Novak Djokovic has released a statement blaming his agent for an "administrative mistake" in his paperwork when entering Australia, and has also admitted he failed to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19. The world number one, who had his visa reinstated at a hearing on Monday, said his support team ticked the wrong box when completing a travel declaration on January 1st, regarding his previous travel before arriving in Australia. He has also confirmed he attended an interview with a journalist from L'Equipe on December 18th a day after receiving the results of a positive PCR test. Djokovic's statement, released on Instagram, does not however address reports by Der Spiegel which have claimed there were anomalies with his December 16th PCR test result. Meanwhile Alex Hawke, the Australian immigration minister, has confirmed he is still considering re-cancelling Djokovic's visa.
In his column this morning Gordon D'Arcy has asked if an emphasis on structure and winning from an early age is coaching the 'rugby IQ' out of Ireland's young players. He writes: "As a result of the way we are coaching today, my feeling is that we are producing 'white board players', who thrive in patterns and structure but struggle with basic problem-solving." And he believes Ulster's defeat to 14-man Munster last weekend highlighted the problem: "Being well-drilled is not the same as being well-coached as was evident at Thomond Park last weekend. Ulster's inability to problem-solve in real time, to appreciate where the space was, to play the game in panorama was both striking and worrying." Meanwhile Leinster's Champions Cup clash with Montpellier on Sunday is set to go ahead despite the province recording a positive Covid-19 result yesterday, with the French club also reporting fresh cases. Yesterday it was confirmed Montpellier have been awarded a 28-0 walkover after Leinster were unable to fulfil their round two clash in December - Leinster last played against Bath on December 11th.
Elsewhere Seán Moran has looked at the departures of Stephen Cluxton, Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey from the Dublin senior panel. And while Cluxton's decision is fairly unsurprising at the age of 40, Mannion and McCaffrey are still only 28-years-old and in their prime. He writes: "They have decided that they've had enough, for the moment at least. That isn't supposed to happen to players who were not only part of a top team but whose presence would make it even more formidable. Yet that's what makes the GAA unique: mass-spectator sports played by amateurs on a recreational basis and consequently not always life's priority even for multi-decorated performers."
Southampton continued their recent good run of form last night as they thrashed Brentford 4-1 at St Mary's, a result which saw them leapfrog the Bees and move up to 11th in the Premier League table. Tonight West Ham can move back into the top four as they take on basement side Norwich at the London Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm). In the League Cup, Tottenham welcome Chelsea to north London as they try to turn over a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their semi-final clash (7.45pm).
And Bob Olinger could be set to showcase his Cheltenham credentials as he lines up for his second start over fences in the Grade Three Kildare Novice Chase at Punchestown on Sunday.
