015.